Lessons learned: always bring a softbox even if you don't think you'll need it and don't invest hundreds of dollars in vintage dress mannequins without doing a test shoot (whew).
Cassie of Howling Winds Homestead (the female model in "Acquiescence"), opened up her home for this shoot and was extremely patient with me while I figured out the lighting. She runs her own soap and candle shop here in New England. If you happen to struggle with adult acne, like I do, and you get a chance to buy any facial products from her Black Soap Line–buy them. The supply is usually limited.
Onto the lighting debacle. I was determined to get what I had sketched compositionally; as such, I completely disregarded the factor of the window light and how it would effect the exposure inside. At first, I had myself convinced that I'd just combine a few different shots to make this work: one exposed for the outside, one exposed for the inside, and a couple of others to make sure everything important was in focus. Separated, these shots looked like this:
Combining the above in post would have been a HUGE waste of time. Especially because I had a softbox and reflector in the car... which I finally grabbed, setup, and took a test shot:
Thanks to the boost from a 50” reflector and one 20” x 28” softbox, I'm pretty happy with the shadows, subtle greens and oranges, and the overall feeling of "Acquiescence." As for the symbolism, that's up to you to decide. Now, lets's get weird.
The final image (above) isn't even the weirdest part–it's what I have left over and whatever part of this process that my neighbors witnessed. I jaggedly carved the mouths out of three styrofoam mannequin heads and spray painted them. I started with both male and female, and used different colors just in case I wanted to mix things up. The result was a bit unsettling, even for me. I ended up sticking with my original idea and stuffed the female head with "feminine" products. I feel like the symbolism in "I Woke Up Like This" is pretty straightforward.
Another one of my "bright" ideas (that didn't work out) was to use the abandoned drive-in theater just a few minutes from my house. Originally, I wanted to use vintage dress mannequins in tattered clothing as props but I couldn't find a complete set, and I didn't have time to buy brand new mannequins and "weather" them. But I wanted to experiment, so I hopped on Amazon and bought a set of artist mannequins. Let's just say that I'm glad I didn't drop upwards of $500 on dress mannequins. The result is pretty silly and may prove that the concept was a dud all along:
In the end, this project was challenging in a few ways and I definitely learned a thing or two. I was pretty stoked to finally explore the abandoned drive-in, and I was able to spend an afternoon visiting Howling Winds Homestead and all of her delights.
Preliminary sketches & behind the scenes:
