With Halloween drawing ever closer I wanted to share last years Halloween self portrait with you all. Ghostbusters was a very much loved movie franchise for myself and my siblings growing up. I always remember my eldest brother winning tickets to go and see the first movie at the cinema and how excited he was.
With the long awaited arrival of Afterlife it seemed fitting to celebrate Ghostbusters past and recreate that iconic image of Sigourney Weaver as Zuul atop of the apartment building.
I started with a fabulous 1980's big hair makeover! As you can see from the video link below my hair is naturally very straight indeed so it's always a challenge to get those big volume curls, but I was so pleased with the results! I'm kinda missing my 80's-90's perms looking back at this! 😂
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNGwXvF4/
Once hair and makeup was ready it was time for a quick self portrait photoshoot session at my studio. Once again using that fabulous orange fabric to fashion myself a dress, with some careful draping and plenty of safety pins. I used my mini chaise longue to perch upon and get that fabric flowing. I knew the pose I wanted to do and how I was going to edit the image to superimpose myself onto a stone bench, and the chaise was the perfect shape for this.
This was the image I chose from my quick shoot. With the aid of my big studio fan I was able to get some movement in my hair, to help add to the illusion of being outdoors in the final edit.
I sourced a skyline image and stone bench image that I felt nearest matched the original, and set to work with editing on photoshop. Cutting myself from the original shot to overlay into the skyline image, along with the bench. I then added some shadows for a more realistic finish and used a fog brush tool to add a layer of mist to the bottom of the image. I then worked on colour grading to match the several images used for a better blend, and some light and lens flare effects to pick up on the backlit highlights in my hair.
The final picture was such fun to create and I always enjoy the process of putting together composite images. As someone who is completely self taught, I find working on creative projects like this such a great way to learn new skills.
If you would like to see a Timelapse video of the final picture being created then please follow the link below. (I don't know about you, but I love a good Timelapse creative process video!)
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNGwH7kQ/
If any of you have suggestions for this years Halloween photoshoot then please do let me know! Help me get those creative juices flowing!