I know I’ve been banging on about this EP a lot without much to show for it yet, but these things do take time. Believe it or not, I’m actually right on schedule so far, which is amazing considering all the other life stuff I have going on. However, the epic day of cover art photography has finally arrived! Soon you will be able to see for yourself what the EP might look like.
I thought I’d do a recount of the photo shoot to give you an inside view into what goes into the making of a CD.
I arrived a little early after getting confused by my phone’s GPS and its apparent inability to pinpoint my exact location. Marianne greeted me with a hug and I passed on hugs from mutual friends as well. We hadn’t seen eachother since we met in January but we’ve been in fairly constant contact since then, so it was all very familiar and not at all awkward. Though I must say, I spent the first few hours of the day being quite nervous about the shoot!
We had a quick conference about the clothes I’d brought for the photos and a last-minute exchange of ideas, then decided to jump straight into some test shots, playing with props, lighting, and different shapes before the make-up artist arrived.
I adore having my make-up done. I don’t know about anyone else, but apart from the actual performing, it is one of my favourite parts of my job. To just be still and have another creative and skilled person work their magic on your face is totally joyous. I am not often still, as I feel like I need to be doing something productive, but stillness in make-up is both necessary and productive. I get a lot of mental breathing space in make-up. Of course, having a new person to chat with in a very casual and relaxed way while the make-up is being applied is also lovely. It was amusing to me that Marianne felt very much at a loose end during this time. I understood exactly how she was feeling – her stillness was not productive, but as everything was already set up, she was ordered to relax. Erin did a beautiful job with my make-up and was very good at interpreting my vague instructions.
Then it was time for business. We had about two hours left to get in as many set-ups and shots as possible so as to have some choice for the cover art as well as some photos for promotional use. I don’t want to give too much away about what we did with the shots but here are a few clues: a red velvet chair, an industrial fan, some killer shoes, three beautiful dresses, and a trampoline. Marianne seemed to never tire and was so particular with the light and what I needed to do to look my best in the shots. I was having so much fun, though, that I never got the chance to feel self-conscious. I think being comfortable in my skin and having quite a bit of experience in front of the camera really helped me as well. If I’d been ten years younger, I’m sure I would have felt rather awkward at times. As it turned out, it didn’t feel like hard work at all.
At the end of the shoot, I packed my bag and got ready to head to the airport, where, unbeknownst to me, my flight would be delayed for almost an hour, and Marianne crashed on the couch. And again, I understood how she felt, as that creative energy is exhausting to sustain. I had the adrenaline of needing to get to the airport keeping me going and didn’t crash until after my plane landed in Sydney.
The most wonderful thing was hearing back from Marianne as I caught the train home from the airport, telling me that she had had a look at the shots and that they were, in her words, “AWESOME.”
Now I can’t wait to see them for myself. I did have a sneak peak at a few in the camera, but that’s nothing compared to seeing them nice and large on a computer screen.
The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place.