My friend Delaney is graduating college this spring, and she came to me with an idea for her senior pictures. Heading into her job as an art teacher, she wanted something fun, and a little more edgy. She certainly subscribes to my “no pictures leaning on a tree” theory.
I want something rockin’, Steve-o!
Well, she said she had an idea about getting herself all paint splattered. I thought I knew what she had in mind, and we texted each other some images as inspiration. Sure enough, we were on the same page. We met later on, and discussed the supplies she would need. Paint, a lot of it, some clothes she could destroy and a backdrop she could paint/destroy. I told her I would handle the location. One of my future brides and I were discussing this shoot, and she suggested a location, and the business owner was more than open to it. So, we set a date. I texted my buddy Clem, who helps me with the smoke bomb sessions, and asked if “he wanted to throw paint at a pretty girl.” He totally downplayed it, saying he was open to the project.
So, we set up the backdrop on shoot day, covered all my equipment with plastic drop cloths, and went to work. We started with Delaney throwing paint at the wall, before we decided that Clem and her boyfriend could begin throwing small amounts of paint at her. I had specific instructions to keep it out of her face at first. That didn’t work. First attempt, right in the face! Hilarity ensued. We stopped and cleaned her up, and made some more attempts. After a while experimenting with different techniques, the boys hit her with some larger amounts of paint. We were all pleased with how it came out, even if poor Delaney was freezing cold and soaking wet by now.
I think a shoot like this would be fun for someone in Delaney’s shoes, an artist or an artsy type. It might be a fun shoot for an aspiring model, or an edgy boudoir-type of thing as well. Just gotta remember that you’re gonna get dirty!