A Tennessee Senior Session
Today's featured senior session comes to you from Beck Impressions Photography, located in Nashville, TN."Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a spiritual Mexican holiday that celebrates the lives of those that have passed. One way they honor the deceased is by adorning alters with colorfully decorated skulls called sugar skulls.I've always wanted to do a concept senior session with sugar skull makeup, but I didn't want to do anything cliche or typical. I ran through various photo shoot ideas over a couple years' time, and finally all the pieces fell into place.We definitely wanted to go with the bold hair and sugar skull makeup, but then we debated a few wardrobe ideas for our model, Rheagan. We finally settled on a stylish business suit. We added aspects, like the lace cuffs, to tie the wardrobe in with the look. The wardrobe then inspired the location, so I wanted to shoot in a business setting, with glass buildings, brick, and a lot of concrete, and we found the perfect area of downtown Nashville.I wish I had some poetic meaning behind the concept, but I don't. I just loved the look. I love that it's different, and although I've seen sugar skull makeup concepts, I haven't seen a senior session done this way."Tell us about the gear used: "I shot this session with a Canon 5D Mark iii. My lens of choice was the Canon 135/2.0. It is my new favorite lens! I love the depth of field you can get to show the location while still really highlighting the subject. We shot in natural light, and my HMUA assisted with a large silver reflector."What inspired this session: "The session was mostly inspired by Día de Muertos and the sugar skull makeup look. It's a positive concept, and the makeup is so creative, colorful, and fun.Although I've wanted to shoot this concept for years, it wasn't until my senior model, Rheagan, came along that I had to make it happen this year. She has flawless pale skin, long dark hair, and crystal blue eyes that are to die for! I knew she would be perfect for this concept. At the same time, my regular senior HMUA, Nicole Pechonis, introduced me to her HMUA friend, Nissi, who especially loves the type of makeup look I was hoping for."Hair and Makeup Artist: "Nissi Bergman of Nissi Lee Beauty was the artist behind the look. Nissi does hair and makeup for weddings, seniors, and various purposes, but she has a passion for theatrical makeup. She especially loves sugar skull concepts. She even took in inspiration for this session while vacationing in Mexico the week before this session. We have so many ideas for more sugar skull concepts in the future!"
Such a great concept! I love the city vibes, the makeup, everything! Well done, Heather. Thanks so much for sharing this session with us!You can find more of Heather's work on Facebook and Instagram!Thanks for reading SSG!Megan