Spirited.

Alrighty, we’re back from our little long weekend in the Keys, so I thought I’d write a bit  about these pics.  First of all, call me weird, but I’ve always wanted to do a session with the juxtaposition of a beautiful little girl against the backdrop of an old cemetery.  I’ve always loved cemeteries (I’m not one of those people who is at all into death stuff – I HATE horror movies and am not at all interested in the occult or anything like that…not sure why I feel the need to make that clear, but trust me, if I don’t, someone out there will start soliciting me to speak at their “Photographers who love the Dead” luncheon or something like that.  The internet.  It can be a weird place.  But I digress…back to the regularly scheduled post) for their beauty and sentiment, and I think they are extremely peaceful and moving places to visit.  Luckily for me, the part of Virginia that I call home (SOVA not NOVA) is absolutely covered with some of the oldest and most historically rich cemeteries in the nation, so I had no trouble finding a good backdrop for my little vision.  What I was worried about finding was the mix of the right little girl and what to put her in.  A full fledged ballerina outfit wouldn’t have worked because I didn’t want to give the impression she was dancing on graves or anything like that.  Regular clothes wouldn’t have fit, and I thought about using my cloak or some other prop, but they just didn’t quite seem right either.  Then, last weekend I was thumbing through a costume book at a sewing store, and saw a “Black Swan” costume.  I LOVED it – it was so gorgeous, and I was instantly enamored with it.  However, it was on a grown-up, and I had to figure out how I could translate a very, very adult look onto an innocent child without sexualizing her in any way, and without being disrespectful to those who peacefully resided six feet under what would be the backdrop of our little shoot.  So, I came up with a toned down version of the Black Swan, and combined it with the most Angelic looking little girl in the world, and a very SOFT overall shoot.  That was super important.  If I had made this session too edgy or dark, it would have been sort of disrespectful I think, and it was crucial to me that it be done right.

Of course, I also had to find the right mom – one who got my vision and didn’t think I was a crazed weirdo – and luckily that worked out well.  I found the perfect mom, the perfect little girl, and (although I only had a day to pull the costume together) the near perfect outfit & setting.

If you are inspired by these pics, and choose to do something similar, I’d love to see what you come up with.  I only ask that whatever ideas may strike you, please execute them with respect.  It’s honestly best to work with a child who has no concept of what a cemetery is, but who is old enough to understand that headstones are not to be climbed on, etc.  It is also CRUCIAL that you find a cemetery that isn’t in use.  If a service of any type is taking place, for goodness sakes, postpone your photography plans.

For those of you interested in editing, they were shot in RAW and edited with my presets that will be coming out soon – probably around Thanksgiving.  They were also processed with textures from my Supernatural Collection (Of Course!) and if memory serves, I used Paranormal II.  I originally envisioned these in black & white, but decided I liked them better in color.  I kept the background a tad dark & gloomy on purpose.  Hope you all enjoy’em!  As always, I love to hear your feedback so if you have thoughts or questions, just let me know.

Until next time – PB