Planning the shoot- Budgeting and costs

I am aware from previous photo shoots I have been on that booking a photographer at a location with a makeup and hair artist can cost up to £500 for a full day. I also read on the Mac Pro forum that when hired outside of a packaged deal, makeup artist usually charge around £250 for a shoot with touch ups throughout. Hiring a graphic artist to alter an image can also be very costly as well as hiring a model for the day, costume, hairstyling tools, makeup, props and travel! I took all of these elements into consideration when putting my ideas together for the shoot.

I looked on StarNow for a model and photographer and advertised for a photographer with a studio and a model both willing to do the shoot for free but gaining experience and shots for their portfolios. To my surprise, a lot more photographers and models answered the ad than I originally thought.

Sourcing a photographer: When looking for a suitable photographer, I sourced the state and location of the studio and looked for recommendations and previous works to gain a sense of their interests and style of work. I picked the photographer I did as his work was very colourful and bright, which matched my vision and his studio was located in an area I was familiar with and easy to get to (it was located opposite a train station). Some photographers that answered the advert on StarNow used ‘urban studios’, which I found out meant they were outside! This would not have been convenient or fair on my model as I wanted her to lie down wearing no more than a little lace, so finding a photographer with a suitable studio was important! 

Photographer used: Pedro Garcia- pixelupstudio.com 

Sourcing a model: When looking for a suitable model, height was not an issue, as she would only be required for a beauty shot. I was searching for a model with blonde hair for the typical Barbie look displayed at Moschino SS15. I picked the model I did as she was located in London and had previously worked in the Burlesque industry and she was happy to bring some accessories with her which suited the look I wanted to achieve.

Costume and accessories: As me and my model are both interested in all things pink, girly and sparkly, together we were able to put together suitable costumes and accessories to use for the shoot. This helped when budgeting for the shoot, as I did not have to buy and additional items.

Props: My idea to us confetti, inspired by Love magazine’s Fall 2014 cover featuring Cara Delevingne saw me look at buying confetti in bulk as well as in individual packets. However, the amount I wanted for my shoot would see me spending over £30! To keep costs down, I decided to buy a heart shaped hole punch and some crepe paper. The hold punch cost £4 and the multipack of crepe paper cost £3. I then spent two days punching holes! I also cut up some white netting that I had lying around to make a short veil.

Editor: To keep costs down, I asked a friend who studied animation at university to turn my image into a magazine cover by adding the required logo. As he is a very good friend of mine, he did it for free!

Hair and makeup: luckily, due to my love of makeup and all things pink, I did not have to buy many additional makeup items for my kit. The only item I ordered was a Nyx Creme Glitter Palette which was in the sale for £2.50 (previously £6) and some loose cosmetic glitter which was in the sale for £2. I also have an extensive collection of gems and sequins which I usually use for nail art that I used to create the Ashish inspired eye makeup. Luckily, I had all the hair products required to create the soft crimped hairstyle. I used my college hair kit as well as my own hair straighteners and hair products.

Overall, including travel, this shoot cost me under £20!!