First of all, I am so excited to finally share this project! I’ve been brainstorming doing a longer series and I’ve always wanted to pay homage to the creators of the previous century that have inspired me and so many others over the years. So the title of this project will be Ageless Aesthetic, and I’ll be curating a shoot for each decade from the 1920s on. I have a lot of things planned already and it is just an endless source of joy for me. I love getting organized and learning about each time period, reading up on inspirational figures and events and finally pulling together the setting and look for each shoot.
Now, let’s get into the 1920s. The only decade with a nickname - the Roaring Twenties! Does anyone else just picture The Great Gatsby right away? I obviously do, and so much of my inspiration for this time period came from Gatby’s great parties. The flowing alcohol, the extravagant home, the wild band and the endless accessories.
I mean really, truly endless. Think back to one of those party scenes. Not only were the outfits fully decked out with pearl necklaces, bracelets, dangly earrings, but the headpieces were unlike any other. My model Emma made her own unique headband by combining two others, and the outcome was beautiful. She has such a unique, timeless style and I highly recommend you check her out! (https://www.instagram.com/msemmahill/)
The looks for the shoot included two beaded and flowy tunic style dresses - perfect for dancing the night away. The first was black and beaded, paired with a pearl necklace, a fur coat, and long black gloves. The next dress was black with a golden feather print and for whatever reason, my mom had a bundle of fake peacock feathers that matched the dress!
Now, let’s talk about the setting. I wanted to create a party themed backdrop, and our family dining room was perfect for this. They have a long, regal dining room table, a fancy glass cabinet, a beautiful curtain display, etc. I did need to block out the light coming from the windows in the room so I set up my backdrop stand there and used a sheet, coupled with the beige curtains to frame the shots.
I wanted to shoot these indoors and use my new ring light instead of using flash mostly to play with my new toy, but also because I felt that flash wasn’t necessary to replicate the feel of 1920s images. External flashes create a style of image where the background is pretty blown out, and I didn’t want to lose that detail of our shoot. I’m really happy about this choice! You can watch my YouTube video about the shoot here: https://youtu.be/tLM8WebDlF4
