The Concept:
Ever since I was little, I was fascinated with the mythologies from the ancient world. One of the most fascinating was the Greek pantheon: the drama, the grand adventures, but most of all, the beauty of the goddess and female deities. For this series, I wanted to bring to life the characteristic of the river nymphs described in the stories from Greek mythology with a modern interpretation. Hinting at the ideas that the ancient mythologies are still alive today.
Styling of the Outfit and the Make-Up Look:
It was important, to me, to have the hair and make-up plain. To keep with the authenticity of the Greek myths, a bare and natural look worked best for this concept. The naiads are also said to be protectors of river, so to possible contaminate the river with make-up products would be disrespectful to the spirits I am drawing inspiration from.
For this shoot, I chose a more modern interpretation of outfits that would match each of the personalities associated with naiads. The five outfits that I chose to utilized for this series ranged form gowns down to lingerie to give the full dynamic range of how the naiads are depicted.
The bodysuit I choose in the first image, toys with the playful and innocent parts of the naiad character. The elegant dress in shots two and six represent the divine nature of the naiads, while also showing the sensual side with the exaggerated side slit. In the fourth image, I had the model wear a white bodysuit covered by an embordered shawl to suggest a more intimate moment , where she was caught off guard to play on the idea that naiads are rarely seen by humans. To emulate the the movement of the sheer tunic naiads where occasionally depicted wearing, I placed the model in a slightly see-through bellbottom jumpsuit with a contemporary chain detail for straps that can be seen in the third and fifth image.
For the last image, I selected a lingerie bodysuit revealing the power the naiads had to draw men in. .
Poses for the Model:
I wanted the poses of the model to embody a variety of art works that depicted the nature of the naiads. The poses came form a variety of sources: a nameless Greek statue , a mosaic from the second century, roman painting, the myths themselves and an early1800's statue.
How I Chose the Composition:
I wanted the composition to mainly feature the waterfall and the river to bring the main focus to the location, leaving the model to be a mere accent to the landscape. The first and the last images are slighting different from the rest. With the first, I found the parallel of the models arm to the shape of the water was more readable as well as more interesting slightly zoomed in compared to the wide angle perspective of the other shots. The last image was shot from an entirely different angle. This was done to draw attention to the entire body of the model without any obstruction from the rocks. I also was drawn to how the model was framed by the waterfall directly behind her.
The Final Images:
Camera Settings: 100 ISO
5 sec. shutter
F 22
My Final Thoughts:
This was the first time that I have attempted a photoshoot like this. The way I went about shooting the image was definitely an experiment to see if this concept was even possible, but in the end, I am in love with the elements come together in the final shot. This photoshoot was a great learning experience! Anytime I am able to step out of my comfort zone and try something new to learn a new process of photographing, is a great accomplishment for me.