Capturing compelling & strong images doesn't come easy; it requires planning, education, experimentation & sometimes going out of your way to achieve what you envision.
When I captured this following image, I was residing in Jazirat al Hamra - RAK. There was this patch of long wild grass that was growing a short walk from my building entrance. It had caught my attention, and I knew it was a matter of time before I came up with a concept that works for the location.
At a shopping trip to a party costume store, a red riding hood outfit caught my attention. If you're familiar with costume stores, you would agree that the quality of material and work they put into their products is 'mediocre' (yes, I am a Mad Max: Fury Road fan)!
However, that red riding hood stood out; nice patterns, and strong colors. Hence, I decided to use it for my next dark themed personal concept.
That said, I got in touch with a makeup artist & model who I knew would share my enthusiasm for the concept. A few days later, the concept was set, team formed and shooting details agreed.
We met at a photography studio a few hours in advance, we had our makeup artist apply the makeup & special effects (in the form of a wolf scratch) on our lovely model & we headed out to the location.
Let me take a step back here ... as I mentioned earlier, sometimes you need to get our of your way; in this scenario, I had to drive to Dubai to meet up with the rest of the team at the studio, then head back to the shooting location in RAK, complete the shoot, then drive the team back to Dubai for drop off & finally head back home to RAK! A total of 4 hours driving back & forth. :)
Ok, back to the shoot!
One of the challenges you face every now and then when shooting outdoors is time, and as I was aiming for a dark concept, I needed to start just before sunset. However, things didn't go as planned & I found myself standing at the location in pitch black darkness, the shoot must go on!
Somehow, I managed to get decent light on my model & the background with just one speedlight. Yet, as a safety measure, I asked the team to join me at my home studio (which was 2 minutes away) so we could capture some more portraits with studio strobe lights.
Luckily, that proved useful as you shall see in the next image.