Audrey Imposter

During my schooling, we were given an assignment for which we had to reproduce a famous photograph of a celebrity.

I chose Audrey Hepburn (how original!) and used myself (how modest!) as a model. Although, not I or any human being in existence, can accurately reproduce Audrey's beauty, it turned out well and I was happy with the final product.

Click to enlarge.


My heads a little fatter... shoulders are a little wider...
...nose is bigger... hair is a little uglier....
But all those things aside... we could be like sisters, right?
;)



Burn Effects

Freshly and severally burned skin is one of the easiest and funnest special effects to do, in my opinion. It doesn't have to be very clean or precise [unlike cut, stab wound, bullet wound, etc] and the final results are always great!

I did a shoot with a model Amanda last year, and decided to try something a little different.I had her lay down with her head on a pillow so that she was comfortable, and I sat on a chair beside the end of the couch and worked from there. I got the idea from the great Kevin Aucoin, who did almost all of his makeup applications with the model laying flat on the floor with her/his head between his knees, viewing the model's face upside down, but also in its entirety (rather than stand on the right or left). It worked out really well. Amanda was relaxed and I got to take my time with a better view of the canvas. See below, click to enlarge.



Last Halloween, I applied makeup to the team working at The Dark Side Halloween Store in the Seaway Mall. One of the girls decided to be a chef who was burned like the girl in that WSIB video [WARNING: Do not watch the video in that link unless you are not easily disturbed. I, myself, love all the WSIB videos. :)] So, we went with a less exaggerated version of Amanda's third degree burns, and ended up with a little something like this:






Beginner's Luck?

Today I wanted to share one of my projects that I am the most proud of. What makes it even more special? It was my very first professional photoshoot! Yep. It was our first of three practical exams at school. Funny, that my first shoot is still pretty much my favorite photo in my portfolio.

Modeling, is my roommate [at the time] Brian Howe and his girlfriend [at the time] Loraine Mohar.

THE PHOTO (click to enlarge):

My favorite part about the photo is how her lips match the flowers perfectly. If it was intentional, I wouldn't normally brag about it. [Then again, what are blogs for? ;)] But it just worked out that way, and beautifully I must say! I had great models to work with.

Working with Jay

Here are a few photos from shoots I've done with Jason Lupish this passed year. He's a great photographer to work with, and I hope to collaborate with him much more in 2009!


Model Credits (top to bottom): Dara Mariash, Marlee Thurlow-Fader, Venessa Skinner, Cherie O'Brien, Felicia Tisi, Dara Mariash (again) and Ky Gratton, Shannen Death, Erica Sherwood.


The Dead

Below is a teaser entitled The Dead.

Director Adam Stephenson and I collaborated one night to create this promotion for his soon-to-be web series. He explained the gist of the plot to me, and I gave use both pale faces and tired eyes, and we went from there.



Here are a couple of stills.

Broken Nail

Its very rare that I can talk Trevor into letting me put makeup on him. Even if its tough and manly makeup, like a busted up fingernail. In fact, I've only had the honor one time.

When we were first dating, he allowed me to do this (see photo left). I split a fake nail down the middle and applied it with regular nail glue. I then built up some latex around the sides for the cuticles. A little bruising here, a little blood there... and VOILA! Trevor's horrific hammer accident.

Now that the honeymoon phase is over, he no longer feels the need to humor me by letting me use him as a guinea pig. I'll have to find my models elsewhere!

Makeup on Meegz

This bombshell is my friend Meegz. She's always game when it comes to striking a pose, so when I asked her if she'd model for me for a couple fashion makeovers, she was all for it.

This photo was taken against a wall on the side of Trevor's apartment. Meagan's pale complexion really suits this sultry smokey eye. Yeow!


Here she is again is a forest in a small park in Welland.

TIP: Blues and purples don't always have to look like your eyes are bruised. Try BOLD and VIBRANT shades (see photo left) instead of dull ones, and don't over-blend. Usually tons of blending is a good thing, but in this case, over-blending can just create a messy, murky look. Keep the colors true, and restrict them to the lid only (don't go too high, purple or blue on the brow bone can look a little Mimi-like)

Plastic Wrap


On a whim one day last summer, my good friend Josh Ladouceur and I decided to make him up as a corpse and wrap him in plastic wrap. A half-hour and one roll of Glad later, we had this. We took photos in my basement cellar, and out in the driveway. It was VERY hard for Josh to breathe (despite the breathing hole I made him) so this shoot didn't last very long. But it was fun!

I would love to do a set of CSI-esque shoots, forensic photos, etc. If anyone is interested, give me a shout!

Milan's DOP Reel and Photos

The following is Milan Stanojevic's Director of Photography reel. Throughout the video are clips from several films I worked on last year.



Here's a few photos from the shoots as well.
Photo credit: Michael Lee


CLICK TO ENLARGE





Above: This is several different scenes in which I applied makeup on actor Nick Kusiba for the film Out of the Darkness. The effects consisted of making him appear very tired, worn and strung-out. In the last photo you can also see some "sweat" that I applied (Glycerin).


This last one is a scar effect I did on actor Luke Gallo. In the film, he had been in an accident years earlier where a gun backfired and burned his face.