Lately, after attending a series of lectures about photoshoot ideas and how to turn ingenious concepts into simple but effective low-tech solutions, I have been looking at photographs and editorials under a different light. Even after coming to a decision with my group about our perfume brand photoshoot, I was still on the lookout for creative ideas to keep as a reference for future projects. I have to admit, having never been in a studio on the other side of the camera, I wasn't sure whether I would like being an art director for a while, but it actually turned out to be pretty fun! I'm not sure if this is the path I would want to go on, but it is definitely something I will enjoy exploring more throughout my degree, which is why I've been avidly collecting inspiring images on my Pinterest (look out for my #art direction boards at the bottom!).
I came across this particular series by Russian dance photographer Alexander Yakovlev and completely fell in love with them. After admiring them for a while I immediately felt the urge to reproduce them, and, keeping in mind Tim's advice on "photoshoot cheats", noticed right away how the whole idea was based around a very simple concept to recreate: the use of movement and flour.
I love the smoky, almost ethereal consistency of the flour, and how it seems to elongate the ballerinas' beautiful movements in the air. I believe that the elusive quality of the flours would be suited really well to a fragrance ad, and the way it blurs with the models' bodies links it with the idea of scent and identity and whatever meaning it might carry. Maybe I just have a thing for conceptual visuals, but I found myself wishing I were able to use this trick in our ad.
Another reason why I felt this was a rather serendipitous discovery is that I recently found out that for our summer activity we will have the chance to work on a live project with a brand! And as we got to pick, I decided to go with this brand called Dance4 and focus on the relationship between fashion and dance. I'm not sure what exactly this project will entail as we haven't been briefed yet, but I just thought it was pretty interesting and I have to admit I am pretty excited to find out more.
I highly recommend checking out his other work both on his website and his instagram! I am hoping to write soon something about my other idea for a perfume brand which in the end my group and I didn't go for, but that I really really liked so, even if the module is almost over, I am not quite ready to give up on yet. And I must say this guy's work has really inspired me in terms of visuals and aesthetics for this brand. So stay tuned to see more on that!
B x
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