With Halloween Just around the corner...

I recently did this shoot with Actor/Dancer (now model??) Andrew Cox. We both went into the shoot with a myriad of ideas, some better than others, all however equally vivid and prepared with a variety of props and purposes.



The shoot had been in the works for several weeks and after several cancelations, both from myself and Andrew, we set a final date. It was a chilly autumnal night in New England, very typical i guess as one of our themes was to be a Halloween inspired shoot.

Andrew showed up in tact with his friend Katie (who was also modeling that night) and another friend of his who wasn't intended to model until i saw him and ended up doing a couple full sets of him as well (his set will be posted later on), as well as a full wardrobe of clothing and an assortment of toys, accessories and a fog machine. A fog machine? Yes! a fog machine. At first i fought the idea of a fog machine for 2 reasons. I first feared that it would set the fire alarm off, and secondly they have to be used in well ventilated conditions. This meant opening the windows which didn't bother me as far as the cool air was concerned, but more so the appearance of fog dissipating out my second floor apartment creating the appearance of smoke, causing alarm with the neighbors. After some slight coaxing i gave in and was quite happy when reviewing the results. I can safely say that i would consider using the fog machine again.



So the shoot started out slow, possibly my fault. But when you have a house of 5 artistic minds (oh yes my assistant was there also) you tend to get more ideas than productivity. I acted quickly however and tried to separate people into different areas of the house to get into costume, makeup and of course the set. Once the flow started it became a pretty productive night.... with a lot of wasted shots i might add. Andrew is an amazing person, creative and very talented, but he has the attention span of a child and often resorted to humorous poses, again maybe this was my fault as i didnt start the shoot until 8pm. I am a night person, and the thought of shooting anything creative during day hours churns my stomach.



So this segment of the shoot i kind of consider the rare gem. I honestly can admit this was andrews idea and not what i had originally intended on shooting.

He came baring the small jack o' lantern, the fog machine (wich we already established that i didnt want any part of at first) and requested to be greased up to look shiny. He brought witch hazel for this. The girl at the store told him it would make him shiny. This was a close your eyes and shake your head scenario, and i think we all had a chuckle, obviously witch hazel is an astringent and wont do anything besides dry up your skin and work (wonderfully i might add) as a toner. So I acted quickly and grabbed the olive oil. Yes folks, the shine you see on Andrew's body was Olive oil, that was an interesting experience, but like the fog machine i could safely say i'd do it again (and i did in another shoot that will also eventually be posted)



So at first he pulled out the assortment of macabre poses complete with the faces to match. I was horrified, not actually scared as in for my life, but that we would have no useable images from this shoot. Again i quickly rattled my brain and changed gears.

I suggested to andrew to try thinking more along the lines of a sexy Dr. Jekyl rather than an exaggerated Mr. Hyde, and quickly something clicked. Although im quite sure he was slightly goofing off, it finally clicked with his look and my intended portrayal of him. So what followed was an almost make-out session with the jack o' lantern. But in a more intimate way rather than a silly way. This was the start of the completed second photo down.

Then for the climax and epilogue of the set, Andrew displayed his array of bizarre angles in wich he could bend his body.

The photos ended up being the Pièce de résistance of the evening, and with Halloween coming i had them completed and ready for critique and criticism (and some praise) within a matter of days.

Like them or not, this is Andrew at his best and an amazing culmination to this style of photography for me (most of my earlier stuff almost always included some level of fake blood)