But after a major event such as a wedding, formal, debutante ball, milestone birthday or awards night, what happens to our gowns?

We carefully pack them away in the box or garment bag and put them back in the wardrobe most times never to be worn again. 

Creative Portraits

Why not book a Treasure the Gown shoot, where we create a , red carpet, vanity fair style setting, full of glitz and glamour and YOU become the movie star for the day.  And it's not just for the ladies...  Gentleman, get your suits on for a walk down the red carpet as well, just imagine, broody looks, relaxed posing with a  Frank Sinatra vibe 

Unpack that gown or suit and take action

Contact the studio for a no-obligation consultation about how you can treasure your gown with a creative portraiture shoot

It’s chaotic. It’s frenetic. Sunday morning is unfolding at family homes across Australia.

Mum’s trying to enjoy a relaxing moment eating breakfast, drinking coffee, and perhaps hoping to catch up on some fun reading.

The kids are jostling for attention. Your daughter’s in her tutu and tiara ready for her next dance competition while your son is in his uniform and gearing up for his big soccer match.

Meanwhile Dad's trying to take a quick work call in the corner before becoming taxi driver for the day.

Is this what your Sunday morning looks like?

Or would you have a big, friendly golden retriever lounging on the bed too?

Would the kids be nicking Mum’s breakfast or even throwing it through the air?

Perhaps a hockey stick would replace the soccer ball and there would be a basketball uniform instead of a tutu... But you can picture it, can’t you?

Why is it that our family portraits are such formal affairs in a studio? Why do we choose contrasting outfits and arrange ourselves in stiff, unnatural poses? We end up with an array of similar shots, choose one for the wall, and pack the rest into a drawer never to see the light of day.

What if you could commission a unique family portrait that really captured the essence and personality of your family? And end up with one beautiful photograph, a piece of art, to remind you of that moment in time and hang it on your wall?

Sunday Morning - How the concept came about

The Sunday Morning concept arose out of a submission to a family magazine. Many of the photographs were your standard family group poses and I wanted to approach the shoot in a non-traditional way. I decided to stage a master bedroom as this is often where mum will try to have a snoozy breakfast in bed..and ultimately it will always be crashed by the kids . Studio lighting helped to create the effect of morning light streaming onto the bed.

My friend brought her family along and we were going to capture some nice mother-daughter images in a relaxed setting. Their son came in from playing xbox and started playing with his soccer ball and eyeing off the pancakes. Then her husband sat down in the frame to take a phone call.

I kept shooting amid the chaos and the most unusual photographs began to take shape. They were all so relaxed and playful that it enabled me to bring their personalities into the image.

Instead of just a photograph to celebrate the mum, we ended up with a series of documentary-style images capturing the energy of family life. And this families in particular.

Mothers Day is just around the corner

Mum doesn't want a pair of fluffy slippers this Mothers' Day!  She would love a quirky, creative, out-of-the-box, unique family portrait to cherish.  (please see note *)

I had so much fun photographing this beautiful family, that it inspired me to do a series of my own family Sunday Mornings...(keep an eye out on my facebook page for those images) 

*note* limited bookings are available, session needs to be done before 25th April 2017 to guarantee Wall Art delivery for Mother's Day.

 They help absolutely, I couldn’t take portraits without them…(if only I could draw) and yes some cameras are nicer or easier to use than others, and they all have their own aesthetic (think of all the photo filters that try to re-create specific camera/film looks). But in the end, it is what and how you choose to photograph that makes the image.   There is a skill to image creation, which only begins with a camera, it grows with practice, and honestly you never stop learning.  So my advice to aspiring photographers or those that just want to take better images, it's not about the gear. Forget about which camera brand you should buy for a moment, use the one you have right now and just take photos of what you love, learn the skill of photography by reading, watching and asking questions about lighting, editing or camera settings, not what camera do you have.   It is then, when you have some knowledge of what and how you want to shoot, that the camera and lenses you choose come into play.  I have shot with everything from a pink plastic toy camera to a box brownie, to large format pinhole cameras to old classic polaroids, rolleiflexs and hasselblads, and various digital formats, my current camera is nearly 7 years old. They each have their own look, and bring something unique to the photograph, but in the end it is YOU that creates the artwork.

Our Concept today was Lady of the Lake, a mystical goddess who comes ashore to dance with faeries and wood nymphs.  

Did you know you can commission your very own Dream Shoot.   A Fine Art Heirloom piece for your wall.  Together we will come up with a concept and character for you to portray.  Just imagine the story that will be told for generations to come about the makings of your unique portrait.  

It was a cold dreary rainy Melbourne Monday, so I searched the internet and found some beautiful images of objects that were pretty to look at, made me happy (yes there is a camera in there) and were somewhat relevant to what I do. I decided to design an Insta grid…it took about 10 minutes to make a layout in photoshop that was cohesive and would make sense (more or less) as individual images. A 15 image grid, I could post 3 images a day for 5 days, with cutesy little phrases….surely…. and at the end a pretty little grid that would beautify my feed.  (see my creative layout below)

That’s when I decided to go to my instagram account and have a look at what my "brand" was portrayed as…hmm to say the least it was eclectic.  A random jumbled mess of behind the scenes videos, adventures, published images, my kids, what I cooked for dinner, sunsets, the occasional quote, friends and funny moments.  It was at this point I realised, I was never going to have a beautifully organised and planned feed, with a serene colour palatte,  harmonious images that complimented my message and branding.  A feed full of pretty photos which may or may not have anything to do with my life or business, (but they looked good and were the right colour)…..Although those accounts are gorgeous to look at and I admire the skill and dedication in attaining the visual holy grail of instagram style and allure…. It's just not me.  I could of course clean up my feed, just post relevant photos, or I could separate my accounts, one for photography and the other for everything else.  But that wouldn’t be a realistic representation either. 

My photography is not just my business, it is a part of who I am, just as my family and friends are.  So I apologise to those who follow me for my photography and then see random images of vegies out of my garden or my childrens latest accomplishments.  My feed looks like an unplanned, designless assemblage of images…because it is… and that pretty much represents the way we live our life and enjoy it.

My pretty little Insta-grid

If you have read the Gilded entry you will remember that both these series were inspired entirely by the decor of the venue. The Gilded images showed the room with baroque ornate frames, but the other side of that room had intimate booths, that just spoke of flirtatious women, illicit cocktails and rambunctious dancing.     

The Dresses 

It was obviously meant to be....as a few weeks prior I had found a beautiful beaded gown for $5 in the local opp shop (at the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I couldn't pass it up).  That dress was perfect for this space.  After searching the studio wardrobe I found another couple of dresses (all from previous opp shop excursions)  that fit the "speak easy" theme as well, I had envisioned two models in the scenes so I needed to find another beaded gown to compliment my first fabulous find.  An epic vintage clothing shopping day was organised, 13 second hand stores were visited and as per usual it was in one of the last ones that I found a matching gown, add some stockings and scarves and we were set.  I was fortunate enough to have the amazing jewelry designer Alisha from Sapphire Studios  supply the rings, pendants and earings to complete the outfits.

The Cast

A call out was made on social media to help find a team who would be willing to collaborate and make real the ideas in my head.  The ladies to my rescue Hair and Makup  - Jess from  Gorejess Designs and Lorena from  The Wigs of Oz our models for the day were Elizabeth H and Kate B and I can't forget Lloyd who not only assisted, but also took the behind the scenes footage.

Beau Nu Magazine  June 2017 Book 1 can be purchased here

Gilded is one of  two series that was photographed that day, when I first entered this room, I knew immediately the character to create...she was inspired by the beautiful ornate baroque mirrors on the walls...My Golden Goddess...she was risque, decadent and regal. Watch below the making of her outfit and some behind the scenes.

These are the images which have been featured in Issue 9 of Conceptual Magazine (here is the link if you want to purchase the magazine) there are more to this series, which I will add later.

I hope you enjoyed a little look-see into Gilded.....xxx

Having finalised all the props and made all the cup cakes it's almost time to actually take some photos.

Shoot day

Having no way of prepping  the cage and one of the wigs until we were ready to shoot my very patient model endured a quite pungent dousing of white coloured hairspray and a becomingly increasing heavy cage for almost an hour. 

Maegan also learnt the art of becoming a real life mannequin as we got up close and personal with each other as the gown was built on and around her.  (yes I know everyone suffers for my art :P) But she did get to dress up and embody a character from a time of indulgence and extravagance, and to celebrate the end of the day, we enjoyed a very messy cake smash.

I was very fortunate that the pictures I submitted were chosen for publication in the July Issue of Beau Nu Magazine. The 5 images published can be seen below. There are still a couple of images from this shoot that are being kept under wraps until the entire series is ready to be released. Check in often and follow me on social media as I will posting the behind the scenes and out takes from the entire series over the coming months..xx

The planning and construction of conceptual images are integral in the way I bring life to a visual story and in most instances this process is more involved than the actual shoot.   For me it is really where I can be as creative as I want, which is always fun.  Bringing that crazy idea to fruition though can be a little more difficult, finding victims oops I mean loving friends 😝  who are game for something a little different, learning new techniques and finding the right locations each have their own challenges.

Decadent from concept to publication.  

I had started to envision a series of images about transformations, portraying our state of being within a picture, I was working through the initial stages of finding the words to create the work around.  I kept coming back to the phrases from the 7 deadly sins…one that looked promising was gluttony… but I didn’t want to create an “evil” tone to this series, so I flipped it and came up with indulgent.  It was close but still not “there” yet.  After a couple of false starts I finally arrived at Decadent and there was no one more suited to portray Decadence, (I felt) than Marie Antoinette and better still I already had the beginnings of her outfit.

Collecting the Props

The props took quite a few weeks for preparation, I needed to find a cage that could sit on someones head and wasn’t too heavy, I obviously needed a Marie Antoinette wig, her gowns needed to look luxurious and ornate and of course I needed to find a “Marie” and with a tiny budget everything needed to be done very inexpensively.  There were a lot of challenges and new skills to learn…

The Hair

 I had never worked with wigs before, and although I shouldn’t of been surprised when purchasing a craft store wig, that what came out of the bag, looked nothing like the picture.  Google and a very helpful Drag Queen came to the rescue s/he showed us newly initiated into the world of synthetic wigs, how to style and resurrect badly misshapen hair pieces.  Off to buy a handheld steamer I went.  After a lot of trial and error, and a few steam burns, I had a somewhat looking Marie Antoinette styled hair piece. (I am so glad I know how to photoshop, because this wig will need a little help in the final image)

The Gowns

 I love opp shopping and am constantly being inspired by clothing that I could build a character around.  My amazing friends know this about me and sometimes I will find a parcel with clothing or fabric with a note…I saw this and thought you could use it.  I had received one such parcel and inside was a  beautiful dress (thankyou Miss Alex) and I thought it would be perfect for a  Modern Rococo inspired look.  But I wasn’t yet clear on a concept.  When the idea for Decadent was realised I knew this dress would be the perfect start for her character.  As a photographer I am a MacGyver of “hack that dress”. Many a model/clients clothing has been held together with pegs and bulldog clips.   I knew I didn’t have the funds to purchase or even hire a beautiful ornate gown so I pieced together a “gown” with a faux bustle, corset, fabric pieces, lace and hot glue.  I had previously made a very large (read extra large..huge…massive) hoop skirt for a previous shoot (see it here) so I modified the idea and made a smaller one with a slightly different shape.

Let them eat Cake

Who is Marie without cake… she not only has one very special cupcake kept in a gilded cage in her hair, but a dozen or so to make a mess with…anyone up for a cake smash.  I am glad these cakes were destined to be “smashed” because they certainly weren’t the prettiest coming out of the oven..(note to self…do not overfill cupcake containers with a generic cake mix – they do not rise and create muffin tops, they just flow like molten lava down the outside of my pretty wrappers).  Lots of sugared icing disguised the volcanic erupted cupcakes and made everything just a little fancy. 

All the pieces are ready for the shoot, come visit next week for the behind the scenes video, have a laugh at the outtakes and watch us get messy with a cake smash.  Until then, lovelies

As I stood up the top (while the kids and hubby were trying to slide down the dunes) I got a rush of excitement, with visions of a beautiful girl wearing a hoop skirt who was stuck in time.  My friend who is also a photographer and has been the victim of more than one of my experimental shoots, just looked at me and said "crap, you want to shoot here"  (well she was a little more explicit). 

Creating the Dress

After searching pinterest for instructions on how to make a hoop skirt, I decided on using irrigation pipe, it was readily available, would be light to wear and could be pulled apart for storage.  Once the hoops were in made I sewed tubes of calico to cover them and used a soft cotton rope for the waist so it would be adjustable.  For the fabric of the skirt I coffee dyed muslin for the lining and an old curtain for the top layer.  It didn't look aged enough though, not for a girl who had been wondering through the desert lost in time.  My Model suggested using incense sticks to burn holes in the fabric, which was perfect.  

The corset was a plain white one which I had found in an op shop, once it had been dyed in coffee, I added extra details with lace, pearls and made some fabric rosettes.

Day of the Shoot

A little over a month from when I had first seen the location we were ready to shoot, My model Alex and I traveled the 3hrs to the East Coast to bring reality to the image in my head. Photographing on location presents its own unique challenges,  although the day had perfect, blue sky and sunshine...the wind was a killer.  Sand Sand and more Sand blowing everywhere, trying to keep a large hoop skirt, metres of fabric and a hairstyle in place was almost impossible.  Rather than postponing, as Tassie weather can be really unpredictable, we rolled with it...a can of hairspray later and making the most of the wind for movement in the image we were able to create some fantastic imagery.

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I wanted a design that was fairly basic, as I hadn't attempted to create anything like this before.  I think now if I was to remake this or enhance it, I would make it more elaborate.

Items needed:

• sturdy but flexible wire ( I found some in the jewelry making section in spotlight)

• 28 gauge bead wire

• pearls

• spray adhesive

• epsom salts

The method is really simply.  Create a circle to fit ones head with the thicker wire, also cut various lengths to create the uprights. ( I made mine with the tallest in the centre and getting shorter towards the outsides).  Wrap all these wires with the beading wire, (be patient it takes awhile) to attach the uprights I just made an L shape on the bottom and then joined it to the ring by twisting the bead wire around both sections.  Using the bead wire I just twisted random sections between the uprights adding pearls as I went.  To get the frosty look, tip some epsom salts into a container large enough to hold the crown, spray your crown with adhesive and dip into the salt.  Do this a few times to build up the layers.

After shooting this trial of the concept, I am now rethinking the dress.   I think this concept needs something a little more frosty and cold looking.   Hmm maybe something with icicles????

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Last week the tv presented itself with a vertical coloured stripe down the left hand side of the picture,  then last night it developed two more stripes a call to the repair center some switching off and on of the television and I was advised that panel is probably on its way out, which is apparently quite common.  This on a television that is less than 18 months old, and of course manufactures warranty is only 12 months,... and then this really annoyed me.... that manufacturers were only willing  to guarantee their products reliability for such a short time...That pride in quality and workmanship is no longer relevant.  Because really they dont want us to keep these items they want us to update when the latest model arrives (think of how many people upgrade their phones when the latest and greatest model gets released) , so my opinion (and I am sure many others) is that they dont build them to last anymore..well really what would be the point, welcome to the age of consumerism, its often cheaper to buy a new printer full of ink than to buy replacement cartridges.  But I digress, so after the tv's prognosis  I figured the weekend would be spent purchasing a new tv and then the thought hit me that the $1500-$2000 price tag for a somewhat decent set really doesnt equate to the throw away, upgrade me quickly, only under warranty for 12 months, build of the appliance.  Yet people quite commonly outlay that type of money and more every couple of years to update their tvs , computers or gaming stations etc and generally dont even think twice about the price. 

This then led me to thinking about the items that I price shop for and those I dont.  I admit, for most things, I am a bargain shopper.  The things I perceive to not be of any personal value to me  or something that I know will only last a season,  I price hunt for.  But for the big ticket items, the stuff I know I will want to hold on to, to pass down and to last the distance, my mantra is ......you get what you pay for. For those into fashion think Louboutin and Versace vs Kmart and Target. The save up for and  keep and treasure for a lifetime vs the cheap, it will do for now, I dont care if it isnt great quality it will get donated next cupboard cleanout.  Which then in turn led me to this, why, when it comes to professional photography, your preservation of precious moments in time, images that will last past your lifetime, your heirlooms, why do most consumers base the choice of their photographer purely on price and not on quality, workmanship or the beautiful empowering experience to be had?   Why is the first question always, how much do you charge?   It baffles me as to why anyone would want to bargain basement haggle a price for a never to be repeated moment in time. I find it very sad that quite a large part of todays society place a higher value on throw away consumables, than on a tangible experience, that can be appreciated for generations.  

So how do you put a value on something priceless?  I guess everyone will have a different perception of what "priceless" is, so I cant answer that for you, but I can offer you some advice for the next time you are searching for a photographer.  Dont head straight for the pricing section of their website, first take a look at their previous work, can you see quality in the images, (no funny skin colours or branches sticking out of heads, awkward posing) do you resonate with the style of photography they offer, is this an experience you want to have? Check out more than one photographer, compare their styles, does one appeal to you more than the other?  Then talk to to the photographer, ask them questions, let them describe your shoot for you, see if you click with them.  Make an informed decision, if price is a deciding factor in your choice then consider it last.....remember the experience will be your memory for a lifetime and the photographs will last generations.....how much is that worth to you? 

What is that saying "nothing makes you more productive than the last minute"

Part 3 of a series which follows a persons arrival, watching their internal struggle with the want to blend and conform, versus their innate need to be able to express their own individuality, in an environment that is new and unknown.

wallflower from Ingrid Karm on Vimeo.

Part 3 of a series which follows a persons arrival, watching their internal struggle with the want to blend and conform, versus their innate need to be able to express their own individuality, in an environment that is new and unknown.

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here

continuation of series exploring our basic want to fit into a new environment. More details can be read about on my blog www.karmphotography.blogspot.com.au

BTS concept alien part 2 from Ingrid Karm on Vimeo.

continuation of series exploring our basic want to fit into a new environment. More details can be read about on my blog www.karmphotography.blogspot.com.au

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I needed my favourite model to come visit me to start this series, so when Alex arrived we brainstormed some mood boards wrangled Katherine into doing hair and make up and then proceeded to make an alien styled shoot.

We shot a behind the scenes video on my phone so although not the best quality you can see some of the laughs that happened on the day. Note to self, try to find a white face paint that is easy to use. In all there were three shoots that weekend and I will show the other two as they are edited.

Inspired by a silver pair of pants. Start of a series which explores our basic need to feel accepted for who we are

Concept shoot - alien from Ingrid Karm on Vimeo.

Inspired by a silver pair of pants. Start of a series which explores our basic need to feel accepted for who we are

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These are the original attempts, you can see they each got progressively better, but with only 10 frames per pack (and its not cheap) I stopped at 3, will investigate a little further in "how to shoot an instant camera" a little more I think.

my version of what I was hoping for