Category Archives: Portraiture Tips

Private Portrait Shoot – A Mediterranean Beauty and Her Cool Kids

Paris, April 9, 2013

I had the pleasure of photographing the heavenly Julie in Sydney this summer and there is nothing more I love than hanging out with great women, hearing their stories and creating beautiful photos together.

Julie is beautiful inside and out and what a treat to find another amazing woman and have the honour of photographing her.

We started off in these first images with a light eye and the accent on her beautiful mouth…

And as the afternoon wore on out came the smoky eye and the va va voom within!

At times when I looked through the lens I could see in Julie classic Mediterranean beauties like Monica Bellucci and Penelope Cruz. The camera and I adored her!

The beautiful Julie is also the talented owner/creator of Juniorbrands and for those that love fashion like Paul Smith and Jean Paul Gaultier, Juniorbrands is all of that and more for the little ones.
Carla Coulson private portrait shoot sydney paris

I also had the honour of photographing the fabulous Solei

And the ever so cool Flynn

If you love Jean Paul Gaultier, Paul Smith and Hugo Boss you are going to lurve Juniorbrands where you will find these labels for your kids, nephews and nieces and grandchildren.

Check out her fabulous site here or on Facebook here.

Eternal hugs and big thank you to Julie for allowing me to share these photos with you.

“There is no definition of beauty, but when you can see someone’s spirit coming through, something unexplainable, that’s beautiful to me.” Liv Tyler

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Portrait Inspiration – Retro LA Style and Lighting Tips

Paris, March 25, 2013

All images of Model Angela Lindvall for Elle by photographer Nicholas Moore

I have always loved a little LA Style it kind of reminds me of Sydney. This shoot recalls as whole lot of things including the fab Julianne Moore in Tom Ford’s film A Single Man. Throw in some beautiful light, a wonderful caftan and I am gonsky. Just missing an up-do!

Lurving the styling and that beautiful hat, oh and put a pool in any photo and Carla’s in love. The model has her back to the sun and is creating her own shade. Wonderful trick to do in full sun.

Most magazine shoots are made up of a variety of shots. Environmental shots where the model is a part of the location but the environment is almost the hero, tighter full length shots of the model, plan Americain as they say in Paris which is a classic crop just below the navel of the model and then tighter portrait shots like this one..

Loving this environment pic. Just missing the gorgeous Colin Firth on the set of Single Man..

Now if you are around my age you will probably remember the ‘Banana Lounge” that beautiful model Angela Lindvall is reclining on. I see a ‘Banana Chair’ and I am a sixteen year old kid in a floral cotton bikini with sun streaks chatting with my best buddy.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS SHOOT:

1. My guess is and I maybe wrong but this shoot was inspired by Tom Ford’s heavenly styled movie A Single Man.

2. I loved these sun flooded images. You really feel like you are on holidays looking at these pics and I love how the photographer hasn’t avoided the sun he has played with it.

3. I use this ‘get out of jail’ technique on bright sunny days. I turn my subjects back to the sun which creates their own shade. You then simply expose for the skin. You will notice the highlights are blown out on the left but the lighter shade part of the pool is also correctly exposed which is a similar exposure to the shade created on the skin.

4. Photo 4 has been taken in direct sunlight but in my opinion not at the hottest part of the day. Probably in the morning or in the afternoon judging from the shadows and the relative softness of the direct light. Always a great time to shoot people in direct light.

5. Love this last pic of the beautiful Angela smiling. This pic has been taken in open shade with a little mixed light probably because is this was taken in direct light as per the previous shot the white would have been bouncing off light and would have had too much flare.

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” Maori Proverb

I hope you enjoy these little tips. If you think they could help someone please feel free to share.

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Portrait Inspiration – Monica Bellucci

Paris, March 11, 2013

All Photos Copyright Signe Vilstrup

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend full of love and light. It’s a little gloomy today in Paris and the weather boys are predicting -5 later in the week (brrr) so I thought we needed a little sunshine in our lives and a little Italian glamour inspiration to kick the week off.

These photos by fab photographer Signe Vilstrup are some of the most beautiful portraits of Monica Bellucci I have seen and being a huge fan of MB I have seen my fair share of pics – these are just exquisite. Love the flashes of gold, black and a red lip.

Love this portraiture angle and the emotion created with the faraway look in her eyes.

Hubby cruised by screen this morning and nearly fainted when he saw this pic. A devoted fan of Monica this pic rocked his world!! ha ha..

An exquisite portrait of a woman in her late 40′s. Love the interference in the front of the shot.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS SHOOT:

1. Location, Location, Location. In the 1st shot Signe Vilstrup has chosen a beautiful rustic location as the backdrop of the glamorous Monica. Wonderful contrasts of elegance with a grungy wall and hints of just gold, black and red.

2. I love so many of the poses in this shoot in particular the 2nd shot where all the textures and beauty meet and the angle that Monica is looking back to us. Wonderful positioning of the body to show off the lace sleeve, divine hair and to create a beautiful, interesting portrait angle.

3. Light! There is exquisite kind light in this shoot and any woman would look her best in this light. In the 3rd shot it looks to me like window light and her skin is illuminated softly and evenly

4. Love the pose and the mood in 4th shot. Muted colours and a red lip. Wow. Oh and one of the hottest cleavages on the planet. Love the interference on the right hand side that creates so much atmosphere.

5. Break out the wind machine and put a piece of bevelled glass in front of your lens and you may just come close to he 5th pic. That is if you have a Monica Bellucci look alike on hand.

I love this shoot, warms my portrait photographers heart and is a wonderful inspiration for middle age woman. Rock on Signe and praise to the lovely Monica.

“I know many beautiful people and their lives are just so terrible. They feel uncomfortable with themselves. Being comfortable is not about what you look like, but how you feel.” Monica Bellucci

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Portrait Shoot – 7 Shots 6 Different Hair Looks

Paris, March 10, 2013

I am blogging to day as super proud Aunty and photographer! Super proud Aunty probably will outdo the photographer today so let me introduce this divine creature, my beautiful niece Isabella.

Many Italian Joy fans will know her as the deliriously happy water baby sliding down the water slide on page 232 and the cute little munchkin with the gap in her teeth off to the pool in Chasing A Dream on page 146 (pic at the end of this blog post).

My nieces and nephews are some of my favourite subjects and as long as I have had a camera in my hand we have donned our togs headed to the beach, pool or Mediterranean to take pics. When I look back through my negatives, I see little sea creatures with their funny goggles and toothless grins, and a long line of brightly coloured pool toys that have witnessed their transformation into fine men and women.

This year we took pics all the same but stayed out of the water and had some grown-up fun. I called my dear friend and make-up artist and had ourselves a little gal time. You can see Eliza my other adorable niece’s retro Hawaiian look here.

We started with barely there make-up and my clever make-up artist friend created these 4 hair changes with a flick of her hair brush, tucking hair behind her ears, adding a little plait, bringing a piece of hair forward and then going for the messy look.

She of the mesmerizing look. Isabella has always had the ability to look right into the camera and I can’t get enough of it.

We couldn’t resist a little dive into the vintage wardrobe for a new look, a stronger lip and a low bun.

And a little Frida Kahlos inspired moment is always a heartbeat away with me and super cute niece chose it on her own.. Be still my beating heart! A high ponystail and bright scarf, another bright lip to accentuate her gorgeous mouth and voila a new look.

Shooting Notes:

1. The first four shots were taken using window light. I had Isabella stand very close to the large windows in my sisters lounge-room and used the light fall off so as not to see details in the background.

2. I asked Isabella to choose some images from hundreds of photos where she liked the hair and make-up and the styling and that’s where we started.

3. The make-up artist created a ‘natural’ make-up in the first four shots that accentuated her natural beauty and has a no-make-up look. If you look hard you can see eye shadow on her eyes and a beautiful rose lip colour.

4. I wanted to create simple portraits that were all about her beauty so in the first four shots I simply moved her in respect to the camera to create different ‘shapes’.

5. In photo 5 we stepped outside and used a covered verandah to achieve this light. I exposed for the left side of her face. You will notice the light quality is totally different to the window light used in the top 4 shots. .

6. I used F2.8 for the first 4 shots on my 24mm-70mm lens. Shot on my Canon 5D Mark II

Isabella full of music Copyright Carla Coulson Chasing A Dream

I love my nieces (and nephews) to pieces.

”Why should I marry? One marries to have children, but I already have children! My nieces and nephews are my children.” Salman Khan

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Paris Portrait Shoot and Make-Over Give-Away

Paris, February 19, 2013

I love making women feel good about themselves… I love fashion and always have and photography for me is more than a job, it’s life itself.

I choose to concentrate on creating portraits of women because I know how it is to be a woman, a crazy mix of fragility, strength with a big dose of love thrown in. I want my photos to reflect the real you with lots of heart.

And I am giving away a portrait shoot and make-over for two with me in Paris so if you have a friend or someone coming to Paris who needs a treat check the details below. Add screams and tap dancing here……….

Last year’s winners see more images from the shoot

Yep, you read correctly.

I have rolled my love of fashion and portraiture together with my love for working with women to create Paris Muse, the ultimate photo shoot in Paris and my give-away will include being photographed on location at the beautiful Hotel Saint James.

It was whilst photographing fashion that I first witnessed the incredible transformation of a woman. A model would arrive, looking just like the girl next door and within hours, with the help of an incredible hair and make-up artist she was transformed into a butterfly.

She would finish on the pages of a magazine with a beauty that seemed impossible. Women believe that these models are ‘extraordinary’ and I have learnt that they are just like us.

Each of us has our own unique beauty. The real women that I have photographed throughout the years with the right light, poses, hair and make-up could grace the pages of a magazine.

So if you have a friend, a sister, a mum or someone you love who you would like to make feel special enter her or yourself in the competition below.

The portrait shoot will be on location at the exquisite Hotel Saint James at a date determined by your travel and redeemable between 12th March and 30th August 2013 and a date not already booked with me for a private portrait shoot.

What does it include? It includes a hair and make-up artist at your service for you and your friend/mother/sister/daughter, it includes a private shoot with me that lasts up to 4 hours in a beautiful room at the Hotel Saint James. And 3 fine art prints @ 20 x 30cm. And a promise from me, that you will look gorgeous!

To Enter the competition:

Like me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/carlalovesphotography and re-share the post.. You can use the heart at the bottom right hand corner of this post or this link

Share this post on your Blog by using the heart below or this link http://carlacoulson.com/paris-portrait-shoot-and-make-over-give-away/

Retweet this post – You can use the heart icon below don’t forget to add @carlalovesphoto

Re-pin this post or follow me on pinterest , here’s the link portrait shoot give-away

or a shout out on Instagram http://instagram.com/carlalovesphotography

Or leave me a message with your name or the person you would love to win below!

Competition closes Wednesday 27th February 2013 9am Paris Time..

“Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.” Jeffrey Glassberg.

To see more images click here or before and afters click here.

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