I had seen some stunning underwater fashion and beauty shots and wanted to have a go at this myself. A while ago I contacted the most successful Hair & Makeup artist I knew of in Singapore, Andrea Claire asking if she’d be interested to collaborate on some underwater ideas, and luckily for me she agreed. Andrea had also noticed the increase in popularity in underwater shots for fashion, beauty and commercial and saw it as a great opportunity to get involved, get some stunning portfolio shots, expand skills and try out some waterproof makeup products to see if they stood up to their claims.
We talked about some ideas and were on the same page and so we moved forward with our shoot. I did a lot of research, which I always like to do if it’s something new or a bit out of my comfort zone. I came up with the concept of someone getting ready for a night out, which would be a good fit for showcasing different outfits and make up looks. I started sourcing props such as an acrylic mirror as it would be too risky bringing glass into the pool and pulling together some different outfits.
Andrea found a model who was willing to participate, Grace Bain from Mannequin models. She had a very striking look and I was so excited to see how this would go.
I secured the pool location for a morning shoot and luckily we were blessed with good weather.
Grace turned out to be an absolute natural underwater and I barely needed to direct her as she instinctively new how to pose and move her head to create movement in her hair as well as look stunning at the same time. It can get quite tiring after a few hours of working in the pool, holding your breath and posing but Grace was a true professional and didn’t complain once. I was thrilled how the photos turned out.
Natural look
All about the lips
Those eyes, that hair:
Who needs hair styling when the water does it for you! A few flicks of the head and you’ve got instant volume and wave. Red hair looks amazing underwater. Grace’s hair looks more blonde on land but the orange tones really came up underwater and in post production.
Before and After:
Good editing is essential for underwater photos, to take out the blue tones and get accurate skin tones. I use a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop.
CreativeNESS 