Credits:
Model: Ansellia Adams from Outlaws Cape Town
Styling: by Catherine Bowen
Make-up: Natalie Roos
Assisted by Shaun Bond and Eeden La Grange
Equipment supplied by Photohire Cape Town (incredible new Briese Lights and Redrock Rig)

I normally would not categorize a model under ‘inspiration’. But I guess beauty and inspiration are close allies.

Model: Amanda Ferree
Photographs: Navis and Elias Tahan

Credits:
Model – Anthea from 20management Model Agency
Make-up by Charmaine Tomasello – Gloss Artist Management
Styling by Andie Morris – Gloss Artist Management
Assisted by Renier Botha

But I do stare. Not because I’m mesmerized, but because I’m trying to work out what they would look like with different make-up and completely different lighting and styling. I’m trying to imagine how they would look through a 24-70mm f2.8 lens with a 5-foot Profoto Octobox camera right with double diffusion. And not just models, I often find myself analyzing people’s faces when I see them on the street, driving in cars, buying a movie ticket. I try to be subtle about it, but often people catch my eye. It’s amazing how your notion of beauty changes when you really start analyzing the structure of a face, and also once you understand what you can do with a face in a shoot.

Studies have revealed that a strong indicator of physical beauty is actually averageness. A hundred years ago, a scientist cousin of Charles Darwin first noticed this when creating photographic composites of faces. He found that while a single face could be ordinary looking, if you overlay more faces, the composite of the faces together becomes distinctly more attractive. In fact, as more faces are overlaid, the composite face becomes closer and closer to the “ideal” image of beauty. The image at the top of the page shows an example. Starting with an ordinary face, the composite is transformed into a ideally beautiful face as more faces are added. The face becomes a beautiful average.

So I guess this means that it’s a compliment if somebody tells you that you’re really average-looking?

Interesting also how they put Lady Dior on twitter, www.ladydiortwitter.com Our twittering Lady writes: “Rouge symbolises anger, Rouge symbolises courage, Rouge symbolises passion. Rouge is universal: red, 赤, rot, красный, rosso, אדום,…” . Sounds like she’s got a lot on her mind. But, this is what happens when you give a blackberry to a model.

(excuse the electro soundtrack, maybe just play some portishead and watch it on mute! )