So when I first decided to dip my toes in that vast pool of moving stills (you see, ever the photographer first), I followed a road laid by some proven photographer-directors who’s style I admire: the Aveillan’s and Darlings of this world. Bruno Aveillan because of the sensual dousing of motion and metaphor in ads for Louis Vuitton and Lanvin. And Jeffery Darling because of his gift for these wandering snapshot montages. Just take a look at the work he’s done for Diners Club.

Back to The Rose. When I started writing it, I told myself just to treat it as an experiment. And now it’s ended up as something I really enjoy. I try to see it as a crossover between the eye-meltingly sensual language of the classic french perfume piece (see ads like Slip Into / Oxygen) mixed with a Parisian charm and mystery you find in french films like Amélie.

I hope you enjoy it. The Rose:

I wanted to shoot both video and stills of this story so the idea could also extend into print or an editorial. Here are the stills:

Credits:

Director & DOP/Photographer: Andrew Brauteseth
With Ansellia Adams as ‘Anna’ ( @Ansellia from Outlaws Cape Town)
Styling by Catherine Bowen ( @catherinebowen )
Make-up Natalie Roos ( @NatalieRoos )
Assisted by Shaun Bond ( @shaunfrancbond ) and Eeden La Grange ( @eeden_lg )
Voice of Xavier Dewarimez
Music by Yann Tiersen
Equipment supplied by Photohire Cape Town (incredible new Briese Lights)

In each of my fashion shoots I aim to do something very new and dramatic whether it’s shooting underwater (take a look at the Beauty & Water shoot) or something very edgy and fashion forward like ‘Man Made Moon’. For this shoot I wanted it to be bold but almost more commercial, which means shooting in a style that could actually resemble a final ad campaign for one of brands. I chose a story that explored the relationship between architecture and the structure and design of men’s formal wear. I was playing with ideas around a famous Coco Chanel quote, “Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.” My aim was to interpret these ideas visually through uses of dramatic lighting, hard shadows, strong lines, perspectives and silhouettes while always keeping the focus on the quality and tailoring of the garments themselves.

Some of the brands we shot included Fabiani, Daniele Alessandrini (available at Speagetti Mafia), Paul Smith, Viyella, Tiger of Sweden (available at Melrose Arch), Louis Vuitton (which we flew in from Paris as few days before the shoot), Hugo Hugo Boss, Boss Hugo Boss, Trenery, C2 and Burberry (also flown in from London).

Credits:

Stylist: Roger Mann
Styling Assist: Dale Robinson
Follow Wanted Magazine Editor Gary Cotterell on twitter: @want_ed

Choices... choices...

Other cool stuff made by the Scandinavians... furniture by Swedish creative agency Acne

Norwegian architects Reiulf D Ramstad and Anders Tjønneland built this this pretty cool summerhouse in Hvaler Islands, Norway

So, this is my first shaper. A Beauty Dish, or to be more technical, a White Softlight Reflector. Small, simple and versatile. Perfect for shooting indoor in small spaces and then again outdoors in that howling south easter Cape Town is famous for. It’s a classic beauty light, great for portraits, giving these deep soft shadows. I’ve shot some of my favourite work with just this one lighting tool.

My first piece of lighting equipment, the Profoto Beauty Dish. Also made by those clever Scandi's

Make-up: Candice Lundall

6 weeks later it arrived. A brown envelope of stacked prints back to back. Eight 3x4s, Four 6x4s, Two 8x10s. I think mom got the family discount package. You had to cut them out one by one. And there it hung in golden framed innocence, my Portrait on the Wall. Of course I was the youngest, so I was under Janine and Clare and next to Bronwen. My three older sisters. There we hung staring over the family for an unchanging 10 years. From time to time, re-aligned. But there we were. On the wall. The photographed four.

At the moment all I have in my studio is a CD player. 3 chairs. 2 foam boards. A notebook crammed with sketch-ups. A backdrop. A tin of paint. A pile of Z cards. A whole lot of Beer. No bar fridge just yet. It’s a big risk. A new chapter in my career. Sometimes in life it feels harder not to take big leaps, but to consistently take all the little ones.

My new Studio is in Green Market Square, 2nd floor Namaqua House. Hopefully you’ll come and visit me.

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?