There’s much to say about mystery and the beauty of stories that leave space for interpretation. Whether we understand it or not, art often demands to be felt and when we do so, we our adding a piece of ourselves to what we believe the artwork to mean. This connection created by mystery allows the work of art in question to become universal. Questions like these help inspire me to push the boundaries of my work and create concepts that I haven’t worked with before. An example of this is the work titled “Mysterious Lady” which was a different approach to my ongoing Botanical Beauty project. With an idea in mind and a desire to create unique photographs, everything is possible!

For this project I was inspired by the glamour and elegance of the famous J’adore perfume bottle. The thought occurred to me that the design could be obtained and re-imagined with styling and fashion. I had previously worked with model Tabitha who has gorgeous red hair that closely resembles the color palette used to showcase the perfume as the fragrance is of a golden hue. I spoke to her about the project and began the planning process for the photo shoot. Florist and designer, Iryna Shulzhenko, designed and created a floral chest and neck piece that closely resembled the shape and “neck” of the perfume bottle. Yellow and orange flowers were used to once again highlight the golden tone of the perfume. Tabitha’s hair was then styled in a big bun to represent the bottle “cap” and her makeup was done in a fashion that brought all the other elements together. The process and planning for this project took a lot of hard work and designing but the concept was brought to life in a rather beautiful way.

Photographing this project was technical as the design needed to be captured in a way that represented the perfume. I posed the model to look straight at the camera with a strong yet casual expression to portray elegance without too much emotion. This added a touch of character without deviating from the portrayal of the product. I made sure to frame the shot to benefit the perfume shape. Though I don’t expect the correlation between the images and the famous fragrance to be made consciously, I believe those who see the images will notice a sense of familiarity even if they can’t quite place where it’s coming from. Inspiration comes from many places, and this concept was a touch of designing and working with photography using an uncommon approach. Find new ways to portray your work and create your own mystery.

floral portrait photography master course

Photographer: Yuliya Panchenko

Studio: Yuliya Panchenko Photography

Florist: Iryna Schulzhenko

Model/client: Tabitha Hayden

Makeup artist/ Hair stylist: Val Mancini

Filmmaker: Eliar Tabrizy @ Captive Emotions

Floral Portrait Photo Shoot | Mysterious Lady