'The Death Dream' Production

I look back on my test shoot and the images are almost laughable! I really had very little preparation for that shoot and not a very understanding team to work with. But for this final shoot the photographer (Sarah) had many ideas she wished to contribute in terms of lighting. I also took on board a stylist. I told her exactly the styling I wanted but she completely exceeded every expectation and brought an entire wardrobe of fragile lace garments and fabrics.

Initially we tried to get Kira to move around in a dance motion to create the idea of the flowing material. This made the images really inconsistent and it just wasn’t working. So I showed the photographer the below images from Dark Beauty Magazine and suggested we lie the model down and place the material over her. With the white background and white fabric it created the illusion that she was jumping or falling, which was exactly the look I was after. Instantly the images had a really surreal and ethereal aesthetic.

The filming was also very straightforward and the wind machine helped to create the wind motion of the dying scene of the dream. This dream is definitely a perfect representation of the motion I went through during this rare and unusual experience. I am extremely pleased with the outcome, and I have to say it is definitely up there with one of my favourite ever concepts.