After spending the week prior running around the city trying to find the perfect wardrobe and booking hair & makeup, photographer, and studio & childcare all for the same day, I was finally feeling ready for the big photoshoot. I HATE having my picture taken, but my friend and amazing photographer Naomi Finlay makes it as painless as possible. She’s a pro, and dealt with all of the logistics so I just needed to show up.
Before Hair & Makeup!
At around 8 in the morning on shoot day, I got a text from Naomi saying she had been up all night with either the flu or food poisoning, but she was on her way to the studio with her assistant – and photographer in his own right – Stefano Barbara. When I have food poisoning, I’m usually not going to work the next day, so the last thing I wanted was for Naomi to have to come, but she is way tougher than me. I arrived and she was sitting on a chair on the side of the room, completely white in the face and leaning forward with her head down. It didn’t look good! My best friend and retoucher Martha Snyder came along to help, and between her and Stefano, they set up with Naomi giving pained yet detailed instructions.
Onna Chan, the transformation lady
Both Naomi and Martha insisted on me getting professional hair & makeup done for the shoot and I now realize why. First of all, I would never in a million years have put that much makeup on my face and also, my hair looked like Farrah Fawcett in Charlie’s Angels, so there’s that. Onna Chan was an absolute artist and not only made me look stunning, but was there primping and fixing between photos throughout the day.
Our goal was to get a cover for the new album and also some promo shots to use for singles and for press. For the album I wanted the feeling of strength but also erosion, as this album is all about how life erodes us but how we can persevere. At the very end, Naomi pulled out the big guns with an idea she had had to do a double exposure, which would get two of me in the photo. A strong me in the foreground and then a ghost me in the background. The result of this experiment was breathtaking and I said “That’s it, that’s the cover!”
I am sharing a few of the shots from the day here, but you will have to wait for the big reveal to see the album cover.
The first of 7 outfits
