I’m definitely not an early bird, so the 6am alarm call was a shock, but at least there had been no great disasters in the run up to the day! Everyone was still available for the shoot, including the venue, photographer, hair stylist, and my very good friend who was coming along to assist me!
Early September weather can be incredibly changeable, but luckily rain wasn’t forecast until the afternoon. We had a beautiful venue, and if you’ve never been there then you should at least go for Afternoon Tea. Welbeck Manor Hotel in Sparkwell has recently been refurbished, and is now an elegant boutique hotel. It had the most perfect backdrop of the South Hams countryside for a photoshoot. The location really was stunning, and the hospitality we all received on the day was second to none!
I managed to rope in horsey friends to be my models for the day, so to see us all in regular clothes was quite a shock. Most of the time we’re up at the yard in breeches, no makeup, unwashed hair, and probably smelling of horse wee!! Did I have my work cut out? Absolutely not! Each model started with a LimeLife by Alcone cleanse and moisturise to prep their skin before starting on the makeup. The skincare range is vegan, cruelty free, plant-based, and free from harmful chemicals, and each model had skincare tailored to their skin’s needs. You need to have a good base with which to start. As the saying goes, ‘taking care of your skin is more important than covering it up’.
I had planned the colour palettes before the day, and I have to say the choices were perfect! Everyone looked simply stunning! All the makeup used was from the LimeLife by Alcone range, which is all pro-grade. It’s used throughout the professional industry, and contains 50% pigmentations, so a little goes a very long way, and the colours are really rich. There’s also a huge choice of colours! If I remember correctly, there’s something like 55 different shades of lip colour? Talk about making your lip colour choice hard!
I can’t begin to describe how the day went as it was all such a blur! If you’ve ever gotten married, people will say to you beforehand the day goes so quickly, and you won’t remember half of it, and it’s true! This day was exactly the same! The time just flew by, and I have no idea how we got it all done in just 4 hours? Pl7 Studios were just brilliant, and thoroughly professional. I had no idea who was where, and doing what, but they had it all under control!
Doing a photoshoot was an experience, but a good one I think? You have to plan the day thoroughly, and stick to it mostly. I really felt the pressure, but I had the most wonderful support from my friends! Would I do it again? Absolutely!!