Checklists

katti borre fine art portrait

Do you also have (long) to do lists? I do, I always have, but now, thanks to this pandemic I am able to cross one after the other out. Here is another one!

Historical self portrait : check!

This has been on my list for many many years; it seems like a piece of cake but it definitely isn’t !

The first question is : What era do I like, with what can I identify myself? This was a search -in my mind- that has been going on for months. I am definitely not a medeaval person, nor an Ancien Regime one, I might be industrial revolution but ended up choosing the Edwardian era, the last 20 years of the 19th Century. Once this is decided I spend hours browsing the internet in search of the right hair-do and the type or outfit that goes with it, and off to a rental costume shop to see if they have what I need.

Having put all that together I finally ended up in my studio, and the real work can begin, starting with getting dressed and having my hair done.

How do you make a self portrait, you wonder? Easy! I get a little help from Fanny. She is a cast away hair doll -the kind that is used for hairdresser students to practice on- who I have put on a tripod. I put her right where I will be, and use her to focus the camera right onto her (later my) eyes. I put the camera in timer-mode on the tripod and set the lights right and test until I got what I want, and the actual shoot can start!

katti borre fine art portrait
Me and fanny, the focus doll

But then the work isn’t finished. As it is supposed to be a fine art portrait -beauty for its beauty, not reality- I process it meticulously on my computer. For once my wrinkles are smoothed out. Who needs botox if you are a photographer? Isn’t that fun?

Do you also want your fine art/historical portrait taken? Contact me for details!!
Outfit by Avothea
Hair by Renée Sanctorum (follow her on Instagram)

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