I have been wanting to have professional photos taken for agessssss!!!
The problems were :
1. What photographer do I approach?
2. Do I do my own hair or go to a hairdresser before the shoot?
3. Do I do my own makeup or go to a makeup artist before the shoot?
4. What do I wear?
5. Do I have photos taken inside a studio, inside my house or outside at a specific location?
6. How do I pose?
All these questions swirled through my mind and as a result I never did anything and just relied on an old photo that I thought I looked kind of good in.
Well that was until I was scrolling through Facebook one night and came across Best Face Forward – Headshots Collaboration Project. Here was the answer to all my questions : Makeup, hair, clothes styling, location and a photographer – not just one photographer but four! Two dates were listed – 10 (Umhlanga) and 11 October (Kloof). It was a perfect opportunity for me to buy a ticket and get my photos taken but the only problem was that I was scheduled to attend an event in Umhlanga on the 11th. So I did a lot of debating and in the meantime I entered their competition to win a ticket to attend either the Umhlanga or the Kloof Best Face Forward. I was thrilled when I was notified that I was the winner of the ticket and all my debating was over.
Requirements :
1. A variety of tops and jewellery
2. Clean moisturised face
3. Clean and dry hair
Location : Makaranga Garden Lodge in Kloof
My two hour session began at 12pm and I went to have my hair styled first. Nicki from Integrity Hair gave me some lovely soft curls. I went back twice more before having more photos to have my hair curled again as it was a very hot KZN afternoon. I just loved what she did as my hair looked fantastic in the photos.
Next up was the very important makeup which was done by Petra of Allura Beauty Boutique. The makeup was expertly applied and I looked like me. That can be a worry sometimes when you have someone do your makeup for you. Worry that you are going to look in the mirror and see a stranger or hate what has been done. That was not the case with my makeup application.
After makeup Lynne from Dress chose the four tops that she felt were the best to wear for the different shoot locations at Makaranga. She then had great fun looking through my jewellery collection and choosing necklaces to go with the tops. I also used some jewellery from Off the Wall Quirky and a beautiful beaded headband was borrowed from Magpie Calls.
The four photographers at Kloof were : Sandra Keddie Photography, RavenFire Photography, Lara Baker Photography and Janine Z Photography.
How did Best Face Forward come about?
“In February 2018, Bianca had an idea in the shower. Don’t all good ideas come to us when we can’t take notes? She was needing new photos for her growing business, but the business was also new, and so she needed affordable photos. What if we created a project where everyone involved would trade share their skills and everyone got new photos. Her first thought was doubt, but she bit the bullet and sent out a cold email to a bunch of people…
AND…. the response was positive. Lots of questions were asked, and more than a few people said they had had similar ideas and squashed them!
Life got busy and Bianca was unable to focus on it, but in July (after being mistaken for someone else because her photos were so outdated on her website) she realised she needed to revive the idea. So she sent out another email, posted on some groups on Facebook and the idea turned into a fully fledged collaboration project, and a paid event for attendees.
Their First event happened with 11 vendors – 4 photographers, 2 make up artists, a hairstylist, an image consultant, a laser design artist, the venue and Bianca running the show. 14 ladies attended and it was without a doubt a fantastic event. Everyone involved had an exhausting, but fun time. So before the event was even over, they were already talking about the next one.
This collaboration project is such a huge success and everyone involved is looking forward to many more events.
There is a Best Face Forward for Summer event planned for November 2018.
They hope to take the event on tour around South Africa in 2019 with Jo’burg planned for February and Cape Town in April.” Bianca Johnson of WAHM Workspace Durban – Empowering Women to Work Better
Here are some of the AMAZING photos. I love them! How do I choose between them?!
So if you are desperate for new professional photos (like I was) then I highly suggest that you buy a ticket for the next Best Face Forward – Headshots Collaboration event which is happening in November. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT
Follow the Facebook page and take a look at the Website.