I have an old friend. Ivy Paige is her name. She’s made a name for herself as a Burlesque performer. She has performed all over the place, recently completing a successful stint at the Edinburgh Festival. She’s sassy, fun, loud and most entertaining. Here is a shot I did of her a while ago on a location shoot…
Well I am the first to admit that I’m not too strong on Burlesque kinds of shoots. It’s not something I have actively pursued. Why? I can’t quite place my finger on it. I think it’s because it’s soo ‘glam’. Not glamour – that’s a whole different kettle of fish! But it’s loud, bright, bold and something that’s not really my style. I don’t not like it. I just can’t explain what it is.
So when Ivy wanted to do another shoot with her, I said the following:
Me: I want to do more about symmetry, more stark, no burlesque at all.
Ivy: Sure! Sounds great!
Me: Oh, and I want your hair to be as straight as possible.
Ivy: Erm… okay, I can do that.
I’ve never seen Ivy with straight hair, and it was part of my plan to do a shoot so far removed to what she has done before, that it would essentially be like a whole different person in the photos. Gone are the stylish strong reds of her hair (for the most part – never say never to the occasional colour photo!). In was the more smokey eye make-up and no fancy outfits at all. I wanted basics.
And that’s exactly what we got. It was astounding. We looked at photos and thought ‘that doesn’t look like you at all!’. It was that astonishing! Ivy later thanked me for pushing her to achieve something new. She doesn’t need to thank me, I should be thanking her for being willing to try it!
Ivy Paige’s website can be found here – http://www.ivypaige.com/ and her modelling portfolio can be found here – http://purpleport.com/portfolio/ivypaige/