Rowena Jayne

Portraits

Chotto Ookii Theatre Co.

 

Some eons ago a mate asked me if I could take some promo shots for his theatre company. We took a couple of sets, one in the theatre and one in their homemade studio. The homemade studio was about as scrappy as mine—an un-ironed white bed sheet on the wall, all the lamps we could find in the house, and probably (definitely) a few bottles of wine.

Slideshow: Homemade studio set

The show was about a man who falls in love but is hounded by his inner, wizened, bitter old drunk. I was newly learning Photoshop at the time, so naturally I tried to realise that by merging the shots. I spent a lot of time trying to make the skin look right.

Slideshow: Theatre set

The actual set was a million times better than a dank bed sheet. Even though I only have small jpegs (the notion of shooting in RAW wasn't even a consideration back then) I still absolutely love the main image. Reaching towards an untouchable goal, held back only by himself.

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Red lips: Who wears it best
Red lips: Who wears it best

I love red lipstick. I wanted to see how each one looked. So I took a bunch of photos.

My criteria:

  • Quality of the colour

  • Matte appearance

  • Stain last and resistance

From none to done | A little journey in makeup
From none to done | A little journey in makeup

I love makeup. I’ve always loved it. From the second I was allowed to put on a bit of ‘80s lavender eyeshadow, I slathered to excess. So, here’s a little journey I’ve called “From none to done”. Because rhyming.

A Canal Walk And Lights
A Canal Walk And Lights

Somewhere near the up-and-coming outskirts there's a huge old fort structure and apparently it lights it up all pretty on a night. We posed for no reason at all.

Twinsies
Twinsies

At some point, I'll set up a shoot with purpose. For now, it's all about the learning experience. My mate Matt (and often partner-in-weirdness, back in the UK) had just bought some light boxes, so we were looking for an excuse to play around. And so, we created "twinsies".

Red Dress On The Lakes
Red Dress On The Lakes

Now, I'm no model — that's clear from the look on my face and the awkwardness of my limbs. But, with even the slightest help from Lightroom, the red, grey, and green of these Lakes portraits really make the set look almost professional. Almost.

Vintage Aimee Portraits
Vintage Aimee Portraits

As soon as I shared the portraits I took for my friend Laura, I had other friends interested in having a session. Aimee was next up for a portrait set. 

Vintage Laura Portraits
Vintage Laura Portraits

In some ways, I'd guised this photo shoot as about creating promo shots for the jewellery I was making. (I had the idea that I might one day set up an online shop to sell my wares.) I think, really, it was about getting to grips with shooting someone other than myself.

Flash Freeze Portraits
Flash Freeze Portraits

If I'm to believe the chick flicks, most people eat ice cream and wear pyjamas after a big breakup. I had my friend move in and we played with flash photography, in an alleyway, at 2am. We took inspiration from a photo he'd discovered on Flickr and tried to play around with the technique.

What Do You Do In The Bath?
What Do You Do In The Bath?

By the time I shot these pictures, I was really getting into exploring portrait photography. If there's any story to these at all, it's that I needed to be creative — trying out portraits in water seemed like something new.

Self Portraits Take Two
Self Portraits Take Two

Whereas my first delve into self portraits was thinly guised as attempts to photography jewellery I'd been making, this set was purely for fun. Well, I guess I'm wearing a pair of earrings that I made, but... it's not like you can even see them. (Except maybe in that B&W shot.) This is my second set of self portraits – at least the composition is a little better.

PhotographyRowena Harris