Christmas Week

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm super excited for Christmas now that it's Christmas week, and I hope you are too. I was able to get all of my Christmas shopping out of the way early so I could avoid the carnage of the shops and the anxiety of whether or not my online orders will arrive in time and just enjoy the last few days before Christmas.

I'm hoping to get another quick blog post out on Christmas Eve for you (a nice little silly one that I hope will bring a smile to your face!) but incase I don't get time between the last bits of wrapping I have to do and visiting family and friends, I would like to take the chance to wish you a very Merry Christmas <3

This blog post consists of images from the two other sets we did on the Christmas group shoot. First there is a lovely cosy set in PJs in front of the fire, and then lots of wonderful fairy lights shots (I struggled to choose just a few so there's a bit of fairy light spam ahead, and I'm not sorry for it as the images came out beautifully and it would be a shame not to share them with you).

These are taken by Dave Edkins on a Nikon D850 and edited by me.  You can find more of Dave's work in any of the following online spaces: Instagram, Threads, PurplePort and E-photozine.

Anyway, let's take a look at some images.

PJs: Chair by the Fire

I love the soft and coziness of this set at Christmas. Christmas PJs by the tree, in front of the fire. It just worked so well. It reminds me of sitting around Christmas morning opening presents in a growing sea of wrapping paper.

These two images in particular have a more candid feel to them, and I think that's why I like them so much. Dave has a way of capturing a more natural version of me that I just love. On this set, Pixie was running around me like a maniac so it's nice to see that we got some images I can actually use.

PJs: Colour Vs Black and White

What would a Misuzu Monday blog post be without a colour vs black and white comparison. This set worked so well because of the festive colours in the background, but I do think that it works as a monochrome image too without losing any of the Christmas warmth from the image.

PJs: Lights

When we were shooting this set, Dave handed me the fairy lights so we got some shots of this set with the fairy lights before we moved on to the art nude set at the end. It worked really well with the lights for these close in shots. They're just pretty and magical.

Lights: Triangles

The classic triangle implied nude pose works well when you're tangled in fairy lights. It accentuates the lines and as I said in my post last week, the lights add a wonderful festive twist to these classic shots.

Lights: Square Crop

Here are a couple more of these shots that I edited with a square crop. I generally tend to favour a square crop for these kinds of implied nude/triangle images, but the previous ones looked good with a bit of a wider frame as my arms were making a slightly wider shape. For these two, I chose a square crop as the pose was more compact.

Lights: Monochrome

When I was editing these images, I wanted to see if black and white would work without losing the warmth from the lights. Although I think these shots aren't as warm in monochrome, they still look very striking. I love looking at these three images together: the lightness of the first one, contrasts to the darkness of the second one (where I am disappearing into the background more) and how pretty the lights look in the last one where you get the reflection of the lights on the floor too.

Lights: Close Up Vs Wide Shot

All of the shots from this set have been quite similar just with slight variations in the posing, and the main differences have been with the editing choices. These next two images show a close up shot compared to a wider shot. The tighter crop on the first one feels a lot more feminine and dreamy. The wider crop of the second one to include the studio lights is something I quite like in images.

A lot of people may disagree, but I think that although for this shoot there were four photographers present, my daughter and the studio owner Amy, there is still an air of solitude in the image due to the blackness of the set around the studio lighting and where I'm sat. I think that's quite an interesting feeling to be able to convey in a crowded room.

Lights: Slight Desaturation

The last thing I was playing around with when editing these images, was desaturating one slightly. I've given you the original edit to compare it to. I love the warmth of these shots, but I wanted to see how much of that came from the saturation. I don't think it looks as warm and cosy without the orange glow of the lights, but it still works with a colder feel to it.

Lights: Feminine

The final shot from this set that I would like to share with you is this one. I often say that my work focusses on femininity, grace and beauty but there's just something about this one that sums up that idea perfectly. I genuinely can't put my finger on why, but I really love it and I hope you do too.

Outtake

Of course, here is the obligatory outtake. On this set, Pixie was running around me and getting in on a few shots here and there, so it was inevitable there would be a silly shot in there somewhere of me trying to be Misuzu and Mama at the same time!

Merry Christmas Everyone <3

Misuzu x