MUA for a "Shoot the Replicant" Photoshoot - PRIS from Blade Runner!

Photo courtesy Ricci's Photo Art

Who: Mindy Suga as PRIS from the movie Blade Runner

What: Bay Area Artistic Shoots (Shoot the Replicant)

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Okay, honestly I had no clue who this PRIS character was when George e-mailed and asked if I had ever seen the movie Blade Runner. Needless to say, I looked it up immediately and two things came to mind... 1) PRIS would be an AWESOME character to do makeup for and 2) Wow, Harrison Ford was crazy young!

To help with prepping for the MU for PRIS and this Meetup, I pulled a few screenshots from the internet to use as guides. PRIS was played by Daryl Hannah.

I had worked with Mindy before and was so excited to be able to spend a morning with her again! She's an absolute artist, down to earth and full of great conversation. Time with her is always refreshing and I'm so happy with how all the photos turned out! Good job Mindy!

MAKEUP

Mindy's hair was already teased when I came into George's studio. I was able to get started right away with the PRIS makeup. I went for more of a porcelain facial skin tone using my lightest airbrush foundation to start, then liberally dusting matte white eyeshadow onto Mindy's face until I was satisfied with the coverage.

The eye look was achieved with a metallic blue tacky shadow applied in the general shape around Mindy's eyes. I then used black eyeshadow to finish the "unfinished" look around the eyes. Although the PRIS look in the movie had more muted lips, we decided to bring Mindy's lips out a bit more for photoshoot purposes.

THE SETUP

There's this scene in the movie where Harrison Ford's character comes into a creepy room filled with all these dolls and mannequins. Little does he know that PRIS is actually there, HIDING as one of the mannequins... eeks!!! Of course, I'm sure you can guess what would happen next.

(Doesn't Harrison Ford look so young here?!?)

So George has the fantastic idea of having a similar setup. Once Mindy's makeup was done and she was dressed, she made herself look all mannequin like (extremely still with unblinking eyes) while George then let the photographers come in. Some of them didn't realize Mindy was real!!!

PHOTOGRAPHER GALLERY

As always, I loved the energy and enthusiasm all the photographers had coming into the shoot. It was fun seeing their reactions to Mindy/PRIS :) Here are a few shots I've pulled from their postings.

Photo courtesy Vinny Arrigali

Photos courtesy Vinny Arrigali

Photo courtesy Felicia Hong

Photo courtesy J.J.

That was fun! Plenty more amazing photos here if you would like to see more :)

Bramani the Fire Lady!

Photo courtesy Ricci's Photo Art

Who: Bramani the Fire Lady

What: Promotional Photos Photo Shoot

Where: Santa Clara Studio

Photographer: George Ricci

How could I NOT get excited when George e-mailed and asked if I'd be interested in being the MUA and doing something he described as "Bramani the fire lady wants me to shoot her while she lights herself on fire..." Yes, please! I'd love to!!!

Bramani is AWESOME. She is just a true artist and so motivated to pursue her belly dancing/circus performing/fire eating passions. Whether that be driving back and forth across the Bay Area to lessons, attending training sessions, performing in shows, putting together costumes, or instructing other newbies, this girl does it all. I loved getting to know Bramani! All of this sounds SO crazy, but she's the most down to earth girl anyone could ever meet. She does all of this in addition to her regular 9 to 5 job as a ...okay honestly, I forgot the details to that, but it's really close to something like a top security tech person for the army/city/state. Basically, a super serious line of work I would have never imagined mixing with FIRE EATING. Check out her FB page to see more of what she does!

MAKEUP

Before and After

I knew Bramani would be lighting herself on fire, so I wanted to make sure the makeup I applied would really help her features pop out without going too over the top. The fire really should be the showcase, but I didn't want that to cause her makeup to be dull either. Bramani is used to wearing performers makeup, very theatrical and exaggerated for her shows.We went for enhancing the eye area with bold brows and rimmed eyes all around. We also placed on full, thick lashes and gave a bright lip color.

Once done, George got to work with trying to capture some really cool shots of Bramani and her fire :)

Behind the scenes shot

Whaaaattttt!!?!!? That is crazy!!!

WOW.

I'm speechless.

I'm so happy I got to meet Bramani :) She's a collection of wonderful extremes all put together in one person! Hopefully one of these days soon, you'll be able to be witness her performances and be WOWED just like I was, even though I only saw a tiny glimpse of what she does.

Olivia's Wedding H&M!

Photo courtesy Orange Turtle Photography

Who: Olivia

What: Hair and Makeup

Where: Milpitas, CA

Photographer: Orange Turtle Photography

Videographer: Seaglass Cinema

WEDDING VIDEO!

Olivia & Michael | 07.13.13 from Seaglass Cinema on Vimeo.

Olivia was as calm and relaxed as ever during her early morning prep for the "Big Day." I've known Olivia for a looooooonnnnnnggggg time now, and boy was it a special moment to be able to spend the morning with her as she got ready to walk down the aisle with her meant-to-be, Michael. Everything about them together is cute and fresh... even though when they're together, it feels like they've known each other all their lives. From their knowing and smiling glances to each other, to the way they make each other laugh, I'm blessed to have been able to witness their special day and their obvious love for each other and to God. How refreshing! Thanks to Honey for coming early with me and helping to take these photos!

MAKEUP

Before and After

Airbrushing, eyeshadow application, gel liner

Adjusting false lashes on and allowing the lash glue to dry

Mom and Dad were so cute! They stopped by often and you could tell just how happy they were for Olivia :)

Blush and lips

Darkening the outer corners of Olivia's eyelids for better emphasis of her eyeshape and depth of colors

Filling in some lipcolor (Look at those lashes!)

Finishing up the lips. It can take several colors to get the just-right shade depending on skin tones.

HAIR

I actually started with Olivia's hair first, then moved onto the makeup after the hair was complete. This was done so the curls in Olivia's hair would have a chance to relax and loosen a bit before I sprayed with hairspray for staying power.

I clamped Olivia's hair up into three sections. Starting at the bottom, I'd curl the straight hair, then release the next section to be curled.

Tease and pin the crown for volume, pull sections above the ear to the back for added shape.

Profile angle of hair. Olivia preferred the curls to go inward, toward her face, so we made sure to do that!

Showing the MOH where to place the veil

Done! Yeah!!!... and gorgeous :)

Cute family photo! Can you see the resemblance?

Orange Turtle Photography Gallery

Boy, was I stoked to find out that Olivia and Michael had hired Orange Turtle Photography. Cindy and Daniel are friends from a while back but I've never had the chance to work with them and see them in action! They are super professional, friendly, and laid back. Watching them do their magic was a treat... I'd seen their beautiful work on their blog, and knew they would be able to capture some amazing memories.

Cindy sent over a few shots, but please make sure to check back at their blog often for complete collection of their work for Olivia and Michael's wedding.

Thanks for the photos Cindy! These are amazing, and gorgeous, and oh so romantic :)