I serendipitously got in touch with Fifi thanks to a short chat with one of my IG follower.
She was very happy with my idea and so we agreed to meet in Milan during one of my frequent trips to Italy. I usually go straight to Turin, but this time I planned my trip so that I would arrive (and leave again from) Milan instead: I just booked one of those "short stays" hotels near Milan Central Station.
She was very happy with my idea and so we agreed to meet in Milan during one of my frequent trips to Italy. I usually go straight to Turin, but this time I planned my trip so that I would arrive (and leave again from) Milan instead: I just booked one of those "short stays" hotels near Milan Central Station.
Fifi opted for "Summer" as a topic, and you can't really go wrong with Bashō rarely disappoints:
暑き日を
海に入れたり
最上川
The hot sun was
Set into the sea
By the Mogami River
暑き日を
海に入れたり
最上川
The hot sun was
Set into the sea
By the Mogami River
Preparation Phase
Considering the theme, I decided to go for the Haiku on her back, while I would just write a multitude of 夏 (Summer) on her face, chest and body, diagonally down to the hip.
I also decided to invest in a bit of red ink for the back, and use gold for the front, expecting this would create a nice contrast with the darker tone of her skin.
Boy, was that a mistake… :(
I also decided to invest in a bit of red ink for the back, and use gold for the front, expecting this would create a nice contrast with the darker tone of her skin.
Boy, was that a mistake… :(
Normally I start with the back, and things looked pretty good,
The main technical problem is that the middle column was a bit too long, so I had to shorten the last kanji a bit.
Overall I was quite happy with the result, and the red ink looked great…
The main technical problem is that the middle column was a bit too long, so I had to shorten the last kanji a bit.
Overall I was quite happy with the result, and the red ink looked great…
The front, alas, was a total disaster.
I should have used a smaller brush for writing on Fifi's face. I normally do not write on the face itself, though, and in hindsight I should have maybe experimented on myself before trying.
But this problem was definitely eclipsed by the other big mistake, so in a sense… even if the kanji size is a problem, nobody will notice.
As you can (not) see here - in a picture taken with my iPhone (the others are much worse) - the gold paint is almost invisible.
I blame it mostly the light in the room itself (the session was at around 6 pm in winter, so there was not other light source available)
I was aware of the problem almost immediately, and I did bring some black ink with me too, but I was still hoping this could be somehow salvaged during the post production phase, so I soldiered on, completed the front writings and moved on to the photo shooting itself.
Posing
