Using powder paints can be a fantastic tool for photography, and I was lucky enough to be commissioned to create a unique piece for a gender reveal. Here I will share some exclusive behind the scenes footage, and problems we faced on our way to perfect the ultimate equine, canine, pink powder paint, gender reveal photograph.
I was asked by a friend, Georgie, whether I would be interested in photographing a gender announcement for her sister Becky's first child. At first I imagined the usual cutting of a cake or popping of a balloon, but she had something very different in mind! Georgie wanted to give something to her sister as a keepsake that would last, and thought that incorporating Becky's animals would make a great touch. We also needed to keep the whole shoot a surprise, which was incredibly difficult! The idea was ambitious, and I had to do some planning to work out the technical elements, but I was so excited to bring her vision to life.
We started off one at a time with the dogs, beginning with Rouge (left), who seemed to be an absolute pro, and showed her 10 month old pup, Kika (middle), how it's done! They were both incredibly well behaved considering they were immediately turned pink and had to ignore the puff of smoke every time they moved. We tried a few different techniques to get the powder to really fly off of their coats, and the results were fantastic.
It took a few tries to get the different angles needed so that all three animals were facing the correct way in the final piece. I was a little worried that Becky would notice something was off when she saw later that day that her dogs were covered in pink, but thankfully it brushed off really well.
Here we have some more behind the scenes footage of that initial leap from the floor, creating the illusion of a powder explosion.
As we finished shooting with the dogs, Becky turned up! We managed to keep everything hidden in the field whilst she was ushered into the house in order to avoid ruining the surprise.
Next we continued the shoot with Becky's gorgeous horse Wrawhide, which also took some figuring out! Our big issue was that we couldn't let Wrawhide loose in the field like we did with the dogs, and more importantly they obviously couldn't sit and stay! We began with Georgie leading her sister's horse along the hedge and encouraging a trot, but the results weren't quite as impactful as with the dogs, as there was no real spring into action.
We discovered that putting Wrawhide on the lunge was the most effective way to produce the explosive powder bursts similar to the images taken with the dogs. This allowed the horse to be encouraged forward without us running out of space. Wrawhide knew what he had to do and started throwing some interesting shapes which created fantastic photographs. We quickly noticed that the air around us had turned pink due to the expression of Wrawhide's movement, so we checked we had the photos that were needed and called it a day.
This Powder Paint Gender Reveal Photo Shoot has taught me so much, and I am very excited to now be offering Powder Paint Animal Photo Shoots as a specialist package.
I'd like to give a massive thanks to Georgie for trusting me to bring this idea into reality. I hope you can join me in congratulating Becky on the imminent arrival of her baby girl, and wishing her all the luck in the future.
If you'd be interested in having your very own Powder Paint Photo Shoot, or have an idea that you'd like brought to life through a lens, just get in touch via my Contact area, Facebook page, or email me at maddieleishmanphotography@gmail.com
Thank you so much for reading!
Maddie ☺︎
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