Hunter Denoyelles

     In April 2013 I met Hunter for the first time in person, and we've never been quite apart since! Shooting with me she's been a fairytale princess, the gum-popping leader of the pack with a canine sidekick, a restless bohemian drifter, a messy floral minimalist, and any number of fairy-tale bridal inspired characters for Elibre's lookbooks! In fact, here's a timeline of the series we've worked on together:
    We've done just about everything, but recently I started talking about seriously starting a collection of minimal makeup headshots showcasing the natural beauty of the model.  It's something I've really been enjoying over the past couple of years. When Hunter saw me posting about what I've come to term "Bare Beauty Headshots," she wanted in on the action! The point of this series of portraits is to show the model with minimal/natural makeup and non-distracting clothes (or in a lot of cases with an implied topless look for a true minimalist look). These shots aren't really about fashion, they're about the girl in front of my camera. I aim for an intimate feel, one that makes the viewer feel as though they have a connection with the subject, glamour isn't the intended effect.
   With Hunter's portraits, we had a few different ideas, some more "Bare Beauty" than others. I, of course, had to throw in a few 1/2 and 3/4 shots, so we had a full shooting day (I also photographed her model and friend Trina Waicul the same day). My favorite look was a black turtleneck that Hunter brought, whether converted to b&w or color with a red background, it looked AWESOME.I actually had to keep a b&w and color version of some of them, because I enjoyed both of them!
   We also did some super fun portrait collages showing off her personality, which she has in spades! I've seen a lot of photographers do these before, so I definitely wouldn't claim the idea as my own, but it was something fun and new to try for the day, and the results are pure fun!
    However my favorite portrait was the one at the end of the day when I told her to remove all her makeup, we took away the fashion styling and it was just Hunter.  The look was simple and clean, you could see visible freckles and she was as beautiful as always. This was the shot that I wanted from the day: vulnerable but strong and beautiful without pretense.

In my opinion, this is the "winning" Bare Beauty shot of the day <3

The girl of many faces!