Last weekend, I was able to get some photos of a real alien! It’s not what you think, though; these photos were for the pre-marketing of my book Planet of Eden. Working with Leslie Craven, a lovely model here in Central Florida, and body painting artist and film maker Juan Pantoja, the goal of this photo shoot was to test how I could bring one of the book’s lead characters, Eah, to life.
In the book, the alien-human Eah and her people have the ability to change their skin color at will. Their base color is either iridescent white or black. Eah spends much of the time in her base white, and I wanted to see if we could reproduce her look using simple body painting techniques. After Juan’s two-hour painting session, I photographed Leslie in various poses against a chromakey (green screen) background. Those shots will allow me to isolate Leslie and place her image in a variety of alien environments. After about an hour and a half of that, we took the shoot outdoors and I photographed Leslie among some beautiful tropical foliage to see how the paint would look amidst bright colors and natural sunlight.
I could not have asked for better shooting weather or for better collaborators! We had a cool and cloudy Florida day, which meant that our usual strong sunlight was naturally filtered into a nice, softly diffused light–very flattering for Leslie and perfect for illuminating Juan’s paint job. The cooler day kept Leslie from sweating off the paint, though I was a little concerned for her comfort in the chilly air. The aliens in Planet of Eden, you see, truly live like Adam and Eve on a perfect, paradise-like planet. Leslie was a real trouper, though. Juan stuck with us through the entire shoot, making lighting suggestions, ensuring that the paint was working well, and even filming the shoot and creating ideas for future film projects.
Of course, I had my beautiful photography assistant, Ann Marie, with me the entire day as well. She was indispensable as our impromptu hair stylist, lighting assistant, and creative consultant. I also have to thank Carolyn Hawkins, my long-time friend and colleague, for accompanying us throughout the resort grounds and ensuring that our shooting would run smoothly.
I will spend the next several weeks manipulating my alien photos in Photoshop, adding unusual environments, experimenting with colors, and creating a potential book cover, similar to the concept design that I shared with you in my December blog post.
Thank you again, Leslie, Juan, Ann Marie, and Carolyn for helping me to bring Eah, and my book, to life. You are all awesome and I am looking forward to working with you more as “Project Planet of Eden” continues!
[Note: If you’re interested in the technical details of the shoot–camera, lighting, body paint, etc.–send a reply below and I will be happy to correspond with you.]
Photography: Dan Whicker
Model: Leslie Craven
Body Paint Artist: Juan Pantoja [Also check out Juan’s film studio, Dolphin Image Studios.]
Photos on this page are protected by copyright.
