I had a lovely appointment yesterday with Sarah!
She wants to get her foot tattooed in a design that looks like henna, and sent me some photos for inspiration that ran the full gamut of traditional henna. From dainty and relatively simple Moroccan slippers to detailed and intricate Indian bridal henna, she likes it all. Judging from the photos she sent for inspiration (from Darcy of Henna Lounge and Kenzi), she had amazingly good taste, and I was so excited to work with her! I tried to work in different aspects of the different sorts of henna she loves, while keeping the design simple enough that it could ultimately be tattooed on her with hopefully just minor adjustments.
And now for the other half of the title of this post. I have a new macro lens! My parents very generously got me a macro lens for my birthday, which allows me to really capture details so much more beautifully than the standard lens I had been using. Since so much of what I love about henna is in the details, it’s going to not only help me capture what I love about the designs in the photos, but the photos are also causing me to look at my henna with an even keener eye to those details. It’s also making me inclined to make my paste a little bit thicker, so that the henna maintains its shape exactly as I lay it down.
My favorite photo from this session actually isn’t showing the fanciest bits of henna… I just love the shot from a photographic standpoint:
Here’s another shot where I was just playing with how close up I could get to the henna, and how much detail I could capture with the macro lens:
Here’s the overall design:
And here it is from some different angles:
Thank goodness we talked a bit about how henna is very flowing and created in the spur of the moment, and a few things should be adjusted before she gets it tattooed. Namely these dots need to be more perfectly arranged, and not at an odd angle due to artist/model placement:
After we took all these photos, it was clear that Sarah was a great model – patient, still, helpful with ideas to make better photos, etc. I didn’t have to be at my next appointment for two more hours, so I asked if I could just keep hennaing her and taking photos. She said yes 🙂
This is my favorite shot of what I did on her hand. She and her fiancee recently got engaged, and they are planning their wedding for next summer. I wanted to give her a little something to make her ring, such a classic symbol of their love, really stand out for her.
Here’s a neat view of one curve of the design. Gotta love the new macro lens. (Thank you Mommy and Daddy!)
Here’s the whole hand design:
And here’s her hand and foot together:
It was a really enjoyable afternoon! I can’t wait to see how the stain comes out, and also to see how the tattoo looks when it is made permanent!
