The main focus in her photographs seem to always be framed, such as the small baby gown and shoes within the blinds or doorway, or in the other dress photo, where the drapes seem to frame the two dresses. Erin also uses a lot of soft lighting in this selection of photographs. Symmetry also seems to play a role in some of her photographs
She seems to show small details and pieces of the day, such as the bridesmaids holding their flowers, but you can not see their faces. I like how Erin does not tell the full story with one image. She may also do traditional wedding images, but these seem to be more creative, thoughtful, and organic.
What drew me in immediately were the hanging dresses. This reminded me of a painter, Emma Hesse, who's portfolio also includes a piece with a delicate hanging dress.
The photographs that I took are similar in format, yet I have used a different theme. As a Baking & Pastry Arts student, I got rid of the wedding decor, and went for a more homely baking theme. While I went for similar compositions, I found it more playful taking photographs of things that interest me and relate to what I do.
The first image I worked with was the stacked wedding rings and bands. The stacking had a nice layering affect, but it also had a white blurring. I decided to use silicone baking cups and stack them, using the table's edge to visually slice it in half. While that was not done in the ring photograph that Erin took, in many of her other pictures, she sections things off. I also used a blurring tool in Photoshop to achieve a similar look to her rings photograph.
Erin had a photograph of the two dresses hanging up in the window with the sunlight behind them. While I considered taking my version of the photo in the kitchen window, I decided the more homely version would be on a hook, and liked the 'home sweet home' look of the cut out heart – and since the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, I thought it worked well.
The tiny flower girl dress hanging off the door frame or shutter frame was nicely framed and put together, with the horizontal stripes behind it. I tried to get a similar look, using a linen closet with a lacy drape on the inside of the door, and the white frame of the door enclosing the photograph.
The flowers and booties photograph by Erin has a soft look to it, and plays with scale. It has different textures and similar colours, so I used a light coloured towel (as all the dish towels I had would not do), and used all pink cupcake figurines to keep the colours in the same field, but went the opposite direction with the pastry tips for a colder, edgier look.
My final photograph is me holding a cupcake while wearing an apron. I liked the look of pattern on the bridesmaids dresses while holding the flowers. My apron does have pattern, but also similar colours to the cupcake I am holding.
While my photographs may not be as delicate as Erin's, I feel I achieved a similar look while using a different theme, same type of set up. The series is about baking, but you do not really get to know the baker personally. Just bits and pieces!
Erin's Blog:
http://www.erinwallis.com/blog/
Emma Hesse's Artwork:
http://www.emmahesse.com/main.html
