Home page splash for Lumiere's new "7 Deadly Sins & 7 Heavenly Virtues" collection

Lumiere Cosmetics recently launched a brand new collection of gorgeous eye pigments inspired by the light and dark in all of us. The “7 Deadly Sins & 7 Heavenly Virtues” collection features fourteen new shades paired into seven lustrous, luminous duos. Each color duo is named after a sin and it’s corresponding virtue, a reminder that all beauty is born from balance, that no shadow can be cast without the presence of light.

Graphik Nature Studios handles a wide range of creative services for our clients.* For Lumiere’s “7 Deadly Sins & 7 Heavenly Virtues” Collection, GNS took care of:

• Creative Direction
• Model photography
• Talent acquisition, coordination and direction
• Product and newsletter copy creation
• Product photography
• Graphic design

In 2011 GNS pulled together a talented team to help create the imagery for the collection’s promotional material. The creative & talent team for Lumiere’s “7 Deadly Sins & 7 Heavenly Virtues” consisted of:
Fashion Designer: Beth Eischen of Lilipad Creations
Hair & Make Up Artist: Joseph Frank Rothrock of Joseph Frank Aesthetics
Models: Sarah Bello & Madalyn Zielinski

Behind the scenes of Lumiere's "7 Deadly Sins & 7 Heavenly Virtues" photo shoot

The 7 eye pigment duos and their corresponding model photos

As well as the head shots featuring the new eye pigments, additional images were photographed for use in print promotions for the 7 & 7 collection and for use in the portfolios of the fashion designer, models and make-up artist.

Additional images were photographed for use in print promotion and the portfolios of the team's talent.

Purchase Lumiere’s limited edition “7 Deadly Sins & 7 Heavenly Virtues” collection HERE. If you are a consumer who likes to hear reviews before you make purchases, there is an abundance of glowing video reviews of Lumiere products on YouTube.

*Graphik Nature Studios loves to work with small businesses, so much so that we offer affordable retainer rates created especially for them! Could your business use professional creative services (graphic design, photography, social media management, copy writing, etc.) on a regular basis? Retain Graphik Nature Studios services for as few as 7 hours a month and get the advantage of affordable retainer contract rates. How can we help to amplify YOUR identity? Drop us a line and let us know: rbs@graphiknaturestudios.com

Divided into Cool and Warm combinations, Lumiere's Holiday Collection includes six new eye pigments, two new cheek colors and two new lip glosses.

Graphik Nature Studios offers a wide range of creative services to our clients.* For Lumiere’s Holiday Collection we created:

• Color names and descriptions
• Product photography
• Graphic design for splash imagery

While working with Lumiere, we’ve learned that product photography for cosmetics can be tricky. It’s crucial to capture all of their shimmer and shine. From one angle, an eye pigment may simply bounce back just it’s base color, but when lit from the correct angle it will sparkle and pop! Finding the magic angle for cosmetics like this requires the proper placement of strobes and reflectors in the studio.

Lumiere's "Cold Winter's Night" (top view)

Lumiere's "Cold Winter's Night" (side view)

Ok so, why is Lumiere one of our very favorite clients? Simply put – it’s their products! Lumiere is a female owned, locally based company (Utica, NY) that offers a wide range of cruelty free, high quality products created with carefully selected ingredients. Loyal customers all over the world love Lumiere for their beautiful, highly pigmented colors which arrive on time and beautifully packaged. If you are a consumer who likes to hear reviews before you make purchases, there is an abundance of glowing video reviews of Lumiere products on YouTube.

Lumiere is so sure that you will love their products, they offer a sample baggie of 5 color samples of your choice for just one penny! Click here to check it out.

*Graphik Nature Studios loves small business, so much so that we offer affordable Identity Packages created especially for them! Build your own custom service package based on the needs of your business – logo, business card, signage, brochure, print ad, social media, website, custom photography and more. How can we help to amplify YOUR identity? Drop us a line and let us know: rbs@graphiknaturestudios.com

Graphik Nature Studios loves small business!* Especially if the small business is a creative one that is owned by a smart and talented female! So GNS was thrilled to do photography work for Concepcioun, which offers handmade journals created by artisan owner Christine Walker.

The purpose of Concepcioun is to produce high quality, handmade journals in which people can document and cherish both the big and small moments in their lives. The company serves as an outlet for Christine’s love of form and function as well as her desire to create momentum for people to improve their lives one step at a time… with the first step being to organize their thoughts and goals in a Concepcioun journal, of course!

Combining traditional methods of bookmaking with contemporary color palettes, Concepcioun’s products embody Christine’s personality and style: contemporary, unique, simple, elegant, organized and motivational. With Concepcioun, the goal of Graphik Nature Studios was to create photographs that would convey these very same attributes, allowing Concepcioun to further streamline it’s brand through targeted yet versatile promotional imagery. (Visit Concepcioun at http://www.concepcioun.com )

In our work for Concepcioun, GNS photographed products, shot professional portraits, photographed more products and, most recently, completed a spring lifestyle image shoot that included Concepcioun’s latest and greatest offering – The Reusable Felt Note Pad.

Concepcioun's Accordion Guest Book

Christine Walker, Owner of Concepcioun

Spring lifestyle shot featuring Concepcioun's Reusable Felt Notepad

On a personal note, I have a wee crush on this Reusable Felt Notepad. It consists of a wool cover with magnet fastener, for which Concepcioun allows you to choose your own insert – travel diary, wine tasting log, check list, web account log, address/phone numbers or just a simple insert with rule lined pages. Each of the inserts come in a different color that peeks through the multi-hole design pattern of the wool cover. Very cool gift idea! You know… for yourself. You can find the Reusable Felt Notepad by Concepcioun here: http://www.concepcioun.com/reusable-felt-notepads

(Click on the photos below to see a larger version of the Felt Notepad images).

Concepcioun's Reusable Felt Notepad and some of the various insert options

When photographing a couple, the goal is to capture the unique connection that exists between them. Each couple, when they come together, creates a new entity with it’s own identity, an identity that is different from that of each individual. Attempting to capture the essence of the duo, ‘the team’, is something that I really enjoy.

Elise and I had discussed styling before hand. She was looking for a natural setting and a vintage, retro feel for these photographs. So all styling aspects had fit into that vision – location, furniture, bedclothes, etc.

Elise went scouting a bit ahead of time and found a remote location out in Morrisville, NY. Down a long and winding gravel road, a weather worn old barn sits nestled into the hillside, surrounded by lush vegetation and wild flowers. It was an amazing spot for a shoot, adorned with the dramatic, long shadows of afternoon light. Although we didn’t find out until later, the barn is the remains of a prosperous hop and dairy farm that had been operated by the grandparents of the land owner. The Grey/Gulch Pyramidal Kiln (w/attached barn) is #14 on the Madison County Hop Heritage Trail. Great scouting job, Elise!

The Grey/Gulch Pyramidal Kiln (w/attached barn)

Such lovely wild flowers... Fringed polygala?

Numerous tent worm caterpillars nearly absconded with the couple at one point during the shoot.

After the shoot was completed, the editing that was done in post production was key in conveying the overall “vintage” feel for the portraits. Editing was done to color, lighting balance, contrast, tone, depth of field, selective focus, saturation and more. Here are a couple ‘out of camera’ to ‘post production’ progressions. (Click on the photos to see a larger version of the images).

Left image: direct from camera. Right image: after editing

Left image: direct from camera. Right image: after editing

For more of the finished portraits, check out the couples/engagement gallery in the GNS fan page on Facebook.

Graphik Nature Studios is a creative services company focusing on small business and independent artists. In this blog we will be posting the latest news and developments as Graphik Nature Studios continues to evolve and grow. In the meantime, please feel free to check out some of our photography and design portfolio samples via the links below. Thank you for your interest in what we’re up to!