Transformation by Joe McNally

People often refer to the magic of photography, that alchemy that occurs when imagination intersects with the lens, the camera, and the light and a picture springs to life. That process is often transformative, which is the heart of the matter of this particular job.


On assignment for @NikonUsa, we asked three people to come to a photo studio, looking very much like people you might walk past on an average day.

Given the power of makeup, body painting, lighting and camera work, they became, literally, something else. The themes were flowers, lace and crystals, and through the efforts of a number of skilled artists on the set, they were transformed.

CREDITS:

Thanks to the whole team who collaborated on this project! In no particular order, the talents who came together to make this happen:

First off, to Nikon USA -- nikonusa.com/en/index.page -- they got behind this idea, and we used all Nikon gear, and pushed the limits of the new SB-5000 Speedlights in terms of producing a studio quality of light.

Lynn DelMastro, of course, was our producer, who worked her usual magic in combining all the elements needed to get this done. facebook.com/LynnMDelMastro

Michael Cali, in our studio, did a great job on the video shooting:.instagram.com/calipan

Andrew Tomasino was first assistant on this-- a terrific shooter. andrewtomasino.com. He also did the video edit, along with Cali.

Anastasia Durasova remains a brilliant artist, and she orchestrated the transformative body paint. adurasova.com/ She collaborated with linhhair.com He does absolutely amazing things in the realm of conceptual hair styling. As usual, samanthabrownstyle.com/ provided awesome clothes and styling.

Our patient models! Lauren Graves became a bed of flowers. laurengravesmodel.com

Marsha Larose became crystalline. instagram.com/marshalarose

Candace Lam was transformed into a lace pattern. instagram.com/iamcandicelam