The Lilac Queen {Concept Photography & Personal Project}

Just a warning, I wrote a LOT for this blog.  I know it doesn't all seem relevant, but I didn't notice how much I wrote until I was finished.  My fingers just typed away!   Feel free to scroll down towards the bottom for the final images from the session. 

Did I even do this session? The whole day feels like a dream.  Rarely, and I mean RARELY do I get the chance to photograph something just for me.  Countless people offer to model, my Pinterest is overflowing with oodles of images with bits and pieces for me to stem from.  They are the remaining jigsaw puzzle parts to a mind of endless imagination.

Sounds wonderful, right?


It's not.

My mind demands instant gratification so badly that, if I don't start the plan of action quickly, the thought leaves my head....I think in college they called it "ADD"...but what do they know?

The events leading up to this session were so perfectly timed. Crazy, in fact.

Saturday
Rarely do open Saturday's occur in my line of work, especially in May, so I packed Olivia in the car and we ventured to my moms house.  While modest over her green thumb, my mother has an acre of greenery that ranges from every Midwest perennial available, some annuals that decided to switch to the perennial lifestyle, trees brought back from the dead, fruits and vegetables so delicious that she's spoiled me on any other green-bean grown, and, quite specifically, a small selection of flowers that we lovingly refer to as "the plants on crack."   Even though most people marvel over the twice-normal-size hibiscus' in the front yard, my love goes towards the lilacs behind the barn.  These were brought to my mother only a few summers ago as wimpy little creatures bound for their death bed until they came into her possession.  I knew I had to use them...before the blooms wilted, which mom guessed would be less than two weeks. Two. Weeks.
With my mother's full permission to do as I pleased with the giant lilacs, I messaged my MUA, Tanisha.  It was impossible that her schedule was open on such short notice, but she was available.

Here's the cell phone image I sent Tanisha.  Then there was the issue of finding a model.

Sunday
I'm part of a Brookville co-ed softball team that plays on Sunday's.  The very first time I practiced with my team, I rolled my ankle.  Between the shock of what happened {oh God, not during wedding season!!} and trying to get my face to signal to Aleese, who is yelling at me from 2nd base to tell her I'm alright, I didn't even notice Alex next to me helping me back to my feet.  Having never met him before that day, I naturally raved to his girlfriend, Kayla, over him.  Two thumbs up, here!
After our first actual game, Alex walked off the field to Kayla.  I watched them stand together and giggled to myself over their difference in height.  Alex seems to be in the average male height category, but Kayla and I are short...and she's tiny to boot.

Then it clicked.

Kayla has worked with me before. She was one of my original go-to girls when I had ideas or techniques I needed to practice. While her normal demeanor is calm and quiet, I wanted to push her.  I knew she could do what I wanted if I could convince her to do it....so I maybe lied a little to how extravagant this really was. {"Extravagant" compared to what we've done before}
Her schedule gave her Tuesday's off.  No big deal, right? Except...it's Sunday... and Tanisha is booked NEXT Tuesday.  *insert dead emoji*

That night, I zoomed to the studio and gathered two spools of fabric gifted from Ladyhawk Events for another idea I had {which never happened}.  My entire night was spent sitting on my living room floor and PRAYING I could manage hand sewing enough to pull this off.   In no way, shape, or form am I capable of using a sewing machine.

Monday
If you follow me on Instagram {@mariekorb and @bluesparrowp} you probably already know that I watch my precious nephew, Maverick, every Monday and Tuesday during the school year.  So try badly hand sewing, with carpal tunnel, all while a newly crawling baby is everywhere.  Can you imagine I was pulling my hair out by now?

Tuesday
The big day!
Kayla comes over to help manage this 10 month old baby while I'm finally getting into a routine with the many many MANY layers of that skirt.
We get Olivia off the bus, stop by moms to get some of the lilacs to take to the studio, and head to Harrison for hair/makeup!

Remember when I said Kayla is a quiet girl?  Well, let's just say...I didn't let her see her hair or makeup until we were done...but we sure did get a LOT of stares in the studio windows from people walking by!  Tanisha would step back and gauge my face.  All I would say is, "It needs more. More hair. More purple. More of everything out of your normal."
Of course, she delivered.

I just wish I would have gotten a reaction video when she did see the end results. 

I believe her words were, "Yeah, if I had known you were doing THIS, I probably would have stopped you."

But she's a good sport...and she totally rocked it!!!

We started out in the studio.  I needed Kayla to understand that she wasn't just someone with a purple face...she was a new person. She had to bring the emotions that came with it.    While I did love the lilac "hat", I realized how heavy and hot it was.  It would have ruined her big hair!

You really couldn't have asked for a better sunset back at moms house. She has a large gap between two small woods where the sun sets perfectly.  Sunsets are magical there.

 I felt like everything up until this point was just practice for these images.
THIS IS WHAT I WANTED.

And my absolute FAVORITE two from this set <3

Photography - Blue Sparrow Photography

Wardrobe - Marie Korb (with special help of Ladyhawk Events)

Hair/Makeup - Tanisha

If you enjoyed this set {and especially if you read the whole blog!} please comment and tell me what you think!  I would love to do more work like this in the future!!