The Movie Challenge

We had so much fun with the Thrift Store Challenge that we were itching to do the next one!

As per the rules, whichever photographer received the most votes got to pick the next challenge. Sarah was the winner with her gorgeous steampunk inspired thrifted creation seen here:

And the loser, Melissa, had to send a gift to one lucky voter. That voter was April Moore! (April, if you are reading this, keep an eye on your mailbox! It's on it's way!)

THE THEME

Sarah's idea for the next challenge was "The Movie Challenge". This challenge focused on taking one of our favorite movies, and translating it into a still photographic image. Either a clone of a specific scene from the movie, or just something loosely based. Didn't matter what, just had to be derived from the movie in some way.

THE RULES 

• Style a shoot based on a favorite movie.
• Shoot must include 2 models, no more, no less.
• Models' look must be inspired by characters from that movie.

SARAH'S CHOICE

The Princess Bride: which is an amazing movie full of sword fights, dashing handsome gents, a damsel in distress, and true love. Also, in case you didn't know... it IS based on a kissing book.

MELISSA'S CHOICE

Wayne's World: which is an amazing movie full of funny one liners, 2 dashing handsome gents (in their own way), a fierce "oh yes, she will be mine" damsel, and.... you guessed it... true love. 

Here's a fun tidbit!

SARAH'S FAVORITE SCENE FROM "THE PRINCESS BRIDE"

Note from Sarah: There is SO MUCH amazing going on with The Princess Bride. Handsome Westley, beautiful Buttercup. True love. Quotes galore. Mawwiage. I love this scene of the wedding of Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck. ("Hold it, hold it", you're probably thinking..."She doesn't marry Humperdinck..." Well, keep your shirt on...). Do I remember what was said at my own wedding? No, actually I don't (sorry, honey!)...but I for sure can quote the vows said here:

MELISSA'S FAVORITE SCENE FROM "WAYNE'S WORLD"

Note from Melissa: This scene is my favorite because seriously, could Garth BE any nerdier but yet adorable at the same time? (Did you say that in your head like Chandler Bing? I did.)
Not only that, but Wayne's advice about love, while gross, is true right?

"I say hurl. If you blow chunks and she comes back, she's yours.
If you spew, and she bolts... it was never meant to be."

Not as glamorous as Westley saying "As you wish" to Buttercup, but still tugs at the heart strings, amirite? 
And don't act like you've never tried to do the foxy lady dance.

THE DAY OF THE SHOOT

 This time around, we decided not to shoot at the exact same time. Rather, Melissa went first so Sarah could take some behind the scenes video for her, and then Melissa did the same for Sarah. First models up were Jillian and Hailey a.k.a Wayne and Garth. 

I've had the great honor of photographing these beautiful ladies before!

Check out this super fun behind the scenes video!

Sarah's models arrived shortly after Jillian and Hailey wrapped up their shoot. First to arrive was Sarah's son, Anthony, who was raised watching The Princess Bride, and taught to appreciate every. single. line. His look was inspired by Westley...or rather, the Dread Pirate Roberts. The second model was Sarah, who not only has a fabulous first name and the perfect hair, face, and poise for Buttercup, but she also knows the movie inside and out.

It's reassuring to know this generation is being exposed to such movie epicness. 

Check out Sarah's behind-the-scenes:

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

  Sarah's Take on "The Princess Bride"

"Why do you wear a mask? Were you burned by acid or something?"
"Oh, no. They're just terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

Melissa's Take on "Wayne's World"

"A gun rack? A gun rack. I don't even own "ah" gun, let alone many guns that would necessitate an entire rack.        What am I gonna do with a gun rack?"

NOTES FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sarah- Winner, winner chicken dinner (from the Thriftstore Challenge)! That means I have theme-picking privileges--woot! Our family loves movies, so naturally I thought it'd be fun to incorporate our faves into a photoshoot. I adore every single minute of The Princess Bride, so that was an easy choice. Quirky humor, beautiful settings, romance, adventure, Andre the Giant...it has it all. Not to mention being one of the most quotable movies of all time. I shot Sarah's senior portraits the week before the shoot, and asked if she'd be my Buttercup. I was told that her family adored the movie as well, so I knew she'd be perfect. My son can not only quote the movie, but can handle all the accents, inflections, and timing of the lines. He only had one class that day, so he stopped by the studio afterwards to by my Westley. Costumes--I had a red tulle skirt, and I added a shirt from Goodwill for Buttercup--Sarah (model Sarah) brought along some belts that proved quite useful. Anthony provided most of the clothing for being Westley, although I did pull a black blouse out of my closet and clamped it around his waist as a sash. I searched high and low for a "fire swamp" backdrop, but apparently there isn't a high demand for those. Melissa happened to have this fantastic forest backdrop at her studio where we shot, and it was exactly what I needed. Thank you, Melissa--you're the best!

Melissa- I was so excited when Sarah chose the Movie Challenge as our theme. I have loved Wayne's World since I was a kid. It took me exactly .2 seconds to make my decision to use it as my inspiration for the challenge. Wayne's World is one of those movies that I can pretty much quote line by line. I'd have to say my favorite character is Garth. Wayne's cool too, but Garth has that loveable in a weird way quality! My models, Jillian and Hailey, were an amazing Wayne and Garth! My idea was to take early 90's grunge and put a little modern spin on it. Imagine if Wayne and Garth were high fashion models posing for Vogue magazine... that was my plan! The blanket on the back of the couch was a little throwback to Wayne's basement, and I just so happened to spot it at my grandma's house... thanks grams! The only thing I would have changed about this image was to put "Wayne" on the left, because that's where he sat in his mom's basement...in Aurora Illinois...with an extensive collection of name tags and hairnets.To see the rest of the images from my session with Jillian and Hailey, click this link right here!

CAST YOUR VOTE!

and enter your email for a chance to win a little gift from one of us! 

UPDATE: VOTING CLOSED!

trivia quizzes