Photo of the week: High fashion

Body of Work: Salim Al Afifi

Playing around with colour palettes to evoke certain emotions or deliver a concept or an idea, while still giving you a beautiful photograph is kind of my shtick. For me, colour sets the mood more than anything. And in this particular image the model posed in a very innocent, sad fashion that required to be painted in warm shades of red. Perhaps she was sad in the narrative, or maybe just wandering in her own mind; either way you get a feel of what I call a beautiful trauma.

The model was rocking a flashy red pants and a transparent jacket with golden trims. The ensemble choice was quite bold in colour, so it needed a shade lighter to brighten up photo, so I opted for a dreamy, pink sky that fades into the rocks, which were slightly blurred. Giving way to more presence for the superstar: the subject. Finally, I bronzed her skin with a gold finish to match the dreamy environment she’s in.

I used a Canon 5D Mark III, and used mainly ambient light and gold reflector (to achieve that perfect golden shimmer). The rest was done in Adobe Lightroom software.