My Attempt at a McQueen Vibe Photoshoot
Okay, so I got completely obsessed with some Alexander McQueen runway images lately. You know the ones – dark, kind of dramatic, super detailed. I just had this urge to try and capture something like that myself. Not a copy, obviously, but just playing with that mood.
First thing, I started digging through my closet. Forget buying actual McQueen, right? I pulled out anything black, anything with weird textures, maybe some lace, an old structured jacket I never wear. Layering was key, I figured. Threw a bunch of stuff on a rack to see what might work together.
Finding the Right Spot
Location was next. I needed somewhere with a bit of grit, maybe some interesting shadows. My backyard shed wasn’t gonna cut it. I remembered this old industrial area nearby, lots of brick walls, maybe some rusty bits. Perfect. Went scouting one afternoon, found a decent corner with some peeling paint and decent light filtering through.
Gathering the Bits and Pieces
I didn’t have fancy props. But I did find:
- Some dried flowers I had lying around. Thought they could add that decaying beauty vibe.
- A piece of dark, sheer fabric. Maybe for draping or adding movement.
- An old ornate mirror frame (minus the mirror) I picked up ages ago. Could be interesting to shoot through or have the model hold.
My friend agreed to model – luckily she’s got patience! We packed up the car with the clothes, the bits and pieces, my camera, and a reflector I barely know how to use properly.
The Actual Shoot Day
Got to the spot. First challenge: the light kept changing because of clouds. Typical. We started assembling the first look. Lots of black, the jacket, trying to make it look intentionally disheveled but still structured. It’s harder than it looks!
We tried different poses against the brick wall. Used the reflector to bounce some light onto my friend’s face, trying to get those dramatic shadows McQueen often has. Fiddled with camera settings a lot. Mostly aperture priority, trying to get a shallow depth of field to make her pop from the background.
Then we brought in the props. The dried flowers looked okay tucked into the jacket, but maybe a bit forced. The sheer fabric was better – we tried having her hold it, letting it catch the breeze a bit. That added some nice movement to the shots.
Dealing with Hiccups
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. The ground was uneven, making posing tricky. Passersby gave us weird looks. My reflector kept wanting to fly away. We spent a good couple of hours just trying different combinations of clothes, poses, and angles.
We moved to another spot nearby, one with some metal grating, hoping for a different texture. Tried using the mirror frame, holding it up, shooting through it. Some shots worked, others just looked awkward.
Wrapping Up and Looking Back
Packed everything up feeling pretty tired but kind of satisfied. Got home and immediately dumped the photos onto my computer. Went through them, marking the ones that had something. A lot were blurry or just didn’t capture the feeling I wanted.
But there were a few gems. The ones with the sheer fabric moving, a couple of close-ups where the light hit just right. Did a very basic edit – adjusted contrast, maybe darkened the shadows a touch, converted some to black and white which really helped the mood.
It wasn’t a professional McQueen shoot by any stretch of the imagination. But as a practice run, trying to understand how to create that specific atmosphere? It was a great learning experience. Mostly learned that it takes a lot more planning and skill than just throwing some dark clothes on! Still, happy I went out and actually did it instead of just thinking about it.
