A fantasy portrait entitled "Eternity with Artemis" by Kamloops artist and photographer Jennifer Tyler. The models are Patrick Shepherd and Jessika Fey, and Patrick and Joey Roo did their makeup.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Jennifer Tyler
June 21, 2021 - 7:00 AM
Last year Kamloops photographer Jennifer Tyler did a huge overhaul of her company, Myth and Moon Photography. She decided to eliminate ordinary photography and focus on what made her happy, which is mythology. She has since been creating fantastical worlds using a camera, costumes, makeup and computer technology.
“I felt I was doing the same shots over and over again,” Tyler said. “I found a solid group of models who are just as weird and creative as I am and the inspiration just flowed. Since then I have taken photos of covens, mermaids, demons, vampires, Pokemon, Alice in Wonderland and many more.”
She pulls creative inspiration from mythology, demonology, horror movies and books. She puts a scene together in her head, then goes to work recreating the scene with real people.
“My photoshoots tend to end up as hour-long laughing sessions,” Tyler said. “It is always lots of fun. Sometimes people approach me and ask me to add them as characters from their favourite movies or books. Once the theme is decided on, the client and I will also go over costume and makeup and we will send reference images back and forth until we are happy.
Posing can be a challenge depending on the clients. She has some really experienced models who know what to do, but some clients need direction.
A fantasy portrait by Kamloops artist and photographer Jennifer Tyler. The models are Patrick Shepherd and Jessika Fey, and Patrick and Joey Roo did their makeup.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Jennifer Tyler
“I don't like telling my clients to ‘lift your hand here like this’ because that lacks emotion and can make the client feel awkward,” Tyler said. “Instead, I like to prompt them to keep moving like they are dancing, or act ethereal. If I'm adding an animal or creature to my scene I will usually put an object in its place so my model knows where to look, or touch.”
After a photo shoot, she does post-processing, which requires spending hours of time in Adobe Photoshop. She says every set is different and some take much longer to complete than others.
“When I reach this point I get to create worlds all of my own and my artsy side just takes over,” Tyler said. “I will remove any imperfections in the scene, blur out the background, do skin touch-ups and add makeup if needed. Then I do contouring and highlights, add creatures, do colour grading and final basic touches.”
She says mythology has always interested her. She loves the stories of the different gods and other beings.
“I love the lessons each story holds, and by learning the mythology of a culture you can get a real sense of their beliefs and values. A myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.”
Fairies are her favourite mythical creatures. She wants to educate people on fairies. Every fairy has a history and a story.
“People think fairy and see Tinker Bell. In reality there are many kinds of fairies including brownies, pixies, dryads, banshees, leprechauns, mermaids and sprites,” Tyler said. “Some are known to be dangerous and murderous while others are kind. I want to share my knowledge of mythology and the lessons these stories teach.
"I want my audience to, even for a brief moment, leave the chaos of their busy lives and just enjoy being a weird nerdy kid again.”
Tyler lives with her husband and two little girls in Westsyde. She is a certified health care assistant and loves nature, animals and horror movies.
You can check out more of her work on Instagram here.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021