Losing The Glass Slipper

Cinderella

This photoshoot was a slight spur of the moment, in that I hadn't thought about my Cinderella concept for quite some time, and originally had no intention of doing any Fairytale photoshoots in Baltimore.

However, talking about the project with my awesome friend Beth Emmerich, she was keen to jump in as a model and we made time during my stay to hit up the thrift store and look for a Cinderella worthy dress.

We also hit up Jewel, getting a large pumpkin and a mini pumpkin, while Beth used shoes she had worn to a wedding. If I could have changed anything about the shoot, the only thing would have been the weather – it was so sunny that some shots were pretty hard to get the camera settings right. Either way, I'm really happy with the end result!

Cinderella is a classic tale of not giving up hope. Of course, one of the most famous lines from the story is "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes", and I was keen to explore the relationship between this idea and its interactions with modern day society.

A lot of people grow up on Disney films, and get an idea of the perfect boy in their mind. They stop at no less and genuinely believe they deserve to be treated like a princess, showered with presents constantly and not be expected to make that kind of effort in return. There's nothing wrong with that, but I worry that it's a bit too idealist.

In my series, Cinderella is waiting, and waiting, and waiting for Prince Charming to come along. Until she realises that sitting around and wishing all day isn't bringing her the results she expected.

After going to the ball alone, she carries her dreams home with her, no Prince Charming in sight.

Like a true Princess who's dreams have all come falling down, she collapses down.

I used Lightroom to edit the dress colour throughout the series, from a darker blue to a white-grey, to signify the fading of her dreams. Finally, Cinderella comes to her senses, picks herself up off the ground, and uses the glass slipper to shatter her distorted sense of relationships.

*the link to Beth's name goes to her Etsy page, where you can see her amazing artwork and merch for sale.