This is a young model in Indonesia dressed as a Javanese bride. I hired a makeup artist to apply the traditional and very stylized makeup, and I rented the clothes from a woman who makes the beautiful dresses by hand. The long white adornment extending from the headpiece down to the girl’s waist is comprised of hand-sewn live flower petals. I originally photographed the model against a backdrop typically used in a wedding on the island of Java, but I photographed this remarkable dragon staircase image in Bali and thought the two elements would look good together. So, working at 300% magnification, I meticulously made a selection of the bride with the pen tool and pasted her into the background. I then used the burn tool on 25% opacity to make a subtle shadow around her shoes. In composite work, remember that everything casts a shadow, even if it's very subtle.
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