VAMPIRES!
There is an old story in my family that is always told when Halloween comes around. One night when I was very young, my eldest brother Ron (a teenager at the time) and his best friend Murphy were getting dressed up to go to a costume party. Murphy was doing the classic Dracula costume, along with a full face of makeup. As it is told, he was completely done with the makeup, the cheesy fangs and ready to head out and I turned the corner, saw him and started screaming.
I was convinced that my brother's good, good friend has suddenly turned into a monster and he was gone forever. My parents, my siblings - everyone tried to calm me down and I just wasn't letting it go.
So his friend did the coolest thing he could have ever done. He grabbed a towel and started stripping the makeup off of his face. He completely took it all off and showed me that he was still there and that there was nothing to be afraid of.
The only memory I have of that event is looking up at this monstrous form and seeing him smile with those fangs and feeling absolute despair.
So many years later when I get the chance to photograph an unbelievably talented model and she has an amazing vampire costume, I chose to recreate a moment that horrified me so long ago.
Model: Hailey S Cosplay
Designer: Videnoir
Contacts: Samhain Contact Lenses
Location: C2E2
Photography and Photoshop art: Reality Reimagined
