April Mood Boards

Oh man, it’s that time of the month already?! Like every month, March has come and gone so quickly. Last week my mom came to visit. While I enjoyed her company and good food, I lost about a whole week in terms of content creation, posting, outreach, and engagement (this is why batching your content is important, folks!!!). I tried to stay on top of everything but you know how that goes. This month had some wins, though, so I’d like to take a moment to celebrate them. In addition to the popular Adore Me campaign post, some of those images were selected for a publication. I also joined a second campaign of theirs for swimwear and am expecting that package soon. The Valentine’s shoot with Choco was also published this month. I finished up the beautyblender campaign. Finally I was sent a CBD care package from Seeds2System, including bath bombs, which I shared on my feed this week! Now onto the mood boards! Full boards can be found here.

The first mood board is Coming Clean. Like the rhyme goes, April Showers Bring May Flowers. I wanted to do a rainy inspo board, and named it after the Hillary Duff song. This board actually plays into the April theme for PhotosUnboxed Mag, Puddle Jumpers. Submissions for the magazine can include any kind of rain inspired images, but as a model, I’m only presenting portrait related work here. Shooting out in the rain can be tricky, and maybe a little risky, as you have to protect the camera equipment. Most of this board is rather dark and emotional, which pairs well with a black and white edit; however I always love a pop of red. A fun hack for faking rain is to use a pane of glass (either a window or from a picture frame) and spritzing it with water. You can then play with the exposure and contrast to make it look more like a moody day of rainstorms. Another at-home version would be to shoot in the shower. It’s a little tight on space, but you can get some wet moody shots that way. If you’re ballin’ on a budget, renting a rain room is a great way to get the shot, without being exposed to the real weather. As I am rather unfamiliar with the workings behind the camera, check out this article for mastering the art of rain photography. 

With Earth Day landing in April, plus Taurus season (an earth sign), I decided to make a mood board embracing nature, entitled Forest Fairytales. This board features magical forest portraits in two different vibes -- one light and airy, and the other more dark and moody. This is an excellent opportunity to order or wear that princess dress you’ve been eying! Light colors are best for forest locations as that’ll help you stand out against the shades of green and brown. Accessorize with floral crowns and headpieces or even fairy wings! Shooting in the forest is also a great time to get some dramatic shots or video of you running through the trees. Reels are so big right now and this would be an easy addition to your feed.

Finally is a board suggested by Sam! I asked for a third concept and he said reflections. This board is called Like a Mirror, and is full of unique mirror shots (and a few non-mirror reflection shots). I’ve really loved the trend of taking mirrors outside for photos. Whether it be laying them down to capture both sky and model or to reflect nature and seemingly make your body disappear. No mirror? No problem! PicsArt has some Replays, or tutorials, on using their stickers for upping your “mirror selfie” game. VictoriaMisu is one of my favorite artists on Instagram. Her bio says she is the “Creator of this Living Museum of Portals” and I think that’s an amazingly accurate description of her work. She creates beautiful pieces, both photos and videos, utilizing ornate mirrors and frames, flowers, and her incredible imagination. I highly recommend her feed. 

Which board is your favorite? Which one will you be trying for your next April shoot? April is also my birth month, so I have some fun shoots planned this month to celebrate!