An opera singer dreams of performing at Covent Garden, a racer dreams of driving a Formula 1 car, and a photographer dreams of a project so ambitious that it seems unlikely to be implemented. However, human purposefulness sometimes does amazing things. Japanese fashion photographer Reiko Wakai has been hatching the idea of a photo shoot in zero gravity for many years. The model hovers in the air in an unearthly pose, curls develop as they please, accessories are ready to get away with it…
Such a shoot, which requires very significant costs, remained a blue dream for Reiko. Until she became the winner of the contest "Catch a dream frame", having the opportunity to create without looking back. The main organizer of the competition was Wix, a cloud platform focused on creating websites and Internet projects.
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Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity
In February, Wix launched a contest for professional photographers Capture Your Dream Photo Campaign ("Hold a photo shoot of your dreams"), under the terms of which it was required to present an original concept of a photo shoot. The depth and originality of the idea were half the guarantee of victory. And the second half is the mastery of the execution of your own online portfolio created in Wix. As a reward, the company undertook to take over the organization of the shooting, which was proposed by the winner, no matter how incredible they were.
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity
This prospect excited many. The jury received several thousand applications from masters of photography from 134 countries of the world. The judges, apparently, had to seriously break their heads in order to choose a single lucky person, because they had to weed out so many worthy ideas.
Reiko admits that she hoped to win, but did not seriously count on it, despite the fact that she proposed an extremely original idea – the competition was too high. Therefore, when the organizers called her and informed her about the triumph, the Japanese woman could not immediately find the words to express her delight and gratitude.
"Wix has made the impossible possible. I am a commercial photographer, and I usually do what I implement other people's ideas and concepts, but thanks to Wix, I have a whole team to take such pictures as I want," says Reiko. – I tried to put into each frame everything that I love in photography. I must say that it was a very interesting experience, a real challenge for me as a professional. I hope I managed to cope with something that, in fact, cannot be controlled - weightlessness."
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity Preparation for the implementation of such a bold venture as shooting in zero gravity took several months. Reiko mainly dealt with personnel issues. She was free to choose a model on her own and chose the rising Israeli androgynous star Stav Strashko, very popular in Japan. To create a unique image, the popular stylist Mimi Fisher and make-up artist Ronnie Peterson were invited.
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity Wix employees, meanwhile, were busy searching for a location where gravity does not rule. Among several suggested options, Reiko approved the idea of shooting in a special aircraft owned by Zero Gravity Corporation. It flits in the sky along the so-called parabolic arcs. The aircraft sharply gains altitude, then loses it just as sharply, which generates short periods of weightlessness in the cabin.
Reiko had 15 chances of half a minute each to take perfect shots. Try to imagine what it's like to take pictures inside a falling plane. The process was also complicated by the language barrier: the Japanese woman practically does not speak English, and she had to communicate with the whole team through an interpreter, which, of course, took some time. And yet, according to the photographer, it was an amazing unforgettable experience. And the photos turned out to be just first-class.
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity "I was flattered that Reiko chose me to shoot her dream," says Strashko. – The impressions from the photo shoot are extremely unusual: my job is to look attractive in the frame, but this time something more was needed from me. Show grace in zero gravity. I've never faced such a challenge before. The preparation for the shooting day and the shooting itself were just fantastic. The whole day has been fantastic. We all became one big family to implement this crazy, but at the same time a damn great idea."
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity ... All this would not have happened if the Japanese woman had not seriously worked at Wix to create her own portfolio. The functionality of the service allowed her to get a tool to promote her name that meets all the trends of the time. Her website is designed in a minimalist style and is completely subordinated to one task – to demonstrate Reiko's professional skills. A separate section is devoted to each topic: fashion photography, women's and men's shots, acrobatics, landscapes. Visitors to the site have the opportunity to view pictures in full-screen mode and mark their likes with likes.
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity "In modern realities, every photographer must have an online portfolio if he wants to be successful,– Reiko believes. – I post only those photos with which I am one hundred percent satisfied, and I try to regularly update the content so that my current level is visible. Anyone can see the work, and thanks to this I get a lot of orders from strangers.
To my colleagues who have not yet acquired a personal website, I would advise them to create a website design that matches your professional style. At the same time, it is not necessary to make it too "heavy", and navigation confusing. Many will simply not want to understand this pile-up."
Fashion is above the laws of nature: a Japanese woman held an amazing photo shoot in zero gravity While working on her portfolio, Reiko actively uses the free Wix Pro Gallery app. This is a professional gallery with advanced photo quality and sharpness settings. It was through Wix Pro Gallery that the Japanese woman added the functions of likes and reposts of photos in social networks, and also optimized the uploaded pictures for mobile devices. In addition, users of the application have the opportunity to protect their content and allow downloading photos and videos.