Selene Shoot Prep - Props and Costume

 Selene and Endymion, Nicolas Poussin (c. 1630)

To start shooting with these new themes I first had to understand how I wanted to present my version of Selene, the Greek Goddess of the Moon. I ordered various headpieces and props that would help me depict Selene as this ethereal, mystical figure, which was largely influenced by the paintings I studied previously.

Selene and Endymion, Moritz von Schwind (1831)

I noticed that in a lot of the paintings, Selene was depicted as having some sort of moon symbolism on her, and often on her head or face. To replicate this, I decided to look at headpieces. As within these paintings the headpieces worn have a moon placed upon  the goddesses head, I tried to find something with a moon on too. I did think of making one myself however I didn't want it to look too DIY as this would remove from the immeriveness and otherworldly feeling that I aim for my photographs to hold. 

 I feel that this headpiece is perhaps most like what the Selene in my studied paintings wore. Its a small delicate headpiece that feels very feminine and elegant which seems fittings for a Goddess. The moon part of the headpiece is raised from the head which again replicates the look from the paintings above. Along the band there are small stars which create an overall celestial feeling, matching the roll of Selene.

This is more like a tiara, and is much more bulky. It doesn't have the elegance of the headpiece above, but it does also seem to hold more feeling of power due to its boldness. It's also a lot more glam, made with light reflecting jewels, much like the moon reflects the light of the sun. The moon on this is held but other element of the tiara and doesn't seem to be the the main focus of the headpiece. I think this will be a good choice for when the rest of the image is rather simplistic to add that essense of power and ruling that Goddesses are supposed to have






This final headpiece sits on the forehead rather than the top of the head. Because of this it's a good contender for when I shoot images that are from a low angle to show power, as it will be seen easier than the two above. I also really wanted to incorporate moonstone looking elements into some of my images of Selene because it's very relevant to her character and is a stone associated with the lunar dieties by both the Greeks and Romans. The Romans even believed the stone was frozen moonlight. My budget nor internet searches allowed me to get an actual moonstone headpiece, however the look of these glass alternatives replicate that of moonstone.





I also noticed that in a lot of this imagery Selene is depicted with a white dress, but the white dress often has another coloured piece of cloth wrapping around it.

Selene and Endymion, Nicolas Poussin (c. 1630)

Selene and Endymion, Ubaldo Gandolfi (1770)

Diana as Personification of the Night, Anton Raphael Mengs (c. 1765)

Every image seems to have a different colour, however, so I had to choose which I wanted to use. I decided on a royal blue, as blue is a very celestial and space related colour, it will work well with shooting at blue hour and at night, and will work well with the other colours such as whites and silvers that will be within the image. Originally, I had wanted to replicate the same type of fabrics used within the paintings, but as I started finding affordable ways to achieve this, it started to become difficult. The fabrics in these paintings are light and flowy, but also have a matte kind of finish. As I plan on shooting at night and using flash I was unsure of whether this was a good idea or if it wouldn't be seen as clearly as perhaps a satin material that reflects light better.
I decided in the end to just buy three blue scarves. One is a more matte cashmere material, so not as crisp and flowy as the paintings as I found it hard to find the right length for such a fabric. Using a ready made scarf was more affordable and accessible. The other two scarves are more reflective of light, being a silky satin material. One however, has been used for another purpose for these shoots; I also realised that in a fair amount of imagery of Selene she is seen with a kind of halo of fabric that imitates the moon. I decided to replicate this.

Selene and Endymion, Moritz von Schwind (1831)

Selene and Endymion, Filippo Lauri (1650)

My halo without flash

My halo with flash

As all I had at this point was blue fabric, I used that rather than white, however I may make a second halo with white fabric to match the paintings more. I decided to use the satin material as the light reflections will work well in the flash to show the movement within the fabric. I made it by first cutting some wire into a circle, and doubling it up. After a while of shaping, using the scarf as a size guide, I began to stick the base of the scarf to the wire using a glue gun. Once this was done all the way round, I began bunching certain parts up to create a sense of movement within the fabric, and gluing parts to either the wire base or other parts of fabric. After this however, it became clear that the wire wasn't thick enough, and therefore not strong enough to hold its own weight and was far too flexible. So I bought a non weighted hoola hoop of the same size and glued the wire to the hoop, giving the whole structure more reinforcement. I will then attach this to my back using wire and pins, which should be fine as I won't be moving too much while wearing it. 

In addition to these wearable items, I also bought a handheld moon lamp. I noticed that within the paintings i've been looking at Selene is often not simply posing, but active in a scene or situation. More often than not, this situation is her with her lover, Endymion. I have no plans of including Endymion within my imagery as I want to portray not only Selene but all of my chosen dieties as powerful alone, and not just important in regards to their lovers. I want to reflect on the importance of Selene within the mythological world, and let her be her own person. I want to produce imagery that shows she is more than just a goddess in love. Because of this, however, I realised that I have removed her most active seen that she's portrayed in, and I don't want her just standing there in a stationary pose either as this is not reflective of how she is depicted, and I don't want to give the message that she's just somebody to stand around and take in praise as that's not at all accurate to what I've read about her. My using this moon lamp it gives a way for me to show her in an active pose, overlooking the moon. The lamp can be used in two light settings,

both warm and cold. I will most likely use the cold light as this is more accurate to what we see in the sky, as well as fitting the colours elsewhere in the image (blues, whites, silvers) better.







































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