sadie higs photography » planning a wedding?

vintage meets modern • • • bridal hair and makeup

admin — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 01:03:37 +0000

Last Fall we worked with the ladies of Bella Upstyles for a styled shoot to showcase their talents with hair and makeup. We collaborated with them again this Spring to photograph some of the current hair and makeup wedding trends.

One of the most popular trends this season is vintage mixed with modern. The Millenium Center in downtown Winston-Salem was the perfect backdrop to compliment the trend. Special thanks to Dawn’s Bridal of Lexington for providing the gorgeous wedding gowns.

Our model Beth’s first look is a beautiful 1/2 up & 1/2 down bouffant with loose waves complimented by a black floral headband and natural makeup with pink lips.

Beth’s second look incorporated a birdcage veil with floral accents in a loose-waved upstyle swept to the side. Love this one!

I love this vintage look of loose, romantic finger waves swept back to one side with a floral accent complimented by a bold lip color. And props to our model, Candice, who looks absolutely amazing for being 7 months pregnant!

Candice’s second look was a retro faux bob with loose waves accented by a black feather and bold lip color again. She looks so vintage-Hollywood-glam! Love it!

Sara’s first look had smokey eyes and neutral lips to compliment big, loose curls and a flapper-style headband with a feather.

Her second look is a beautiful 1/2 up & 1/2 down upstyle with lots of romantic, volumous curls, complimented by pink lips. (Special thanks to Sara’s fiance for standing in as our groom!)

When we were looking for models for this shoot, we immediately contacted our past bride Emily, who did an amazing job in front of the camera when we shot her bridals and wedding (part 1 & part 2) late last year.

Her first look was a bridal bouffant french twist with a modern touch complimented by a lace headband and neutral makeup.

Emily’s second look was fun & flirty with cascading curls and was very girly!

natural bridal makeup • • • bella upstyles co.

admin — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:02:32 +0000

After we did the style shoot with Bella Upstyles Co. for their portfolio, we all realized that, while many of the looks they styled were gorgeously fashion-foward and dramatic, we neglected to include a completely natural look. So, because we thought it was important to show that Ashley, Priscilla & Emily can indeed do a more-natural hair & makeup style, they asked me to be their model. I’m a pretty simplistic and natural person when it comes to my style, hair and makeup; so much that I didn’t even have my makeup professionally done on my wedding day (and I sooo wish I had now seeing the difference it makes in the photography!). It was a shock to see myself close-up after they had finished, just because I’d never seen myself so done up before, but it quickly grew on me and think it photographed beautifully-natural. And total props to Higs for doing a great job directing his clumsy wife who only knows life behind the camera!

winston-salem hair and makeup • • • bella upstyles co.

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:04:15 +0000

Meet the girls of Bella Upstyles Co.: Priscilla, Ashley & Emily. They’ve created a full-service traveling hair and makeup team and are the talented masterminds behind the hair, makeup and styling this gorgeous style shoot we posted a few weeks ago. We had the pleasure of taking some promo photos for the girls and the industrial area of Winston-Salem provided the perfect backdrop.

Meet Emily…

…Ashley…

…and Priscilla.

Not only are they talented, but they bring so much energy and laughter to any situation! I loved photographing the happiness and friendship between them!

I love the contrast of these two images because they so perfectly reflect the personalities of Emily, Priscilla & Ashley: fierce and sexy, immediately followed by uncontrollable laughter!

Aren’t they gorgeous??

Check out the Bella Upstyles Co. Facebook page!

winston-salem hair and makeup artist • • • bella upstyles co.

admin — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 02:09:57 +0000

We’ve worked with Ashley Hurst on a number of occasions and simply cannot say enough good things about her and her work! Recently, Ashley and a few of her colleagues have formed Bella Upstyles Co., a full-service hair and makeup team. Ashley & the team worked their magic on a few gorgeous ladies to show the diversity and range of their talents, and then we had the pleasure of photographing the models so the girls from Bella Upstyles can use the images in their portfolio.

I think this first look is super-cute. The eye makeup and styling is very babydoll-inspired, which is a perfect compliment to her fishtail braid.

Many brides are hesitant to do anything dramatic with their makeup for their wedding day, but this smokey bridal eye makup and neutral lip color looks beautiful with a white wedding dress. Her half-up/half-down soft curls and bangs give it a really romantic feel.

Soft romantic curls swooped to the side work perfectly with this off-the-shoulder gray dress, which is complimented by a neutral eye shadow and bold red lipstick.

This Kim Kardashian-inspired look includes bronze makeup and a side-swooped bumped ponytail, which are paired with a flowy white short dress and blue high heels.

Simplistic, yet edgy is the style that’s conveyed with this bold lipstick and lose upstyle, which includes a purple flower.

Dramatic runway makeup is always fun to play with and photograph. These feather lashes, paired with bold purple eyeliner, a simple black dress and a mini-top hat and birdcage veil make this look impactful and fun!

A messy upstyled faux hawk, dark, smokey eyes, along with dark blush and lipstick go perfectly with the all-black outfit, including large black feather earrings.

Check back to see photos of the talented ladies of Bella Upstyle Co. who created these gorgeous looks!

fall wedding colors • • • red, orange, yellow and blue

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:30:55 +0000

Sweater-weather. Fire-colored foliage. Crisp, cool breezes. Warm coffee. A light jacket in the morning. A new school year. Jack-O-Lanterns. Hay rides. Seeing your breath outside. Crock-pots. Festivals. Being cozy. Jumping in piles of leaves. Pumpkin- or apple-cider-spiced anything.

I love Fall. It’s hands-down my favorite season and I look forward to everything about it each year. Tomorrow begins September. A month that, even though today, the last day of August, was 94 degrees and sunny, means that Fall will be here, in full-swing, within the next few weeks. And I say bring it on!

In the spirit of all-things Fall, here’s a color palette created from a few of my favorite Fall photos taken at Stone Mountain State Park. The reds, oranges, yellows and blues are bold, primary colors that all compliment each other just right.