Getting ready for your next photo shoot? Have a vintage shawl and you’re looking for ideas for posing for pictures? Why not try this flapper favorite, the assiut shawl worn over the head. In both of these shots, the model is apparently topless, and draped artfully with a glittering assiut shawl.
The image on the top, of Ziegfeld girl and silent screen actress Nita Naldi features a demure pose paired with a direct gaze. Below, in Frank Eugene’s iconic image “Oriental Bride,” the modesty of the model is played up in the soft tilt of her head and downward gaze. A metal circlet keeps her shawl in place and gives her a royal demeanor.
In both of these images, the model takes center stage, elegantly seated and large in close-cropped vertical frame. This monumental pose and the soft drape of the assiut combine to create images that echo centuries of enthroned Madonna’s. These photos are at once period to the early 20th century and evocative of iconic religious imagery. Be daring or demure – or try both and experiment with how much you reveal and conceal, the direction of your gaze, and the extension through your torso.
Best of Luck and Enjoy!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina,
Feb 11, 2014.
It’s Thanksgiving day 2013, and I find myself feeling thankful for living in a land of abundance. So today, I’m sharing my favorite online resources, the ones that I am most thankful for and go back to again and again. Each of these suppliers was instrumental in supplying materials for multiple projects in my upcoming book, Cloth of Egypt: All About Assiut. Happy Thanksgiving!
Here’s a little “Belly Dancer Life Lesson,” always wear more makeup than you think you need in performance! I must admit, I use photo editing software to touch up my skin before I put images on the web. Generally, I reduce dark circles, clean up blemishes and whiten my teeth. However, I’m keenly aware that I cannot go “to far” in the photo editing process or my still photos won’t match the video performances.