Seasonal Update Spring Nail Art Hand Shoot

After being unhappy with the results of my 'seasonal update shoot' and unsure if I'll get a chance to reshoot with a model and photographer, I wanted to create another image to support the article, that I could achieve without the need to rely on collaborations with others. I wanted to include the pressed flowers but in a far more subtle way than the original shoot. I experimented at home with the idea of sticking the pressed flowers onto the nails and topping with a transparent, glossy, pink tinted nail varnish to give a jelly like effect. Below are the images of my tests on the nails. I tried three different techniques before deciding on the final process.

For the first, I layered the flowers over a pale pink nail varnish, then added the flowers and topped with a top coat. I really like the way this looks, however the result is far too opaque for the outcome I am creating.

Next, I tried using a pale pink jelly polish over the nail, then applying the flowers and topping with another layer of the pink jelly polish. This didn't work out so well as the polish clumped around the flowers, looking messy and unprofessional.

Finally, I began this with the same pale pink jelly polish, then applied the flowers and topped with a clear top coat. This was my favourite outcome of the three as the pink colour showed through, but there was no clumping around the flowers.

I used my friend Becky as a model here, as she has delicate, dainty hands and I knew she would be reliable, which was important to me due to the timing. I actually found shooting hands very hard, as finding a position where the nails were visible, but the hands looked elegant and attractive was very difficult. These are some of my favourite images from the shoot.

I think the most effective image is the first. The hands are positioned nicely, with the nails in clear view and I love how the lighting causes the back of the arm and underside of the the hand to be in shadow. To create this, I lit this image from the front and the right-hand side, but not from the back of left hand side. I also really like the bottom right image, but unfortunately, this image isn't of a useable quality. I think the ISO was accidentally set quite high which has caused a grainy quality to the photo. While this is annoying as it would have been better to have options to choose from, I still prefer the first image and you can see the nails far clearer. I think that in combination with the product shots these images will help to supplement my 'Seasonal Update' article and incorporate the flowers in a way that is far more subtle and pretty.