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Merry Christmas Mermaids!
Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Today I wanted to share a behind the scenes look of my most recent project- my 2023 Christmas Mermaid photoshoot! The beach day was spontaneous and the fit was put together in about 30 minutes at the house and thrown on throughout the 30 minute car ride. Check out the fun video BTS video below to get a first hand perspective of what it’s like being a mermaid content creator.
GRWM for a Christmas Mermaid Photoshoot
One December morning, my husband looked to me and said “wanna go to the beach?” as he often does in warmer months. Though the temperatures were starting to get drop, I excitedly replied yes and quickly began scrambling around my mermaid office for costume pieces. December snuck up on me and I had no Christmas content prepared! Today we would fix this.
I looked through my collection of fabric Finfolk tails to find the perfect Christmas color palette to shoot. I narrowed it down between my teal & white Birth of Venus mermaid tail which gives icy winter vibes and my green & maroon Riverbend which has a classic Christmas aesthetic. I went with the Riverbend to maximize color on the screen and found an old red bathing suit top to match it.
I managed to pull together a full look in the car like the true passenger princess I am. I brought along a sewing kit and stitched a white boa onto my red bathing suit top to give it a cute holiday silhouette. I also brushed out my hair on the drive there and prepped my tail when we arrive. Basically I had to put my monofin inside the plastic casing, so it took just a few minutes to slide in and strap closed with velcro. Lastly I put on a touch of make up, though I planned to mainly face away from the camera today.
Once I was all dolled up for my photoshoot and Anthony was all geared up for his dive, we packed up and walked down to the beach together. He’s gonna go for a dive and hopefully catch us some lobster for dinner, while I film with my tripod on the shore. I wore my sweater because it was actually starting to get a bit cold down here in Florida. And by cold I mean like in the 70s. Still I think my husband is crazy for going diving in this water, even with a wet suit. But it is a perfectly flat day for diving.
My first goal is to set up my home base. That includes setting up a beach umbrella and rolling out a beach blanket where I can lay out my mermaid tail, gear, and props, and a place where I can escape the sun. Once I feel comfortable in my spot I set up my tripod and put on any costume accessories. Today, I brought along my Santa hat and a faux fur ear warmer that I threw on top for extra fluff! It goes pretty well with the fluffy top I made in the car- if I do say so myself. And don’t forget the adorable faux fur wristlets to tie it all together!
Now it’s time to get in the tail and shoot!
I lay out my tail where I plan to sit and center my iPhone camera on it and start filming. Climbing into a tail can take time so just be patient! I start questioning if I chose the right spot to lay as the tide comes in and comes super close to soaking me! But ultimately I choose to keep getting ready in the same place. Once the tail is on and adjusted, I get into my first position. I use my hands to dust away any footprints I created in the sand, to make the scene look clean and magical. Then, I can begin working the camera in my first position.
I take my time posing and making fun magical movements and silhouettes before crawling into my next position. I’ll flip my tail and make more gentle movements for peaceful mermaid videos. I repeat this process about 4-5 times often getting in and out of the tail between takes.
It does take a bit of time to get ready and I’m almost never alone on the beach, so you have to be comfortable with people watching you “transform” if you want to be a mermaid. I had a lot of people asking questions and asking to take photos- I was even joined by a little girl who was insisting I get back in my tail! We ended up building a “snowman” out of sand together and playing a bit on the shore. If I’m not shooting with a photographer, I’m more likely to take time to answer people’s questions or stop to hug the kids!
Luckily the weather was super great so I was able to take long continuous recordings without my phone overheating and bang out the shoot in an hour. I keep an eye on Anthony’s dive flag that floats on top of the water and marks where he is swimming. When I see his flag heading in to the shore, I start packing up my gear & saying goodbye to any friends I made on the beach! Then I’ll go home to edit content to share with you! See below for some of the final videos.