Craig Smith, co-owner of Fruition Hair and Helmet Hair, recently won the illustrious title of Cover of the Decade from Hair Shots 2 The World, winning for an image from his 2015 Epoch collection, photographed by Andrew O’Toole and made into a cover in the Netherlands in Coiffure Magazine, as originally shot for the Australian Hair Fashion Awards (AHFAs). Here, Craig takes us through his process in creating the look that went on to win so much longstanding acclaim.
“We were shooting in Milan where I was an ambassador for Alter Ego at the time,” Craig said. “The model walked in and Andrew and my jaws hit the ground as we saw immediately that she was a model with the lot. She was stunningly beautiful, photogenic, calm, relaxed, had great skin, and was really comfortable in front of the camera.”
Natsya, the model, was the face of the Alter Ego organic brand and worked seamlessly and naturally with Craig’s aesthetic. Craig practiced editorial restraint, with more minimalist makeup and hair that wasn’t overdressed.
“What made it work on the day was understanding that exercising restraint was necessary,” Craig said. “Andrew and I knew instinctually what to do, just make her hair beachy with not too much product and let her be herself. She didn’t need to be overly expressive like most models in shoots, she was so authentic we just went with that.”
This approach teaches important lessons of organic style and understanding your environment and the elements of your shoot to create the ideal image, without having to force your viewpoint or aesthetic.
This approach has served Craig well, as he has won the most recent AHFA Hairdresser of the Year title in 2019 after being a finalist nine times, as well as the recent Cover of the Decade award. The award from Hair Shots 2 The World, celebrating its tenth anniversary, asked a publisher or hairdressing leader on each continent to select a cover from 329 covers scored from 2010 from the company. After two stages of the competition, Craig was awarded as the winner in May.
The image was lauded for its use of photography, lighting, model, hairdressing, makeup, style of image and an impactful but not threatening facial expression, becoming a quintessential cover and managing the editorial layers of a shoot to perfection.
Congratulations again to Craig on this inspiring look and its continued accolades.
For more information visit www.hairshots2theworld.com
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