Photoshoot: 'Golden Hour' by Peter Cabral + An Interview with MUA Shannon Hope

Q: When did your love of hair and makeup artistry first blossom?

A: My love affair with makeup first started as a young girl. I used to sit and watch in awe as my mum put her makeup on for work every day. On weekends I used to put red lipstick and blush on my sister and pretend that she was a model on the catwalk. As soon as I graduated school I saved all of my money and enrolled for my Diploma of Makeup Artistry and the rest is history.

Q: What inspires your creativity the most?

A: Unique beauty inspires my creativity the most. I love working with models that have certain features different to the norm, I love enhancing natural beauty rather than covering it up. I believe makeup should enhance rather than make the muse look like a completely different person.

Q: Please tell us about the experience you had working on this gorgeous series?

A: This series had been in the making for quite a while. Katie (the designer/stylist and a dear friend of mine) and I had been talking about it for a while before the shoot actually happened. We each had the same vision and eventually we decided to make it happen. Katie is an outrageously creative person and when she has an idea her imagination runs wild! Her headpieces are absolutely stunning and she is so incredible talented so I am always wanting to shoot with them and show them off to the world. I too wanted to photograph some new techniques that I had learned at a recent Masterclass with Mia Connor (who is my biggest idol). It took us a while to choose the right model for the look and then eventually when we found Erin and it all fell into place. We took our vision to Pete (the photographer) and he made it happen.

Q: What does an average day in the life of Shannon look like?

A: The average day in the life of Shannon looks like this... I have an 18 month old boy named Reid. He comes to the gym with me every day (I’m also a fitness instructor). He plays in the gym creche while I teach and then we get coffee and go home for his lunchtime nap. While he sleeps I work on organising the next shoot and return emails to my bridal clients. Afternoon time is either playing outside or we take a walk to the park. We sing “e-i-e-i-o”, dance and laugh until dinner, bath and bed time. Then more admin work, this time on social media and marketing my business.

Q: Lastly, what do you hope to achieve with your hair and makeup artistry in the not-too-distant future; do you have any exciting, upcoming plans that you would like to share with us?

A: I always have a shoot coming up. Each and every shoot that I work on is better than the last. I really love having my work published, it gives me such a sense of achievement. I'd really love just to have a steady flow of wedding and editorial work on the go. I’d love to get my name out there and be recognised for my work and my style. If I could be recognised internationally one day that would be absolutely amazing!

We want to thank Shannon for taking the time to share these beautiful images with us, as well as for answering our interview questions! We also encourage our readers to check out more of Shannon's makeup artistry by visiting her website and following along on Facebook and Instagram (@shannonhope_makeupartist).

You can also check out more of the amazing work from each of this shoot's contributors by visiting their links below:

Photographer: Peter Cabral @cabralphotography | HMUA: Shannon Hope | Headwear Designer, Dressmaker and Styling: Katie O’Brien @katieellen_d | Model: Erin O’Shaughnessy @erinosh99 | Location: D’angular Rainforest