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The Photographic Complement of Babeth Albrecht and Frances Folies


Photographer: Babeth Albrecht

Balance is important in all things. Whether it’s Lennon & McCartney or a bitter-sweet confection, two opposite sides of the same coin make for a great mixture. The collaboration between celebrated photographer Babeth Albrecht and Make-up & Hair Artist Fraukje Van De Wiele (aka Frances Folies) is a prime example of this in the realm of fashion photography. While most of the world avoids the differences which separate us, this photographer and make-up artist revel in them. Folies communicates, “Babeth loves to create strong but simple images. ‘Less is more’ is her cup of tea, which is in big contrast with my high glam/over the top colors. However, I love graphical strong images and elements, plus balance in a series. That is why I love to create and test myself to make a statement with clean and strong elements when working with Babeth.”

Belgian photographer Babeth Albrecht made a name for herself with her work published in international fashion magazines such as KaltBlut, Mith, Elegant, and Sabato. Her work embraces minimalism; the inverse mindset of Frances Folies who happily dabs color and liveliness onto her models, creating a surreal, balmy atmosphere of sweet nostalgia. The make-up artist is acclaimed for such diverse work as model Gia Genevieve and Tomorrowland (one of the world’s biggest music festivals). Albrecht notes, “The way Frances uses her specialization in retro glamour make-up to create something unique with a modern twist proves just how versatile she is. Her creativity is almost effervescent, but her eye for detail ensures she doesn’t miss a single beat.” The duos collaboration on “Pink Inception” is an ideal illustration of how these two vastly different artistic perspectives melded perfectly. The photo essay appeared in Francisco Valencia’s Elegant magazine in print and online via Mith Magazine.

Photographer: Babeth Albrecht

Shot in locations like the Historical centre of Gent and the Trinniäle art in Brugge, the feeling is like that of a pink bubble dream with an explosion of lines. It’s girly...and innocent…and strong…and bold. The photos create a world that is reality but hedges on a close proximity to fantasy, perhaps implying the delineation between where we actually find ourselves and a place where we’d like to exist. From the emotional space the camera angles draw to the perfect pairing of color palette between complexion, clothes, and colors, the moods emanate from these images. Folies reveals, “The model Emma Dierickx is a new and young talent in the Belgian modelling scene, her skin is a dream to work on. We kept her complexion as natural as possible; a big contrast to the type of foundations and end-result of pin-up looks which I frequently do. The biggest challenge for me on this was that there were so many great ideas I had working with such a great photographer and model. It’s hard to ‘kill’ some of your ideas when you’re excited and inspired. Working with a different template than I’m used to, as in this project, is actually a joy and very attractive to me. It was an opportunity to test myself and not become too comfortable…and I’m incredibly happy with how it turned out and the attention it received.”

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