Some shoots begin with a plan. This one kept changing shape.
My fashion editorial photoshoot with Ivy Liu in Hong Kong unfolded as three distinct chapters in one memorable day.
The first, Ivy Liu in Hong Kong: A Story Told Through Personal Style, captured Ivy in her personal wardrobe.
The second, Rebellion, Truth, and Texture, featured a design by Smaranika Sarangi.
Then came the final chapter of this story at the rooftop of the IFC. That is the scene this article brings into focus.
Key Takeaway: The Edit as an Act of Creation
In fashion editorial photography, the creative process does not end behind the lens. By using post production color grading as an artistic tool, photographers can create multiple emotional narratives from a single session. This project attempts to demonstrate how thoughtful editing can shift a portrait from cinematic and warm to graphic and surreal, showing that a single frame can sometimes hold more than one story.
Hong Kong can feel historic or modern depending on where you are. In this moment, it felt layered, polished, electric, and dreamlike. Ivy stepped into this environment wearing a BRAXTON gown inspired by the anatomy of a tulip. This photoshoot marked the debut of the design, the first time it had ever been worn or showcased in a photoshoot. Against the rigid geometry of Central, the dress felt like a bloom in the middle of glass, steel, and sky.
The Concept: Color Is the Second Pose
The theme of this story emerged during the editing process. Color grading could have been treated as the final touch, but for this set, it became part of the visual narrative.
This idea reflects how color can shift the emotional voice of an image without changing the subject’s pose. A single portrait of Ivy Liu can become four different moods:
Warm and golden: evoking the softness of late evening.
Violet and cinematic: transforming the city into a surrealist dream.
Blue and cool: establishing a mood of quiet distance.
Green and electric: shifting the image into a high fashion, otherworldly realm.
Pose provides the image with shape. Color provides it with a pulse.
A BRAXTON Bloom Above Central
The BRAXTON dress served as the visual anchor of the set. Its design, featuring narrow vertical lines, caught the ambient light in a way that mimicked delicate petals.
As I experimented with different colors in the edit, the story opened into five different moods:
The four color portrait: a study in emotional shifts through precision grading.
The kaleidoscope image: a bold, graphic, and surreal exploration of symmetry.
The golden hour portrait: highlighting the liquid gold texture of the dress against the skyline.
The soft daylight frame: airy, delicate, and intimate.
The cinematic wide shot: atmospheric and mischievous, where the pose has attitude but the color keeps everything soft.
Creative Technique: The Kaleidoscope Effect
To push the visual narrative of the set, I experimented with a kaleidoscope inspired technique. By rotating and reversing a single photograph, I created a graphic composition where Ivy, the dress, and the city lights merge into a repeating pattern. This approach opened the work in a new way, transforming a single photograph into something layered, graphic, and unexpected.
Elevating Fashion Storytelling Through the Edit
This project underscored that a fashion story does not conclude when the camera shutter stops. The edit is the final act of creation. Whether transforming a rooftop portrait or constructing a kaleidoscope, the goal is to make color a gesture. A second way for an image to move.
Photoshoot Credits
- Model: Ivy Liu
- Fashion Designer: BRAXTON
- Photographer: Paul Tocatlian
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Color as the Second Pose concept?
Color as the Second Pose is a creative approach where color grading is treated as an intentional gesture. Just as a model’s pose provides the physical shape of an image, color provides its emotional voice, allowing the same photograph to convey different moods, from intimate and cool to electric and bold, through varied treatments.
Can you tell us more about your interview with Ivy Liu?
Ivy’s interview gave this project a deeper context. She spoke about presence, intention, and the way the camera observes. For her, modeling is not just about posing. It is about projecting a point of view, creating tension, and making an image feel lived in. That perspective shaped how I saw this set, especially as the color treatments began to reveal different emotional layers within the same frame.
How do you approach photoshoot collaborations with models and designers?
I approach photoshoot collaborations as a balance between planning and discovery. Some shoots are carefully shaped around concept, wardrobe, location, and mood, while others leave more room for spontaneity and unexpected moments. Either way, the goal is to create images that feel intentional, personal, and alive. With Ivy Liu and BRAXTON, the tulip inspired dress gave us the starting point, while Ivy’s presence, the rooftop setting, and the color work in the edit helped the story keep evolving.
What makes the BRAXTON dress design unique for photography?
This BRAXTON design, along with other pieces I have photographed in Bali, Paris, and beyond, works beautifully for editorial photography because of its sculptural geometry. In this shoot, the dress featured narrow vertical lines and a petal like texture that caught the light with every shift. It seemed to bloom within the frame, creating a strong contrast against the glass and steel architecture of Hong Kong.
For brands, designers, models, and other creatives looking to create inspiring imagery, let’s connect. From fashion editorials to runway coverage to publishing your work, let’s explore how fashion and storytelling intersect, and where your next project might lead.
© Paul Tocatlian. All Rights Reserved.
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