Ellie Star

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  • Golden Hour, Live and Loud

    Golden Hour, Live and Loud

    Off the studio floor and onto the stage. This was somewhere in the golden part of the afternoon, sun catching the mic stand, breeze pulling at my hair and the little daisies I’d braided in for luck.

    I’m in my soft yellow corset dress, gripping the stand like it’s the only steady thing out there, which honestly it was. There’s a whole crowd just past the edge of this frame and I could feel every one of them.

    Live is a different animal to the studio. No second takes, no lamplight to hide in, just you and the song and however brave you decided to be that day. I decided to be very brave.

    Thank you to everyone who sang it back. That sound lives in me now.

    #livemusic #stagedays

  • Corset, Console, and a Blue Take

    Corset, Console, and a Blue Take

    Standing in the live room with the mixing desk glowing behind me and the session already scrolling across the screen. I dressed up for this one, black lace corset and a tiered skirt, because sometimes putting on the whole look helps me sing like the version of myself who wrote the song.

    Headphones on, daisies in my hair, a little blue crystal at my throat for luck. The monitors are warm, the room’s dressed in lamplight, and there’s a takes-waveform waiting for me to fill it.

    I love a proper studio like this. Every knob on that desk is somebody’s craft, and I get to stand here and add my voice to it. Feeling very lucky and very focused tonight.

    Back to it.

    #studiolife

  • Eyes Closed, One Hand on the Cans

    Eyes Closed, One Hand on the Cans

    There’s a moment in every vocal take where you stop performing and just fall into it. Eyes shut, one hand cupped over the headphones so the note has somewhere to land, and suddenly it’s only you and the pop filter and whatever you were brave enough to write down.

    This was that take. My little Thor’s hammer pendant swinging, daisies still threaded through my hair from earlier, a plain white singlet because comfort matters when you’re going to sing the same phrase forty times.

    The engineer had the lights right down low, which is exactly how I like it. No mirrors, no room, just the sound.

    We got the one. You always know when you get the one.

    #recording #vocaltake

  • First Take, Daisies and All

    First Take, Daisies and All

    Warm lamps, a candle or two flickering on the shelf, and me leaning into that big silver condenser mic like it’s an old friend. This is my favourite part of any session, before the headphones go on, when I’m just humming the melody to feel where it wants to sit.

    I wove little daisies through my hair this morning without really thinking about it, and my braided headband found its way on too. Turns out that’s the exact mood of the song we’re cutting today: soft, sunlit, a bit barefoot-in-the-grass.

    There are guitars waiting in the shadows and a whole night of takes ahead. But right now it’s just this one line, over and over, until it feels true.

    More soon. I promise it sounds like sunshine.

    #studiodays #newmusic

  • Leaning On The Black Challenger

    Leaning On The Black Challenger

    Automotive shoot day and I was living for it. Big glossy black muscle car, a Challenger SRT still wet from a wash, and me perched against the front with one white sneaker propped up on the bumper. That paint was so shiny I could basically check my hair in it.

    Kept the styling athletic and clean: white tank, dark leggings with a stripe down the side, fresh white trainers, and the daisy crown carrying through from the day’s other looks. Arm up, hip cocked, chin high. Confident but relaxed, like the car is mine and I’ve got somewhere to be.

    These collabs are so fun because the vehicle brings its own attitude and you just have to match its energy. All that black chrome and horsepower next to a flower child. I did not want to hand the keys back.

    #automotive #campaign

  • Denim, A Studded Belt And A Green Wall

    Denim, A Studded Belt And A Green Wall

    Leaned up against this gorgeous weathered sage-green wall with hands tucked into my back pockets, going for that easy off-duty model look. Simple white ribbed tank, low-rise jeans, and a big statement studded belt doing all the talking at the waist.

    The wall texture is half the shot honestly, all those faint paint lines and scuffs giving it a lived-in, slightly nostalgic feel. Daisies still in my hair, freckles out, minimal everything else. When the styling is this pared back it’s all about attitude and the tilt of your hips.

    This is the throwback denim direction for the book, that mid-2000s low-slung, bling-belt moment that keeps sneaking back into fashion. Comfy, cool, a little bit rock and roll. Could shoot against a wall like this every day and be perfectly happy.

    #denim #offduty

  • Red Polka Dots, Very Sweet, Very Me

    Red Polka Dots, Very Sweet, Very Me

    This one is pure vintage sweetheart. A red polka-dot dress with puff sleeves and a full swishy skirt, little red patent heels, and a clean white studio so nothing distracts from the silhouette. I twirled that skirt more times than the photographer probably wanted.

    We kept my hair long and loose with the daisy crown, hands folded, a soft shy little smile. The whole look is fifties picnic with a flower-child twist and I am completely here for it. Full-length so you can see the shoes, because those shoes deserved their own moment.

    Honestly some days you play tough and edgy, and some days you get to be the sweetest thing in the room. This was a sweet day. Retro dresses just make me stand differently, softer somehow.

    #vintage #lookbook

  • Rooftop, Blue Sky And Cutoffs

    Rooftop, Blue Sky And Cutoffs

    Shot from below on a rooftop with nothing behind me but a big blue summer sky and a sweep of white cloud. The photographer got right down low so I towered up into all that blue, which makes even a tiny crop top and denim cutoffs feel cinematic.

    I’ve got sunglasses hooked into the neckline, a stack of leather cuffs, daisies still in my hair, and one arm thrown up to shade my eyes. We wanted that carefree just-woke-up-on-a-summer-roof mood, chin down, totally relaxed.

    The light was brutal and gorgeous all at once. High summer sun, sharp shadows, and me squinting through most of the takes until we found the calm one. There’s an old white building peeking in at the bottom that grounds it all. Proper festival-season energy.

    #summer #rooftop

  • Lost In The Headphones

    Lost In The Headphones

    Sometimes the simplest shoots are the best ones. Plain white backdrop, a plain white tee, and a big pair of vintage headphones, and the whole direction was just: listen. So I closed my eyes, tipped my head, and actually got lost in it.

    The daisies are still woven through my hair from earlier looks, which I loved against something this clean and stripped back. When there’s nothing else in the frame it all comes down to the feeling on your face, and I really did let a song carry me somewhere for a second there.

    This is for a music-adjacent campaign, which is close to my heart for obvious reasons. Half model, half daydreaming musician. I could have stayed in this pose all afternoon, honestly.

    #music #studio

  • Skate Deck, Freckles And Full Sun

    Skate Deck, Freckles And Full Sun

    Shot this one right up against a bright concrete wall in harsh midday sun, which is usually the light everyone runs from, but for a hard skate look it’s perfect. Every freckle on show, board hoisted up over my shoulder, deck facing the camera.

    Wardrobe kept it simple with a white top and the daisy chain still threaded through my hair, so there’s this soft flower-child thing crashing straight into the grit of a beat-up skateboard. That contrast was the whole idea. Pretty and tough in the same frame.

    I wanted the expression cool and a little defiant rather than smiley, so I dropped the chin and just stared it down. The sun did the rest. This is going to be a strong one for the sportier side of the book.

    #skate #campaign