THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605160220
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEWEL BOND, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
CATHIE MORRISON RELAXES in a swivel chair in the back room of a photography studio.
A makeup artist has applied the finishing touch of color, and the bright lights capture Morrison's glowing reflection in the mirror.
``Wow, what did you do?'' Morrison asks Donetta Livesay after catching a glimpse of herself. ``Especially the eyebrows. They are always so light, and when I do them, they look like Joan Crawford's.''
Livesay, of Donetta Donetta hair salon in Manteo, tells Morrison it's a special trick. With a little coaxing, she admits to using eyeshadow instead of eyebrow pencil to get the exact shade for the brows.
In a perfect blend that combines artistry and photography, Livesay and Jim Trotman, of J. Aaron Trotman Photographs, are preparing for a morning shoot.
Morrison had signed up earlier for a fashion portrait, and now she is getting the royal treatment.
``I've had the glamorous, Hollywood shots before,'' Morrison says. ``This is nothing like that. This is so personalized and individual.
``It makes you feel so special, and it's so much fun.''
The Trotman and Donetta Donetta studios have been teaming up for nearly five years, first preparing people for glamorous portraits and then providing the pictures. Customers, who get made up and photographed in the style of their choosing, have compared the experience to an afternoon in a spa.
Trotman's wife, Laura, who handles the business end of the photo studio, first profiles each customer with a survey she says is ``much like a restaurant menu.''
The questionnaire probes clients' interests and personality type. Then, ``we try to capture that personality on film for them,'' Laura Trotman says.
Today, Morrison will be captured in three settings, Livesay says: ``soft, glamorous and wild.''
The photo shoot will last about two hours. And with equipment called a Photovix System, Morrison will be able to select proofs within 10 minutes by viewing each pose on a large TV screen.
Livesay has been a cosmetic artist and hair stylist for almost 20 years. She is trained in sanitation practices, and licensed and monitored by the state.
Trotman plays to any fantasy that clients request, with props such as feathery boas that coil around the neck, elaborate hats and dramatic, ritzy jewelry. Sometimes customers bring their own wardrobe changes.
Morrison brought her husband's dress shirt - and even a necktie - for her wild shots.
Livesay is quick to point out that Morrison is an aerobics instructor. ``What better way to show off a well-toned body than with a white, crisp man's shirt?'' she says.
But Livesay replaced the necktie with an even-wilder, exotic animal print scarf.
``We do what it takes to give our customers what they want,'' Trotman says. ``We are not a one-shot deal.''
Trotman says his service is nothing new, and it's true that hair and makeup haven't just recently become important in photography.
But more people are becoming aware, through TV and fashion magazines, that they could look just as good as many models with the proper preparation and the right lighting. The bold makeup glamor shots of the '80s are on their way out, Trotman says, in favor of a softer, more natural look.
Trotman was a director of photography for the Post-Tribune in Gary, Ind., before buying the Quik-Shot lab in Manteo in 1992. Laura Trotman says the couple had been living in the Chicago area when her dad told her the lab was for sale.
``Jim and I had honeymooned here, and I had been coming here since I was in the third grade,'' she says. ``We knew we wanted to live here.
``We weren't even seeing each other or the children, and Jim was working till 9 or 10 at night.''
So they jumped at the chance - not knowing where it would all lead. Both say they have no regrets.
When they bought it, the lab was just a film processing machine. Looking for more of a way to survive, and pulling from Trotman's former career, the couple began to build a photography studio.
Most of the older machinery has been replaced. The lab is still in operation, but the studio has taken over.
The fashion portraits are only a part of the total picture for the Trotmans' studio. It's full-service photography with scheduled appointments for family location shots, weddings, and business and advertising shoots.
Trotman covers the beach from Corolla to Hatteras - wherever customers need him.
Today he's needed in the studio.
``Say, 'Cookbook,' Cathie.''
She gives the perfect smile.
Click! ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by DREW C. WILSON
Donetta Livesay applies makeup to Cathie Morrison before a glamour
shoot by photographer J. Aaron Trotman.
J. Aaron Trotman photographs Cathie Morrison after she has gotten
the royal treatment in preparing for the photo shoot.
by CNB