Le Fantôme de Marie Antoinette

“The guillotine is the ultimate expression of Law, and its name is vengeance; it is not neutral, nor does it allow us to remain neutral.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Photography Challenge: Retouch An Existing Photograph

For this challenge I decided to retouch a self-portrait I took last year of myself as Marie Antoinette, but with a twist. I wanted to turn this portrait into my interpretation of the fantôme, or ghost, of Queen Marie.

To achieve this effect I made my skin chalk white in Photoshop. I then retouched the photograph, changed my eyes from green to pink, and added long eyelashes, a tiara, a textured background, and some pink blood dripping from Marie’s neck where her head was severed by the guillotine.