Megan is a senior with just a few weeks left before graduation. On Friday, she went to her senior prom in what has to be one of the most gorgeous dresses, ever. She met up with me on Sunday for a post prom shoot. Prom pictures are great and everything but they aren't as fashion forward as this dress deserves. When we met up she brought along a second vintage dress that she had found recently. Seriously, slay is the only word that comes to mind.
Congratulations on graduation Megan! #Classof2016
It's pretty cool how the first makeup artist I started following when I moved to the DC area now only lives 10 minutes from me! I was very pleased when Rachel Lane agreed to come help me test lighting in my new "studio" space. Really it's just our guestroom/ my office with a single window and no overhead lights. But we did a lot with a little space.
Even when my cat crashed our shoot, she rolled with the punches. Honored to be working with Rachel on a few upcoming projects. Keep your eyes peeled and check out her work in the link at the top of the page.
Number one: I LOVE INSTAGRAM.
Not only is it how I share my life most often, this has become the number one way I find clients, models and collaborators. Insta is also how I got my kitty, so...
I found online retailer Vintage World Rocks. They operate out of D.C. and were looking to shoot their first look book. I love vintage clothing and the practical application in modern style. We shot in Georgetown at a unnamed hotel. We worked with a great team of women and had pretty perfect weather. Here are some of my favorite photos here, you can see and hop the look book at the link above.
Styling: Vintage World Rocks
Models: Sarah Armstrong, Christian Gonzalez, Karmin Brown, and Diamond
Hair: Hair Styles by Satira
Make Up: Sammi C. Garcia
A couple of weeks ago I got to work with Katie. Katie is a multi-agency model based both in DC and Philadelphia. She drove up to my townhouse so we could play around and test some ideas. I didn't have much of an angle, but wanted to test some lighting situations, one of which didn't work so much but we ended up going to Ridge Road Park which is practically around the block from my house and ended up most of our shoot there. We got lucky it was a cooler day and she could wear long sleeves without melting.
While the first location was completely unplanned it turned out to be my favorite. After the park we came back to my place and got weird in the alley behind my place... with a wagon and goggles I painted as she was on her way over. The first image actually made its way to the Vogue Italias- Photo Vogue Best Of list.
Lastly I borrowed a couple of 80's showgirl headdresses from Stage and Screen in Frederick MD and wanted to go for this weird old school makeshift studio shoot with harsh lighting and a sad showgirl.
We ran a little over our two hour estimation, but that tends to happen when you are chatting and making a connection. We had fun and with no direction we made some really interesting and diverse imagery.
On Saturday my family and I hopped the Metro and headed into the city for the Independence Day festivities and while I won't go into the soggy details, I wanted to share my favorite shots of the fashions and fun of the parade. Luckily for everyone the rain took a break for the parade.
The whole idea of the Indisposable Concept is to get rid of all the bells and whistles and rely solely on creativity and composition. We get so used to all the cool tricks we can do with all our fancy settings and photo shopping or "fixing in post" type of mind set. Also you get really used to shooting 500 frames a shoot.
With most disposable cameras you get 24 shots, and while there are higher end versions equipped with nice films, underwater bodies and even zoom lenses, all three times I have shot for this project I have used whatever camera was the cheapest at the local drug store.
Most of the time when people shoot for this project it is mostly travel photography, but IC has a portrait series going on. For this project I shot my cellist friend Kelsea, in Beaufort SC.
I have shot Kelsea many times before I knew she played cello. On IC for the project you only get 24 words to describe which can be difficult because people are so complex. Kelsea is a girl I connected with through a military spouse page when I first started shooting again and was looking for people who had modeling experience or at the very least were interested in fashion. Kelsea is a Black Milk-aholic and she had these really cool leggings with sheet music on them. We wanted this shoot to represent both the girl, the clothing and the music. It was much harder than it sounds!
I think the funniest thing of all, is the disposable camera used to be my favorite thing in the world. There was nothing I loved more that my crazy party pictures, interesting faces and places and just pure memory on film. And now shooting with a disposable has to be so thoughtful because we are so spoiled with our idea of endless frames, you forget how quickly or how long 24 frames can last. Most of the people who do this project, do so with the guideline of 24 frames/week.
Its the documentation aspect of our lives that used to be printed instead of captured on a phone never to be seen or always to shared via social media.
Anyways, this is a project for EVERYONE. You are encouraged to share your world in 24 frames. You can develop your roll locally and email you images in with the info pack or you can ship the camera all the way to Australia. I have done both and it is actually cheaper to do it locally that to ship. Check it out and if you do this post a link in the comments. I am nosy and want to see your life!
You can check out the full roll here:
http://indisposableconcept.com/2015/05/11/starla-l-roll-3-ic-portrait-series/