Under construction

Lately a lot of things have been under construction when it comes to my photography. Photography is of course all about light. Translated it means ‘light writing.’ One of the things I enjoy most about the process of concept to capture is the creation process of the vision. Whether it is the makeup, hair or fashion, everything must come together for it to be cohesive and successful in my opinion. Sometimes it may to easy to overlook something that will ultimately distract from the final image. 

I have been doing a lot of art Direction for these latest shoots from set design to creating some of the fashion (not a designer, just for a photo shoot😊)

(The beginning of a garment for an upcoming photo shoot)

This process is very exciting albeit sometimes stressful and costly, but I have found that it is what it takes to make a vision come to life. The construction of these elements can be a little of my control freak coming out but it is also yet another creative outlet for myself.

(Part of a set I built recently for a photo shoot)

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Pattern Launch Party

Last weekend it was a full on fashion and party kind of night! The spring issue of Pattern was being released. The theme of the issue was Explore. The creative team of myself, Makeup artist Dabelle French and hairstylist Anthony Perez were fortunate enough to have our beauty story, Hair Dressed featured in the issue. Our editorial was focused on hair not only in styling a head of hair but also hair as fashion with three pieces of ‘hair couture’ created by Anthony and myself. 

The party was a great and busy evening! The place was packed with models, photographers, designers, makeup artists and more. It was great seeing so many people that I have been able to meet and work with all in one place enjoying fashion

Photo shoots and History lessons

Last week I had a shoot with male model Troy Oliver which was focused on shooting outdoors. Anthony Perez took a break from superb hairstyling for the day to help me with lighting which can sometimes be difficult for on location shooting and outdoors. So needless to say an extra pair of hands were appreciated. We shot around Indianapolis in areas that I thought gave a cool feel and showed texture and showed off Troy 

Seen here in one of the shots in Indianapolis. 

During part of the shoot we stopped at a place where I had been wanting to shoot for a while, a gigantic rusted safe was at the entrance of a non descript building that had a lot of character. While we were there changing outfits the owner of the building saw us and asked if we wanted to know the history of the door, and then proceeded to give us a tour of the building itself which is being transformed into a speak easy bar. The place was amazing, still a work in process, but everything in the bar comes from something reclaimed, the Windows, bar, door, decorations, the place was like walking back in time to when actual speakeasys were a thing. One awesome aspect was a clear floor at the entrance which let you look into a secret floor below where a gangsters poker game was interrupted. This place looks amazing and the owner was a great tour guide and has put so much work into the space. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Sometimes it pays to be a the right place at the right time!

Here we go again…

Recently the creative team of myself, makeup artist Danelle French and hair stylist Anthony Perez began another journey into what hopes to be an exciting and inspiring series. Last year at this time we were underway with what became our Celestial Bodies series, which were fully concepted avant garde beauty shots based on the zodiac signs. Seen here are a few…

This time our theme has changed dramatically (to be revealed later) but our working schedule remains the same. We have scheduled out the shoots which we broke up into six, shooting into June. This not only helps our sanity, but also to give us the time to fully concept and visualize each of the 12 images that are going to be part of the final product. We’ve only just begun but we do see a light at the end of the tunnel, we have a lot of plans and a lot of ideas. If only have of what we are planning is accomplished we will be already ahead of ourselves. 

Makeup artist Danelle French working with model Sara Holder for one of the first looks of this upcoming series! Stay tuned!

Inspiration

Today I was inspired. A simple sentence but it speaks volumes. To get inspired to get up, go to work, do all the things you have to on a daily basis can sometimes be fleeting or sometimes non-existent. Today however, I worked with my muse and model Gabrielle Bradley. We have worked together numerous times since first meeting at a fashion show casting. Over the years, together, we have created some of my most favorite images, including my first magazine cover. Being in an art related field where creativity is expected almost as an assembly line it can take its toll. Thank God for muses though! When we started talking about doing a shoot, which had been almost a year since working together last, my mind was staring to swirl with ideas like it hadn’t in a while. I’m not sure exactly what it is but something about how Gabrielle and I work together just brings something out in me, for this tried my hand (loosely) at fashion design, making a few of the pieces for the shoot. I am no designer, as you would see if you were there to witness it, but Gabrielle, who is an immensely talented model makes the visions come to life. With the makeup genius of Sara Hopkins we did around 5-6 looks and created some beautiful work! (I’m hoping! I haven’t uploaded yet) When working with a muse on a fun experimental project it also allows to experiment with lighting. I tried a couple different lighting setups that I personally had never tried before. To surmise, today was exactly what I needed to give me a little spark back into my creative conscious.(Muah Sara Hopkins putting some finishing hair touches on model Gabrielle Bradley)

Clay Cook/Pattern event

The past week Pattern held an event where the speaker was professional photographer and Louisville native Clay Cook. The minute I heard that he was going to be the speaker, I signed up immediately. I have followed Clay’s works for a while and his work is impressive and his story of his rise to success was inspiring. A lot of his stories felt so close to home of his beginnings of shooting in small spaces etc… I could go on about many of the things he mentioned from funny antedotes to true meaningful inflight into improving fashion photography in a business environment, but alas I cannot.

I will say one more added bonus of the evening was being able to talk and socialize with other fellow photographers in Indianapolis, a lot of the time we get in our own worlds of creativity and business that it is hard to get together. But thank you to Pattern and Clay Cook for bringing everyone together under one roof! Such a great evening!

WISH Patrol

Recently I had the privilege and I do mean privilege of being just a small part in doing something really big for someone. WISH Patrol is a part of WISH TV that helps to bring dreams or wishes to deserving families, Led by anchor Brooke Martin, we brought Kristin and Matt, a couple going through some unique and challenging circumstances, a day of pampering with hair, makeup  a photo shoot plus dinner out and even more surprises! With fellow photographer Ed Stewart and makeup artist Brandie Price, we took behind the scenes images of the excitement through the process and culminating in a professional photo shoot for the couple. This was a truly humbling experience and something that I was very grateful to be a part of. We often take so much in this life for granted. Sometimes we need to look, really look at the people that mean the most to us in life and tell them. We never know how long we have with each other. Thank you to WISH TV, Scott, Brooke and company for a very meaningful experience.

Boutique photo shoot

Last week I was asked to do a little bit of boutique shooting. It had been a long time since working with a small fashion boutique. For most of 2015 and part of 2016 I worked for Niche in Broadripple shooting weekly the latest looks to come in before flying off the hangers. Since then Laine (the owner of Niche and friend) has went on to manage a different business so when I was asked by Blue Peppermint in Fishers Indiana I was thrilled. The first time shooting with the boutique was fun and quick! (We were shooting late in the day and was a race with natural light!) Looking forward to seeing what happens in the future with Blue Peppermint(Shown here Lydia Landez | agency L Modelz Management wearing styles from Blue Peppermint)

BMG NY

Yesterday was my first time (with hopefully more to come) of working with BMG NY. The model was the stunning Esther. Her eyes were amazing and definitely couldn’t wait to work with her. You may know I love a good theme but this shoot was themeless…is that a word? This shoot was more focused on the model and looks and was a nice breath of fresh air to work on. Makeup artist Danelle French worked her magic with a natural look and with a darker glossy look that Esther looked fantastic with both. As I said this was the first time working with a different agency and was interesting seeing the similarities and differences. At the end of the classic toned down shoot, I knew going over all of the images would be difficult in a good way, too many to choose from! Back to the editing cave for now!

Yum!

A few weeks ago I was able to work with 317 Burger located in Broadripple, Indianapolis. This was a change of pace from the normal model sessions. I love working with models on shoots but working on product photography has its own rewards. I may or may not be talking about trying some of the tasty new offerings at 317 Burger. Lighting can be a bit tricky to pull off a well lit product shot as there is a little less room for artistic expression. It comes down to angles, sharpness and focus to create an appetizing shot. The reward of seeing a well lit, mouth watering burger that you shot being part of a new menu campaign is well… I forgot what I was writing about, I’m suddenly hungry!