Inspiration
I create photo fantasies through beauty photography. Often, for whatever reasons, vibes, intuition, and circumstances, the results conjure memories from my teenage and young adult fantasies and experiences. It just happens!
Typically, when I’m collaborating with someone new, I don’t ask her to dress or pose in a certain way that reminds me of girls I used to admire in high school. 😄 Ashlee showed up to the shoot dressed in textured, cotton leggings, a red, knit mini-dress with exposed shoulders, and a long, black sweater. At first sight, I was impressed. Later, as I looked through all my clicks to choose my favorites to edit, I made the association that she looks like a young adult version of the cool, artsy one that might have been in drama club, art class, and maybe the choral group in my high school. 😎 All this is to say, she looked like my version of “cool.”
Later, when Ashlee, David (my lighting assistant for the day), and I were at dinner eating Pho – Vietnamese Noodle Soup – in Dorchester, Ashlee confided that in high school, she wasn’t considered “cool,” but was instead the “weido goth girl.” All the cooler, in my opinion, and now all grown up and sexy – forever captured in this photo fantasy!
This new team of me, Ashlee, and David met up on a chilly November day with snow flurries at this beach in South Boston. It was such a pleasure to collaborate with Ashlee for the first time. I’m so impressed with her expressions and how pretty and cute she is. When a face like this directs her sultry and moody facial expressions to my lens, she delivers the perfect look for my style of beauty photography.
Later, at dinner, I saw how smart and open she is about her past and present. Good communication is key to building trust and inspiration for shoots like this, so I’ve learned to identify and appreciate especially good communicators. They are people I like to collaborate with, again and again.
Shot with:
- Nikon D750 camera
- Nikon 85mm 1.8 G lens
- Flashpoint Xplor 600 monolight in Glow EZ Lock 48″ Deep Parabolic Softbox
- Flashpoint Zoom R2 Li-on flash with plastic diffuser and red gel
I’m proud that my beauty photography inspires people throughout New England to connect with me about collaborating. I explain to hopefuls that my situation is different from younger photographers in that I have a family and full-time job that I’m responsible for, so my time is limited. I am very careful about who I invest my time in, because I don’t have much extra time to invest. It’s rare when I am able to say, “yes,” especially now with cold weather setting in.
It takes a lot of courage for an aspiring model to approach a photographer, so if I can’t accommodate someone I try to refer them to a reputable, talented local photographer.