This is a shoot I had been dying to do for awhile now. My vision- a simple shoot in studio with a small group of diverse women. When I first took up portrait photography, one of the biggest reasons I loved it was for the ability to show people the beauty that they hold... that they may not see in themselves. It was the comments like "Oh my gosh that's me?! I look like a model!!" that acted as the greatest form of payment for my work. I know that may sound cheesy and cliche, but it's the truth. I love the feeling of people loving my work, what creative doesn't. But as a portrait photographer, I feel like my job is more about bringing out the confidence and highlighting the natural beauty in the person(s) and letting the photo create itself through that rather than focusing on the technical side of photography. The way I see it, you could produce that most beautifully setup photo using all your photography lighting and tech-y knowledge, but if your client doesn't feel confident in themselves in the photo(s), all that work to set up the shot doesn't really matter. Obviously, I'm stating these opinions (regarding my own work) based on my style of photography which is very lifestyle focused. I use prompts to create natural looking "candid" photos. Anyways, I'll stop rambling and get into this shoot (what I assume you came here for haha)!
After we got group shots, each woman got a mini photoshoot for themself. I told the gals to bring an extra outfit if they want, one they feel strong and confident in. YOU GUYS, they killed it. They were fierce, powerful, glowing, sexy, and all in their own unique way. They seriously took my vision for this shoot, and made it an even more amazing experience than I could have asked for.
That glowing presence to the left is Minda, a fellow photographer and performer. She holds this powerful assertive and confident energy that cannot be ignored.
The lovely black and white shot is of Mary Grace. Can you believe this is her first modeling experience?! A. Freaking. Natural. She's inspiring and filled with a light that's contagious.
The edgy blue haired bada** to the left is Elizabeth. This woman is STRONG and FIERCE and doesn't let obstacles stand in her way.
That gal on the top right is my friend Kait. She's a fellow photographer (but she looks like a natural in front of the camera as well). She's gotten into film photography and I'm obsessed!
Last but not least, there's Grace looking STUNNING in a red body con dress. She's an actress and dancer, and should probably add model to that list. She came in just knowing what to do and was an absolute pleasure!
So those are the star ladies. That was our Saturday morning well spent, pre-social distancing. Reminiscing on this shoot gets me so pumped to get back out there and shooting with people in person!!