portraiture
I came into the shoot with an open mind and approach. We started with a clean slate and started layering emotions and fragments of stories that we came up with together. At some point during our shoot, I started to see emotions and feelings coming through Allie that I had just experienced myself--things that I'm still working through.
When you start to see yourself moving, feeling, and reacting right in front of your eyes through somebody else it feels so magical.
Read MoreI recently filmed Los Angeles based musician Graham Shafer performing two songs from his debut album, Where the Light Came Through. In between takes, I was able to capture this still of Graham. It's a great album and it was beautiful to hear him sing live.
Read MorePortraits of Keta Meggett also known as Keta Rush from Women of Wrestling (WOW). Keta has an incredible story of perseverance and courage that I couldn't properly sum up in one post. Keta took PTSD from a serious trauma and turned into a successful career as an actress, pro-wrestler, Muay Thai & Jiujitsu fighter, and anti-bullying activist. She runs Team Bully Buster, a self defense program that helps young people protect themselves in dangerous situations. You can also see Keta as Rayna on HBO'S Room 104. Keta is truly an inspiration.
Alexis Ordonez with Next LA
I recently worked with model Ben Dahlhaus with Next LA, PMA Hamburg, and Models 1 London. While I do love conceptualizing and planning my shoots, I occasionally will do more of a spontaneous shoot with nothing planned ahead of time. I find that these type of shoots help keep my mind open to the creative process and connect me even closer to my intuition. Hair by Kenye Hart and wardrobe by Betty Barajas.
I made some portraits of Pierson Williams at Next Models LA. Pierson has done a lot of commercial campaigns with companies like Nike and Adidas. For our time together, I sought to capture something more personal.
I am happy to announce that I am part of the Girl Gaze exhibition currently being held at the Annenberg Space for Photography. Girl Gaze is a multi-media project founded by Amanda de Cadenet and is supported by Inez van Lamsveerde, Amber Valletta, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Lynsey Addario, and Collier Schorr. At the opening night, Amanda discussed the importance of media platforms embracing imagery from a female perspective and it was inspiring.
Whether you care or don't care about fashion and art, it is irrelevant when it comes to the significant effects that these industries actually have on your sense of self and the different roles you perceive people having or being capable of having in society. Listen, I love the work of many male photographers and continue to do so. However when one group dominates the image making process, as is the case with the photography industry, the results are images that cater to that one group and how they see the world. You become conditioned to believe in expectations that may not represent your experience in life and contribute to a feeling that you're always coming up short. At that point it's not about your experience but what someone else thinks it should be. There is a difference between a story being told by a main character versus a bystander. And personally, I enjoy seeing a woman for who she is and how she sees the world and not what she's been told to be.
Here are some photos from the opening night!
Artist Elyn Kazarian and I at the show. Polaroids by Sabrina Che.
There is a little boy inside the man who is my brother... Oh, how I hated that little boy. And how I love him too.
-Anna Quindlen
Models: Joshua Wilson with Next Models, Dayne Eigner with M
Wardrobe Stylist: Sabrina Che
My photo series, My Skin, My Body is being featured on Udee for a second installment. In the series, I photograph women in nature with no retouching. The feature includes an interview I did with Fahamisha Thompson who sat in for the series. Udee is doing some amazing things and I'm so honored to be a part of it! See the link below for the feature!
http://udee.co/skin-body-part-3/
Dean Michael with Next Models LA
Photography by Kat Kaye
Models: Leah Peterson & Claire Layman @ Hoffman Models, Kansas City
Hair & Makeup: Paige Pelfrey
Dedicated to a friend I once had. While the world we constructed and inhabited was quite small, at least we could be alone together.
Video coming soon
I recently had the pleasure of making some portraits of one of my favorite models, the ever inspiring Shaun Ross.
My photo series, My Skin, My Body is being featured on Udee for a second installment. In the series, I photograph women in nature with no retouching. The feature includes an interview I did with Anette Puskas who sat in for the series. Udee is doing some amazing things and I'm so honored to be a part of it! See the link below for the feature!
http://udee.co/skin-body-part-2/
I was commissioned to make some portraits of hair stylist extraordinaire Julie Daniel, who also works as a national design artist for Neuma Beauty. You can get in touch with Julie through her website www.JulieDanielHair.com.
I was recently commissioned to photograph individual and group portraits of the Fall 2015 Environmental Design students of Art Center College of Design. Congratulations to them for graduating today!
