Keta Meggett

Portraits 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. 

Portrait Published in Girl Gaze Book

I'm grateful to have my image of Devon included in the Girl Gaze book (out now) alongside such beautiful work with great meaning and substance. When I made this portrait, I didn't know what was going in Devon's life. We had met just a few minutes earlier and I was struck by his kindness and warmth. It wasn't until some time had passed that he shared with me what he was experiencing then and how it came through in his photo. In Devon's words:

"This picture was taken at a time in my life where everything was going wrong and I couldn't see it getting better anytime soon. I lost a lot of weight, I was depressed, and I was recovering from plastic surgery I had on my face from a car accident. I was living in a city where I had no family, no real friends, and was stuck in a failing relationship. I was booking a lot of modeling jobs, but my checks would never come on time, they were less than what I was supposed to get, or they just didn't come at all. There was one photo shoot that I did that I was really excited about; I had a huge billboard in West Hollywood on Melrose for this photographer's studio. I told my mom about it and that I was all settled into my new place in West Hollywood. She was taking a trip to Las Vegas and wanted to stop by to see me on her way there. A few days before she came to visit me I found out that my billboard was taken down because a new store was opening and they needed to put their signage up. There was also something that went wrong in my apartment so I had to throw out all of my furniture and most of my things away. My eyes were also affected somehow by my surgery; they were dry, extremely itchy, and blood shot red. I told my mom that I was doing fine in the new city that I moved to, but that was far from the truth and this picture is a visual representation of how my life was going. I had nothing. I felt empty, broken, and defeated. The only thing I looked forward to was seeing my mom, but I did not want her to see me in this condition."

I want to thank Devon Walker for being so open and trusting me. Thank you to the Girl Gaze Project, Amanda de Cadenet, Lynsey Addario, Inez van Lamsweerde, and Sam Taylor Johnson for the opportunity and everything that you do for the creative community. Do yourself a favor and purchase this beautiful book by Rizzoli on Amazon!

*Cover photo by Amber Zeekaf with book design by Su Barber.

These are more photos of Devon that we made together.

#girlgaze

Commissioned Portrait for Ethan

Ethan is a realtor based in Westlake, California. He was interested in a portrait that captured a little bit of his personality for some promotional materials. We shot this fairly close to where Ethan grew up and since he loves being outdoors and hiking, we thought it would be fitting to shoot in the mountains. As a bonus, we spotted some beautiful deer along the way.

Look Book for Thrive

Look Book for Thrive Activewear

Photography: Kat Kaye

Creative Direction: Bree @ Thrive Activewear

Produced by Space + Light

Models: Indigo McMillian @ Nu, Das, CESD & Masha @ Peak

Hair & Makeup: Kenye Hart

Digitech: Josh Fogel

Photo Assistant: Jess Whitehead

Diversity

The NY Times wrote about the Diversify.Photo website/database which I just happily found out that I am included in. It's a great piece that gives some insight into how preconceived notions don't always allow us to see one's true capabilities. 

You can read the article here: https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/diversity-in-photojournalism-talk-is-cheap/?mcubz=1

Alexis

Alexis Ordonez with Next LA

Editorial for Rogue Magazine

"Couldn't Drag Me Away..."

Published in Rogue magazine, Issue 6, Summer 2017

Photographer: Kat Kaye

Models: Sam Evans w/IMG & Next LA, Allie Holton w/Nous

Wardrobe: Sabrina Che

Hair & Makeup: Kenye Hart

Raymond Allen Burlew III

Waiting on Time

Within one room sits a boy, waiting for the seasons to pass. Hoping that his mood will change with the time, as he sits idly by.

Photography: Kat Kaye

Model: Joe Juhala w/Next LA

Wardrobe Stylist: Sabrina Che

Hair & Makeup: Kenye Hart

Preview of Editorial for Rogue Magazine

Here's a preview of my editorial for Rogue Magazine's issue 6. The models for this shoot were Sam Evans with Next LA whom I always love working with and the very talented Allie Holton with Nous Models. Wardrobe styling by the very stylish Sabrina Che. Hair and makeup by the wonderful Kenye Hart. 

It was great working with horses on this. The day felt magical..

Issue 6 of Rogue Magazine should be hitting newsstands soon!

Ben Dahlhaus

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. 

Pierson

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.

Girlgaze Exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography

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.