Maja is a creative and artsy young lady of Austrian descent who was referred to me by a friend. She had some experience in modelling when she was younger. She very much still dabbles in the art of photography herself as she showed me her Instagram during our interview. Essentially this was a test shoot to see how we do in collaboration. She's both very pleasant, open minded, down to earth and rides a Ninja! That's just awesome cause I ride Ninjas! While we were photographing we really got to know each others background. It's great to work with exceptionally friendly people now and then. We shot around Kits beach but boy was it busy and hot that weekend. We had trouble with parking so we ended up parking close to her home which also happens to be 20 minute walk from Kits Beach. The sun was high and was giving me harsh shadows especially since I didn't have a reflector to work with. My assistant wasn't around since we just finished another shoot earlier the same day. Fortunately, we're able to find a few good spots with some soft light to work with and we made some beautiful results!
Photoshoot with Hairlicious Studio feat. Model: Tessa Blaiklock
This is a continuation of the post regarding the Collaborations with Hairlicious. The third model of which Fahmed had driven all the way to Langley to pick up is Tessa. Normally Tessa isn't out that far but on the day of the shoot she happened to be in Langley. She's a model from London, England and originally represented by an agency named Sapphires Model Management. Of course after hearing that from Tessa I was more than excited and very relieved at the same time because it was getting late and sunsets at 7:20PM. Fahmed had arrived with Tessa at about 5:30PM and both Taiseer and her partner began work on Tessa right away. None of us had any lunch yet. Luckily Tessa brought a couple granola bars and shared it with the ladies. While they were working on Tessa I took the time to pace around the area seeking ideal shoot locations.
We did two hair looks with Tessa, straight hair and curled. We also had her in three out fits that she brought herself. Tessa was comfortable with her body and was able bang out pose after pose, her composure really showed her experience. I directed her only enough to get the composition down while making lighting adjustments with the quickly dwindling sunset, my only source of light. She was fluid as expected and shooting with her was a breeze even though I had very limited time. We managed to many poses and a few locations. Overall, we were all satisfied with the results and I gave many thanks to Tessa for her splendid performance. It was a wonderful collaboration with Taiseer and Company!
You can check out Hairlicious' Facebok page HERE.
Now here are some pictures!
"Chasing Nostalgia"- A Photo Shoot of Grunge and Romance
She wanted an anarchistic location of historic significance, one that whispers hardship, pain, and sacrifice, a dark place that would complement her shy character. A calming sensation of peace envelops us as we venture in to this miniature community. A historic heritage with deep roots dating back to 1880's when the first Finnish settlers arrived here in Richmond. Dark clouds of rainy grey can be seen creeping towards us while the sun finds an opening and peeks through. A gust of wind passes through the little slough while droplets of rain dashes through the air. "Let the wind style your hair!" I exclaimed and so it begun.
Here I had the opportunity with a very special model who wanted a unique shoot. No, not the typical preppy shoots where stylists spend hours on the models and the photographers deploy intricate lighting just to achieve the right look. None of that. No makeup, no stylist, no wardrobe, no lighting equipment, all natural and two cameras with a 35 mm and a 50 mm lens.
I wanted to progressively reveal the characteristics of her and this archaic haven and so I present to you this set in the same chronological order of how it was shot.
