OK, to be honest, I still have butterflies over the latest style shoot I was able to photograph for 225 Magazine. Hot Summer, bright gold light, bold colors, blue skies, the feeling of childhood, sweet nostalgia... all on 35mm in the 'Best of 225' issue, one of the biggest issues of the year. I had so much fun experimenting with dreamy lighting techniques and prisms. Collaborating with my amazing editor, Jenn Tormo, and all of the other ladies for this was amazing and it turned out super magical! Plus, having my sister as one of the models made it a shoot to never forget.
Really though, being able to shoot film for the magazine is a goal I mentioned earlier this year- an idea I pitched. Making it come to life and accomplishing the goal... was even better. There is something about my 35mm that puts me in my *zone* and I absolutely loved every moment. My 35mm is probably my best friend. It was the first camera that I learned on and I still shoot on it all the time for a good chunk of the work that I make. I have a lot of experience honing in on my style and colors and taste on this camera because it has been with me for so long. It's also way smaller than my DSLR which has a ton of advantages! It's freeing to be honest. Photographers would understand, I was really able to tuck and roll and get in the positions I felt best for the shot way easier. Haha! You could literally Parkour with this thing! And as compared to my giant DSLR, it's way less intimidating and way less intrusive which I think this helps with models soooo much.
For this shoot, I was really dead set on having butterflies in some shots. I don't know why. I had the idea and I was really stubborn about making it work, so I knew I had to get some sort of prop to make this happen. I scavenged the Dollar Tree and found some crazy colorful clip on ones. I mean, it could have looked terrible or it could have looked amazing. Worth trying!
Day of the shoot, the very first look we took to location, I kid you not, a butterfly flew in the frame and hung out with us for a minute or two. Before it flew away, the model was able to play with it and pose with it, and I got a handful of shots with an actual butterfly. It was this random idea I had of a very particular shot that I wanted and... it happened just like that. To be honest, THIS is how I knew the shoot was going to be magical and amazing and it made me feel so much more at ease and confident about the rest of the day.
Getting people to trust film is not as hard as I think it will be sometimes. It's fun sharing this passion of mine. Film is all about the process, experimentation, patience, and the ability to really invest in the moment of making of something and sometimes just letting magic happen even if you don't know what the magic will be. I've included some of the outtakes and film burns for you to look at!
Check out the style shoot below and pick up a copy of the July 'Best of 225' issue on stands now!
Styling: Elle Marie Hair: CeKeisha Williams Makeup: Shelby Mumphrey
Models: Daisya Collins of Oneofakind Talent and Elizabeth Labat
Creative Direction/Editor: Jennifer Tormo
Find it at 225 Magazine online here.