It took place on a cold weekend back in December.  I worked with two incredible hairstylists (Liz Lane and Matthew Tyldesley) for their entries into the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA).  It was a long, creative, fun and exhausting weekend.  We had an amazing team of models and the master makeup artist Isidro Valencia on board to make it happen.  The competition to be nominated for anything in NAHA is fierce and is highly regarded.  While we didn’t get nominated for any category, I think we created some great stuff that weekend.  I learned a lot, and will have a slightly different mindset when approaching entries for next year’s competition.

Liz Lane – hairstylist

Category entered – New Hairstylist of the Year

Models – Theresa Krosse, Jessi Neidert and Anita Mwiruki

Makeup – Isidro Valencia

Assistant – Michelle Patterson Gleckler

Matthew Tyldesley – hairstylist

Category entered – Avant Garde

Models – Anita Mwiruki, Kayla Holts and Megan Ducharm

Dress and designs – Genna Yussman

Makeup – Isidro Valencia

Isidro Valencia – makeup artist

Category entered – makeup

Models – Jessi Neidert, Theresa Kross and Anita Mwiruki

Hair – Liz Lane

Assistant – Michelle Patterson Gleckler

To me as a photographer, sometimes the most fun and invigorating shoots are the ones where I have little idea of what to expect.  It’s a controlled form of chaos that can challenge you to be your best creatively… on the spot.  It takes a certain comfort level to do this, and I certainly didn’t start out this way.  But I love walking into a situation with a model, and saying “this is what we have to work with… what can we create with this?”  Of course it helps to have a model like Kayla Holts.  It also helps to have a talented makeup artist like Isidro Valencia. Kayla is a true professional that is engaged in what she does and always brings something new and unique to a set.  She studies her poses, and isn’t afraid to try something that is not standard.  She’s willing to lay in the floor when I say, “Hey you see those shadows over there?  What would it look like if you laid in the middle of them?”  The pictures here are not so much a result of planning, but from communication and interaction during the shoot.  We have full faith in each other’s abilities.  And we’re not afraid to fail, because it’s all part of the process.  These sets were all shot within my building using different light sources (skylights, reflectors, windows, floors and walls.)  I love using natural light in unique ways.  I’ve always said that my building was made for photography.  And when it comes to improvisational shooting, it couldn’t be better.  It’s fun to have people like Kayla and Isidro help me put it to the test.