Afternoon with Abs
“Abs”… not as in washboard abs on a stomach, but as in Abs, an affectionate name given to Abigail Garrett. Abby is a model from Berea, KY, who has only been modeling a few months now, but has since taken the local area by storm, appearing in editorials in many of the regional publications. She has such a unique beauty to her, that it is often difficult for me as a photographer to not be satisfied with capturing just that aspect alone. But this was a shoot where it was laid back, and we would focus more on interaction with the camera and going through several sets with the styling going from a light summer look, to a hard-light, swimsuit fashion look. The hair and makeup was done by the talented Scooter Ray.
Model – Abby Garrett
Hair and makeup – Scooter Ray
Photography – Josh Eskridge www.josheskridge.com
Water and Rocks
This shoot was a low-key, relaxed evening shooting with Christen McAllister (Heyman Talent Agency) at one of my favorite locations in Louisville, KY, which is Falls of the Ohio. It’s a popular location for many photographers, but the diversity of the location always plays to the unique style of who is creating and when. I was going for results that were natural and elemental, and showed a harmonious beauty with the surroundings. We shot against the jagged rocks with a perfect sun direction, which provided a crisp, colorful light, and then contrasted that with a softer look in the calm water after sunset.
A Morning with Miranda
I make it a point to go to Chicago at least a couple of times a year to do portfolio development shoots. I’m fortunate enough to have made friends with creative talent there, as well as in other cities. I think that it is important in one’s creative growth to step outside of your area and network with people from other regions. I’ve worked several times with Andrea Pascalau of Corsei Photography. She played many roles that day, from assistance to styling to location scouting. She let me use her incredible space in Lacuna Lofts on the west side of downtown Chicago. Our model was Miranda Berggren, who was amazing to work with. Being a photographer herself, she was very intuitive to what I was looking for with certain looks and settings. She has this ability to come up with unique poses, but still look fierce, yet graceful… bold, yet beautiful. I highly recommend checking out her photography fanpage, Miranda Ann Berggren Photography. She has an artistic eye, and I’ll look forward to seeing her creative vision grow in the future.
I was also lucky to work with Chelsea Blair of Chelsea Blair Beauty Artistry. She did a phenomenal job with the looks, and was a blast to work with. She is in the process of moving to Nashville, so I would recommend reaching out to her if you’re in that area and looking for quality fashion hair and makeup work.
Pretty in Penguin – Part 2
This blog post is the conclusion and the counterbalance to my earlier post, Pretty in Penguin – Pt. 1. I had the opportunity to work with a great team in Cincinnati. I reached out to Angelo Axel Culvert of Pretty Penguin Studios in order to get some ideas rolling on how this shoot would look and feel. I wanted the day to have two distinct sets and two entirely different looks. I was working with two models that fit the bill for that (Shannon Markesbery and Taylor DiazMercado). Part 1 of the day would be a minimal styling, natural look, and Part 2 would be an over-the-top glam look. I wanted to shoot the 2nd part in Angelo’s studio and make use of the space, working with clothes racks, windows, etc. We wanted it to have a sense of controlled excess. The confined space worked great. It was just a matter of making sense of the chaos.
I had a great team with me on this shoot to make it happen…. Models – Taylor DiazMercado and Shannon Markesbery, Hair and makeup – Angelo Axel Culvert, Assistants – Natalie Darpel, Johnny Ritter and Kevin Kilpatrick
The image of Shannon Markesbery and I was taken by Angelo Axel Culvert.
Hangin with Hayley
While I like shoots that involve a hair and styling team, sometimes I love shoots where it’s just me and the model and we just see what we can create….
Pretty in Penguin – Part 1
I’ve made an effort to step outside of my geography of Louisville, KY lately in order to collaborate with creative minds and models in surrounding cities. A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to work with a stellar team in Cincinnati. I partnered with Pretty Penguin Studios for hair, makeup and styling. The day was broken into two locations and sets. I wanted these sets to be on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. The first set would be a totally natural look using natural light, minimal makeup and very basic styling. I was lucky enough to have Kevin Kilpatrick let me use his brand new studio in Covington for the first time. I loved the rustic look of the floor and walls, which added a lot of texture and character to the images.
I teamed up with Natalie Darpel of Pretty Penguin Studios for the hair and makeup for this first set. The models were Shannon Markesbery and Taylor DiazMercado. They had really diverse looks and expressions, which made it a fun-filled, creative shoot. I also had assistance from Kevin Kilpatrick.
As far as technique, I wanted to use the incredible ambient light in Kevin’s studio. I shot with wide apertures on my 50mm lens. I used a large reflector on some sets for fill light.
Stay tuned for the 2nd part of this series, which was shot in Angelo’s Pretty Penguin Studios boutique.
