Walkin on Wabash
Working with new people in new locations is creative fire for me. The opportunity to assemble a team of beauty and talent and simply walk down a street can be a wonderful thing, and one that I don’t take for granted. There are many things to love about Chicago, but one of the things I love for photoshoots is the infinite number of lines and pockets of light that I can use for a photoshoot. Glass buildings suddenly become huge reflectors casting beautiful light on a model. Trees and objects cast interesting shadows that I use in the composition. My mind literally goes into overdrive and sometimes I have to reign it back in, making sure that I don’t short circuit.
For this shoot, I had the chance to shoot with the beautiful Angelika Rol. I had ran across her profile a couple of years ago, and knew that I would want to work with her at some point. I was a fan of her unique beauty. What I didn’t expect was the ease of fluidity and poise that she had in front of the camera. It was pretty much effortless for me, and the shoot had a great flow from beginning to end. This was also my 2nd time working with Joanna Boblak. She is highly talented at hair and makeup. And I appreciated her attention to detail and flexibility to help us create, but also leaving room for improvisation. Last, but not least, I was lucky to have a styling powerhouse for this shoot with Kenya Sherron. Once I saw her website, I knew that she was going to add the right kind of stylistic elements to this shoot. We went for a minimalist vibe with a retro spin, complimented with pink and white tones. It was perfect for the setting that we were using. I highly suggest checking out all their pages and work.
Model – Angelika Rol
Hair and makeup – Joanna Boblak
Styling – Kenya Sherron
Photography – Josh Eskridge www.josheskridge.com
Chicago, I’ll be back soon!……
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
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.
