I was fortunate to be taking my mom sabbatical
from commercial photography when shooting models
as if they were mannequins, was literally and figuratively in vogue.
Blank faces and empty eyes have never held any appeal to me.
When you take a picture of someone,
you are asking them to give you a piece of their soul.
I want to see what they are feeling behind their eyes.
When they are willing to share that with you,
you just can’t help but care about them.
Every once in awhile, someone comes along who has something more.
You sense them before you see them,
they change the energy in the room.
It is something that you can’t describe, and “it” is the “IT” factor.
Having someone with “IT”, in front of my camera
is one of my greatest joys,
I am completely 100% in the moment,
and the rest of the world disappears.
I used to have to have an assistant stand behind me “just in case”,
when I was shooting with one particular male model.
When I would ask him to look into the camera and stare me down,
my legs would buckle beneath me!
Recently I have been lucky enough to shoot
with an incredibly special “IT” girl.
She is a sixteen-year-old student at a high school of performing arts,
is a talented ballerina and actress, and just plain has it.
I have shot with her for a client a few times,
and plan to do a test shoot with all of the bells and whistles soon.
Even at 5’7”, she could still be a successful model,
and if she really goes for it and works for it,
she will be a tremendously successful actress.
This is Isabella. Watch for her!
*UPDATE
Bella just returned from a Seventeen Magazine shoot in NYC.
She also recorded a song that you can listen to here
She sings, she dances, she acts, she models.
I am so excited to see what the future holds for her!
**COMMENTS ARE MODERATED**
February 24th, 2010 at 11:57 am What makes your photographs magical is everything that you expressed above. I always feel as if you’re letting me into your secret world when I look at your images.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:32 pm What a gorgeous girl and what gorgeous photographs! You are so right - these photos have 100% more than the flat, soul-less mannequin look.
March 10th, 2010 at 11:43 am I’m loving your blog. You lead me here as we were discussing our next project and I got hooked reading your stories and being blown away (again) by your photography.