Maybe it’s the whole “thank u, next” buzz or my quiet love for Ariana Grande since her Victorious days, but her black and white covers always have inspired me. I loved the light and the simplicity, so I decided to make something out of that. I bought dresses from ASOS, reached out to five great ladies and booked a studio space. And here we were, making portraits that stemmed from an album cover.
Now, while the shoot was inspired by the light of the album covers, I didn’t want to copy it. I chose dresses that had movement or showed off the model’s form. I wanted to play with movement, shadows and light.
I had the pleasure to work with some Milwaukee creatives on this shoot. It’s funny though, cause save from one, I’d already been able to work alongside them in one way or another.
Kara Mueller, local Milwaukee “it girl”, graces the work of Brew City greats like Tif Cohen, Madelynn Joy and recently even was a hand model for a New York jewelry brand – we even lucked out and got to use the manicure they gave her (thanks, Clean Origin Jewelry). She and I have run into each other in true Smallwaukee fashion a few times. I’ve assisted Tif Cohen as she made some bridal magic with Kara as the bride and she was kind enough to model for a Good By Luck workshop I attended this past April.
Meghan Lengell is a rising star who I’ve photographed previously for Elyse Michele Designs and she’s since chopped her hair off. She rocks a pixie cut that extenuates her killer bone structure and was kind enough to come up to the Milwaukee area through Chicago traffic for this shoot.
Lexi Lee and Kelly Schubel were my makeup and hair ladies, that absolutely knocked it out of the park and had the girls looking wonderful.
My good friend and travel blogger, Chelsea Ahlgren was my set’s cheerleader, dress steamer and assistant. I couldn’t have pulled it off without her.
The reason why I feel the need to explicitly mention each woman is because we had an all woman team, which I’m personally all about. I love the fact we are able to celebrate and make art together in a field that frequently highlights men.
Thank you to these lovely souls for creating something wonderful with me and trusting me.
