portrait photography
The second of three parts of the latest Wild Child session with the lovely La'Brea Rashad is now up! A special thanks to Electric Revival vintage for letting us borrow a few pieces for the shoot.
Model: La'Brea Rashad
MUA: Margaret Snider
Clothing: Nasty Gal, Levis, Calvin Klein, & Electric Revival Vintage
Photography: Alex McClelland
For this blog post, I have a special guest writer, who also happened to be the model in our shoot. Dear friend Meagan Hankin has been supporting my friend Margaret and I as we both pursue our creative dreams. A creative soul herself, she wanted to help in any way possible. So she helped collaborate with us to create a shoot very aesthetically different than anything Margaret and I have done before. Here is the excerpt that Meagan sent to me to help explain our thinking behind the shoot.
I don't know about you, but whenever I see something utterly cool, I can't help but want in. Call me a follower... I could care less. When I saw these beautiful and inspiring shoots Margaret and Alex were putting together, I had to come up with an excuse to be part of it.
So, I started to think about the styles and images which intrigued me most. I'm drawn to beauty with an edge... rawness... even a little bit of grit. When it comes to fashion eras, I love the 20s and (don't laugh) the 90s. Yes, the 90s are having a bit of a resurgence at the moment but, for me, they symbolize growing up. My tween and teenage self was far from rebellious, but one could not escape that spirit. And certainly the 20s were also a time of rebellion: against social norms, acceptable hemlines and even the teetotaling law. The underground, whether jazz or grunge, bubbled up to change the mainstream music and fashion of the time. Stylistically they are at extremes... high glamour and flash versus a stripped down, blue collar aesthetic.
But, what if we blended these two very different eras together? What would that look like exactly? I didn't know, but was certain I knew the two perfect artists to explore this idea.
So she couldn't have said it any better. Finally, the images are culled and put up! Here's our little grungey gatbsy experiment.
Makeup: Margaret Snider Makeup Artistry
Model: Meagan Massa Hankin
THEN WE WENT OUTSIDE.
And magic like this started happening. Meagan was made for this look.
I am so very thankful for the way this shoot turned out. I'm grateful to have creative friends that encourage each other.
In the photography world, social media is a legitimate business-growing tool. The Facebook groups, the meet-ups, the blog sharing. It's all a way to get to know those in your industry, to learn, to grow, to foster relationships. To be inspired.
All you fellow photographers are nodding your heads yes. I know you are.
When I really discovered how powerful social media is for me personally, I dove in head-first. One of the first people who I discovered through an Atlanta photographers group was Halie Johnson, of Halie J. Photography. Instantly, I was blown away by her style and her true talent.
Me being me, I obviously reached out to her via email and essentially professed my love of her work and her personality that clearly shone through her images. We messaged back and forth a few times, and I knew we would click, and I was determined to meet her in person!
When coming up with the concept for this photoshoot, my makeup artist, Margaret Snider, and I were trying to think where we could find someone who fit the edgy look we were going for. On top of that, we needed someone comfortable enough in their own skin, and brave enough to get down to their johns in the woods for us. We needed someone who could handle the transition perfectly from light and beautiful to dark and mysterious and haunting.
So I reached out to Halie. The rest is history.
I guess you could say, long story short, the first time we met, I got Halie to get down to her undies in 45 degree weather, sitting on a rock in a State Park. She's pretty cool like that.
I hope you absolutely love these pictures as much as I do. I'm not afraid to say that I am so excited to share these with everyone, and I am so proud of this photoshoot!
Model: Halie Johnson (www.haliejphotography.com)
Makeup: Margaret Snider (website coming soon!)
Styling and Art Direction: Alex McClelland & Margaret Snider
