Gatsby Meets Grunge styled shoot ft. Meagan Hankin

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. 

Sarah's late July adventure shoot

There are not very many things I enjoy more than spending time with friends, exploring new places and learning new things. 

When my new friend from work, Sarah, approached me expressing her desire to get out of her comfort zone and in front of the camera, the idea for this shoot really came to life while my good friend Margaret and I were daydreaming about how we could make it an adventure for all of us. 

Margaret is a makeup artist, a creative soul as well, and a very dear friend of mine. Most of our conversation is either spent discussing our ideas for styled shoots, or about our wanderlust, or some combination of both. So, styled shoots while we travel the world. Our ideal jobs. Needless to say, we were excited to collaborate on our very first real shoot together.

After planning and rescheduling a few times, it all finally came to life.

This past Saturday, Sarah, Margaret and I drove 45 minutes southwest of Atlanta to find rolling hills, tall pines and the perfect sunset light. That we did. Slowly but surely, Sarah found her comfort in front of the camera, and let me tell you... The camera loves her. When you check out these pictures, that quickly becomes obvious.

I know whoever sees these images sees the confident, beautiful woman we see everyday. I hope you all love these images and admire Sarah as much as I do! I am still having so much fun exploring tons of different edits with these. I honestly had the hardest time narrowing these down to share, but here are a few favorites from our evening!