Harvey Petito + A Fishy Friend

I’ve been testing a lot in the studio lately, but a few weeks ago I had my youngest model on set yet. Harvey Petito is making a huge name for himself in Melbourne, and no wonder- he is a champ! I had been following Harvey on Instagram for a while, but had never thought to ask if he wanted to test. But a little emoji comment on one of his pictures caught the attention of his mum, Sharon (who manages his account), and it snowballed from there.

I was really excited to work with Harvey, because I hadn’t worked with a model of his age and experience before. What I liked was that he was just himself. Asking questions, telling puns, eating the lollies that I purposefully placed out on the bench. He was full of energy, but also knew how to work the camera. It was fascinating to watch, and I found that I approached the shoot and my way of reacting to him differently than when I shoot older talent. I really liked that fluidity, and the way that we both kind of adapted to each other’s rhythms.

One (silly) idea that I had, was to do quite a dark portrait, involving Harvey holding a squid. Something quite deadpan and a bit faded or washed out. Long story short, I couldn’t get a squid, but I did get a garfish, which provided a bit of fun and a little bit of “grossness” to the set. Something different, that’s for sure.

Thanks Sharon and Harvey for coming down to the studio- I had a great time, and I think I would like to do more testing with young models. It’s a different way of thinking and working and I liked that a lot.

 

“Changes” Editorial

It seems like a long time ago that I worked on this collaboration with Marlene Olsson and Erin Tunn, but its finally allowed to be shown to the world. We photographed this collaborative piece around the time when David Bowie passed away, so there was a little bit of an influence in that respect. We also had no stylist on the day, as our scheduled stylist unfortunately fell ill. So the styling was all up to me, and therefore ended up featuring such designer garments as a vintage kimono (inside out), and a queen size bed sheet. Going to be all the rage next season, I hear.

Read about the shoot in an earlier blog post here.

TEAM
Photog: Steph Doran
HMUA: Marlene Olsson
Model: Erin @ GTR Global
Assistant: Josephine Tut

Why I’m Always Laying On The Floor

This month has turned out to be quite a busy one, but I’ve been lucky enough to get a few tests in to keep my motivation up. I really love testing out ideas and working creatively, so I think it’s important to keep pursuing personal projects and shooting for fun occasionally too! I often work with Marlene Olsson, who is an amazing hair and makeup artist, so when she suggested we do a shoot together, I jumped at the opportunity.

Always on the floor…

Marlene had recently done some hair styling classes to improve on her already huge knowledge of hair, and had some ideas she wanted to test out. We put together a rough mood board, and got Erin from GTR in as our model. But our stylist unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute, leaving us with no garments.

Luckily, I was ready to improvise.

I have a few go-to garments that I keep in my wardrobe for such occasions. Lots of kimono and flowey pieces, which can be adapted to many different shoots. I had also been to the Japanese festival the day before, where I picked up a few other vintage kimono. So I wasn’t worried.

Going in with no real plan was kind of good, as it forced me to be creative with my set, garments, and lighting. I usually gravitate towards darker, shadowy lighting that is moody and has a high level of contrast, so I wanted to create something entirely different with this shoot. I wanted to keep it light and high-key, and very soft.

Hair and makeup took about 3 hours, so I had time to build my set slowly. I wanted to work with texture, so I draped and hung various fabrics and paper form around the studio. It’s amazing what you can create out of nothing.

Above: final makeup checks, and me posing for a lighting test. (haha!)

For garments, we improvised as well. Without giving away too much information, I want to say that my favourite outfit of the day was a vintage kimono worn inside out, teamed with a bed sheet that was used as a maxi skirt. Like I said, improvisation.

Not having a set plan ended up being a great thing, as the shoot developed and changed organically, and we got some amazing results. Also we got to use the smoke machine, which is always a bonus in my books!

A behind the scenes shot of Erin doing her thing. Courtesy of Marlene’s instagram.

 

So, this begs the question- why am I always on the floor?

I’m always trying to look at things from different perspectives and try to capture my subjects with different angles. I often find that a low angle can be more dynamic. But some subjects don’t photograph well from below. On this occasion though, I ended up laying at Erin’s feet and looking right up at her. Often not a very flattering angle, this just worked. But you’re going to have to wait to see the results :) I’ll give you a hint: there is a David Bowie reference.

Also a huge thanks to Josephine for coming along to hang out and assist. I hope you learned a lot!

TEAM
Photog: Steph Doran
HMUA: Marlene Olsson
Model: Erin @ GTR Global
Assistant: Josephine Tut

Published In Solstice UK

Very excited to see my work published in issue 3 of Solstice magazine in the UK. This series is called ‘Colour Is Cure,’ and features some stunning Antidote activewear made by Aussie designer Lara Ulasowski.

PHOTOG || Me
MODEL || Peggy Ford @ Scene
HMUA || Jyoti Chandra
ASSIST || Bella Plush

If you want to hold my work in your hands, the MagCloud link for purchasing the issue is here

Published In Elegant Magazine

Woohoo! My fashion editorial “No Strings Attached” was published in Elegant magazine. Well done team!

MODEL || Thea @ Scene
HMUA || Marlene Olsson
STYLIST || Kathryn Menze
ASSISTANT || Davey Diamandis