When I reached out to Ms. StefaniaFerrario a year ago via Instagram, I put it into the universe that we would someday meet up and when I didn't hear back instantly (because that's what we expect, right?) I assumed she was busy living the dream of being a model and doing her thang (which she was!). But let me rewind a bit: My first "meeting" with Stefania, was watching her interview in the Embrace documentary and watching her speak so eloquently about what it was like being a "plus" model who is between a size 8 and 10 and explaining about the terrible things that women would do to themselves and their bodies to be accepted into the modeling industry. As soon as I saw her poise and sparkle on camera, I started following her on the Instagram. Now, I had never really had the guts to reach out to professional models before, but for some reason I reached out to her because our dual passion for body neutrality and celebrating the uniqueness in humans was something that connected us. Anywho, fast foward now a YEARish after I sent the original message asking to work together and I commented on one of her insta stories about a book she had found! I guess, in responding to my message, she had seen that I had previously messaged her about working together and messaged me back telling me about the book AND THEN SAYING YES WE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER. I almost dropped my phone....but I tried to play it cool, because I didn't want to scare her off. But in Winnipeg, in my studio, I was fucking FAN-GIRLING. HARD. Anywho, she had just moved to New York to model with IMG Models (she's originally from Australia), so I took literally the only free four days I had off in the last 6 months and booked a flight to NYC. Sometimes, you just gotta take a chance. Now, this sweetheart also let me stay with her, which was freaking incredible, because she, like me, gets inspired at the drop of a hat so we found ourselves shooting throughout the day and even one evening at midnight (as you will see in another chapter later on!). So, the day I flew in, I had a hiccup with my luggage at the airport, but we ended up shooting anyway! Previously, I had found this adorable vintage cotton bra and panty set from the early 80s so I threw it in my bag last minute AND THANK THE GOOD LORD! It fit her like a damn glove. We paired that with her amazingly tiny pink bathroom and set to work on our first editorial! Now, as a she is a professional model, I doubted my skills for a second...especially when I pulled out JUST my camera and she said "You don't have any lights?" and look inquisitively at me. I choked down my fear and replied "Nope, I like shooting with ambient light." but in my brain was like "oh my fuck." But really, what was I going to do? I work best under pressure and have way more fun creating, so somehow we managed to throw together literally one of my favorite editorials EVER because it is lifestyle, but also bad ass. Oh, Stefania is also a big proponent in saying no to Photoshop! So, while her images have been color corrected and color toned, there is no skin retouching on this fierce babe! So, now that you have the low-down on how we met, I am going to let you get to enjoying this delightful session we did! I introduce to you Ms. Stefania - Chapter 1:
Lace {inspiration session} ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
I had a vision for this session from the moment I saw this lingerie set and knew that Kylie & Jade would be able to help me pull it off. I wanted to go for a vintage softness, femininity, and still capture the strength of women. Kylie create magic with the makeup and it was perfect for the "vintage dolly" effect and then Jade, of course, was able to slip right into this role (as she does with most of our creatives!) to bring this session to life. We paired the lingerie with a pair of lace socks, lace applique high heels, and a lace cape that I found at Value Village. Sometimes when I have creative ideas, I just create without thinking about where it comes from...I just make it happen. Which is why there is rarely a "story" to go with the images, aside from "LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIFUL IMAGES". I think as photographers, we get caught up in thinking we need to explain ourselves with words in our blogs as well as with images and while some stories are well explained, there is a reason why there is a saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". So, with that, I am going to stop the chit chat and let you enjoy the eye-gasmic images below!
Neon ~ Toronto Editorial Session
Model: Taylor Oakes / The Internet CreatureLocation: Neon Demon StudiosNot much to write in regards to this shoot aside from it was fucking awesome to let loose inside a studio full of neon lights and fun shit with Taylor head to toe in glittery outfits.
Girls Gone Floral Pt II: Winnipeg Boudoir Photographer
Last year, I did a creative shoot called Girls Gone Floral featuring the beautiful Chloe Giesbrecht & Jade Michael and if you follow me, you know my taste in imagery ranges from pastel pretties to dark and ominous and everything in between. Well, I wanted to recreate a similar shoot this year featuring 2 babes that I love dearly: Micah Anne Park & Brooke Van Ryssel (owner of My Body Fitness & Nutrition) Paired with the beautiful makeup and hair by Nicole Velasquez, some vintage floral sheets, and a darker, moodier vibe I created Girls Gone Floral Pt II. This one came out much darker than the first time I created it and I think part of that is just kind of where part of my mind has been this year....with extreme highs and lows and perhaps I was editing and shooting this during one of my low times and therefore, it took on more of an ominous tone. When I go through my images there are some where I tried to "force" the softer, more romantic look from the previous year's shoot, but it just looked out of place, so I stopped fighting with what my heart wanted and gave in to creating a darker series. In either case, creatives and art are designed to be therapeutic, so whatever it was that I had to get out, I did and for that I am thankful. Micah's lingerie set is from Adoreme.com and Brooke's is from Forever 21!
Just Pictures ~ Editorial Sessions
A creative thrown together with my talented makeup artist: Kylie Smith and Boudy Muse: Jade Michael
This shoot is a fab example of how you need to roll with it when shit goes sideways. For this particular day, we were supposed to do a summery shoot featuring bright colors, poppy prints, and a vintage flair. However, everything that was planned went in another direction: the sky was less than stellar due to the smoke from the wildfires, Kylie accidentally brought her wrong color kit, and Jade was feeling less than zippy for the shoot. So, we took what we had and ran with it. I grabbed a pair of culottes that I had wanted to shoot in Vegas this year, paired it with a with a basic white crop top and then went for an incredibly minimalist, moody af vibe. Then, I had this sweater that I had bought for camp that I didn't end up shooting, so we tossed it on Jade for some beautiful portraits in the late evening sun as it filtered into my studio. Sometimes, things don't go as planned....we could have fought everything and ended up creating work that wasn't meant to be created that day, OR we could go with the flow and quickly change direction of the shoot and make something epic. In fact, I am so in love with these shots because of their simplistic, editorial feel that it was nice to do something different. Also, working with Kylie & Jade I am NEVER disappointed in what we create together.
