Little Black Dress
As a young kid, I grew up with some sort of ball in my hand and my school year evenings being filled with sports. Whether it was basketball in elementary, football in middle and high or track the last leg of my High School years, sports consumed my social life. My mind was filled with plays, thoughts of scoring and dreams of playing under bright lights for the rest of my life. Clearly, the career path that was destined for me had nothing to do with sports in the long run but those principles that I learned during those years still lingering in the back of my mind as I move throughout life.
I always tell people that sports play a large part in my undying dedication to a craft. I learned early on that if you want to be good at something you must put work into learning it, to the point where it's laws and rules consume your every thought. Now, as I typed that, I felt uncomfortable to hear out loud in my head because it's genuinely an unconscious act at this point but that doesn't change the reality that it can be a bit psychotic. The understanding that an unpracticed skill is useless but a practiced skill is undying, is woven into the fabrics of my being. I, as most creatives, eat-sleep-live our crafts and the ones that excel spend a great deal of time becoming great at it. What sports instilled in me is the competitive edge that pushes me to do more and go harder, the same competitive edge that allowed me to realize that I can push beyond my boundaries and bounce back from whatever is caused by it. It has opened my eyes to realize how resilient both my mind and body are and how with hard work, comes reward.
This shoot with Jaffy was the first shoot in awhile that I was able to step outside of myself and learn something that had been easy for me to forget, likely because of sports. This shoot was broken up into 2 separate shoots over a 2-week span, clearly wearing the same outfit. The reason is that in looking through the photos, though I liked them, I saw myself doing what I often do, ignoring minor details. In sports, it is natural to flow with the tempo fo the game rather than stick to a perfected idea because of all the different variables that play a factor in the success of a play. And due to time constraints, there is no room for a redos in most popular sports, golf being the exception. But in art, taking as much time and retry's as you need is common practice for the same reason as is true with golf, the luxury of time is afforded to you. In these practice shoots where we are building our portfolio's, there is no deadline. Taking another week to prep and reshoot this look was beyond beneficial for the final product and it has allowed this shoot to take place as my favorite shoot with Jaffy. Her energy was willing and understanding as always and this shoot was no different. This shoot was less about being sexy and more about selling a vulnerability, creating a scene around feelings that the audience will take empathy in. We were able to lock in on this idea and really deliver some great images that I believe will stand tall for awhile.
Follow Jaffy on her IG page and she continues her journey as a lingerie model. You know as well as I do that we will be seeing more images with her in the future.
