What inspired this shoot?
Mike Dargas is a huge inspiration to me as an artist. He creates photos like these, but purely with his hands and a paint brush. The beauty and sensuality behind the mess of the photos are what attract me so much to his work. There's something very real and raw about the combination of the mess, darkness, sensuality, and sexual naturei. His art is a beautiful mess, and isn't that what life is for all of us? Sometimes you just have to invite the mess in, really take it in and become one with it, allow the vulnerability to be present-- and in those moments, is where I feel true beauty lies. There's something very genuine and attractive about that to me.
"Sometimes you just have to invite the mess in, really take it in and become one with it, allow the vulnerability to be present"
How did you select the team? What were the vibes like?
@MDanielsPhoto is a long time friend and one of the most creative photographers I know. I immediately knew that I could trust him to carry out my concept. He gave model suggestions, and I really wanted someone with Angelina Jolie-Esque lips that could model on top of it. So, in comes @Juja_boo with the most unreal lips, no enhancement what so ever and I was sold. The vibes with the team was super fun and light hearted. We played a lot of hip hop and R&B to get the model into character to display deep emotion.
