2009 - Self Inflicted Fashion Shoot

This was a big turning point for me in my photography. My buddy Darren Miller-Pfeuffer had been hosting a series of shows called Self Inflicted, and he had also developed a clothing line featuring the name. The clothes were primarily for women based on our shoot that night.

Our models were Molly May, an experienced model, and Lindsey, a first time model. Darren had approached them prior to the shoot and made the arrangements, so all I had to do was set up for the shoot. We did the shoot in my garage studio in Burbank on a warm July evening.

Molly and Lindsey showed up ready to go, and by that I mean both had obviously had a couple of drinks, because they giggled a lot. We got them set up in the guest house/model prep area so they could change, and I warmed up the lights in my studio. I was using Britek hot lights at that time, and I had chosen my white and 'magic' red backdrops to shoot against.

The girls came into the studio and we spent about an hour changing looks and getting some really good fashion type shots of the girls in the clothes. Darren did most of the directing for the shoot, and while there was a certain level of risque elements, it was all pretty classy. Darren wanted the girls to look sexy, and he drove them to that and they willingly complied.

The girls were great and we were starting to do clothing changes in the studio. I try to respect the models privacy when they are changing in studio by turning my back. I had never really done anything super sexy beyond lingerie at this point.

We got part way through some shots, and I was turned around changing my lenses when I heard behind me 'OK, off with the tops'. I was a little freaked out, I had never done this before. I was about to turn around to something I had never done before in my work. People were going to be naked, and I had to photograph it. Everyone was aware this might be a part of the shoot, nobody was surprised. Admittedly, I was a little excited, but also a bit scared. I took a deep breath, put my professional cap on and turned around. It was OK.

Both girls had their tops off, and their arms crossed over their breasts, maintaining a level of propriety and I could drop back into my role and not feel weird about this new experience. I discovered there is really nothing sexual about it if you are a professional, and I am. Honestly, other than some side-boob, I saw nothing during this shoot. It proved to me that you can do this without having everyone feel uncomfortable and exposed. The girls handled it, and it was great in the end. We did some good work.

I shot nearly 5000 images that night. This was early in my 'career', and I wasn't going to miss a moment by taking my finger off the trigger. We shot for around 5 hours, and it turned out pretty good I thought. Darren used the images to promote his stuff, and everyone was happy. Neither model used the shots for themselves for very long, but they appeared for a while. I am still proud of them.

Enjoy the images below.