Hi there!
IAMIAM
No offense but I think after careful consideration, this was my favorite shoot of 2018. In this day and age this would be considered a throwback, call it whatever you want to. Out of this shoot I learned a great deal about myself and my process and collaborating with others
This shoot also marked a time where I felt I was at the apex of my craft, little known by me at the time. I often reflect on this photoshoot as a line of demarcation. It was shot in the beginning of 2018 and the images were scheduled to roll out in March for my brother @tsol IAMIAM custom shoe collection. I was given full creative direction of the shot, and I saw this as an opportunity to pull my imagination down into reality. In, doing this I gleaned and learned a great deal about myself and my process. Overthinking keeps you stagnant 👀 Make a plan 📖 Find common ground when collaborating with others. ✌🏾 We learn more by DOING. 🎬 Anyway, check out my posts @lacostecreativeart comment on your favorites, and heart the others. Special shoutout to @lilouetoulie
Have you ever been in a situation where time and opportunity meet? It truly creates a beautiful interaction, and the great thing about it is that it does not matter your background, your education, your socioeconomic status. Those two elements bring everything and everyone together.
Being an artist and using photography as one of my forms of expression I am always seeing, taking and receiving imagery constantly. There are moments when I will see things so clear and vibrant as it will seem like a memory or present experience, but in actuality Im trippin'. Especially, on this one particular day I had this very experience happen where I saw three unique women painted like modern-day tribal Americans, inspired by by Kanye West - Love Lockdown - Video as well as Tribe Called Quest album entitled "Low-End Theory".
At the same time, I saw this translating well, with clothing items that embodied this same feeling. Flashes of RED, BLUE and YELLOW, expressions of power and sense of heritage were illuminating. I know I know that does not quite translate well in words, which is why I said "Im Trippin" so I made a mood board to help visualize those feelings embedded by the BOLDED words above. Never to be one with copying exactly what I saw I needed to break down the original inspiration and make it match the Tsol brand. Creating a mood-board helped with this, it helps to keep everyone involved, on the same page.
Planning
Picking up from where I left off last week, needless to say I felt the best possible time, for the images to be to released would be when the Black Panther movie came out. The amount of hype and campaigning behind this film was going to be extraordinary. It would be the first time I was a witness to a Person of Color, i.e a black person being a cool/edgy non stereotypical superhero with the look of a big budget film. The imagery I planned to capture seemed to coincide with what the cinematography showcased in essence. After all I only seen (saw) the trailer and was still kind of well versed in the Marvel universe.
After a regular day of work and Instagram scrolling, I came across a body paint artist by the name of Tokie Renet (Lilou Etoulie). Became a fan of her work as well as wanting to collaborate. Explained to her the vision as well as a few guidelines and we were well underway to getting everything executed. Needless to say, I became a fan of her work and wanted to collaborate. I shared with her the vision as well as a few guidelines and we were well underway to getting everything ready for a day of shooting.