photoshoots in the time of covid😷
I started off 2020 with bright eyes and some amazing opportunities ahead of me. By march, they had all crumbled into disappointment and sadness. Like everyone else, I pretty much decided to throw my 2020 planner in the trash (it was a cute one too!)
I was scheduled to attend my first ever BIG BIG craft fair with Renegade Craft in LA in April of 2020. For those of you that don't know- Renegade is like the Venice Biennale of craft. I was SO excited!! I had never done a renegade on my own before, and I had never vended in LA before. I was set up to share a booth with Lion In The Trees-check out her work-amazing.
^^artwork of Shirley Jackson (she/her), aka Lion In The Trees
I had made a plan, stocked up all my inventory, prepared suitcases and places to stay. I even made a digital mock up of my booth! (nerd). Then we all got the terrifying news that a full blown pandemic was happening. For some reason-I thought I would see some kind of apocalyptic terror in my life-and here it was.
Anyways-I'm sure you've read several versions of this same story-so I will spare you. Fast forward SEVEN MONTHS, we are still living in some form of lockdown. I had spent the last 7 months using myself as a model (gross). I got really sick of trying to style myself up and take photos of myself with a very limited home set up. The pictures are fine-but it's not the same level of creative freedom and quality as working with other models and photographers.
So when I saw Doc My Art(Cristina Ossers-they/them) and Maeve Jackson(she/her) were offering a collaborative photo and video shoot for artists in my city-I was stooooked! The project was called #toosmalltofail. I had known both of them from attending Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design together, and just being around the same art scenes in Milwaukee. In light of covid, they both decided to team up and offer some much needed professional services to artist. This was a chance to get some really nice material to use and collaborate with two amazing creatives.
Anyways-I'm sure you've read several versions of this same story-so I will spare you. Fast forward SEVEN MONTHS, we are still living in some form of lockdown. I had spent the last 7 months using myself as a model (gross). I got really sick of trying to style myself up and take photos of myself with a very limited home set up. The pictures are fine-but it's not the same level of creative freedom and quality as working with other models and photographers.
So when I saw Doc My Art(Cristina Ossers-they/them) and Maeve Jackson(she/her) were offering a collaborative photo and video shoot for artists in my city-I was stooooked! The project was called #toosmalltofail. I had known both of them from attending Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design together, and just being around the same art scenes in Milwaukee. In light of covid, they both decided to team up and offer some much needed professional services to artist. This was a chance to get some really nice material to use and collaborate with two amazing creatives.
^^a still from a video shoot of Too Small To Fail
We met virtually to discuss a plan-where we could possibly shoot, how to shoot safely, and guidelines for covid precautions-before even reaching out to models. To be honest, I had put off the planning of any shoots in the hopes that numbers would decline, or there would be a sense of safety to operate semi-normally at some point. Well....that did not happen.
Many potential indoor locations we all had access to at some point had closed their doors-that means no indoor sets, backdrops, or lighting equipment. We had to work with what we have access to-3 artists are no stranger to limitations such as these. We finally settled on a rooftop location, and a night time shoot-we were trying to capture a dark, city scape apocalypse vibe (it worked).
Here are some images from the test shoot. I acted as a stand in model for the test shoot (hopefully for the last time 😬). It was a chill 45 degrees that night and I wanted to model some new dresses I have been working on-great idea, Elly!
^dress by Peach Beast-coming soon 🥺
^existential dread sweater by Peach Beast
^I told you it was cold!
^earrings, necklace and dress by me, choker from Nasty Gem
Working with Maeve and Cristina felt so natural and relaxed. I told them I wanted this to be as fun and exciting for them as it was for me. We all had a hand in designing our creepy little apocalyptic set, and they experimented with new lighting concepts. They helped form the outlines of my ideas into a full story for the main shoot the following weekend.
For the main shoot I brought in another artist I have been wanting to collaborate with for A WHILE. Originally, we talked about doing a shoot together like over a year ago, and well, life happened. Lis Torres (they/them), creator of Good Grief, has a dark yet playful style I have admired since being introduced to their work a few years ago. The way our pieces and styles collided in the shoot was wonderful and even better than I could have expected (think: dark-apocalyptic-teenage-bedroom-pastel-goth dreamscape). If Good Grief is the black frosting on a heart shaped cake, then Peach Beast is the pastel colored sprinkles.
^Lis Torres in their line, Good Grief
I am over the moon with how the Good Grief x Too Small To Fail x Peach Beast shoot turned out. It is such an honor to be able to collaborate with three amazing and wonderful creatives this year, despite everything. I was scared I wouldn't be able to make anything like this work in the time of covid, but with all of our care and ingenuity we made it work.
.....and I can't WAIT to show you the photos....tease tease tease !!!
.....and I can't WAIT to show you the photos....tease tease tease !!!