I have something to confess, I prefer working with people I already know. I've said it before and I'll say it again, collaborating with people I went to school with is one of my favourite things to do.
Why? One word: Connection.
To take good photos of someone you need to establish a connection. Professionally, I meet a lot of new people on a daily basis and besides getting them comfortable in front of a camera, I have to get them comfortable with myself... so I guess the fact that I'm such a chatterbox when I nervous works in my favour.
Erskine Falls is the tallest waterfall in the Otways. The hike down to the bottom consists of about two-hundred steps followed by hopping over rocks and pools of water to get up to the actual waterfall. This kind of shoot was not something I felt comfortable asking a complete stranger to do. It involved risks and trust, something I knew I could only achieve with a model whom I already knew. So when Evie messaged me about collaborating on a shoot, I knew that she was the one. Back in the day, we went to high school together and performed in musicals. Three years later, she's a budding musician needing to be more comfortable in front of a camera. And what better way to get cozy with a camera than balancing atop slippery rocks twenty metres above the ground?
At least every photo shoot Evie is in after this will seem like a breeze.
Hair: Jordan Doroschuk @Hot House Hair
MUA: Ashling MacNeill-Sarkis
Currently: Geelong, Australia
