1.25.2009

Reflections of a Wonderul Night


Lovefool - Cardigans Lovefool at school



In VOX's latest issue, I wrote 3 articles. One is like me trying to be the Sartorialist found here
The second was an artist spotlight of Tokio Hotel found here
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And the third was about my first photo shoot in November. It's my favorite. Found here excerpts...

"I have always dreamed of being on a professional photo shoot because of my love for magazine editorials and curiosity to see how they’re put together. So, when Atlanta Magazine partnered with VOX for a high school-themed spread in its current issue, I took advantage of the opportunity. It was a dream come true. Along with me, 26 other VOX writers gave the magazine an insider’s look at what it’s like to be in high school today. In addition to writing, we also got a little taste of the model’s life. We got our makeup professionally done, hair styled and wardrobe readied for the glossy pages."
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A little tap of foundation, a brush of blush and a smooth dab of lipstick later, I was ready for my shoot.

"You know, Alex, she's a fashion girl," one of the assistants told the photographer. He looked at me with an Oh really? expression.
"Who's your favorite designer?" he asked, snapping a test shot of me.
"John Galliano!" I replied, hoping the picture would come out nice. I loved the small talk because it showed me the crew wanted to have fun like I did.
"I realized that everything was near perfect for me when “Lovefool” by The Cardigans came on. It was the song I always pictured playing at my first photo shoot. It was all too surreal. Nervous excitement sent chills down my spine when it hit me that this shoot was indeed real.
Before I knew it, the photographer was clicking away. Tyra always says smile with your eyes. Chanel Iman says turn this way to catch the light. Coco Rocha says to make sure your eyes don’t have shadows. I thought of some of my favorite models’ advice. I combined their words with the photographer’s directions, tried my CoverGirl smile and used my best angles to strike perfect poses.
“Yes, right there, hold it,” Alex said.

At first, I was nervous as he moved closer with the camera, but soon it was as easy as strolling through a park. More and more, I held gaze with the lens and pretended it was my best friend. Closer and closer the camera came, the lights flashed, and I twisted, turned, smiled and did what I’d watched great models like Jessica Stam and Sasha Pivovarova do.

I observed that the photographer was nothing like photographers are portrayed in the movies (like I hoped). There was none of that, "Yes, yes, you're fierce! You're a tiger! You're a lion — roar, darling, roar!" like we see in "America's Next Top Model," which paints a limited picture of the modeling world. Alex was straightforward but fun. Though I could see his serious passion for photography when I noticed his focus with the camera, I also walked away feeling like he wanted us to enjoy the shoot. Every couple of seconds on the set, we'd all burst out into laughter because the photographer made a joke or did a funny movement to make us VOXers feel comfortable. He wanted the perfect shot, and hopefully, we gave it to him.

Taking part in this photo shoot gave me a peek into modeling and the fast-paced fashion editorial world. The wonderful thrill I felt from the crew’s vibrant energy and flashing lights and from being in front of the lens made the experience an unforgettable one that I’d happily go through again."
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I can't even find the final photo online, lol
The actual article I wrote for Atlanta Magazine is here

This was my outfit, from my closet

A black suit blazer, a blue ruffled blouse with sliver stripes, a silver belt and a pair of black boots

Some random behind the scenes pics...



the empty set


Doing that shoot was probably one of the best moments of my life...
A very satisfied girl...

10 comments:

Baybay Mama said...

Congratulations!

May Kasahara said...

awesome~ congrats!

hanna said...

Wow! cOngratulations. Looks like you had fun in your photoshoot!

Denisa L said...

congrats sweetie!
the behind scene pics are great!

Mzee wa Changamoto said...

It's always great to do what you like and manage to do. Congrats and good luck

The Beauty Mum said...

Wow, congrats! And your write-up was brilliant :)

Move said...

congrats, u have great photoshoot!

Anonymous said...

The last image is gorgeous :D

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures! I disagree with JR, that last picture is STUNNING! You go girl!!

Really nice post! :D

Anonymous said...

Weeeeeeeeeeee!! That was gr8! Musta been fun 2 do that photo shoot! Looks like u had a BLAST! Great goin'!