One of my favorite things to do is collaborate with friends just for the hell of it and see what sort of magic we can conjure.
Los Angeles-based art director and stylist Sarah Duncan Sloane reached out to me via Instagram in early 2018. (Check out her work; it’s slick!) We both wanted female-focused celebration photos for our portfolio. It made perfect sense to link up on a collaboration for Galentine’s Day (the day after Valentine’s Day reserved for gal pals and arguably more important that February 14). Sarah flew to Durham, North Carolina and we got to it.
We aimed for a vibe that was kind of silky, toned with moody lighting and filled with indulgent foods made to grab with your hands. Though lush, we still wanted to represent something realistic to the creative women in our lives. Which is why I invited a few beautiful friends who I know would bring their A-game (you should have seen their personal wardrobe choices) and who also enjoy food as much as each other’s company. Plus, none of them are afraid to get goofy.
The result? Soirée: a zine celebrating fiercely creative women with a passion for party foods. With Sarah’s styling prowess, I focused on the photographs and, later, the design of the booklet that served as my Spring 2018 promo. The zine will be available to purchase at the 2020 Bearded Lady Zine Fest or in my shop.
To set the mood visually, I used my Profoto B2’s and an A1 with pink gels, glass prisms shot through my Nikon D850 and a Sigma 85mm art lens. The cherry on top? The whole time (a few hours!) we bumped a Spotify playlist curated by two of the models, who happen to also be DJs from the Mamis and the Papis, an all-female, immigrant diaspora DJ crew. Check it out here or play it to the right!
Oh yeah… and the food! We ordered delicious hand-held treats from Sister Liu’s Kitchen and La Cacerola, both in Durham, North Carolina. And if you want those juicy-looking calzones, you can find an adapted recipe in the zine, which was inspired by the one in The Moosewood Cookbook.
