At Her Place with Sharae
At Her Place is a project that began in 2014 with this series. At the time, I had been shooting in studios almost exclusively. Studios allowed me to control virtually every element of the shoot, and I was learning a ton. But I felt like my images were too constrained by the technical perfection I was chasing. While I’m proud of that studio work (and some of it will certainly find its way into this blog), I really wanted to get out of my head and be more spontaneous as an artist.
So, I called Sharae, who had modeled for me in the studio, and asked if we could do a shoot at her place. I had two rules which I’ve stuck with ever since: 1) travel light; I allow myself only one light, a shoot-through umbrella, and a single reflector, and 2) I don’t want to know anything about where I’m shooting before I get there.
If studio work was a classical orchestra, At Her Place was improvisational jazz. Technical precision was replaced by free-flowing creative collaboration. It was absolutely liberating. I was hooked. And I discovered something else. When I let go of control and focused on the person, in her home, with her stuff, I began telling stories. Personal and intimate, a privileged perspective of beauty in its natural habitat.
I’m forever grateful to all the models who welcomed me into their home to capture these intimate essays. And I’m especially grateful to Sharae for helping me discover this creative passion. I hope you enjoy viewing the stories of At Her Place as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Originally published in Volo Magazine #15; June, 2015
