Planning for this shoot began early on, although logistics were not worked out until much later. After making an open collaboration call for models and makeup artists during the winter, Sarabi Nikolanna Eventide was one of the first people who messaged me who I immediately knew I wanted to work with.
I think Sarabi has a very unique face, but despite my great appreciation for her unconventional beauty, I had a great struggle when deciding how I would photograph her. I try to capture some sort of the model's unique personality in each image, and I brainstormed with her dominant characteristics in mind. Eventually, I decided to shoot Sarabi while wearing a headscarf, one of her defining visual characteristics.
I asked Sarabi to show me her scarf collection then selected this print to keep the Chinese theme consistent.
But from here, I was once again stuck. I knew I wanted to shoot Sarabi while she wore this scarf, but what else? Where would I shoot? Would I use any other props? Having never worn a headscarf myself, I asked Sarabi to send me a photo of how she normally wears it, in hopes of getting a clearer idea. She sent me this photo:
Between the draping of the scarf and her general pose, I immediately thought of a nun. This fledgling of a thought ended up being the springboard for the entire shoot.
I began looking up old churches within Shanghai, thinking that the inclusion of Western religions into China would be a good story element. As black women are not normally used in religious depictions, I was even more determined to have Sarabi model for this shoot.
The morning of, the lovely Maggie Walsh applied makeup to Sarabi based on the image The Waiting from artist Zhang Jingna's Motherland Chronicles.
The Waiting
I wanted an emphasis on the eyeshadow and contouring, which the lovely makeup artist Maggie Walsh expertly executed.
Sarabi's makeup
When Sarabi stood in the middle of the road in front of the building, we began to face challenges with traffic. Cars, bikes, mopeds, and general pedestrians had no qualms about blatantly observing, which became problematic when their observations made Sarabi uncomfortable and people literally began to get into the shots. I politely asked people to leave, but learned the benefits of shooting in closed spaces.
Going in to the shoot, I had sketched a few distinct mental conceptions of images I wanted which helped make this shoot progress quickly. We tried a variety of different locations and poses, but ended after approximately an hour of shooting.
Working in post, I spent a significant time editing the Sarabi's headshot. It was my first time working on skin detailing that was so fine, and working with a black model. I wanted to make sure editing didn't literally whitewash her, and I also didn't want to wash out the texture.
Before/After
This was my first time working with a classmate who had no prior modeling, so I was initially nervous about my ability to constructively direct and critique a model. But looking at this second installment, I now feel a greater sense of stability and look forward of the images to come.
