I've been wanting to photograph Savannah for a while. I felt like I needed to come up with a concept that was natural to her, something suitable. This shoot is all about warmth - the warm days of summer, the golden hour, and the natural feminine beauty. The landscape I chose provided a nice, non-distracting backdrop along with complimentary colors to the outfit from Free People. We did not work with a stylist of any kind, just the 2 of us.
I love doing personal, meaningful work. This shoot is so special due to the circumstances surrounding it. This is Travis. Travis has been wanting to do a portrait session with me for some time now. A couple of months ago Travis found out that he has cancer, and just like that, everything changed. Luckily Travis has a 95% chance of beating this awful disease, but this news has given our shoot a sense of urgency. Travis wanted me to capture him before all of his hair started to fall out, well, his hair started coming out in clumps in the shower the night before the shoot. Travis has never been in front of the camera, his state was nervous and uncertain. I wanted to capture the raw emotion of what he was feeling, but I also wanted to create some GQ-style images and make him feel his best. Travis was really wanting to get some light & shadow stuff as well, which I'm always happy to do. I'm very proud of these images and our experience doing this shoot is a memory I'll never forget. Photography is such an intimate, vulnerable experience at its best. Putting the subject at ease, establishing a trust and creating something they will cherish forever is what I strive to do each time I step behind the camera.
