My Nephew

Meet Baby Alexander.

I’m a very proud first-time Auntie. This is incredibly exciting for me because I now have a baby to spoil and adore without the long-term child-rearing responsibilities.

This is Alex at five days old. I mistakenly thought that shooting newborns would be a piece of cake. They sleep. You snap pictures. Needless to say, it was unexpectedly harder than I imagined. Every time I pulled out the camera, Alex needed his poopy diaper changed, peed on my blanket, had to be breast-fed, or simply cried for the sake of crying. This exercise gave me a whole new level of respect for moms. It also made me realize that I will never be the next Anne Geddes and willingly devote my entire photographic career to newborns.

Seriously, my nephew is the cutest baby ever, right?

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Collaboration

Like most artists, I’m an introvert and spend much of my time working alone. When I photograph, I often work without assistants. I’m still learning how to effectively engage another person in my projects unless that person is the subject of my photograph.

My recent fashion project with clothes designer Kayo Matsuyama, make-up artist Awny Rael, and model Kara Emily opened my eyes to the power of collaboration and its synergistic effect. In the midst of working with such highly talented folks, my creativity as a photographer felt minuscule compared to Kayo’s ability to design sexy playful outfits...not to mention her ability to accessorize with the perfect item of jewelry, belt, hairpiece or pair of shoes. Awny pulled the entire “Egyptian theme” look together with her imaginative make-up skills. She also has a keen eye for detail and an ability to spot every piece of hair, clothing or jewelry out of place - things I would have overlooked while trying to capture the bigger picture. Working with a versatile professional model like Kara gave me an incredible amount of respect for people who know how to project confidence and control their body and facial expression - skills I wish every person I photograph possesses.

As a result of this collaborative process, I managed to elevate my own portfolio by developing a body of work that exceeded the limits of my own creative skills. Moving forward, I hope to continue partnering with a wide range of talented people, so please, do contact me if you are a stylist, make-up artist or model wanting to contribute your time to the process of creative exploration.

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