Accidents are intentional.
Accidents are prevalent during a photoshoot. We take a picture and you can’t fathom the result. We forget to adjust our ISO and aperture and our image looks like the blinding lights when a bomb goes off. We might catch a butterfly resting on our sticker. Rain drops obscure the clarity on our lens; yet, it creates this dreamy and hazy setting that accompanies our subject and its surroundings.
This accidental nature is something I find in fashion as well. How one wears the garments is greater than the brands that make it and the countless times we used a CAT claw to explore our savings account to acquire and justify said garment.
Designers experiment with new materials and colors for their collections which convey the theme they choose to embody for the season. I imagine an escalator becoming a source of inspiration for the color blocking on this Wales Bonner Jacket. Rick Owens uses elongated arm sleeves and pad like shoulders on a multitude of his garments. They picture how the consumer will feel when wearing an outfit, and most of the time we resonate with this feeling and more. Some concepts are a hit or miss, but they allow us to test the horizon of our creativiry.
Experimenting and doing what we think are “weird” combinations or proportions is pivotal in discovering who we are. We must approach it while reeking anxiety and panic.
I had imagined myself as her. Free. The linen on her pants and as a veil intertwined with the whispers from the fan made me feel at one with nature, as if they I am flower being carried by the wind.
This approach is a foundation for how I have photoshoots. I tend to have a concept in mind, but I look forward to criticism from my subjects and friends.
Lawrence appears as if he is wearing a dress. The shadows cloak and comfort him. We are unaware of his movements and directions. In a state of complexity. Faceless. Emotionless. The light makes his hair appear longer than reality. His eyes look like a black hole. I can not comprehend what Lawrence was doing. He was simply in motion. A rule of thumb is to light the subject and so we can see their face and expressions. With this shot, I allowed the void to override the flashlight desperately trying to make sense of what we see. The garage door light aided us by having him become as enigmatic as possible.
Breaking the rules pushes us into the world of Inception. Unaware of what will crash and burn and what will allow us to escape the level we place ourselves at.
I feel a creative high when I recreate feelings, that I stored away in my archive, from a source of inspiration into a photoshoot. The best things that come to us are concepts we never fathomed about. Accidents are not outlined in our shot itinerary. They have been specifically curated to make us see what is brewing in ourselves.
We can not gauge the situations that each day brings, so why not be careless, experimental, and weird?
Pictures by © Arkhive NY
