This was a fun one. Chyna and I have fallen into a nice rhythm with our shoots, as we have been collaborating every 2-3 months. It goes like this: she shows up with several outfits that she cobbled together from her closet or the thrift store; I look over what she brought and quickly brainstorm how to best light/shoot the looks; we play.

For the first look I wanted to experiment with adding oil splatters to the mylar to add an extra dimension to the images. They were pretty cool but I wasn’t in love, so I moved on. I played with shooting through a prism, lighting her with just a window and a floor lamp. I toned these images in Lightroom with a golden brown to match her clothing and complexion.

For the second look I wanted to have her whip her hair around while I got captured some dramatic silhouettes (similar to the Korn shoot). After shooting some shots for me I asked her how she wanted to capture this look. She wanted really clean shots on white for her portfolio, so that’s what we did. I shot some standing and moving, and some sitting at a mock table top. I decided to process half of the shots in a bold black and white, while giving the other half a warm, organic, grainy film look.

For the final look we went to the third floor of my building, which contains an unfinished room complete with chipped paint, dirty floors, and epic light (I’ll be devastated when they finally get around to remodeling this room). I shot some frames in the soft light area of the room, which is my go-to spot. Then I took her to the west side of the room, where the late-day sun was pouring in the window, and I shot her in some hard light to see which I preferred (I still can’t decide).