markvelasquez

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 15

Our last shots were simple and straight, with her laying on the bed. The angelic appearance easily held the stormy, tumultous thoughts she had swirling around in her brain.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 14

At the time, she was always very serious, but in the last two years, now that she's gone away to college and join a sorority, she has definitely learned to drop her guard and enjoy the moment much more.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 13

Her thin shape was incredible, I wish she could have seen it as such at the time.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 12

Thinking she was finally ready to show her face, I had her sit on her knees and pose, throwing her hair back and giving the camera a bit more variety.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 11

Eventually, she finally felt comfortable pushing herself further, saying that some implied nude posing would be okay. At first she had to go in the bathroom to take off her bra, which seemed a bit odd to me, but within a few minutes she was moving all over the bed feeling far more confident.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 10

This is probably my favorite image of the whole set. It's the most real and natural for her, though it took a long time to get to this point.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 9

She also wasn't sure if she wanted her face shown with such suggestive images, so most of these are hiding her head or face.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 8

Eventually she became more comfortable with herself and the process, and I was able to start capturing small moments of her true self. She was still continualy over-analyzing herself and the process to death, and I kept trying to convince her that once she let go and gave up a bit of control, she would both create good images and have fun in the process.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 7

Of course, this also meant that the images ended up looking quite repetitive.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 6

Being little more than a test shoot, there wasn't much of a set or location idea. I simply set up a light and we shot with a collection of sheets. It was a basic and almost boring set-up, hence why these photos have never really been shown anywhere before.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 5

Being raised with a bit of money, Hana had a taste for the nicer things in life, and had shown up with a variety of expensieve lingerie that she hoped to shoot in. Of course, it all fit her perfectly, as you'd expect, and capturing images of her looking good came far too easy.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 4

Only 18 years old at the time, Hana was a natural beauty. Very smart and clearly determined to live the life she wanted, she was also an over-analyzer who doubted herself far more than she should, like most people her age.

FIRST STEPS, Pt. 3

At first, she had no idea what to do, so I instructed her simply to arch her back, stick her butt out, and pose in the most uncomfortable ways possible, which oddly enough always look best on camera. Within no time, we were making images that she liked.

FIRST STEPS, Pt.2

Two years ago, Hana messaged me about wanting to model, uncertain of how comfortable she'd be with her body, yet knowing she wanted to challenge and push her boundaries. She knew she couldn't handle posing in public at first, so she came over for a test shoot to meet me. Once she was comfortable in my presence, she made plans to come over later in the week for her first proper shoot. These images were the result.

FIRST STEPS, Pt.1

When trying something new, the first steps are always the most difficult.

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Shelter, Pt. 17

This was taken a moment after I said that we were done and needed to start getting ready to leave. It was a natural moment of ease and I just love it. It may not be the best photo I've ever taken, but it's simple and real.

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Shelter, Pt. 16

Shelter, Pt. 15

With the sun starting to go down in the late afternoon, I had to raise my ISO and shoot as slow as my chutter could handle to let in the blown-out light I was trying to convey. But I also knew we had to wrap up this rather impromptu shoot in order to go and drive out to the boonies and make a fire for our next shoot (click her name in the tags below to find those images in my scrolling archives). However, I never want to stop shooting her, she conveys such a beauty and vulnerability that, as a p...

Shelter, Pt. 14

Occasionally it's difficult to look at her photos. Even though I captured them, sometimes I feel as though I am intruding on a private moment, a personal experience I shouldn't be present for. This is the power of a truly talented model.

Shelter, Pt. 13

I love this one, too.

Shelter, Pt. 12

Yes, she really is this adorable in person. It's easy to want to hate the emotions she makes you feel sometimes.

Shelter, Pt. 11

I titled this series "Shelter" based on a song I used to love by Sarah McLaughlin, which is painful and beautiful. I think it applies. Plus there are lines that apply to my mood the last week. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSoyGn3jnvM

Shelter, Pt. 10

This was when we really began to somehow capture the spirit and look of the famous Doug Kirkland photos. They are obviously different, and I'd never deign to say my images are better than his, yet you can easily see the inspiration.

Shelter, Pt. 9

Shelter, Pt. 8

Being very sexually open, I always tease her during photoshots, saying that she "gives good eye."

Shelter, Pt. 7

This is her favorite from the shoot, and it would be hard to argue with that assessment.

Shelter, Pt. 6

Since she's an actress, McKenzie knows how to convey complex emotions with just a look, though knowing her as I do, I like to think that she doesn't act much around me anymore, especially during this particular shoot. We had been having a lot of deep and frank and emotional conversations over the previous couple days, and with the alcohol, there were almost no boundaries left to drop between us on this afternoon.

McKenzie is naturally melancholy, and being prone to that emotion myself, I knew ...