There has been such an overwhelming response to the African inspired photoshoot with my model Taliah. As I was scrolling through Instagram one day I came across a picture of a woman on the beach in this gorgeous looking African wardrobe. It was inspiring, colorful and man she was rocking it. So I tracked the image and found it was a local company here in Virginia beach by the name of Fanny's House Collection. I reached out to fanny and told her who I was and my vision for her incredible wardrobe and she happily accepted. From there, it was finding the perfect model to bring the wardrobe to life. Someone who could feel and reenact that of an African Queen. Someone who could feel the passion, jump into character, really captivate and draw their audience into the photo through poise and expression. The choice to bring Taliah onboard for this shoot was a no-brainer and she nailed it! After locking in the model, it was about location and props. I initially wanted something in a large field of tall grass to give me that African feel, but we didn't have time to really to that especially with it being cold and most fields are gone. So we went downtown Norfolk to a location I've shot at often with a large area of tall trees, grass and more. Furthermore, I wanted Taliah to have some sort of props with her to drive the whole theme home to show African heritage. I first wanted her to have a weaved basket of fruit, going as far as doing some poses on the head but again, time was of the essence. I was able to find a cool metal basket at Walmart, packed it with some real fruit and it did the trick. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box in order to bring your vision to life. Whatever you do, don't let small things like a location or prop stop you from reaching your goal!
