Session with @DawnRichard

The first time I shot Dawn Richard was several years ago when she will still with Danity Kane.  In my studio we had the 5 girls of Danity Kane, their glam squad, Bad Boy personnel, MTV personnel, me and my assistant…  Not a lot of elbow room.  To make matters so much worse, we shot in June and there was in essence, no air conditioning in the studio.  (I had 4 units but they didn’t do anything to cool off the room).

Fortunately, the shoot came out good despite the talent being uncomfortable.  The girls were real troopers.  Had they been a more established group and had they been more accustomed to a certain level of comfort on set, things might not have gone so well. 

The member that I hit it off best with that day was Dawn Richard.  I could say it was because our last names are similar or that it was because we both have roots in Louisiana but I think its just because Dawn is a super nice person.  Being friendly and accessible transcends any commonalities people may share.

The image above is from a recent shoot we did in my (properly air conditioned!) studio.  The “real” shots are in the current issue of Sophisticate’s Black Hair but this is my favorite from the shoot.  I love how elegant Dawn looks despite her being only partially done with hair and makeup and I love the way her pose is echoed by that of her mother in the background.