Matt Lee @ Ford; hair by Alex Polillo for Andy LeCompte, makeup by Geoffrey Rodriguez @ Ford Artists
I know it’s half over, but Summer has finally, officially started for me. About a month ago, Alex Polillo, Geoffrey Rodriguez and I, shot an editorial for And Men Magazine that won’t hit the newsstands until September or October. Because of the seemingly eternal wait for tear sheets, lately, I’ve taken to shooting test shots for the agencies, in-between looks. This approach serves a couple of purposes; it gives the models shots for their books right away, and it’s a relaxed way to warm up for the actual shoot.
In Balenciaga leather
The editorial itself was inspired by Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, and Geoffrey and Alex delivered highly stylized hair and makeup. For the tests, however, we decided to keep it super-simple. These shots of Matt have become the germ for my ongoing Summer shooting program: simple; a little bit sad; low-tech. OK, and patriotic.
In vintage Margiela denim
I shot these on a Friday. The following Sunday I shot my model/actor friend Andrew Ley (coming soon). I decided to devote the entire afternoon to Andrew, so we ended up with a really satisfying shoot. For whatever reason – serendipity, Andrew’s acting chops, an uncharacteristic use of flash fill – the shoot laid the groundwork for what will be the rest of the Summer. And so the next six weeks of shooting will be devoted to simplicity, underachievement, and to the luxury of stress-free learning. And to the love of taking pictures.
The Summer Of Love.
I have gotten more eye-rolls and groans from friends, when uttering those words (always with a slightly dramatic inflection). So feel free.
But back to Matt, who sort of got the ball rolling for me. When we shot, I think he’d been in L.A. for no more than a week or two, and he fell in love with Eugene’s vintage 4th Of July-themed lounge pants (is there a more revolting-sounding apparel category than lounge pant?), adopting them as his uniform for the day. Matt humored me while we talked about Altman’s Nashville and that wacky replica of the Parthenon (the only two things I know about Tennessee). We crammed these test shots into about a 12 minute session – maybe 10 frames per look. I expect big things from this kid….
