It goes without saying that Kim Kardashian is one of my favorite clients. So when she contacted me to shoot not one, but both of her 2011 calendars, it didn’t take much convincing. Now, why would anyone need two calendars, you may ask? Good question.

Kim made waves on the gossip circuit when she went renegade last summer, tossing aside her classically perfect brunette hair and swapping it for a blonde look. When fans cried for the return of natural Kim, she called me. “I have to go back to brunette for the show,” she said, “but I want you to capture the blonde before I change it back!”

Deal. So two days after returning from a shoot in Italy, I got Kim in my studio and we shot her 2011 calendar. You can read her words on the shoot here. Later, when I sent her the final images, she had a brilliant idea: “Let’s do TWO calendars! One blonde, one brunette!” And that, my friends, is why the woman is a mogul. She can sell anything.

Shoot #2 was scheduled in late January. And finally, on our fifth shoot together, I successfully convinced her to let me bring in a behind-the-scenes crew (you gotta understand, this girl has cameras following her everywhere…) This shoot was incredibly relaxed, as her crew and I have now worked together several times. We’ve learned to play off each others strengths, as any good team does, and Kim really has fantastic people on her team. Mario Dedivanovic’s make-up is flawless, Frankie Payne nails my favorite windblown look every time, and Monica Rose’s styling is always mind-blowing.

Look for an upcoming post once the calendar previews are released!

Thanks to Slickforce’s own secret-weapon Joyce Park for these great production shots!