Posts Tagged ‘Daphne Joy’

When I was a kid, I loved to roller-skate. And I told myself that one day I would throw a roller-skating party with models. It just seemed like it would be, well, the awesomest party ever. Hey, a kid has to dream. Then, in high school, I put away my quads and transitioned to roller-blading. And finally, like most of us, I transitioned again, only this time into the real world, where childhood joys were locked away in a chest and relegated to memories of the past. Until now.

As my company continues to be blessed by growth and prosperity, I find it increasingly important to remind our expanding family of those childhood thrills, as proof that dream-chasers can stay connected to the wide-eyed, unjaded enthusiasm that we all possessed as children, before we learned about rules and jobs and taxes. And what better way to do that than to shut down a roller-rink for all of your friends?

This year, in conjunction with the wonderful people at Moonlight Rollerway, I opened our SlickforceStudio Christmas party up to more than just our beloved staff. We invited close friends and clients, giving us a chance to show our appreciation to those who have helped us along our journey. At first, many were nervous—not having been on a pair of skates since middle-school—but ultimately we got nearly everyone out on the floor and had the time of our lives.

We also celebrated associate photographer Christian Arias’ first magazine cover, of rising-star Ayanna Jordan for Import Tuner magazine. Her work is a testament to the talent of our team, the ever-evolving creativity of the Slickforce brand, and our growing presence in popular media.

As we close out a landmark year, one that saw our 6th ModelKamp, my first SlickforceGirl book shoot, and more than 25 magazine covers, as well as the advent of PhotoKamp, Mastering Retouching, Kardashian Konfidential and countless related campaigns, I want to say thanks to everyone who has supported us, especially you, the fans. This is my reminder to you to never stop dreaming!

Merry Christmas everyone! 🙂

INDEX:

1: Aldis Hodge from TNT’s Leverage and brother Edwin

2: ModelKamp instructor Brittany Dailey & friend Courtney, me, Playboy Playmate Jessica Burciaga & model/actress Daphne Joy

3: Director/Cinematographer James Mann, model Ayanna Jordan, and Craig McNelly

4-5: Slickforce Models show their love!

6: Ayanna Jordan and SHOW Art Director Von Jackson

7: Tale of Two Alexs: Alex Saglimbeni and actress/producer Alexandra Merejo

8: Slickforce Intern Jessica Whitehead & Cinematographer David Tayar

9: Alex Merejo, me, and celebrity hair-stylist Rob Scheppy

10: Friends join SlickforceStudio’s associate photographers Cherry Gardner and Christian Arias

11: Me and Daphne Joy

12: James Mann entertains Slickforce post-production supervisor Joyce Park

13: GIRLS editor-in-chief Tanisha Brown and sister Alicia

14-27: Skate-crazy!

28: Slickforce Director of Operations Kevin Savarese joins Ayanna and Christian to celebrate their cover!

Yes, I am totally looking into your eyes.

2008 was the Year of Hip-Hop for me, with artists such as Nas, The Game, Birdman, and Omarion stepping in front of my lens. So when T.I. walked into SlickforceStudio in October of that same year, I was ready for anything. “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life” were on the radio, and he couldn’t have been more popular. As with any artist, sometimes that comes with it’s share of drama or difficulty, but not with King of the South Tip Harris.

T.I. was joking with the models the entire time, probably to ease the tension (they were, after all, in their underwear), and when his song coincidentally starting playing on our streaming internet radio feed, he sang along and even got a bit goofy with the video camera. When my stylist suggested a shirt to him that he clearly hated, he looked at her, and in classic southern gentleman fashion, replied, “If you really want me to wear that, I will, but I won’t be happy in it.”  That was a welcome relief to the last artist I shot who said “F*ck no.”

With high-profile celebs, you don’t have much time. Their people keep them on a tight schedule. I had about two hours with T.I., including make-up and grooming. And as with the majority of magazine work, your art must be compromised with what they need to sell mags. So this certainly wasn’t the most creative shoot I’d ever done, but I tried to get a few character shots that were different from the “tough as nails” look you always see in rapper pics.  So I asked him to hold the coffee cup and choke on his coffee, as if the girls making out on the couch were distracting him.  All in all, I’m not sure this editorial had any coherence or even made sense, but it’s always a dice roll. I was, however, happy with the shot of T.I. and model Daphne Joy above. In hindsight, I wish I had cheated him a bit more to camera, since some people just look at Daphne’s boobs and don’t even know that’s T.I.