Last week, I invited my girlfriend Kai, to come along for the ride to Cleveland. She happily agreed and was hired as our behind the scenes photographer for the day. Rose, founder of Candid Ready Photography, and I have been consistently doing work together for almost two years now and asked me to come down to style another shoot for her.
Our collaboration process is pretty simple and straight to the point. We talk back and forth for a few days about the model selection, the looks and the location until we are both comfortable with the vision. After that, we just set a date to shoot and I go shopping in the meantime.
This go round was by far, one of the best shoots that I have styled and I’m proud that I can see my growth. Prior to this day, I have only purchased clothing one or two other times for a photoshoot. This made a special impact in regards to my flexibilty with what I was used to choosing from. I had made a personal commitment to only borrow what I needed from a local resale shop in Detroit. The owners were always so supportive of Rockcity Lookbook and have been working closely together for several years, it was a no brainer.
However, choosing to not shop there this time around, allowed me the freedom that I needed. This was a really good lesson and a reminder to continue to push my style and perspective to it’s limits every time. In order to stay on top of my individual growth, I must invest into myself and my craft.
I knew this, I have been an entrepreneur for years now; it was one of those obvious 101 rules. Unfortunately, my naivete lead me to agree that buying clothes seemed like a waste of money. I figured that if I could borrow clothing and promote a local business at the same time, then it was a win-win situation. I realized that was not entirely true. Yes, supporting local and like minded individuals, brands and businesses is indeed important and necessary, but that doesn’t mean that you entirely avoid investing into your own tangible resources. Especially those that you can unconditionally pull from.
Since my most beloved Value World closed in the blink of an eye, located on Woodward. I decided to hit my backup location and it was a gold mine. Luckily, I landed on 50% off coupon day and was determined to find someone who had an extra on hand--Value World does not play with the coupons, they keep track. The cashier blessed me with hers and I walked out paying a total of $31 for everything.
The next morning, Kai and I hit the road to Cleveland. We got to Rose’s house just in time for me to iron and crisp up the looks and then headed straight to the first location.The day was hot and not much shade to hide under, but I didn’t mind at all. I was especially impressed by Rose’s choice of locations and direction. She really took the time to find what she wanted and gave clear details to what she was looking for out of each shot that she took. It gave me all the confidence to bring my A-game as well. I had an amazing time working with these ladies. I am sure and Ms. CandidReady and I will be working together for a long time.
Much Love to Cleveland. Salute.
