aworo
You know that phrase “One mans trash is another mans treasure”? This shoot is that all over.
When I rented a studio at the beautifully dangerous Cell Studios in Tottenham, London we had a lot of different artists and makers. Often people would leave stuff by the front door with a note “FREE - PLEASE TAKE”. Well one day there was just such a note taped to a pile of fake flowers. All bundled up I felt it a waste to leave them so on my shelf they lived for a few months. Eventually Aworo was scheduled in to shoot with me and they had their moment. I also had some cheap Ikea net curtain hanging around which also became a central theme of the shoot.
This was a shoot I wanted to try out how much you could get out of a Profoto A1, so I stuck it in a giant white umbrella and stuck it directly above her head. It turns out the answer is quite a lot.
I love this shoot for a few reasons. One because the flowers look weirdly real even though they were solid plastic. But also it was a shoot that really showed me how much more light darker skin can take. You can really blast light at someone with a darker complexion and it will highlight perfectly, before spreading out evenly.
My main memory is talking with Aworo about music, mostly if Drakes “Passionfruit” was the best rap song of the decade. She thought yes, I think Kendrick might have ended that debate recently.
I’m happy I saved those flowers from an early death in a landfill somewhere.
