Working with models has been so much fun for us. We get to meet new people, introduce young men and women to the world of modeling, and give them an opportunity to explore their creative sides.
We have also discovered that working with local “Humans of Da’ Region” can be far more rewarding that hiring a model from Chicago. As a region – Northwest Indiana encopasses approximately seven counties – we have always taken care of our own. And much like photographing high school seniors, we get to watch young people come our of their shells, overcome their shyness, and blosson in front of our cameras.
Shyness, however, was not an issue for Aviana.
The 19-year-old Purdue University student, who will soon be a sophomore, arrived with wardrobe in tow – shoes, clothing, dresses, shirts, and, of course, plenty of PURDUE-logo-ed items.
She arrived before her mom, Lilly, who can separately. Jodi and “Ava”, as she is known, immediately got to work reviewing clothing choices, deciding which outfit to start with, discussing hair, and working through all the details of the shoot.
Chris and I watched (Chris Barbauld, our partner in the magazine), in amazement as the two of them interacted as if they had known each other for years. Ava was not one of our shy seniors. Her confidence walked through the door with her. She was focused, determined, and was clearly paying attention to every detail of the shoot.
She also was not waiting around for her mom. She went to change so we could get right to work! To say we have fun during these shoots would be a tremendous understatement. It reminded me of a full-day shoot we did with Isabella – Bella – about two years ago. She was full of life, energy, and excitement, and Ava brought that same kind of enthusiasm to the studio.
We got to work on the back-cover image for our summer issue. We also wanted to capture a variety of other images that we could use in future issues or for general marketing. Our primary goal was to recreate our vision for the back cover – a concept that began with an AI-generated design built to our specifications, complete with props and a very specific visual style. I was amazed at how quickly we captured a variety of “winners.” And once we knew we had the back-cover image in the can – that’s photographer speak – we were free to explore all kinds of other ideas.
And the ideas started to flow…
Jodi, Chris, Ava’s mom Lilly, and I all started coming up with ideas for various outfits and images. And honestly, it really didn’t matter what Ava wore. She looked great in all of it.
Her confidence made directing her easy; her years of dance experience were immediately apparent. She has been dancing for most of her life and is a member of the Purdue Golduster Dance Team. We could suggest a pose, and she would execute it beautifully – often adding her own creative touch and coming up with something even better.
The only difficult part for me was photographing all of the PURDUE clothing. I had actually intended to bring an IU t-shirt for her but forgot it that day. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have worn it anyway!
We had an incredible amount of fun during this shoot, and believe we captured some really great images. We can’t wait to incorporate some of them into our future marketing and, perhaps future isssue of Impossible to Ignore.
Nice job, Ava! We look forward to working with you again in the near future.
-Rick Bella for Bella Photography
