A collection of photography w/ international model, Taylor Skye!

Good afternoon, Steemit. Firstly, thank you all for reading and voting lately. This trip has been mentally and emotionally trying. The first few days, it took overcoming major obstacles just to sit down, clear my head and write. Post rewards from a week ago […hard to believe that’s when this trip began] have started to come in, which has made a significant impact on the day to day life of a traveling artist. Gas, food, clothes, tolls. These are the things that often make me feel poor. My mortgage, car payment, insurance and utilities are always paid on time, but it’s these annoying expenses […especially on the road] that squeeze me. Making time to post here on Steemit and, in turn, Steemit giving me the ability to just “live” is such a phenomenal change in quality of life. I know that extends to much of the community, not juts myself. But I’m grateful. Thank you!

Today’s post is a collection of photography with one of my good friends and frequent collaborators, Taylor Skye. Taylor is originally from Minnesota and I first worked with her during a massive editorial fashion project with Midwest designer, Teaser by Yuli. You can read about that entire shoot in my previous blog, “Reflecting on my first editorial fashion shoot w/ Teaser by Yuli!”. Taylor is a versatile, agency model and that’s just the beginning of her talents. She’s a career graphic designer, an amazing photographer, currently living in Ecuador working for a huge design firm, and an all around beautiful, kind human being.

The shoot with Teaser by Yuli was in July of 2012. It was a massive undertaking for the entire team! I first saw Taylor’s exceptionally modeling ability, and frankly, I was intimidated by her. There are lots of great models, some that stand out more than others, but a few that just possess an intensity that radiates the camera and set. When Taylor poses, everyone in the room can feel it. I’m the lucky one that gets to capture the images. Taylor killed it throughout the Rivertown Inn. So many of those photos were the rung I needed to get to the next platform on the career ladder and I’m so grateful she was there that evening.

Later that year, Taylor agreed to shoot some challenging fashion concepts in an outdoor location, at night. It was a collaboration with some of the same team as the previous Rivertown Inn shoot […the same MUAH artists]. I called in a favor from a sweet little Russian woman that creates beautiful handmade jewelry and she created a thin, thread-like bead harness for Taylor’s frame. The MUA would create deliberate black shapes accented with gold leaf, and prominent volume in the hair. Taylor sat for hours in 50º Minnesota fall air, in a barn, wearing almost no clothes while she endured rigorous curling and make-up applications. As did most of the team, I felt horrible, but Taylor didn’t complain. That night, she’d earned my respect as the highest level or professional, and a complete badass. 

Our last shoot together […still long overdue] was set for another fashion forward editorial with Teaser By Yuli, Pada Vy as our hair and make-up artist in the workshop of Joynoëlle boutique in uptown Minneapolis. We created this bizarre high fashion make-up look with minimized brows and deep contouring. Taylor, as always, executed exactly the mood and vision Yuli and I discussed weeks prior to the shoot. Such a pleasure to revisit this work with such a phenomenal artist and model. Taylor still returns to Minneapolis to visit, and as soon as I’m done with this post, I’m going to message her about the need for another shoot together.

Thanks for viewing! I post daily, so for more photography, art, illustration and design, follow me at @kommienezuspadt!