I want to be as human as possible: to not hide or run or destroy or prove anything but to see and be seen.
Once again I find myself in love with a couple and with photography. Photography started as a way to connect with my partner and grew into connecting with the world around me – I would carry my camera everywhere and photograph everything. Challenging myself to see everyday life from a more creative perspective had a huge impact on my mood and as I grew more confident with my camera, I became more confident with other people. I used to see myself as shy and introverted but when I had a camera in my hand, I felt a little more valuable. I made friends with other photographers… and then models… and then other creatives and artists like Brett + Elodie, the beautiful couple pictured above. It’s safe to say that there is still so much love and beauty in the world around me to be documented, despite the turmoil of day-to-day life during the time of a pandemic and the ongoing fight for equality. It’s good to get offline and to really connect with people. It’s good to see and be seen, like Brett’s print by Timothy Goodman says.
Brett and Elodie met while working together at HLK – a St. Louis based creative advertising agency focused on brand experience. Brett is an illustrator and digital designer and has been one of my favorite local artists for quite some time so I was very excited to meet his partner Elodie and their pets – all of which had been showcased adorably on social media and inspired this session. Elodie manages and curates social media, has amazing style, and a 100-kilowatt smile. They both enjoy local art, rock climbing, and activism. Photographing them was so much fun – they opened up and were intimate, playful, and even downright silly which can be a difficult thing to do for the camera. I really couldn’t stop smiling during the entire session and I am so in love with the way their images turned out. I definitely hope to photograph them again in the future!
If you want to check out Brett’s amazing work, you can do so here. You can also follow him on Instagram to keep up with him on his creative journey.
