Trying my hand at fashion photography doesn’t happen often. Being mostly a corporate; commercial and documentary videographer, I work with a whole different flavor of clients and businesses, and my partnerships with NGO’s and other wildlife corporations gets me to travel into Africa quite often.
Collaborating with Yolandi Jacobsz from Loci Photography, a great photographer within her own realm, and also a master at styling – was a challenging experience that pushed my technical skills – and one we executed exceedingly well together.
Yolandi is actively busy building her second business, KittyKink Apparel, and the brand has a distinct look and feel that we work together to craft beautifully, visually. KittyKink Apparel is a sensual apparel range that focuses on empowering and uplifting women, with apparel wear that has some sexy lines and silhouettes. KittyKink has two different spheres, one being more romantic with robes both from satin– and tulle, with lovely big sleeves and fabrics that drape over the female shape lovingly, as well as a sensual side which hosts leather underwear and other accessories. For over 15 years, Yolandi has been an avid portrait photographer specialising in boudoir; portfolio; fitness and event photography, and she is in a place of wanting to expand, building her apparel- and fashion line for two years already. She has a clear vision with her venture, and these shoots are artfully and stylishly curated, with sets and props and each new shoot has a certain look. Working with her on these projects has been a great technical challenge where I get to bring what I my knowledge is, what I’ve known and practised for years but mostly in corporate settings for Kaimara, and it was amplified in a fashion setting where the shape of the model within the chosen lightsource for that shoot, a set that adds to the feel, props that were carefully chosen as stylish additions, and the apparel- and outfit choices are such main part of the shots.
This red shoot done at the Loci Photography studio was styled in such a way that it screamed “siren”, with a bright glossy red polyester fabric background and props such as glitterballs, a cowboy hat, and cheeky lip sticker tattoos. Her dramatic makeup carefully done, added to the styling beautifully, and fun additions such as a red lip telephone made for fashionably styled images that oozes sensuality and sexyness.
The Canon EOS R6 II is a trusted workhorse I’ve had for a few years already as it never misses a shot with its focusing system. The lighting we used was a combination of the Aputure LS 300d II and an Apurture Spotlight Max, being able to control where the highlights and shadows fell and for that very dramatic cinematic feel with its spotlight, and the Apurture Amaran PT4c RGB Pixel Tube Lights to add some color in darker areas and really amp up the brightness of the red elements.
Yolandi also edits her images with the revolutionary AI software, Evoto. The ultimate gamechanger in workflow for creatives, as it truly helps to expedite your processing time.
The KittyKink brand is introducing a new arm of its garments, called FANG – a very sexy leather undergarment- and accessory range. These pieces are wow, and so much work and dedication went into the development of it. Listening to Yolandi passionately speak about her range is inspiring and I think she is going to do tremendously well with her venture. I’m glad to be a part of her styled shoots, her ideas always seem to be neverending and dabbling in fashion was never my chosen discipline, but I have been enjoying the process as a new skill to sharpen.