Neil Dames for Gustavus Augusta, photographed by Scharad Lightbourne
Neil Dames in Gustavus Augusta
Grand Bahama native, Gustavus Cox, the creative director of Gustavus Augusta and I sat down in September of 2020 to plan and produce this shoot. One of the first challenges we had was finding the right male model to fit the looks. We had cast about 3 guys prior to. I didn't think about Neil Dames until later in the creative process so when I showed Gus Neil’s social media profiles, he exclaimed, “we need him, he’s perfect for this!”
I wasn't sure that Neil would even agree to do the shoot. He’d retired from modelling for some time now, but I thought he could pull this off. I reached out to him on Facebook and told him what I wanted to do, and Neil immediately said yes...reluctantly. Neil said jokingly, "Now, I'm not as young and fit as I use to be Scharad, so you will have A LOT of work to do!"
He was in love with the idea that we could collaborate together for a local brand and of course, he'd get to wear custom suits!
We did an initial tape up where Gus got to sit down and chat with Neil. After taping him up, Gus assured me that he would have samples ready in two weeks. However, he clarified for me that the first fitting session would probably call for adjustments. Surprisingly, when we met again for fitting, the suits fit Neil perfectly! Both jackets and pants from each look fit him as if they were sewn directly onto his body. Perfection!
On the day of the shoot, everyone was excited to work. Neil followed direction very well and moved very quickly and kept reminiscing on his former days as a model. We even laughed about his grey hair and tattooed covered body, which worked well with the shoot's overall aesthetic. Neil was still in good shape and his genes had kept his frame, lanky and slim.
I kept the lighting dramatic and the background simple and focused on getting great shots with Neil that showed these amazing handmade suits.
Have a look at the work below, leave a comment or two. I’d love to hear from you.
Model: Neil Dames // Stylist + Designer: Gustavus Augusta // Accessories: The Pico Brand
Natural Habitat
As an artist I have a million thoughts about my work and what Im doing and so I decided to portray one of these thoughts through photography.
We often find ourselves reaching a plateau or comfort zone and its unusual to want to stray away from that but I'm learning that you have to step out of that zone in order to grow. This is a scary thing to some because we become comfortable with our current environments, so to venture into some other unusual area is looked at as risky.
Faith and vision keep you focus and protected, so using a female model and a canine model, I drew from them to interpret these feelings. Being on unfamiliar ground is somewhat daunting but your goals and dreams are attainable by focus on whats ahead. I thought it would be interested to portray this and model Joi Broughton did an outstanding job by helping me bring this vision to life with her companion Sniper the Doberman Pincher.
Photography & Styling: Scharad Lightbourne
Art Direction: Kenton Ferguson
MUA: Sarsha Lepeche
Hair: Skyline Designs
Model: Joi Broughton
Grip: Tariq Cartwright
Video Direction: Scharad Lightbourne
Video Cinematography: Tony E Williams
Video Producer: Tony E Williams
Athleisure Fashion Shoot
When I first concocted this grand idea that I could do a fashion shoot in the National Stadium, I second guessed the thought several times. Somehow I knew with the right connections, I could make it happen and once I found those, I was determined to pull off this momentous feat.
I called on stylist Lavonne Alexis of ShoptheCC and when I threw this idea in her face, she was immediately ready to strap on her tape and clothes pins. I told her I wanted to shoot both a male and female with multiple looks in what to me was a curious trend occurring in the fashion world called "athleisure." Now according to fashion culture, the term is used to describe looks or outfits that would normally be found in the gym, styled for social occasions like shopping, lunch, running errands etc...casually athletic in so many words!
Lavonne thought the idea was hot and we brought on stylist Vuitton to assist with our male model's looks. They both sourced pieces from all over, mainly Dkylpse Swimwear, ShoptheCC and The Sports Center so for me everything was coming together. Storyboard after storyboard and mood board after mood board, we laid out the entire shoot with confirmed models Davin and Laura.
Shoot day was amazing, killer team on deck and the stadium was nothing short of a masterpiece to shoot against. The architectural prowess, with clean lines and repetitious patterns made for amazing frames shooting the models in, around, under and over all the amenities the stadium provided.
Photography: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Lincey Carey . Hair: Raquel Pinder
Styling: Vuitton Bain, Lavonne Alexis . Assistant Styling: Waydell Ingraham
Clothing: ShoptheCC, The Sports Center
Models: Davin Johnson, Laura Megan
Grips: Shawn Hanna, Aaron Davis, Malik Smith, Terrel Carey, Tamara Flemming, Cee Jay Jermaine
"Ha it Go," Ghetto Fashion editorial
This had been for a very long time, just a concept in my head. For years, I found myself fascinated with ghetto fashion, slang, style, and everything else in between. As a photographer, it served as a visual playground and the speech would amaze me. Looking back I realized how much the ghetto influenced my work. Its bold, vibrant and full of energy. The slang is hard, lyrical and edgy. Every part of the world has a term for its urban areas; hood, ghetto, slum translated to the people being termed “trick, hood rat, thug, gangster, jungaless (jun-ga-less) harajuku, redneck etc… Everyone can relate to these terms.
For me, the goal was translating this into art, fashion and photography. How do I relate this to a culture I was raised in? What things should I highlight, what do I title it? What do I focus on? For years I just kept the thought locked up. Then I decided to plan and execute. I did tons of research, driving through the ghettos of New Providence, observing the natives and watching their tendencies and it only made me even more hungry to get this shoot going. Sometime had passed and I only became more hesitant to shoot here where I lived. Crime was definitely a factor so again, I put this idea on hold. Until one day, I picked up the phone and called model Tomii Culmer, I told her the idea and she immediately gave me a resounding “YES!”
Now, Tomii lived in Freeport, the city of one of the out islands in The Bahamas but I was ok with that. I sourced the entire team who conveniently lived in Freeport. It was an opportunity to work with other talented people. Ashley, Gail, Navie, Alfred, Monette all agreed to come on board as team players to make the shoot happen. For weeks we planned and needed one more piece of the puzzle…a stylist.
Now I’d just shot fashion stylist Lavonne Alexis for her blog and I thought to pitch the idea to her. Lavonne jumped up with excited, almost catapulting herself out her living room couch. She loved the concept and she ran with it, sourcing pieces from local stores like Diva’s Body language, Fashion Ova Style, Shop the CC and Stiletto Shoe Loft, she came up with some incredible looks for Tomii all matching the ghetto lifestyle theme.
Freeport was amazing! We shot around different settlements like Pinder’s Point, Hawksbill and Pioneer’s Way. With Assistance from photographer Alfred Anderson and Tomii’s BF GeeJay Cox, the team worked masterfully to create true works of art with each look. Albeit experiencing some conflict with a few residents, we pushed through a 2 day, almost 16 hour set and we made magic!
Credits Model: Tomii Culmer
Styling: LaVonne Alexis
MUA: Gail McIntosh
Hair: Gifted Handsz
Nails: Monette Newbold
Assisted by: Alfred Anderson, GeeJay Cox