Rapper/Singer Chase Fernander kills in ROYALTY: A Maternity Editorial
I wanted to work on something that I'd grown to love in my work. Maternity has been a growing part of my portrait work, and I felt the need to shoot a series that would tie in all the things that are apart of my overall style as a photographer. Lisa Sands, MUA and I have wanted to work together for a while, and when I pitched the idea to her, she loved it. It's just that we needed to put together a team to thoroughly execute the production, oh and we needed a muse!
Several weeks later, during lockdowns and quarantines, we finalized our team and after multiple screenings, decided to approach Chase Fernander, a larger than life rapper/singer here on the island of New Providence. We just needed the ok to meet in person to start work on, ROYALTY.
Our first two looks were edgy, bold and to me, very sharp. Shan, our stylist, really flexed her talent on them so when it came down to look three, I knew I wanted something comfortable, painterly and feminine. In fact, this look was nearly scratched because initially, the team felt it wasn't complete.
The overcoat was mine that conveniently hung in the studio, I usually keep a few pieces for when I shoot male clients. We knew we wanted to use it for the series. So literally minutes to call time I asked Chase in our WhatsApp team group if she'd bring jeans from home. She regrettably had none that fit. I don't know why I asked her to, but I realized that pairing jeans with the coat would be the look I wanted. Shan jumped in and said that she'd turn around, go back home and grab the "perfect pair!" ⠀
This entire shoot was a collaboration between very talented creatives and the planning and time that went into producing the shoot was a massive factor in the success of these images.
ROYALTY ft Chase Fernander
Image: @scharadlphoto⠀
Styling: @_thestylegroup⠀
MUA: @lisa_sands_beauty⠀⠀
Hair: @metamorphosis_bs⠀
Dress: @javiebethell
Props: @jlavishaccents⠀⠀
Film: @truevisionfsc⠀⠀
PA: @amaris_touch @kcbferguson⠀
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ENJOY THE “ROYALTY” REEL from TRUEVISION
Whimsical maternity session with Star and Carlos Palacious
The more I shoot maternity sessions, the more I fall in love with this type of portrait work. My approach after a client contracts me if to create something different and I usually try to start away from the traditional pregnancy sessions I’ve seen before.
When Anastarcia aka Star approached me about shooting her maternity images, this was just the case. She wanted something unique and told me that she expected me to produce images that were whimsical beautiful and timeless. Even though my focus is the mother to be, Star insisted on including her toddler daughter Cairo and husband Carlos. That’s a lot of pressure for one shoot, right?
Star sent me a few images of what she wanted her and Cairo to wear. Seeing the dramatic dress sparked so much inspiration in me because I knew immediately after seeing the dress where I would want this to be photographed. We also selected a stylish suit and shoes for Carlos to wear which complimented the theme and then went on to think of ways to make the shoot work. We were coming off strict restrictions placed by our government due to COVID-19, so we had to take into account safety as well as her high-risk status.
In the photography world, there are ideas that you think of that are seldomly a “first”, and I googled for days under the search topic “Maternity shoot on a horse ranch.” After coming up with very little, my excitement grew even more, especially since the couple was one of colour. It took a few weeks to put together a mood board and shot list, and since I was quarantined at home, I had lots of time to perfect it. Ironically enough, we were supposed to shoot way before the country was shut down, on a much larger scale but COVID forced us to keep things simple.
We took the couple, their housekeeper and my PA and executed within our social distancing guidelines. Using one large modifier and one light, I was able to mix ambient light and an artificial strobe to create lighting that was effortless and natural. Star performed like a champ and Carlos was a good sport doing everything we needed him to do. Cairo, the couples two and a half year old gave us about 15 mins of her time before she retired back to her quarters, typical toddler behaviour!
We got beautiful shots of the family together, the couple and Mom to be, all in 45 mins before the sun went down. The location, lighting and styling all worked seamlessly together.
Please enjoy the images below.
Makeup and Hair: Anastarcia Palacios
Floral Arrangement: The Greenhouse Bahamas
Dress: Katharina Hakaj Couture
PA: Kenton Ferguson