PHOTO SHOOT RECAP: Bo Zhang @ His New Studio

One day after the shoot, and he already sent me a pic! You can click on it to see it bigger :)

Behind the scenes of the commercial look we did

Yvette (the make up artists) and I on set!

Where to begin with a photo shoot with Bo Himself... Bo is the photographer I've worked with the most, and known the longest. But this was the first time, I really felt like I got to know him. If you are lucky enough to know Bo, you would most likely know the business side of him. He is very polite, organized, and driven. But yesterday I got to see the charming, personable Bo that is candid and laughs out loud, I always thought was there, but just am beginning to see.

When we shoot, it's like a dance, so much fun! He bosses me, I tell him I'm going to punch him in the face, and we're laughing the whole time. The make up artist Yvette and Bo's assistant probably thought we were lunatics! "Move you're head slightly to the left, chin up." "Tell me that one more time and I'm going to punch you in the face." :) And it's great working with someone more than once because it really challenges you. What can I bring differently, etc. And Bo gave me such a wonderful complement, and said he thinks I am growing as a model :) What a lovely thing to hear! Though I was telling him, I don't think of myself as a model. To me, I got to go hang out with my friend, have a great time, and watch him make art.

About the shoot: We did essentially three looks. The first looks were actually some of the most challenging I've ever done. 'Commercial' ie casual, t-shirt/jeans/oversized men's shirt, smiling kind of thing. It was hard to do without looking totally fake, and cheesy, and trying to keep subtle but diverse poses. But both Bo and I need more of that genre for our portfolios, and knowing Bo, there going to turn out bossy!

After we banged some of that out, we got into the good stuff: wet hair, head shots (above, I love it!!) and then we went outside in his backyard and did a few quick out doors shots (before Bo got completely eaten alive by mosquitoes!) I know you're going to love those shoots: wet hair, camo dress I made, crazy African stick, SO much fun!

After the shoot, Bo let me exploit his Costco card and we went and printed some of my portfolio pics ( $3.99 for 11x14's!!!) Then he took me to get a bigger portfolio @ The Container Store ($15 for an 11 x 14 one!!!) Because all the cool kids are printing their portfolios at this size :) It was such a productive day!

After all that, Bo showed me some of the raw shots he'd taken from the day. It changed my life. Seriously, seeing your face that big and close up without photo shop. Horrifying. I still want to vomit a little bit thinking about it. Have you ever seen a picture so up close you see your pores? Ever little wrinkle and hair.... jesus. I mean, as a photo major in college, I spent my fair share of time staring at people's faces, dodging, burning and color correcting, but NEVER at 400%, fixing ever little wrinkle, fold and fat ass. I don't know, it's an experience everyone should see. Our perception of beauty and fashion is so skewed, and manipulated.... But on the other hand, we (or at least I) completely underestimated the amount of time, thought and effort great photographers put into their work to make it look so wonderful and professional.

So Sesame Street's lesson of the day: Printing your portfolio 11x 14 looks sooo much better, a TON of work goes into processing one picture, and when you love what you do, it's never work :) Stay posted for more pics to come!