So when you have two good friends that are expecting a baby you automatically get a free pass to use and abuse them how you see fit, right? It also helps if they are almost as crazy or deranged as you.
I had two ideas I wanted to do with Brittnie besides the obvious "standard" maternity photos, and both of these ideas took almost as long to come to fruition as it's taken the baby to grow inside Brittnie's belly. The above photo was the first idea I had, and was the last shoot we ended up doing. I wanted to build and create a scene that would be "David LaChapelle-esque".
Since I started becoming serious about my photography, one photographer's work has always struck a chord with me, and that's David LaChepelle. His ability to create the absurd is awe inspiring and his style tends to be a visual play on words. He pushes the boundaries of fashion and glamour, taking something beautiful and transforming it into something shocking or tragic in a single frame. He's a pop culture anarchist, and I love everything about it.
So I started off with an easy idea; a crazy white trash shoot with the typical items you might find in or around a trailer park. We would set up a scene outside around sunset, possibly placing a car or two in the background, and have Matt spraying Brittnie with a water hose on her belly. But as Brittnie's belly grew, the colder Texas air began to arrive, and the temps began to rapidly drop. By the time all of our schedules became free, it was to cold to shoot outside. So as we scrambled to find a location, I asked Brittnie if she knew of anywhere that there might be old school wood paneling in place that we could use, maybe make it look like the inside of an old doublewide. To my luck, their rental house had a converted garage that had wood panelling in it. Victory.
I spent weeks finding and purchasing random crap for this shoot, but when it was all setup, it wasn't enough. The three of us put our heads together and gathered more crap for the scene, and finally it was to our satisfaction.
I have never received more messages, emails, tweets, or phone calls about one image in my life. Love/Hate I got it all. I got some from people that were really pissed off about it, I got some from people who got and loved it. I also got a lot from people that thought this was Matt & Brittnie's living room and this was how they normally lived! My favorite is from the guy below that tastefully called them white trash:
I regret to inform all of you that this was a photo shoot, and what you are seeing is a carefully constructed set. This was all done in good fun, and I'm glad most of you "got it" and enjoyed it.
Here are the rest of the shots from this shoot, Including the drawing I did for Brittnie a few days before on my ipad:
Now the second idea I had was to set Brittnie down in front of a cheap convenience store and make it look like she was "mom of the year". This one pretty much came out exactly like I wanted it to. And for the record, no alcohol or cigarettes were used or abused in the making of these shots:
Thank you Brittnie and Matt for allowing me to get ridiculous with you guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate doing this! I just hope to see one of these pics hanging over the mantle one day, hahaha. Thank you again.
And congrats on bringing a new little girl into this world! I wish nothing but the best and happiness for you guys and your family. Just remember I make a terrible babysitter!
And for everyone else, feel free to use the comment section below to share your love or hate of these photos. I find it interesting to see other peoples take or opinion on things...