From Jessica, workshop host and photographer:
For as long as I can remember I was madly in love with the concept of telling peoples stories through art. I wanted to discover who people really were, and then do my best to capture that as authentically as possible – whether that was through photography, painting, or another medium. Over the years in my photography career I learned different techniques that helped create a space for my clients to really show up in and allow us to document a story that feels true to them beyond simple portraits. It was one of the things I was most excited to create and share at The Photographers Way workshop in England this past June at the St. Giles House. This shoot was the first of the multiple shoots our incredible team put together.
For this shoot we felt it was important to use a real couple to achieve the state of intimacy we wanted.Claudia is a natural born artist, a philosopher at heart. A deep thinker, a deep feeler, truly open to all the wonders and mysteries of life. She treats life as a gift to be fully lived. Alex is warm hearted, kind and sincere, someone you instantly feel seen by and who can connect with anyone. Together they feel like what the best relationships exemplify, best friends who connect in the deepest of ways, who are incredible in love while also giving each other the space to dream, explore and be their full selves.
I chose them as models because I hoped to highlight a theme in their relationship that is also very important to me, and that is the significance of the sacred feminine. I saw the way Claudia lived that out, and how they as a couple valued and nourished that energy.
There is such strength in vulnerability, in gentleness, in nurturing, in listening, in being true to oneself, and in every way I felt like they were able to tell that story.
I wanted Claudia’s art to play a huge role in the shoot, as well as her ability to nurture herself. We chose a piece of her art that she was currently working on, and decided her love for baths would work perfect as a form of self care. The scenes naturally flowed as the couple worked out how they’d react in each given situation, and the final product still makes my heart sing when I see it.
We chose the bridal suite in the St. Giles House because it felt the most intimate, the most vulnerable and personal of all the rooms and felt truest to the story of the couple.
Overall it was a shoot that came together because of the willingness and vulnerability of our incredible models, the stunning location that set the stage, and a team who invested so much of their talent and passion into it.
Photography & Story Curation Jessica Rose Photography | Styling Emmily from Gatherist | Models Claudia + Alex Lovato | Venue St. Giles House | Slip Doen | Make Up & Hair Lisa Griffiths | Sponsors Photovision Prints, Make & Stow, Promptly Journals
