Sunday School

It's been a minute since I last posted a shoot I styled for the photographer girl-genius Hana Haley.

Well I have something new to share - a series we shot a couple weeks ago, once again modeled by Hannah Lee Duggan (last seen here). I am constantly amazed by the results Hana (and Hannah, for that matter) yield, and it was such a thrill to see these final shots.

Instead of telling the full story for this series, i'm going to let the photos speak for themselves.

photographer: Hana Haley

model: Hannah Lee Duggan

hair, make-up and styling by : me (Ashley Pamela)

Springbreak Heartbreak

I have been so excited to share the most recent shoot that I styled for Hana Haley. By now you've seen us collaborate twice before and not to brag or anything, but i feel like every time we work together, magic is made. When Hana asked me to style a shoot featuring my vintage bathing suit collection, I knew this was going to be something special.

The model, Hannah Duggan, was so perfect to work with and such a trooper - in addition to handling the aggressive attention of onlookers like a pro, she barely blinked an eye when asked to wade into several feet Stowe Lake's murky green man-made waters. And looked like a complete babe the whole time. 

I love that Hana always has a story behind her shoots, and i thought this was in particular was really perfect: a young girl spends Spring break at the same lake every year. Last year she met and fell in love with a boy at this lake - this year she returns alone, lovesick, and everything reminds her of him. 

Delta of Venus

(above 3 photos behind-the-scenes from my instagram)

I recently had a chance to style my first shoot where I got to direct everything: the mood, the model, the poses, the lighting, the wardrobe and the photographers. My own imagination is so active and I love to tell stories - through little things, like getting dressed every day, and through bigger projects, whether it be writing, creating a book or shadow box, or putting together a series of photos. While I do love working as a stylist alongside photographers to realize their specific visions, I find myself truly at my most creatively happy when I get to dream up and execute my own concept from beginning to end. I suppose this falls more under the title of "creative director" than mere "stylist" either way it's something I plan to do plenty more of in the near future. Knowing so many beautiful people to model and talented photographers who i trust to capture my vision definitely helps! I love art that is created through a communal process and effort - the combination of so many different minds always creates something greater than the sum of its parts.

The inspiration for this shoot really started with my model, Kerri Lebon - who in my mind evoked the dark elegance of Luisa Casati (particularly Man Ray's portraits of her), portraits of Anais Nin, and the  shadows and mystery of 1930's Berlin. Dark and mysterious, soft yet strong - sumptuous and haunting. These portraits of women who were burning with madness, energy and life. They were yearning, passionate, and always shot on deep, velvety black and white film.

Amy Harrity set up lights for the shoot and also took a few gorgeous digital photos in color. 

digital color photos by Amy Harrity
styled and directed by Ashley Pamela Miller
model: Kerri LeBon

women who don't cry

You may remember a post from December about a shoot I styled for grainy-dreamy-film-photographer Hana Haley - and about a week ago I got another opportunity to work with her. Remember when I was watching all those French films and obsessing over Anna Karina? That was all research for a shoot Hana and I started planning after the success of our first. And last week our Francophile vision became a reality when we met up at Palace of the Fine Arts early on a cloudy morning. The model, Alyssa, is a 60's gamine starlet come to life (imagine a young Audrey Hepburn). The grey skies cast a perfect pallor on the wardrobe i had pulled, a wardrobe full of reds, blues, whites and grays - chic, simple and oh so french. A couple vintage umbrellas, a great tweed swing coat and my prized 1950's nurse's cape were highlights of my day as a stylist. Once again the photos turned out like a dream and i think it's safe to say, this is the start of something beautiful between Miss Hana and I...

see the rest of this shoot and more ON HANA'S SITE

The Suite Life

 

It was a rainy night when I met photographer Hana Haley and her model, Lindsey, in the beautiful Westin St. Francis hotel. I've long admired Hana's beautiful 35mm film photography from afar - whimsical, gritty, feminine and haunting, her aesthetic and concepts lines up so well with my own. So I was immensely pleased and honored when Hana asked me to collaborate and style this shoot with her - I just knew it was a match made in pretty photo heaven. Miss Lindsey (the model) is, quite literally, an absolute doll (that hair! those lips!), wearing the clothes so well I almost just wanted her to take them all home. And there is just something about wandering in fancy hotels that has always held a huge place in my heart and imagination. Needless to say, helping with the creative process of this shoot was an absolute dream. 

The concept was essentially a young girl wandering alone in a fancy hotel - playing dress up, exploring...very 1960's teenage -dream, valley of the dolls, wes-anderson-heroin influences as far as the styling went. And it was such a thrill, once the photos were developed, to see the concept so perfectly realized. There will be plenty more collaborations between miss Hana and I in the near future, and I couldn't be more excited.