The CVP Experience!

Hello and Happy Friday! 

Today I have a special post to share with you! Last Sunday, I was lucky to be a part of what is called the CVP Experience. CVP stands for Carlos Vincent Photography. He is a renowned photographer and rightfully so! But before I jump right into this, let me give a bit more in sight into this event. 

It was a photo shoot that was put together by Sheila Sloan. Sheila and her husband Sheldon Sloan are the ultimate couple goals! They are so warm, receptive, inspiring, and supportive. It was such a joy to work with them, but to also watch them work. While Sheila, who is a remarkable make up artist -having worked on several shoots and worked with Charlotte Seen for shows- transformed the fresh faced young ladies into fierce fashion models, Sheldon was busy helping set things up, shooting videos, taking pictures, and making sure everyone was alright and entertaining the youngest models. The passion between the two was tangible. A woman with a dream and a man behind her, doing everything to help her achieve that dream. 

We shot in the Todd Young Blood studio in NoDa. This shoot was a collaboration that Sheila told me was four years in the making! It consisted of three designers -at least on Sunday. Also,  I should say that I was only able to be there for part of the day. The shoot was from 8AM to 8PM but I had to leave by three unfortunately. But the time I was there was so inspiring and wonderful! I got to know so many creative, ambitious, and aspiring people. It was a small studio and yet huge as far as energy goes. Everyone was so pleasant and so full of life, inspiration, and excitement it was overwhelming. At one point, Shelia was even moved to tears! 

First off, there was Carlos Vincent, world renowned photographer! And after seeing his work I was blown away! Now I have worked with a few photographers and it is a bit awkward at times, but it is usually just me and the photographer. This shoot the models were in front of the camera with ten to fifteen people looking on. It HAD to be intimidating and yet they were composed and calm. Carlos was a huge part of that. Before the shoot started, we had a chance to chat a bit and he told me a bit of his story. He had fallen in love with photography in school and then as he explained, his heart was broken when he was not able to keep the equipment. However, he was drawn back into his passion a few years later. Now Carlos's photographs have been featured in Vogue several times and he is living out his dream. As we spoke, Carlos talked about making sure the models feel as comfortable as possible when they are in front of the camera. That included spending time right before the shoot speaking to the models one on one before the shoot. His presence seemed very calming behind the scenes and then transformed to inspirational and encouraging once the shoot began. 

The designers were also amazing. There were three there on Sunday. Two recyclable designers; Pam ​Cosper and Maria Gallardo. Both of these ladies have incredible designs using all recyclable materials. Pam made a dress out of plastic table cloths. Similarly, Maria made two incredible dresses out of the same type of materials. She has one black and white dress that is made out of black trash bags. The bodice is made out of the bottoms of soda cans! She also created a wedding dress with a bodice and head piece made out of plastic spoons and it looked stunning! The texture is incredible. The creativity is unbelievable! 

There was also Fiona Rose, model turned designer. At the young age of 17, she is a very accomplished lady! She works hard and is extremely creative, which you can tell through her designs. Fiona was a joy to watch during the day. She interacted with everyone, listened and contributed to other peoples' stories, and encouraged the younger models that day. We got to chat a bit that day and she is wise beyond her years, in my opinion.  

Then of course there were our models! There were several! The ones I saw were Kristin Blythe, Tonya Porter, Justine Robinson, Aria Lane, Rachel Brown and our youngest models of the day, 4-year old twins; Kamden and Kamyiah. What a group! Kristin, Justine, Tonya, and Aria were pretty young -early teens. And yet they brought their A game. They were patient, respectful, kind, and -the best part- you could see them coming out of their shell as the day went on. The first few shots were a little reserved and honestly I can't blame them there. It can be intimidating to be in front of a camera alone, add to it additional people taking pictures and observing -I can't even imagine! But they kept their cool and the shots that came out were incredible. You could also tell when they began to feel more comfortable. The poses became more natural and it felt as if they did not even notice the others in the room. Signs of a true professional! 

Kamden and Kamyiah, they were an amazing handful! They had so much energy and were so excited to be there! Not to mention they were cute as all! They kept that same energy up the entire time they were there, which was a few hours! Their shots brought smiles to everyone. It was such pure joy and excitement! 

It was such an incredible day! I wish I had been able to spend the entire day there. It was so inspiring to be in that studio with everyone. There was so much creativity, so much talent, so much support! It was so beautiful! Thank you to Shelia and Sheldon for having me! I had such a great time! I hope we can work again together in the future! 

Thank you guys for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did! 

Have a great weekend! 

XOXO