Fashion Editorial: Vera Gold

Although I have only been modeling for little less than a year, I feel that I have grown immensely as a model, one of the reasons for that is I have been blessed with shooting some of the best photographers in central Texas. Whether good or bad, I have enjoyed all of my photoshoots, but this collaboration with Candice Ghai is by far my favorite session I have done. I have only shot with her twice, but both sessions have resulted in stellar photos. I stumbled upon her work on Instagram (IG- @CandiceGhaiPhotography) back in January 2016, while I was looking for inspirations for future shoots. While scrolling through her amazing photography, the thing that stood out to me was that she had a keen eye for capturing the female body.

I was also amazed by how diverse her work is. That showed me that she was a photographer that had the skill set to basically shoot any kind of project. In my opinion that versatility is one of the reasons on why she is so good at her job. Personally, there are many reasons why I love to shoot with Candice. She knows how to make model comfortable so that they can easily move into natural poses, she has a keen sense on how to get the shot and capture not only a person’s beauty but the elegance of the wardrobe.

The success of this session also has to go to the designers of the pieces that I wore. Adrian White of Shalottlilly, designed the gold necklace piece. She is a celebrity jewelry designer who handcrafts her unique jewelry pieces. This means each of her pieces is one of kind works of art that are tailored to each client. She is a true craftswoman in her field. Favebridal, an independent designer on Amazon and various other online stores, created both of the elegant gowns I modeled for this shoot. I love how her designs of haute couture sculpt the female body as if the dress was embroidered to the skin. The gowns were on point and the garments were just so luxurious and felt amazing against my skin.

The inspiration and style of the shoot are very much of the Renaissance era of oil paintings done by artists such as Jan Van Eyck, Racheal, and Johannes Veermeer. This editorial allowed me to feel as if I was a Victorian queen getting an oil painting done for her fireplace. The dark grainy backdrop and dim lighting really brought out my dark features as well as the gold color schemes of the couch. Furthermore, the backdrop made the embroidery of the gowns and details on the accessories really stand out giving the shots a really striking look.

Like I stated above, I have only modeled for a short period of time, but it has done wonders for me personally. I have always been self-conscious but my modeling journey has allowed me to embrace my body. I do not allow industry standards to stop me from what I enjoy doing. I know I am not your typical model however when I’m in front of the camera, you would never guess that I am a full figure model (size 8), 29 years old, a mother, and a wife. This is why I model because this industry allows me to transform into anything I want! My motivation is to show the world that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. People shouldn’t be afraid to show their true selves. We need to embrace our flaws not be held back by them.

At the end, when looking at photos, it is about how it makes you feel when viewing the photo, not what size or what industry standards are. Expression of true art, in collaboration with the photographer, model, and designer is the key part of the team in producing these photos for the world to see and admire.

FASHION CREDITS:

Photographer: Candice Ghai
Model: Danille Rodriguez