Samantha Reali, a 21 year old artist and student from Staten Island, NY joined me for a virtual session this past weekend.  She showed me some of her work which completely blew my mind and shared how and what she likes to paint, what inspires her and even what frightens her. Her body of work she explained is about the human mind and memories… I was fascinated by all she had to say about this and look so forward to seeing her completed project. Since she loves the idea of a beautiful mess and abstract chaos I suggested we do our best to make her our canvas. Her little brother happily splattered paint on her and deep down I think he loved being a part of the action.

Samantha has absolutely no idea how beautiful she is and actually had concerns about being in front of the lens. (I know!) But as you can see, she is as photogenic as it gets and was incredibly open minded to all my crazy ideas. We plotted out our session plans in a rough and abstract way (much like her work) and decided upon our locations and her attire. What I didn’t know was that she would whip up some of her own clothing and wear it for our shoot! She even makes clothes!!!!!  Our sweet friend Alicia was behind the lens on my behalf and I was so impressed by her ability to adjust quickly as well as how eager and excited she was to learn some new tricks. She added so much insight to the shoot with her incredible prop ideas and willingness to stand on ladders, make a giant mess and take risks!  My gratitude for both of these woman as well as the use of this sprawling and gorgeous property is immeasurable.

I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to photograph her raw and unplugged!