obsessed with talitha getty in marrakech

Today i really feel we nailed our Talitha Getty-inspired fashion story. The location was perfect, the model was strong and the hair, makeup and styling really captured the spirit of the late 60s.  The model, Caroline Wilson, from Two Management who just arrived in town from down under last week was great. She's shorter than most of the girls we shoot—she's only 5' 7"—but she was really strong and knew how to take direction really well. Here are some of the photos from her portfolio that we picked her from. 

Here's a shot from Caroline Wilson's portfolio. She's with Two Model Management. 

Caroline Wilson on the cover of Factice Magazine

I went with a new shooter, Megan Baston. I knew she would do a great job. The thing I love about Megan is she's the one who really made this shoot happen. I give her all the credit. She was relentless at locking in this amazing location. She went there and met with the owner like three times, called him almost everyday and basically harassed the poor guy until he caved. Hey, whatever it takes, right?

Megan is young but she has a fashion sensibility and good understanding of capturing moments. I say it's almost an innate quality. Either you have it, or you don't. It's all about having a sensibility. That, coupled with an All-Pro styling and glam team, like we had today, and there's not too much that can go wrong. And hey, with a little photoshop, what we don't capture in camera, we can fix in post.

I assembled a great support team for her, but to be honest, we almost had a situation this morning. Lisa Cera, the stylist, called me and said she looked at Megan's book (for some reason, she hadn't looked at it until this morning) and was calling to voice her concerns. I told Lisa not to worry, that I believed in Megan and that I was there to art direct, and that she would nail it. Sure enough, after the shoot, Lisa said she loved working with Megan and would love to shoot with her again. Lisa pulled some great fashion. Some great pieces came in from New York including from CHANEL. The shots look amazing. 

I never told Megan about Lisa's concerns. It's never a good idea to deflate anyone's mojo on shoot day. She didn't need to feel insecure in any way. She needed to feel like everyone had her back and that we were all there to support her and she kicked ass. 

For young photographers, fashion photography can be a Catch-22. To build a great book, you need a magazine behind you to pull great fashion, get a great model, and great glam team; but usually you need a great book to get a magazine to work with you. My advice is to ONLY show your strongest work. It's not about volume, it's about showing your best work. If that means you only have five photos, then so be it. 

Caroline Wilson on our Talitha Getty-inspired shoot today. She just arrived in town last week. Lucky us!

Today we had one of our A-game glam teams on set. Our hair was Paul Desmarres, from Opus Beauty, (who you know I try to use as much as possible). And of course, on makeup, one of my favorite artists, Patrick Tumey, from Celestine. Let me just say that Frank Moore, the booker at Celestine, has been one of Genlux's biggest supporters from way back to our first year. We've been working together for almost ten years now and I have all the love and respect in the world for Frank and everyone at Celestine. Can't wait to share photos with you!

anna wintour didn't sell out. just the opposite.

Anna Wintour did not sell out. Here's why.

When we photographed Kim Kardashian a few years ago, the truth is I wanted to put Kim on the cover. She was a beautiful girl. The shots were gorgeous, but I also knew the luxury brands wanted nothing to do with Kim Kardashian or reality tv. Nothing. So I ended up putting Molly Sims on the cover, a great shot by the legendary Alberto Tolot.  I regretted not putting Kim on the cover because in a way, I'd felt like I'd sold-out to the luxury brands. We needed their advertising dollars, and think about it, so does Anna Wintour. 

Kim Kardashian photographed by Marc Baptiste in front of the Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive

I loved the photos Marc Baptiste took of Kim for Genlux. They are beautiful images. I made a few calls to the paparazzi that day and they came out.  I told them to wait in front of the Luxe Hotel on Rodeo Drive exactly at 10:00 and that I'd bring her there. When Kim saw this field of photographers, she started to get into her posing mode, so every five minutes I kept telling her to "go inside her own head" to pretend like they're not even there. I wanted her to have a quiet face amidst all of the chaos. 

Kim really wanted the cover. She sent me a beautiful flower arrangement the next day with a nice note. I was really torn. I wanted to have her on the cover.

Fast forward to last year and on the cover of CR magazine, the book that ex-editor of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld heads and there, big as life, is one Kim Kardashian. So if anyone should get the credit for "breaking" the luxury mold and putting the queen of reality on the cover, it should be Carine. 

Back to Anna, the advertising dollars that Vogue stands to lose for upsetting the luxury brands is much, much greater than any amount of money made on the newsstand sales. Anna knows that, but she made a strong decision to go with putting Kim on the cover. I just wish she'd left Kanye off. That's the bigger issue.

one of my top 10 fashion photographs

Here's of my favorite photographs and inspiration for a Genlux fashion shoot today.

J. Paul Getty, Jr. with his wife Talitha (Dina Pol) Getty in January 1969. Such a cool photo. Timeless.

That's Talitha Getty on the roof-top of her home in Marrakesh, Morocco, that she shared with the hooded man in the corner. That's J. Paul Getty, Jr. He was son of the richest man in the world at the time and may have been a good reason Talitha married him. It's said she was enthralled at the time with the dancer Rudolf Nureyev; who was equally smitten by her. In the pic, she's dressed in the cool hippie fashion of the time. She has such a chill, relaxed vibe at the Pleasure Palace, as they called it. The official name of the home was Le Palais du Zahir. There's also a good chance she's on drugs in this photo. Both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles would visit the Pleasure Palace. It was a time of excess and was none other than the drug connoisseur himself, Keith Richards, told in his book that J. Paul and Talitha, "had the best and finest opium." Keith would know.  Sadly, a little more than two years after this photo was taken, Talitha would die of a heroin overdose. In that same year, heroin also stole the lives of legends Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Edie Sedgwick, and Jim Morrison. A crazy time. Talitha left behind a son. The clue your folks were hippies? When your name is Tara Gabriel Galaxy Gramophone Getty.

On Talitha's wikipedia page it says the photographer was Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, or Patrick Lichfield. It also says the photo is in the National Portrait Gallery in London. It should be. 

Today we're finding the model for our fashion story inspired by this shot and boxes of fashion from New York are piling in the Genlux office. I see a big one from Chanel, but more about our shoot later.

elegance vs vulgarity. let's fight.

Okay, let's fight.

I could be wrong, but wasn't it Charles Eames who once said the opposite of ELEGANCE is VULGARITY? In photography, especially fashion photography these days, images are swinging toward V. There's a lot more nudity in fashion photos. And blatant sexuality. I received this email today from one of my favorites: Editorialist. Provocative, yes. Borderline V? Um, maybe? The model is Nina Agdal. the girl you'll find in the bebe campaign. Girl aside, (because it might have worked better on a smaller-breasted, high fashion girl) let's break down this photo. Her hair is perfect. The styling (on the left half of the page) is perfect. It's great that they went black and white to give it a classic air. From purely a photographic standpoint, it's a beautiful, well-composed, and well-lit image. But you have to admit, the large breast 'hangin' out' takes it OUT OF FASHION. It makes her look, just, so...large. The word BIG next to her certainly doesn't help. When I first saw it I instantly thought plus-size girl. She's not a plus-size girl, right? 

 It's hard to take a Sports Illustrated girl and make her look high fashion—especially if you're going to show that she has huge boobs. That's my opinion of this model and of Kate Upton. I love Kate in swimwear, but not in Vogue. 

Then I get this photo today from W magazine of Amanda Seyfried, shot by one of my all-time favorite photographers, Craig McDean. This is not McDean's style. He's always elegant. It's like he's shifting to the V of the times. Noooo! No, Craig, don't do it. Let's leave all the V to the king of V, Terry Richardson.

Amanda Seyfried by Craig McDean in the new issue of W magazine. V or E? I say V, for sure.