Fruits with a Drip of Melanin 🙏🏿💫🖤. w/ Kettelie Louis

Every time I came into the studio, it felt like I was at odds between trying to tap into more natural settings, keeping it sharp with strobe lighting, while also keeping that depth I was looking for with the 50-70mm. This shoot allowed me to explore both by using an ND filter provided by Marcus Rigg while bringing in foliage, fruits, and even a sprouted coconut from one of my farms in Homestead.

More on that in a future blog post. But for now, let’s just say for the past year or so, I have been building a project that aims to build a bridge between people and planet. My photography, which has always been a cathartic way to express my current ideas and visions, will reflect more natural vibes and foods as such.

We had 2 amazing sponsors for this photoshoot – Sonder and Holiday and Sol Svn.

Lorena Miranda, the CEO of Sonder and Holliday, provided the amazing hand bags for the shoot. We’ve done some work in the past and I believe in her efforts to create enterprising economic sustainable markets for her people in Ghana. All of her handbags are made by these efforts and she aims to bring luxury concepts to rural areas with willing workers.

Gianna “Auset”, of Sol Svn, was the designer of the copper ankle, thigh, and arm pieces that Ket was wearing. Each of her creations are made with intention and for my future shoots I look forward to using them as needed.

My project, Grownextdoor, was our final sponsor.

–

I wanted to bring in fresh, local star fruits, Guavas, and Canistel that added rich abundance to my set. The vibe I was trying to set was something more akin to Oshun or rather a dip into my visual and creative understanding of the Orishas in particular – a major component of the Yoruba religion. We wanted to summon something akin to fertility, fruitfulness, and feminine energy.

Let us know how we did in the comments.