I decided that I wanted to do shoots of two models, one male and one female, so that readers of both genders could enjoy what my zine has to offer. Choosing my models was a hard process, because I wanted to use models that I know and that I already know are good at modelling, yet I wanted to use a model who had an interesting story to tell of their strongest memory. I asked three of my friends, who I'd used as models before, what their strongest memory was, and picked them based on the most interesting ones. I asked one female and two males to give me a maximum of three strong memories so I could choose one to work with and plan a photo-shoot around.
The first friend who responded was Qetina, a model who I use a lot because of her photogenic looks and height. I like using her as a model because she is a close friend that I've known from school and she has a naturally pretty face, which means I can style her in any way I want and she will still suit whatever the theme of the shoot is. She is of Albanian decent, so I like using her as well because she offers something different. I like to use models who aren't white, of all body types and genders, and models with unique looks. When interviewing her, she told me three of her strongest and weirdest memories.
The first memory was about her first time visiting her Albanian family, where her uncle was cleaning a cement mixer that was six foot deep with water, so she and her younger siblings swam in the cement mixer for fun. She also recalled how her Albanian family were surprised and amazed that the three of them could swim, which made me laugh. She said that was her weirdest memory because it seemed to vague. She found it hard to associate a colour with that particular memory, so I didn't use it. The second was what she said was "Her strongest memory because it is her worst memory". She told me about the night she learned her grandfather had committed suicide. She describes being woken up by her aunt in the middle of the night, and going to the living room where there were multiple candles lit. She vaguely remembers the 'lime green' TV screen mixing with the orange, and how all the colours mixed together both from the shock of the news and from her tired state as a child. This memory stood out to me, so I decided to use this one of hers. I planned to use mainly the colours of green, orange, pink and yellow.
The second person I interviewed was my boyfriend Dean, who I use quite often in my photo-shoots, because he has interesting style and offers something different when it comes to menswear shoots, as all too often a white man is the model for a brand's menswear. He is from Mauritius, so when asked about his strongest memories he told me about being by the sea, eating Mauritian street food and partying with his cousins. He found it hard to describe any more memories in detail to help me plan a shoot on the story, so I decided I wouldn't use him.
Lastly, I interviewed my brother Callum, who I've also used before. I like using him as a model because he has a 'blank canvas' look about him which makes him easy to style. He also has a good height and is photogenic. When I asked him about his strongest memories he told me about childhood memories. The first was about a time he had his head stuck under a round-a-bout in a play park, and how he associates the emotion of fear and the colour of yellow and black with the memory. The second memory he told me about was a time he was playing with matches and almost set our grandmother's carpet on fire. He said he thinks of all kinds of colours, specifically yellow of the flames and purple of the carpet and bed covers. He also says he associates green with the memory, though he couldn't tell me why. I decided I would try to use both of his memories in my shoot, as his memories were a little short, so to make a whole narrative out of it I wanted to use both. This would also give me the opportunity to experiment with outside location shooting.
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