This is a project I have been slowly putting together for the past year. It came to me in a dream one night and I woke up at 3am to start jotting it all down like a mad woman! It's about who I am. It's about who I dreamed I'd be, who I thought I'd be, who I feel like I am, how I feel I portray myself and how I feel I am portrayed by others. It brings out hopes and dreams as well as my reality. It pulls at who I think I'd be if I weren't me...who I think I am deep inside...the me that no one else gets to see.
I began by making a list of ideas based on these thoughts and feelings and began slowly defining each one with details on how felt this idea can be brought to life. I than began my search for women that fit these themes. I had over 100 women apply for this project and was a bit overwhelmed. I was so surprised by the response to this personal project and it's quite humbling. Though it made it so much harder to narrow it down and choose the women I thought would perfectly fit the look I was going for. Seriously...I can't stress enough how hard it was for me to choose! You are all so beautiful and wonderful and brave for even applying! You all deserve it! But alas, I knew the time would come to make the tough choices and I finally have. I didn't choose models based on beauty or experience. I literally chose women based purely on the fact that they "looked" the part. For the ones I didn't choose for this project, I have put you all on my list for future projects. Maybe someday I will get to work with everyone that applied :-)
So here's the long awaited list of finalists:
Summer Main
Danyelle Gagne
Alicia Wills
Amy Haynes
Brionna Charlebois
Jennifer Bryant
Danielle O'Brien
Aleena Simoneau
Monique Gorman
Ashley Rowe
Meghan Miller
Allison Brochu
Vanessa Freeman
Congratulations to all of the girls that were chosen to work with me on my project! Over the next week or so, I will be emailing each of you to give you a Welcome Packet to my project and in it you will find more detailed information about the themed session I am looking for you to model for me along with the items of clothing, shoes, etc that I will need you to obtain. I'd be more than happy to help in that area if you need it. If for any reason something has changed since you applied and you are no longer able to or you are not comfortable with the theme I have matched you with, please feel free to email me to let me know so I can pass the opportunity on to another girl :-)
Now, I'm sure some of you may be wondering what exactly the themes to my project are, but for now, I am keeping it hush-hush. The models will also be requested to keep quiet about their session until it is revealed. I am putting a lot of heart and a lot of work into this and it means a lot to me personally. I hope that what I'm doing can make a difference in how you perceive not only me, but yourself. All women are beautiful and we are all special and contribute to the lives around us in our own way. We all have the choice to stand up for ourselves and believe in ourselves. We can do anything and be anything. We can have whatever hopes and dreams we want whether we choose to pursue them or not. We can imagine anything we want. It's about being who you are and loving it...every single part of who you are...no matter what it may be. Embrace your imperfections and and celebrate your quirkiness and compassion. It's about being proud of who you truly are and not giving up on who you want to be and what you want to accomplish.
It is my intention to complete this project by the end of the year and I will try my best to follow through with that! At this point, I have my wonderful, amazing, beautiful hair & makeup artist, Liz Caron, assisting on the set, but I have not searched for any assistants. You are more than welcomed to email me at lauraleephotographymaine@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering to help me on set with my gear, lighting, posing, etc. Perhaps even have you run an errand if needed...like a coffee refill hahaha I am looking to bring on a couple of assistants so that I am always covered even if one can't make it that day.
Thank you all again for applying and congratulations to those who will be modeling for me. I look forward to meeting you all and working with you to make my project a reality. This won't win me awards and I don;t see it bringing in recognition, but I honestly hope it ends up inspiring you and that enjoy the work I will be sharing with you throughout the year! This is going to be amazing!