When Quarantine first started, as many others can presumably relate, I felt my entire life was put on pause. I had spent the previous year leaving college to pursue a highly unbelievable dream of being a professional model and actress.
2019 was a year of extremely hard work. I began caring about my health and body, losing 65 pounds in the healthiest way possible. I got attention from some major brands and was able to do beauty work for NARS, Shiseido and Laura Mercier. I received training from a mother modeling agency and began my training in NYC, from runway classes, acting classes, to social media and branding workshops, I fell in love with the amount of potential I have. Unfortunately, with parents in professions such as Law and finance, it was a very unsupportive narrative. As I watched my friends party it up at college, I was waking up early to run, or a 4AM commute into the city for an unpaid fashion show, hoping I would be able to network or build my portfolio. The modeling industry is a difficult one to navigate, ‘test shoots’ are shoots designated to building a models book, which agents evaluate at placement meetings to see if you’re the right fit for their agency. These shoots can easily be $500 and up. Working to pay off my tuition of one semester, I didn't have the money to truly build this without help.
However, when Covid 19 rocked our entire world, literally, I couldn’t fathom the idea of giving up on goals I had sacrificed so much for. That is when my SELF TIMER photography really began to take off.
For anyone with history in modeling or photography, to understand how to do both at the same time is easier to understand. For those who do not, let me explain the process.
First, you have an idea in your head, a mood or look you want to bring to life. You study poses online, gathering inspiration from your favorite models or previous campaigns. You ready your tripod and research the correct aperture and what lighting is necessary. Sometimes waiting days or weeks for the right weather outside to capture your image. Then once you find the clothing or look you desire, you do your own makeup, accessorize to the best of your ability, and finish your mood board for on set help. The process of actually shooting is interesting nonetheless, sometimes you get the perfect angle, lighting, flow, and there's an issue with the crop or focus or your eyes aren't looking in the right angle. After you check your images you click focus, usually I use a chair or an object where I am going to be, to make sure the image looks correct, then I sprint in front of the camera and close my eyes remembering the body language of my desired image. This cycle repeats for much longer than expected. Running back and forth from the camera into the frame of a lens you hardly understand. Sometimes I can shoot for hours without a single image I like, then redo them all the next day. On the other hand, at times I accidentally take an incredible picture, totally by mistake. One of my favorite parts of self timer photoshoots is the range of creativity allowed, sometimes accidentally getting an awesome image is the absolute best thing.
While in a perfect world (that we all know doesn't exist) I wouldn't need to take my own photos because I’d have the money for a professional photographer. But, life has a tricky way of teaching you what you're truly capable of. For me, this inaccessibility to the things I desired showed me how I am capable of learning, failing, progressing, while never giving up on myself. I never understood commitment until I learned of what I possess for myself and my own goals. Quarantine has been a major displacement for so many. Yet throughout this hardship I became a 14 time international published model and photographer. I just finished filming my first movie for Amazon Prime. I learned how to properly use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and how to use a professional camera. I used a Nikon D90, which I Inherited many years ago when my aunt passed away from Cancer, I am honored to use her camera to continue her legacy with creative thinking now.
The main reason I am submitting this story is in hopes of inspiring others who seem lost and feel displaced during this incredibly hard year. Even though the world may feel and act differently, you are still here and you still have the power to control how you proceed in the world. Do you wish to learn, do you wish to improve, do you wish for your dreams to become reality, do you wish to learn about yourself? No one is stopping you, you just might have to re-think of how you're going to obtain them now.

I wish you the best of luck.
Sincerely,
The Self Timer Model.