Yesterday was a glorious day. Tori and I had a little TRV photo shoot with our friends Emmeli and Erin. These two L.A. beauties are originally from Sweden and Rhode Island. Erin makes jewelry, and Emmeli is an aspiring actress. They’re an example of one of the great things about Los Angeles—so many people from all over the world living here, pursuing art. It’s a city for creators, and ripe with opportunity for collaboration.
In yesterday’s shoot, I took off my modeling shoes and put on my photographer’s shoes for a bit. Tori made sure the girls looked amazing, and she helped me direct, since I’m rusty. Running TRV has forced me to start using all the photo skills I learned in college so many years ago—the ones I quickly wandered away from after graduating when I decided it wasn’t fun anymore if I had to feed myself by taking photos. But this shoot was simple and fun, and I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it! I’m excited to do some more of our photography in the future.
Erin and Emmeli were a blast to work with. We’re already friends, so that made it easy. We turned my living room into a photo studio, and I think I did a decent job with the lighting (high-five, me!), though I can’t take full credit for it. I’m mimicking our immensely talented friend Enid Valu’s lovely shadows that she created when shooting for us in Charlotte, NC. Thanks, Enid.
The girls are so pretty that I think they would have turned out lovely not matter what I did.
This was Erin’s first time modeling, but she picked it up lickety split. She has a striking, intense beauty that won’t be ignored. I met Erin through another photographer friend, and she immediately made me feel like we had been friends for a long time. She’s deep and thoughtful, and has a big heart. The density of her artistic ability is overwhelming. She has an MFA in jewelry design/metalsmithing from RISD and makes stunning jewelry that will make you melt into a little puddle of glee. Recently, she’s been incorporating natural and vintage materials (like recycled fur) into her original designs. Tori and I adore her work, and she let us mix a few of her pieces with ours in this shoot. It all went exceptionally well with the vintage. We were thrilled and inspired. Keep an eye out: you might be seeing some original Aeryn Kae pieces on our shop in the near future.
Emmeli, I’m convinced, is some kind of angel sent from Sweden to fill my life with happiness. I met her in Griffith Park this summer when I was modeling for Lux Divine and Mimi. While I was sitting in tall weeds, becoming best friends with the shrubbery and trying not to mess up my mohawk as I changed behind trees, Emmeli was running around in the blazing heat, assisting the photographer Lelann with a big smile on her face. She was so positive and so helpful that I kept thinking, “Who is this girl? She has the best attitude, the cutest accent, and is way too pretty to be out here holding up a reflector.” I found out she came from Sweden to New York to L.A., and has been traveling the world and acting in theater since she was a wee girl. Now she’s one of my dear friends, and I’ve been learning all about the heavenly land of the Swedes, where everyone is beautiful and most of life is light and free. I mean, have you ever heard of kanelbullens dag? It’s the day the Swedes nationally celebrate the cinnamon roll. I’m telling you, I think it’s paradise over there.
After I had my fun taking photos of Erin and Emmeli, Jordan came over and finished the shoot for us. I happily handed over the camera and jumped in with the girls like a little frog hopping back into its pond. Jordan’s creative capacity can also be intimidating (he’s going to be the next Stanley Kubrick, just you wait), but I’ve been friends with Jordan since we were kids, so he’s my buddy, and we have fun taking pictures.
So get ready for a fun new TRV lookbook and photos, coming soon!
This post was written by Amber.
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