Anyways, Paula.
We are so happy to have you on the
stream today, and we wanted
to first just kick things off and
talk to you a little bit about the
Halsy cover that you shot
for the video that we just showed
for the behind the scenes.
Just kind of if you could just walk
us through that day and that shoot
and how everything was
and how you met Halsy and how your
relationship was for the shoot.
And also what
brought you to
get those photographs in that
manner?
And, you know, actually, like I
photographed Halsey when she was
coming out with her first
single on her first album and it was
kind of like a portfolio of up
and coming artist.
And we have kind of like this blue
makeup. I mean, it was crazy,
but I mean, she was like super game
for like doing like cool pictures
and being creative.
And for this particular
shoot, well,
it was my first cover for
Rolling Stone. So I was like super
excited because it's such an iconic
magazine
and it was her first
cover for Rolling Stone as well.
So
we wanted to shoot her and
photograph her in the desert.
So, you know, in a very
natural environment,
it was very hot.
If you can see in the video, I'm
wearing like a hoodie, but it's like
a white hoodie because it was like
super hot. But I always like
covering myself.
Yeah, and
of course, we did like so
many images.
It was like when a fan
I mean, she was super
collaborative and she
really wanted to make a great
picture. But at the beginning when
we were talking about hair and
makeup and the look that we were
going to go for, and
I always wanted to focus,
especially to create the cover,
this iconic to have something
that is different, that maybe if we
didn't have this, that we haven't
seen her by way.
So and
she was wearing a baseball cap when
she arrived. And I and
then we were like, oh, how
you should wear the hair.
And she's like, actually I never had
my hair. ;ole matira; like
nobody seeing my hair like, like
my natural curls, I
was like, oh, that's amazing.
And I felt like very thankful
because it's like I had this
opportunity to photograph it in a
way that nobody nobody's
seen her before.
And and, yeah, I mean, she has
beautiful skin. And she was a bit
tan.
And of course, this picture was
taken in the shade.
So her skin looks a little bit
darker.
And we did so many pictures,
you know, she was really playful and
like. You
know, she has an attitude that's
like really cool.
And and then at some point, I mean,
she just rolled her fingers
over the thanto, you know,
and then that's the frame.
Right.
And well,
when we were like then we get
the magazine was like looking for
which one should be the image, you
know, like and we specifically
thought about like doing a cover
that had a white background.
And so then it's
more iconic, especially with the red
logo.
And as you
show a few
minutes ago, like so many of those
iconic covers have
the white background.
Right, because they are like very,
very graphic.
Right. And when you see them in the
in the stand, like I mean, that
really stands up.
And and then
we didn't even think about so
much that she had
a bit of a hair in the
armpits.
But, yeah,
that created a lot
of conversation.
I mean, many people were like,
oh, she's too dark.
She's trying to appropriate
a different ethnicity.
She why she can not
afford to shave her armpits.
And then on the other side,
many artists supported
her and Demi Lovato, for example,
like she was like super
supportive of Halsey's
and the cover.
And and I think
it I mean, it's important
to create conversation sometimes,
even though.
I mean, some opinions are going to
be positive and some opinions are
not going to be positive, but
I think it's
natural to have
hairs under the arms,
you know, and she just happened to
look that way that day.
And we give her, like,
supernatural.
And, you know, it wasn't like about
doing an image that is fake in any
way.
Yeah, and I think
I think she she's proud
and I am proud of it, too.
Yeah, I mean, it's an amazing
image, and I think what's really
funny is that people, of
course, came for her, for her
hair, but you can't you can barely
even see anything.
So I think that that's just so
kind of ridiculous how people love
to pick apart, you
know, photos and women in
particular.
But also, we wanted to ask
you a little bit about how you
make your subjects comfortable when
you're photographing them, because I
think something about that shoot in
particular is it's so intimate and
it seems like you get a different
side of Halsy than you've seen
before, like you were saying.
So what's kind of your process
there creatively and how do you
set the tone and the mood of a shoot
to bring out those intimate images
of people?
I mean, first of all, I
work with a nice team.
Like everybody on my set is like
nice people. They all want to be
there and they all want to, you
know, like, make the best of it.
And so
that's that's one thing.
But I always do
my research and I always
create a very nice environment for
the talent. So then, like.
That the ideal thing
that you want when the talent
arrives is to feel comfortable
and to trust me basically,
because if they trust me
and I mean we
are ready and, you know, so
and especially when the talent
have to give me everything
you know, because I really need to
connect in an
intimate way and to capture
something that is honest
is really important that they feel
comfortable and they can trust
what how I want to make them look
and and for
me, it's all about the connection
with the subject, you know, and like
knowing what
they like, who they are
and being curious, you
know, I think like curiosity
in a photographer is one of the key
elements, because
if you are truly curious about the
talent, you are respectful and you
are going to be interested in
knowing what they have
to say, how they feel, who
they are and
that for me is super key.
And I think that's why I like
I mean, I am lucky enough
to meet all this incredible people
and to hear, like, amazing stories
from them. And, you know,
I mean, it's like...
The best.
Yeah, I bet having being
there and having that connection
with them sounds just I
mean, immeasurably important to the
work that you have to do with them.
I mean, in order to get them to
express. I mean, I'm sure
that you have to really get
comfortable and do your research.
And also off of that,
I was wondering for this specific
shoot and for any other shoots,
Paola,
I was wondering who picks
the shoot, like who
picks the area that you're going to
shoot in? Is that you or is that
the talent or is it kind of a mix of
both? We got a question in the chat
about that.
Yeah, I mean, in general.
Well, I mean, we look at the
location in advance, right?
And then in this particular
case, I mean, we were going to look
outside Los Angeles.
So sometimes you
get a chance to scout the location.
So you look at it like, OK,
this could be good, you know, and I
imagine the images in my mind
before actually taking the pictures.
So but in this case, we
we arrive and
we arrive, I think, two hours
before Halsey.
And we didn't have so much time to
do a shoot. I was like yesterday
like preparing for this call.
I was looking at the call sheet and
it was like a rival,
1:00 p.m.
hair and makeup two hours
and wardrobe fitting and then
talent is leaving at 5:00.
So and oh, my God,
I was going to as to how much time
really was this year.
I mean, it sounds like it was only
about three hours, but from the
behind the scenes footage, just that
minute, it looked like you got a lot
done at that time.
Yeah, I'm fast
and
I'm very fast.
And I mean, like these talents,
they I mean, they are beautiful
and, you know, they they have the
experience, they are performance
and they are performers.
And, you know, it's
easy to get through a lot very
quickly.
But yeah.
And we got a chance to do a video
and we did an interview and,
you know, everything in like
three hours.
And I'm
going back to the look to the spots
that we were doing the show.
And I actually.
I would look around and I'm
like, OK, we could do this picture
here, we could do this outfit there,
we could do a close up.
Here is the little
house there that we
actually set up a mini.
A mini studio,
let's say, oh, well,
yeah, so we put up a background
in the back of that tiny little
house and
yeah, it looks like a mini studio,
but outdoors.
That's really cool.