When Emily shared that she was looking to plan a roller derby themed photoshoot, I knew I wanted to be involved. I've never done a shoot on such a large scale. We had 10 different girls come dressed in vintage-styled clothing associated with 5 different decades and spent several hours taking all the photos. This was genuinely such an empowering photoshoot for everybody involved. We did the shoot at one of the girls, Bekah's, home and picked different spots on the property for each decade.
I've found photoshoots to be a really great way to spend time with people during the pandemic since most of them, including this one, can be done entirely outside. I wore my mask the entire time I was shooting and the models all had them on when they weren't in front of the camera. All these girls are involved in the arts or theatre in some way, and I heard so many of them saying how grateful they were to have a creative outlet after a year of very little.
Major credit is due to Emily (IG: @lynettediamond) and Bekah (IG: @bekmedford) who organized everything for this shoot!
50's
This was a really fun decade to shoot. Jillian and Elisabeth were our models and showed up in the cutest outfits that contrasted each other perfectly. They also were very comfortable on skates and we got all kinds of fun movement shots.
For each decade, I tried really hard to give it it's own unique style when I was editing. The desaturated film look of the 50's was definitely the hardest and most of my comfort zone, but the longer I look at these photos the more I love them. I included a lot of black and white for this decade because color photography was less common then.
Models: Jillian Melko, Elisabeth Clements
60's
The 60's was one of my favorites of the day. Emily and Kelley played off of each other perfectly as they were posing and their outfits complimented each other really well. The iron fence we used as a backdrop was also really cool and gave us the chance to play with some shadows, especially with Emily's dress.
Models: Emily Diamond, Marquelle (Kelley) Young
70's
I'm a total sucker for the 70's so I definitely felt the most comfortable shooting this decade. This was the first one we shot and ended up being the first one I edited as well. This worked well because it gave me a good chance to warm up in the morning and get all the creative energy flowing. These photos are so fun and colorful and the models absolutely killed it.
The edit I created for this decade actually ended up being used as a base for all the others. I ended up loving the preset so much that I've decided to add it in to my usual editing routine as well.
Models: Megan Wartell, Tecia Chavez
80's
This one was FUN. The 80's were scheduled last and we'd saved the tennis courts for it, which was such a good choice. We shot Bekah first and when she pulled out her hairspray as a prop we were super excited that you were actually able to see the spray in the camera. Then, Watkins joined us and brought with her a million accessories. We honestly didn't even have to arrange anything for the photos of her with her bag, just took the shots right where she was.
I also went out of my comfort zone on these edits. I got a little more saturated than usual and also cooled them down a bit, which I haven't done to a photo in a while.
Models: Bekah Medford, Watkins
90's
For the 90's. we tried to go for a grunge and nonchalance look. Katie showed up to the shoot with freshly dyed pink hair that really made these photos. Then we ended up using a trash can as a prop which brought a little something extra to the pair shots. Bekah's sister, Madison, also stepped in at the last second when one of our models wasn't able to make it and channeled what we were going for perfectly (plus her alien ring is adorable).
Models: Katie Wickline, Madison Medford
