Creative

Bahamian pop artist Keeya shoots new visuals for "Hella Good" single

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Keeya and her team met with me a few weeks back communicating that they needed "sexy, fun and hype" images for the artist's new single titled "Hella' Good." We were sitting in Starbucks and upon hearing the song, I was amped and ready to go! I loved the track, especially the lyrics and immediately, I began to visualize the images in my head.

Her energy and artsy demeanor meant that I'd have a creative range with the set and images, plus knowing I'd work with my good friend and stylist, Lavonne Alexis of ShoptheCC meant that the wardrobe would be pin-point creative!

Popop Studios, Nassau, The Bahamas, was the perfect canvas to which we'd shoot Keeya and using props like inflatable flamingos (Luxury Floats Bahamas), tea party sets (The Tea Room) and a simple mattress meant that we'd have a storyboard fitting to the song lyrics. Keeya's edgy look only added to each frame and with a monster team, we banged out look after look like it were frames from an action movie.

WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO!

LISTEN TO "HELLA GOOD" by KEEYA

Eve

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I was nervous about this concept…at first. I wondered if I would go too far in getting a message across and if people wouldn’t relate or grasp what I was trying to say as a photographer. As a child I’d always seen the portrayal of “Eve” as a beautiful Caucasian woman so my imagination got the best of me and I decided to go against all the imagery I had previously seen in any biblical illustration. 

I wanted to stay clean, within my style, conceptualizing elements that would add to my overall canvas. If Eve were a black woman, what would she look like? Would she be tall, short, skinny or fat? Would her hair be natural, straight, up or down? How would I show her creation, her temptation, her becoming more aware of herself and body? 

To do this I put together a group of talented and visionary people in the industry that I felt would carry this concept like it was their own. Creative director, David Rolle pieced the looks together for Eve, orchestrating hair and makeup to follow.MUA, Mandisa Kerr worked her magic brush craftily added the right accents and contours to our models face. Hair stylist, Jameelah Thompson along with her assistant Lovena Magloire created amazing crowns of hair to place on our model that fit the theme. 

As expected finding a model to play the role of Eve had its challenges. Because of the reptilian element, many models were skeptical about the representation or meaning behind a very recognizable prop. Selvinique Wright however was down the second I was finished explaining the concept to her. She was in and that was all. On set she moved her body and shaped her poses into works of soft and sultry sentences allowing David to form her into the character “Eve.”