PhotoLounge was tagged in a post on Instagram by Quinn Litsinger (@quinn.litsinger.jpg).
We loved the photos so much that we reached out to the photographer to interview him about the project!
Read on to view the photos and hear from the artist.
Q: What inspired this project?
A: I got into film photography earlier this year, and have been itching for projects to shoot. When my girlfriend Sara was getting ready to dye her bright blue hair back to brown, I asked if she would be down to let me shoot some portraits to document the fun hair before she dyed it back. Right around the same time, she visited her grandmom and was gifted a bunch of her old colorful clothes from the ‘60s. It was the perfect excuse to go overboard with an all day photoshoot around the city.
Q: How did you choose the various locations? Was the intention for the photos to have a monochromatic look?
A: For a lot of the photos, absolutely, monochromatic was the goal. For others, contrasting colors were a fun way to draw attention to Sara. I definitely focused on color when planning the shoot—the blue hair and bright outfits were too fun not to. I had Sara send me all the different outfits she planned on wearing, and researched different locations around the city with colorful murals, buildings, or other structures that would match and feel ‘60s-esque. I had never planned a photoshoot before, so it was a really fun experience to do research and doodle out ideas that then came to life. We spent the day driving between locations and finding different unplanned ones along the way.
Q: Which photo is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite photo is for sure the shot on the Ben Franklin Bridge. I immediately knew I wanted to do something on the bridge when thinking about where to shoot Sara’s blue hair, but the specific idea for the shot came to me when I remembered that the underneath of Sara’s shoes were blue—for that one in particular, monochromatic was definitely the goal. That’s the “it” shot from the shoot to me.
Q: Each photo seems to tell a story about the person photographed. Did you have an idea in mind of how you wanted the person to be portrayed?
A: At each location I gave Sara direction about how I imagined the shot, but from there it became a collaborative effort and we’d bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes she’d do her thing until I’d say “That!! That right there!” and take the shot. My job was half photographer and half hype man—above all else I wanted Sara to be portrayed in ways that made her feel good and confident, even if it wasn’t what I had imagined going into each location. A lot of my favorite shots from the shoot were done impulsively.
Q: Do you think you will continue this series in some way?
A: I’d love to. In general, fashion photography is something I want to dive further into—it was a real treat to get creative around vintage clothing with this shoot. Doing similar projects is definitely something I’m going to actively pursue. One way I’d love to continue with this series in particular is to keep going from the ‘60s with different decades, the ‘70s being next. Vintage fashion is unfortunately hard (or easy and expensive) to come by these days, so seeing that vision through may take some time—but it’s on my mind.