Monday, January 2, 2017

Thank You Chase

There is Chase and then there is no one. From the first time we photographed her years ago until this very day, she is the most consistently perfectly performing model ever. She was then just as she is now... unquestionably perfect.

A few weeks ago we crossed text paths and shared a Happy Holidays and Season Greetings sort or message thing. It had been awhile - too long in my opinion. It's always a good idea just to stay updated with the best of the best models if for nothing else than just a chit chat to see what's going on with them. To our delight, she was interested in a photo shoot. We all agreed that it should be something smaller this time around. Something that didn't require a full crew and only called for minimal gear. It had been awhile after all and we knew Chase was a fan of natural looks. Now when a model tells me she wants natural that normally makes me cringe. Once upon a time my mind would have interpreted that as no makeup, no hair styling, no clothing stylist and bad bad bad clothing options. My every instinct would have screamed no freakin' way. It was only after working with her once years ago I realized that when you have the right talent, everything will be fine. In fact, with Chase it's stellar.
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Model: Chase "Whitehill" Rubeor
You see, she's not just stunning but she is also the most gifted and professional person I've ever had the pleasure of working with on a photo shoot. Not to say that no one else is great. Chase is simply... I don't know. I don't want to say "flawless." That seems so final and committed and such words have a way of biting you in the ass later. You just know what you're going to get every single time and it's never ever wrong. She is never late. She never complains. Everything fits perfect and looks amazing on her whether we buy it or she brings it. There is never a mix up on who is doing what or bringing what or going where. She is not demanding or pompous. She is not overly emotional. She is drama-free. She doesn't bring her personal problems to work if you know what I mean. Yet, she's personal and has a cozy personality like a blanket (okay that's weird but you get it). A girl next door kinda personality vibe (that's better) but she just happens to look like and model like an international supermodel (she already kinda has been). She's not gonna break down in tears at the slightest thing (you'd be surprised what we've seen over the years). She has an unmistakable sense of personal style that is both refined casual and classically sophisticated and oh boy she wears it well.


It's really difficult to describe how well arranging a shoot goes with her. We don't need to exchange 30 emails or 50 texts because we've come to trust her unconditionally. I send her one single image of an idea for inspiration and she replies, "I know exactly the mood you're going for. I got it." That's music to my ears. "The Mood." She understands. She gets how this whole thing works. She understands modeling, call sheets, go-sees and test shoots. She gets mood boards and story boards. She's a professional. If I hire an MUA we don't get nervous that she will be late or not show up. If I have a hair stylist, we're not concerned that she's gonna complain about the hair styling or  how the clothing looks. There is a mutual trust and respect for one another's gifts and contribution. She does what she does best. We do what we do best and it's always beyond expectations even when we don't seem to ever take enough images of her or see her as often as we would like. Then again, there could never be enough images of her.

I suppose there is one hiccup if any. Availability. We would like to give her solid week of shooting. At least three back to back to back days. Unfortunately, we all have busy schedules and lives to go about. But good things (good people) are worth waiting for. Ten years can go by and Chase will still be Magnificent Chase whether she is wearing Givenchy or Gap,  Burberry or Balenciaga. She could be full body air brushed or have no makeup on at all and it's still Chase. If she's not feeling well but committed to doing the project anyway, it will still be the magnificent, high performing, beautiful, professional, endlessly talented and intelligent Chase.  

Thank you Chase. Thank you for making 2016 end on a high note and 2017 begin with a sense of discovery and possibilities.