I am a 33-year-old woman, not a 19-year-old model. So why, then, would I get a fashion photo shoot done by a professional photographer? Girl, the question is WHY THE HELL NOT?!
When photographer Danilo Ursini sent me a message on Facebook, inquiring whether I’d like to do some photos, I didn’t understand. I had met him earlier last year at a party and admired his photography, but Danilo’s first language is Italian and we were definitely lost in translation. Partially due to the language barrier, and partially due to my cluelessness, I assumed that he wanted to shoot for Shedoesthecity. I figured he was proposing either a spring fashion shoot or offering to act as our photographer at Toronto fashion events. After half a dozen messages, we finally understood each other: he wanted to do a photo shoot with me as the model. I was flattered, curious, kinda shocked and totally down. I mean, when else would I do something like this?
It was a casual arrangement; I threw a bunch of my clothes in a suitcase, pulled dark liner across my eyes, messed up my hair and grabbed a cab to Danilo’s midtown studio. He was extremely professional and made me feel at ease right away. I tossed all my clothes out for him to see and he kinda pointed at certain items, “Dis one. Not that. Yes, this one.” I did about six costume changes in an hour, smiled, pouted, arched my back, danced a bit, raised a brow and pretended I was Coco Rocha or something. Because Dani is more comfortable speaking Italian, he would shout out, “Bellisima! Brava!” And this really made me feel like I had stepped into another life.
As a young student, I was very involved in drama and enjoyed participating in both the school theatre club and dance club. I haven’t done anything like that in, well, nearly fifteen years. (Well, maybe one thing.) But on that miserable cold and grey day in February, I became a character. I was a model in Milan, an actress in Paris, a mischievous cat and a forlorn lover. It got really dramatic. (See black lace on face.)
It was fast and furious! 600 photos were taken in 60 minutes.
Afterwards, I packed up all my shit, called a cab and life went back to normal. But then, two days later…I got a message from Danilo that read “Yes, yes yes!” A few seconds later, he forwarded me a link to Vogue Italia. What the hell? There it was, a photo of myself with the word VOGUE stamped on the bottom left. Is that all it takes? A black lace mask and some come hither eyes? Guys, that’s all you need to do to be IN VOGUE!!! Okayyyy, I’ll come clean. That picture didn’t make it into the magazine, just Danilo’s photo portfolio on the Vogue Italia photo site, but whatever, I’m a VOGUE model, right? Running with it!
Moral of this story is that Danilo is very talented and if you ever want to feel confident, youthful and sexy, you too should get a fashion photo shoot done. Heck, you might even end up in Vogue. You never know.
Check out Danilo’s portfolio and get in touch with him if you are interested in investing in some fierce photos of your own.
Photos by Danilo Ursini
Follow Us On Instagram
