Ravyn Alexa with Flowers

I met Ravyn Alexa in Portland Oregon last summer while I was on my cross country road trip. We had followed each other online for a while and I was really happy to be able to meet her in person while I was on her side of the country! I met her at her house (she lived with a few other artists at the time) and we took photos all around the outside of the house. There were so many great natural spots to shoot in without having to go far at all! We took several sets that day, so keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks!

CURRENTLY: I found out about the residency… I didn’t get it. 194 people applied for 9 spots. I’m sad I didn’t get it, but this just means that something else is for me instead. Plus, I’m more prepared to apply for other opportunities!

I made my first meme and posted it on instagram a few days ago! I’m pretty proud of it to be honest. It was fueled by my anger at the two white men who touched me without my consent the night before at my parents superbowl party. There is no reason to touch anyone, unless it’s a life/health threatening situation and you need to help someone when there is no time to ask for consent. Otherwise, ASK AND GET CONSENT BEFORE YOU TOUCH ANYONE, for any reason. As a nude model this is even more important, especially during photoshoots, because I am nude and vulnerable in front of another person, sometimes who I had never met before, and I need to keep myself safe. I am incredibly lucky that I have only had minor consent breaches during shoots, but yes I have definitely had people touch me without consent while I was naked. It is uncomfortable, uncalled for, and NOT NECESSARY. There is never a time when it is appropriate for a photographer to touch a model during a shoot. Anything you think you need to touch us for pose-wise you can use your WORDS to DESCRIBE it to us, or you can use your own body to show us what you mean. Never physically move a model to where you want them to be, unless the model specifically tells you to do so.

Haha I wasn’t expecting to go on a mini tirade about consent during photoshoots, but here we are. After 10 years of being on both sides of the camera, I have a lot to say about photoshoots and how people should interact during a professional interaction. Maybe I should make an ebook or something?

OH! Also today I realized that I forgot to share the cell phone BTS back in December from my time with Sasha Jacobsen, so I’ve uploaded it to the December video folder and you can see all of that awesomeness HERE. Remember the story about the guy with the snake at the end of our shoot? There’s a video of him and the snake in there! Among a lot of other cool stuff, like me naked at a waterfall with a swarm of butterflies! Check it out <3

Photo members: click here to view the full film photoset and click here to view the full digital photoset of Ravyn Alexa in Portland Oregon
Video members: click here to view the BTS video
First Look members: click here to view the photoset with Lior Allay by Chip Willis in Columbus Ohio & click here to view the BTS photoset taken by Lior Allay