Portraits of Influencer Kate Knight
Many people refer to influencer, Kate Knight as a mermaid. She’s ALWAYS in the water. Whether the beach or a pool or some body of water, she loves posting images displaying her love for the water. Kate and I discussed doing a shoot that shared the same theme but something more artistic, something anti-swimwear with a “mood” that could be translated to an effortless and whimsical photo shoot.
I called on a colleague and amazing fashion designer Ria Georgina, commissioning her to create a dress for our “mermaid” to wear. Once I explained the vision to Ria, she sent samples of fabric and colors and this glittery, semi cheer golden fabric that was perfect…so much, it was almost like she had read my mind!
One of the things I am a perfectionist with as a photographer is where I shoot. 80% of the time, the client has no idea where to shoot but once Kate explained to me what she wanted to do, I knew the cliffs at Clifton Pier would make for the perfect backdrop. We also chose dusk as the time to capture the shots as well. There was something about the mood of the light around that time that I knew would add to the overall aesthetic.
Kate brought her A-game, moving effortlessly from frame to frame. Our MUA, Y.Aysia placed a palette of bronze and natural colors on the models face that seemed to be barely there. We weren't going for high fashion but a more natural look and she achieved this look perfectly. This combined with the location, wardrobe, and lighting all worked out to be a wonderful shoot.
Please enjoy the images below.
Styling + Photography: Scharad Lightbourne
Dress: Ria Georgina
MUA: Y.Asia MUA
Grips: Stephen McKinney Jr
Enchanted Forest Maternity Session
If this beautiful woman looks familiar, you are not seeing things. Gail Clarke was recently shot by my team and I, 5 months ago to announce she and her husband Wenrick were expecting. Gail and Wen without question, just after that shoot, began to discuss the idea of shooting the actual maternity session.
I told Gail, we had to think out of the box, take the session outside of the studio and shoot her in an unexpected place. She has no issues with my ideas nor did she question my thought process. In fact, she told me to run with it. She’d bought a red dress already and she told me she’d fix her natural hair in a particular way.
We took the couple to the Primeval Forest, a protected park on the island of New Providence and I’d photographed numerous people here but never a maternity session! The couple had never seen this location before so they were immediately impressed when presented with the area. The thick foliage, natural trails and rock patterns gave us great backdrops to shoot Gail and her red dress certainly popped when putting into all that green. It was a great contrast!
Gail was a trooper. We fought through humidity, poison oak, mosquitoes, and other flying characters to get the frames we wanted. Oh, we threw Wenrick into a few shots for fun which he was completely ok with! Since I've gotten into maternity portraits, I’ve really just included the male as a prop! We did share a few laughs on set about this statement by the way.
Please enjoy the images below.
MUA: Khandise Bain.
Grip: Tameka Petithomme
Recreating the iconic model Grace Jones
I knew in 2019, one of the things I wanted to do more of as a photographer was to collaborate more with other creatives. I, like many others, constantly have these new ideas I want to reproduce and working with other experts in the field is always better than trying to produce them on your own. I always find that from doing collaborations, these creatives push me and my work further than the initial idea so when I knew I wanted to recreate the iconic Grace Jones, a collaboration was definitely a must.
“When the idea was presented to me that we are going to recreate Grace Jones it was exciting and I couldn’t wait. Now that I have seen the finish work it makes me feel like doing this again. It’s LIT!” - Lexx Brown
So when I told him about this idea, he immediately jumped on board. I didn't have to look far for an MUA either because I’d known of Krystal Major’s work for some time but again, it wasn't the right time for us to collaborate but when I reached out and proposed my thoughts on working together, she eagerly agreed. Even Ominique, after I reached out to her, said “yes,” with no hesitation.
We had an initial meeting where we put all our thoughts on paper, going back and forth almost like a fencing match until we all agreed on the final output. Lexx, our barber knew what he needed to do to achieve the right shape for her hair and Krystal and I studied the way Grace would apply her makeup and discussed how we could make it more modern while keeping close to what initially inspired the looks.
"It was an honor to have been chosen to channel iconic looks of the fashion legend Ms. Grace Jones! I'm always open to collaborating with other creative minds. Bringing the looks to life was loads of fun and I enjoyed working along with the entire team." - O Burrows
Style-wise, I just kept things simple with a few pieces I’d sourced from around town. The black gloves, big blazers, and sunglasses were all easy to obtain and were simple elements adapted from Grace Jones’ own style. I even added another element by working with Bahamian illustrator Niko Imbert who created his interpretation of the title image.
The day of the shoot was magical. The team and I set up the studio to shoot beauty but I wanted more dramatic lighting so we used two black flags to enhance the shadows on the models face. I also set up 1 large LED light with a deep parabolic umbrella for my main light. Because I’m shooting beauty I know I would want dramatic lighting on the models face and I typically don’t like cumbersome setups so I kept it simple. I was very satisfied with the results. Be sure to enjoy the images below and the behind the scenes video as well.
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Superstar DJ Ignite ( BTS) photographed at World's Top Studio!
Check out this behind the scenes video from my recent shoot with superstar DJ, Ignite shot at the Sanctuary Studios at Albany Bahamas. Using custom vinyl records, earphones and an iced out chain, we branded Ignite with great props and of course Ignite brought the hype!
One of the most amazing aspects of my work is that I often get opportunities to photograph amazing talents from my country ( 🇧🇸), local celebrities so to speak and by capturing their likeness, I somehow cement them in the fabric of Bahamian culture.
Sean Ferguson a.k.a. Dj Ignite is arguably the best DJ in the region and he approached me many months back to produce and style him for an updated press kit. I was already excited to work with him because we had shot him before but now we were both better at our crafts and it was time for an updated look.
Ignite has played for many events as he is one of the most sought-after DJs in the country, he’s played for celebs like Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neal, Dak Prescott and many others. I already felt the pressure to get great images of this exciting and dynamic talent!
So during the planning stages, Ignite called me up and asked if I wanted to shoot at the Sanctuary, a state of the art, top 5 in the world music recording studio and without having seen it prior, I agreed without hesitation. I could go on and on but instead, I decided to film this video that should help explain how awesome of a shoot this really was.
Please enjoy.
Lifestyle Portraits of Artist in The Bahamas
I'm a part of an industry where there are some pretty amazing creatives, many whom I've had the pleasure to photograph. I've known illustrator and painter, Philece for quite some time and I've always admired her creativity. Her illustrations match her personality, soft, vibrant with an energy you have to see in person to believe.
I called her and said "Philece, let's shoot!" and with little to no reluctance, she adamantly accepted my offer. I told her I wanted to shoot her in her environment, the studio, her front yard with simple styling but capturing her personality and energy.
My approach as the photographer was to capture her in bright surroundings with clean bursts of light and pops of color that would portray Philece the way I saw her. I knew many of the shots would be "in the moment" and with her quirky, awkwardly funny and an aesthetic that bleeds creativity, I knew I'd capture her candidly and create images that truly represent the artist.
Photography + Styling: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Makeup by Lily
Grips: Keron Wood // Video: Tony Williams
