Standing at 5"4 with bushy eyebrows and caramel colored skin and an intense look so smoldering you'd think she was pissed at you, Corey is not you average 16 year old girl. She is as articulate as she is soft spoken could very well carry a mature conversation with someone in their mind 40's. Her casually cool dress code is one met by envy, at least by me, for I didn't perfect the look until I was 21. She arrived yesterday morning in a cut off gray t-shirt and loose-fitting sweats. She questions the quality of some of the stylists, bloggers, and other "fashion extraordinaire" in Philadelphia (though Corey lives in Delaware) with pure sincerity. She made me ask myself, "Was I this cool in high school?" Yes, she's one of the those rare old souls that has been here before.What she lacks in height she makes up with in honest ambition. She's stunningly regal in front of the camera yet carries such a innocent modesty. Very few aspiring models I have met have had such class and taste. I think it's safe to say I never met anyone her age with those same attributes.
This shoot almost didn't happen. A week plagued by random mishaps and just sheer bad luck. The morning of the shoot around 12:30 a.m., I got a text from the makeup artist saying she was going to have to cancel. Rather than marvel around in despair and irritation, I hit up a young lady on instagram that I knew from around town. Kaylah just so happened to live two minutes away from my place and she arrived promptly the next morning with a smile on her face. She nailed the natural look I wanted for Corey. I like to believe that things usually work out in my favor because I never panic. I should have panicked. This is my first shoot for Western Cvlztn. A shoot meant to introduce the new aesthetic as well as some new jewelry from the new collection.
Back to Corey. Her confusion with self proclaimed models was something that I could relate to. I hate self-titled people without any real credentials. Corey describes herself as an aspiring model who is, "just trying to build a portfolio," and hopefully get signed to a real agency. She lacks what a lot of people in her age group seem to have: Ego. At the shoot, she asks the stylist Shakiya and I if we like the shots because we're so quiet.
Quiet because Corey requires almost no direction. She really is a dream to shoot. She's a different person in front of the camera. Like a young Beyonce/Sasha Fierce. The stage or camera in this instance is when her ego surfaces. But, the teenager in her reappears as she giddily looks at the pictures from the photographer's camera and instantly uploads them to her instagram. She gets right back into character after making sure that she was, "doing ok," and it's as if she was never a 16 year old girl just sixty seconds ago.
Yes, this girl is going places.
Instagram: @coreycaliann
Photography: Dante Harrington
Wardrobe Stylist: Shakiya Green
Makeup: Kaylah Coleman
