LA's Leather Jacket scene
I’ve grown to appreciate the power, versatility and top notch quality of a good leather jacket recently. I got my first ever leather biker jacket last year and by far it’s my favorite item in my closet. Like many others, I never thought that I could pull it off cause I used to think it’s only for cool people in LA winter. Boy was I wrong, the moment I put on mine, it felt like it was tailored for me and it was match made in heaven haha. Thus begins my obsession with leather jackets.
However, I’d like to point out the fit of a leather jacket is everything, you need to make sure what kind of fit you’re going for. Typically it’s better to keep it a little short a little tight, since genuine leather will stretch and change shape according to your body shape. There are tons of ways to style a leather jacket to appear street casual, or slightly dressed up. Unfortunately I didn’t get to photograph any dressed up looks, meaning layering the jacket with a button up shirt (mostly white) and a tie. It will definitely be on my to-do list to get that look in future since leather jackets are my ongoing obsession.
Malcolm in Chinatown
Malcolm was such a pleasure to work with, kudos for allowing me to go for the Black Panther look. He brought his leather jacket with the hoodie which definitely had a street casual vibe. But I decided to style him with a turtleneck and couple of my fave leather jackets and hats, and BAM, no more captions needed.
Evan in Union Station and historic Downtown LA
When I think of Evan, I immediately think of his effortless style and his leather jacket. So naturally we did this impromptu shoot where we aimlessly wandered around DTLA to find whatever location that best fits the mood we were going for. I love the detail shots in this group of photos, you can see the ruggedness and genuine durable quality of his jacket. Also fun fact, this jacket was thrifted and was only $30, so never underestimate the magic of thrifting.
Jazzmine in DTLA and Lower Grand
I had the pleasure to photograph Jazzmine who’s one of the fiercest models. We got up at 6 in the morning to shoot in DTLA. It turned out to be an overcast monday, and while we thought we could beat the crowds and get some empty street shots, it just happened to be the beginning of rush hour. Nonetheless, we didn’t let others determine how our shoot was gonna go. So we just walked around DTLA until we got to Lower Grand and got some more amazing shots.
Giancarlo at LA River
I’ve always wanted to come down to LA River for fun and for photoshoot. I thought that I did in the past when I’d shot the twin series, but turns out that was the pseudo LA River, aka Arroyo Seco which flows into the LA River. Nonetheless, I was honored to be brought down here to one of GC’s favorite hangout spots in the past. I’ve been wanting to experiment more with shadows, and this was the perfect opportunity with golden hour light. I also liked the minimalistic views here, with GC’s monotone look, this was def one of my fave shoots so far.
