For this shoot, everything began on a night in early August where I met Nicole for dinner downtown in Austin. She casually mentioned Jasmine Tookes as a potential next ICON for Bumpsuit and said the team had shared my work specifically, making me a potential option as photographer. The one thing I’ve learned in my short time in this career is to not hang onto anything at all until a contract is signed — so I allowed myself to take the compliment and stay hopeful for the potential opportunity.

Two weeks later, to my surprise, I was booked on a flight to Los Angeles to shoot a very pregnant Jasmine in Malibu. I met Nicole and Jen Darzi (her right hand) on the beach the night before the shoot to scout the spot. Nic and Jen stood in for a few test shots, and we all decided on a loose game plan for looks and locations the next day.

The morning after at the Airbnb, we prepped creative options and, after a few hiccups with the camera rental (why did I think I needed a medium format digital camera…?), we were ready to drive down to the beach with my camera assistant. I am not one to be overly confident on shoot days — I always become an existential nightmare, asking nobody in particular things like, “what makes an image better than another?” or “why me specifically, couldn’t anyone do this, realistically?” until I finally melt into the creative and forget anything else exists.

Beyond my early moments existential breakdown, the day was gorgeous. We started a few hours before sunset and ended while the sky turned pastel. The support team on set were a Godsend; even through moderate stressors like a threatening low battery and running low on disk space, we all kept our wits about us and created really beautiful photos. I was also lucky enough to shoot a lot of film that day, which is my most comfortable space to be in.

These photos were featured on wheat pastes around New York and Los Angeles, as well as features on WWD, Who What Wear, and more.

Model: Jasmine Tookes

Creative Director: Nicole Trunfio

Producer: Jen Darzi

Camera Assistant + Digital Tech: Christopher Squier

Assistant: Carmen Magaña

Hair and Makeup: Brittany Sullivan

I met Nic one afternoon mid-week in October at her ranch in Texas to photograph her for The Sunday Times Magazine. We’ve been friends for a long time, one of my first in Austin, and she’s someone who supported and encouraged me early on in this career. These things created a familiarity and comfort on set that I’m not traditionally used to. Nic has been modeling for such a long time — she doesn’t need to be warmed up to be comfortable in front of a camera, and she knows what she likes and how she wants to be photographed.

For this shoot, Nicole and the STM team led the creative, and I was there to bring it to life. We started around 3pm and moved through different vignettes around the property, the most entertaining part being convincing Nic to let her chickens out for a few frames. The light faded while we were in the grass field near her house, and we ended the shoot as the sun dipped. Afterwards, we walked back to the house and hung in the kitchen for a glass of celebratory red wine and a long-overdue catch-up.

Styled by Valeria Hernandez
Hair and Makeup by Perla Rodriguez
Story by Megan French
Featuring Nicole Trunfio