Photos of the Week


A Styled Photo Shoot in Arizona’s Dragoon Mountains

July 29, 2020

By Jacqueline Tobin

Couple Asura and Ivo—originally from Angola but now living in Tucson—were first spotted by photographer Jasmin Jade on Instagram. “They had already modeled for some photographers in the area and I thought they would be perfect for a styled shoot in Arizona’s Dragoon Mountains that I had in mind,” Jasmin explains. “I love their look, I love their story and I love photographing in the desert. Here on scholarships, they met two years ago in Tucson and later found out that they were neighbors in their little town in Angola.” 

Styled shoot in Arizona's Dragoon Mountains and desert.
Photographed with a Nikon D800 at 1/500 of a sec., f/2.8 and ISO 160. (View more images from the shoot in the gallery at top.) © Jasmin Jade

The photographer, who runs her own boudoir photo business—Sugar & Lace—says she keeps her creativity flowing with these types of personal assignments. For this one, she styled, planned and photographed it all herself.

“My inspiration for this shoot was the desert landscape and this amazing spot I found in Dragoon, Arizona—the Triangle T Ranch. I was going for an edgy but also a bit of a classy look.”

What Jasmin loves most about this session is the light. “We started super late and only had a few minutes to sunset. I shot for the light to still get that little bit of sunset in the images.”

In addition to being aware of the light, adds Jasmin, she also was concentrating on the posing. “I’m posing my couples into certain positions that get them into a more emotional state, but then I let them free flow after that. I step back and let them interact. They talk, mostly, but I don’t know what they are saying. Then I give them an action to do—things like ‘hold her tightly, kiss his neck, grab her cheek, hold on closely.’ My goal is to bring emotion and connection into every frame. I want my viewers to feel that every time.” 

VENDOR CREDITS
Dress and robe: BHLDN
Bouquet: Farmgirl Flowers
Location: Triangle T Ranch

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