Palm Springs with Lotus Den Hair at CasaDeVito

I was approached back in summer about a photoshoot trip to Palm Springs by Bethany Catalfamo (@stylistbethany) at her new Airbnb CasaDeVito (@casadevito) in Palm Springs for her salon Lotus Den Hair Studio (@lotusdenhair). Typically, I myself pay to go on these trips so it sounded like a super fun opportunity for me to be able to plan the trip.

Over the next month or two I reached out to models, makeup artists, brands, other photographers, etc. to try and put together a team for Palm Springs to join myself and the Lotus Den Hair stylists. It was quite a process and actually took a significant amount of time to plan and organize (Google spreadsheets was so helpful!), but we had a fabulous shoot and I have content to last me months!

It was 3 days and 2 nights, however some girls couldn’t come the whole time. For me, it was another 2-3 days after the trip to just sort and edit all the images but I was able to narrow it down to a feebly 646 images (lol). I had met some of these girls previously, but others I met on the trip, but we all got close and it was so nice getting to know them. Hope you enjoy some of the magic we created!

Models: Sade Katarina (@sadekatarina), Peyton Lake (@peytonlake), Miranda Dos Santos (@mirandatwosaints), Heather Wrixon (@heatherwrixon), Carly Rey Yaeger (@charly.reyy), Mary Simmons (@marygoldofficial)

Photographer/Stylist: myself (@allisoncarolcreatives / @allisonsherman4)

Photographers: Taylor Krause (@taylorkrausecreative), Stephanie Klotz (@stephanieklotzphoto)

Makeup: Nancy Z (@msnancyz)

Hair: Lotus Den Hair Studio (@lotusdenhair), Bethany Catalfamo (@stylistbethany), Tabitha Skantz (@the_blonde_whisperer), Sierra Badillo (@sierradoeshair), Emily Stebbings (@emilystebbingshair), Sheri Giusti (@shergiusti)

Brands: Brixton (@brixtonwomens), Hannah Frost Jewelry (@hannahfrostjewelry), Vibe Apparel (@vibeapparel_co), The Fox and the Mermaid (@thefoxandthemermaid), Swim Like A Mermaid (@swimlikeamermaid), Lucy Paris (@lucyparislabel), Boom Boom Brazil (@boomboombrazil), Royalie (@shoproyalie)

TGS Unplugged Dazey Desert House

I had the opportunity to go on TGS Collective’s “Unplugged” weekend to the Dazey Desert House in Palm Springs. Their “Unplugged” weekends are trips offered for creatives a part of the collective to unplug from social media and the hustle and bustle of their daily life to wind down, get inspired, shoot, edit, learn from other creatives, and have a motivational course taught by the founder, Alex Morehouse.

This was my second Unplugged trip with TGS. I like to go on short trips with other creatives not necessarily to get away and unplug from my busy life, but to connect with other likeminded people in my field and get amazing content, although it is nice for a social media break every once in a while.

The Dazey Desert House is a pretty special Airbnb owned by the same woman that founded Dazey LA (@dazey_la), an LA-based clothing brand with rad funky designs and graphics. There isn’t a boring spot in the house and it’s all very colorful and retro looking, (just like the clothing brand) – a photographer’s dream! My work is generally more outdoorsy but I still had a great time shooting all the trendy insta-worthy spots in and around the house. We also went to a cute tiki-themed hotel and shot around in the desert too.

This Unplugged trip was pretty special because it was a small team of all girls, so we got deep and really connected. I had known three of the girls previously, Alex (@chiefwolfblood), Larissa (@larissaraquelphoto), and Hannah (@hannahrosesesser), but it was my first time meeting Julianne (@julianneglass) and Sydney (@sydswing) and we got pretty close for just a 3 day/2 night trip. Had so much fun with these ladies and I can’t wait to do something like this again!

Pioneertown

After a couple nights in Joshua Tree for a retreat with friends, we met up with some other creatives and shot in Pioneertown. The photos really speak for themselves - wild wild west and vintage inspired, like we went back in time! Our team consisted of Jazlyn Sward (@jazlynnicolette), Leila Zandy (@leilazandy), and Haley Hudson (@darlinghaley) all as models, Alex Morehouse (@chiefwolfblood) as a model and stylist, and Tim Herman (@mr.therman) as a model and TGS support. The second photographer was Daniel Woods (@deer_dann) and Ish Barron (@ohheyits_ish) also assisted the team as TGS support. It also happened to be Ish's birthday! Yay! We shot until dark and once we were done we had dinner at the Pioneertown restaurant. We celebrated Ish and our wonderful day with new friends and old. Definitely some great memories from this trip and shoot!

Joshua Tree & Salton Sea Feat. Peoples Project LA

I went to a photography meet-up a few weeks ago hosted by @rubyjamesphoto, @irenerudnykphoto, and @jessicakobeissi. I found out about it through another photographer friend @messinaphotos. The meet-up was at 6pm in Echo Park... so by that time it was already dark and surprisingly windy and cold. Sounds kinda sketchy to meet a bunch of random people you don't know in a public park when it's dark outside haha but it all worked out okay. I was talking in a big group and we all thought it would be a good idea to do a day trip to Joshua Tree and the Salton Sea and started a group message. Our group of 7 or 8 people turned into just 3 of us,  @koltinsullivan, and myself!

Koltin and I planned the meet-up for his place and started reaching out to models, photographers and other creatives! We ended up getting a group of 7 (@serenalisaa, @juliaamotta, @exit_the_minute, @photosby_laurence, @asantov, @koltinsullivan, and myself) leaving from Glendora and met another group of 4 (@brittneyborowski, @heysalem, @sarahwaseaton, & @justinomega) at Joshua Tree.

Big shout out to @peoplesprojectla for some of the goods I shot with in Joshua Tree! I love working with local brands and love even more when they are committed to philanthropy and the environment. Peoples Project LA is partnered with Heal The Bay,  which is a non-profit organization dedicated to making our coastal oceans safe, healthy, and clean. Ten percent of the proceeds from Peoples Project LA go to Heal The Bay - YAY! Their stuff is so cute too! I'm wearing a gray top, light blue floral dress, and denim jacket from them. 

After Joshua Tree, we went to this random Mexican restaurant  for lunch that was actually pretty good. There we met another one of Brittney's friends, @gregkantra. Lunch was pretty fun with all of us but then the group split up after and the original 7 of us continued to the Salton Sea!

The Salton Sea area was pretty much deserted but we surprisingly found 2 people living around there and lots of puppies haha. The sand was more just like crushed fish bones and your shoes would sink into this salty toxic mud.. honestly pretty gross and smelled kinda bad. We were there around sunset and the sea was so serene, it looked like glass and was almost an optical illusion because there was no movement in the water!

We shot until it was dark and then did the long drive back to Koltin's (about 2-3 hours) and everyone went their separate ways! This was probably one of my favorite shoots to date because I met so many awesome creative people, went on an fun day trip, and got a lot of good content! Can't wait to do a shoot something like this again!

Rustic Car - Becca Booker Media

Went out exploring with my gal pal/old co-worker, Becca Booker, to take some pics. We found this random spot near the 101 freeway which was a private lot that held sooo many horses! Instead of just backtracking once we found out it was private property, we asked one of the guys if we could take some photos around the area. We told him 15 minutes.. we were def there for an hour haha. Cheers to random/semi-deserted ranches off the freeway!

Vegan Suede Hat: Free People

Necklace: No Brand, Purchased from Poshmark

Lace Racerback Bralette: Free People

Sweater: Free People, purchased on consignment from Buffalo Exchange

shot by @beccabookermedia, edited by me