HOT 100 2017 Icon Status Winner | Stacy Jacob Photography
Stacy Jacobs Photography located in Palm Desert, California, is our last 2017 HOT 100 Icon Status winner to be featured! Here is what Stacy had to say about her winning images!
Bio: "One of the quotes I have on something in my senior client welcome packet is “At the end of the day your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.” - by Shanti. As much as I love shooting in studio and shooting bright and pristinely put together looks, my true passion is incorporating nature. I think anything is better with a little dirt. My models and even regular senior clients are always climbing trees, laying in water, sitting in the dirt or finding me or my assistant throwing their hair in front of their face. The power of wind and water ends up in many of my images and I think it somehow reflects the power of these young women. Even in the midst of chaos there is always beauty.
Although I was that person that “always had a camera in my hand” I didn’t know how to use it well until one afternoon in 2010 a switch literally flipped for me. One day I wasn’t a photographer and the next day I was. My friend was going through chemotherapy and had lost her hair. I saw this new reveal of even more beauty than I had seen before, and knew that although she was sick, this vulnerable time was temporary and beautiful. We had to capture it. I did a photoshoot of her that day and we captured so many photos of her bald, beautiful head. Together, she and I started a non-profit providing free photo sessions and a keepsake book for anyone who has lost their hair to chemotherapy. We would have all sorts of outfits, run around, be silly, have fun, share a few tears, be real, be raw, and be themselves. I saw people change the way they felt about themselves in a few hours time. When I opened my studio a few years later Senior Photography was a natural choice for me. The experience I give seniors is closest to the experience with my friend that drew me to photography to begin with. Giving them a day they will always treasure, playing dress up, and seeing how it affects their self-esteem to see themselves in photographs, is the most rewarding thing for me. Through my model team I get to pamper them and play with them all year long. I love making my seniors feel special and especially love fostering an environment with a true team approach where everyone matters. It’s such an honor to be a small part of something I hope they’ll never forget."
Black and white:
Model: Rachel
"A whole lotta Gold Medal flour from Costco :)"
(Both photos below)
Category: Organic
Model: Morgan
Hair and Makeup by Model
Styling by Stacy Jacob
Joshua Tree National Park, CA
"There was just never enough shooting time with my Class of 2017 Senior Model, Morgan. I could shoot her all day, every day, and always find her bringing something fresh and different to each shoot. This was our third attempt to go to Joshua Tree. We kept cancelling because it was cold, or raining, or wind warnings. I think it was supposed to be a high of 45 degrees this day with crazy wind expected again so I emailed the moms to ask what they thought. Everyone stayed in the cars except me, my assistant, and whoever was shooting at the time. How she looked so relaxed I have no idea. Everyone was shivering. Not having cut her hair since the fourth grade (and then she didn’t cut it, but went to sleep over at a friend’s house who wanted to play Edward Scissorhands with her!) paid off for me as there’s almost nothing I love shooting more than messy, windy, crazy hair. When Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate we even bring a leaf blower along on our shoots."
Photographer’s Choice:
Model: Morgan
Stylist: Veronica Gonzalez and Stacy Jacob
Clothing (jacket and shorts): Decades on El Paseo
Palm Springs Indian Canyons
"Class of 2017 Senior Model Morgan never failed to bring her Top Model skills to every shoot we did together. I’d always wanted to do a shoot in the Indian Canyons in Palm Springs. It was freezing that day and some of my other favorite photos from that shoot were of the girls sitting around in their thick, fuzzy bathrobes waiting for their shooting time. I’m still obsessed with this jacket from Decades on El Paseo in Palm Desert! Oh, and Morgan’s hair, naturally! "
Photographer’s Choice:
Model: Julia
Hair and Makeup by Model
"My Class of 2016 Senior Model Julia was at the studio for her mini model session. I wanted something simple that showed off her amazing features and the gorgeous light. We popped out into the courtyard just outside my front door (oh how I miss that location!) and captured this image, one of my all time favorites of her. "
