Balance
Balance is a fashion story created by the photographer Chaemus Leonard Mac, currently living and working between Berlin and London. The story explores various angles of personality that are revealed based on the changing circumstances. Balance as the central theme calls to accept the numerous, and at times, conflicting manifestations of one’s character, eventually offering to find the middle way.
Elegant black and white shots come in contrast with the color images, both focusing on different moods. Space becomes an enabler of creative solutions taking us on the rich journey of exploration. The individual is composed of the inward and outward appearance, visible and invisible layers for oneself and the outsiders to interpret and accept.
We speak with Chaemus and the team to discover some elements of planning and executing the story. Chaemus reveals that the initial idea was to work on a beauty shoot, which, in the process of collaboration with the team, grew into a fashion story. Allowing each artist to pour in their vision expanded the topic and brought about a complex narrative. Chaemus speaks about his work with the team, “I really enjoy that about shooting fashion, it’s this nice collaboration where you all pull inspiration and input from each other. When looking over the series there’s definitely an element of self-discovery in there.”
Photography Chaemus Leonard Mac Stylist Dominique Reimann Model Nina Hnizdo at IZAIO Management Hair Stylist Noriko Takayama Make-Up Susanna Helen Retouch Slide Retouch
‘There’s a growing awareness recently around gender fluidity and breaking down traditional gender roles, which is a wonderful thing. Something less spoken about is the fluidity of character.’
— Chaemus Leonard Mac
What is the story Balance about?
Chaemus: The story explores self-discovery and character fluidity. There’s a growing awareness recently around gender fluidity and breaking down traditional gender roles, which is a wonderful thing. Something less spoken about is the fluidity of character. We are often pushed into or labelled as being either confident or introverted, pleasant or grumpy, responsible or careless, masculine or feminine, or any number of character traits, when the truth is, we can be all of these things at different stages, and our overall personality is a balance of all these things, shaped by our experiences or current circumstances. Personally, I find myself going through phases of all these traits, particularly becoming more responsible. But I’m trying to maintain a balance of youthfulness as I think it’s necessary to enjoy life. In this story, we are exploring some of these traits in Nina.
Nina: It fits my personality in a way. I’m a calm introverted person, who also gets out of her comfort zone from time to time, likes playing around, moving and creating an open atmosphere.
‘Sometimes you really need to visualise all the elements together as a team on the day and make the call when you see them in person.’
— Chaemus Leonard Mac
How did it develop from the moodboard to the shooting day?
Chaemus: I can’t say we went into this with a grand plan or a theme, but we actually started out planning a 'beauty' shoot, in which we would do mostly closer portraits and some make-up looks, although quite gritty. This was partly because the space we’d be shooting in was quite small and I wasn’t sure we could achieve full looks. I wanted to shoot with Nina after seeing her amongst a casting email a few weeks before, and it kind of just emerged from there.
After getting Dominique on board, it began to develop into more of a fashion story, and we all decided on the day that the makeup should be kept more minimal. Sometimes you really need to visualise all the elements together as a team on the day and make the call when you see them in person. I really enjoy that about shooting fashion, it’s this nice collaboration where you all pull inspiration and input from each other. When looking over the series there’s definitely an element of self-discovery in there.
‘I think as you grow up you always have someone to look up to, be that your parents or older mentors, for me this had often been photographers I was assisting; but at some point, your vision needs to take its own trajectory’
— Chaemus Leonard Mac
What steps do you think it takes to let go of the childlike innocence, you refer to, to move to the next stage in life?
Chaemus: I think it’s important to mention I don’t think it should ever be let go of completely. But for me, it’s a process of accepting change, realising it’s okay to take on responsibility; necessary even. I think as you grow up you always have someone to look up to, be that your parents or older mentors, for me this had often been photographers I was assisting; but at some point, your vision needs to take its own trajectory and you need to start making decisions for yourself. Something about this can be intimidating.
‘As you take on more work, grown-up responsibilities, etc., you almost have to remind yourself sometimes to have fun and go and do something purely for enjoyment, rather than always a means to a greater goal.’
— Chaemus Leonard Mac
Why is balance important?
Chaemus: At least in my experience, as you take on more work, grown-up responsibilities, etc., you almost have to remind yourself sometimes to have fun and go and do something purely for enjoyment, rather than always a means to a greater goal. Finding a balance between the two is big because ultimately you’re working hard to allow yourself to do the things you enjoy and spend time with people you love, not the other way around. Working in a creative field you’re passionate about makes this infinitely easier, however.
‘I find it much more frictionless if you cast someone who will bring the energy and mood you’re looking for, rather than trying to force them into a character that isn’t themselves.’
— Chaemus Leonard Mac
What were the directions you shared with Nina or some insights about her character?
Chaemus: We shared a mood board with some very loose flowy references with Nina, as well as some possible angles for the different outfits. But, in the end, I rather let the model be themselves, maybe this is my general energy of wanting to go with the flow. I find it much more frictionless if you cast someone who will bring the energy and mood you’re looking for, rather than trying to force them into a character that isn’t themselves.
It’s the same with the team you choose to work with; bringing in people who have a similar vision and visual taste makes the whole process so much smoother. You also have to leave some room for happy accidents. I used to always try and direct the model very exactly and began to find it killed the mood on set and really reduced the possibility of happy surprises.
What were some of the decisions connected to styling, hair, and make-up that had to slightly be adapted or changed on the day of shooting the story?
Chaemus: The hairstyling would always be an important part of this series. One of the things that attracted us to shooting Nina was her short and natural-looking hair. A few days before shooting, her agent mentioned she’d changed the colour. It turned out it still fit along with our mood, and in the end, really became a focal point popping off the darker backgrounds.
Like I mentioned earlier, we’d originally planned a beauty series with some colourful make-up looks, but on the day, realised along with the styling it would’ve been too busy and over the top. This was something Susanna made the call on, and I really respect that she was willing to let the make-up take a backseat and keep things natural. I’m all about images that feel effortless and this turned out to be a good decision.
Styling-wise I had originally planned not to shoot any black and white, so we had to be careful pairing with the background colours. Once I realised I wanted to shoot some black and white, we could make more of a focus on texture combinations and silhouettes.
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
Chaemus: For me, it’s always the moment you see the first few images and realise everything came together. It can be stressful leading into these things, and you begin to doubt whether you’ll achieve the images you set out to. But as soon as you see the first few images and things are working, it’s this huge wave of relief and you can really enjoy the day of working with the people there who inspire you.
