Bar by Karla Read

Of the story itself, Read says that she wanted to shoot from the point of view of the voyeur. I consider each frame to be perhaps a series of portraits of this character. She adds though that she does not want to say too much about the shots as she would prefer for viewers to reach to their own conclusions.

The look of the model played an important part in this shoot. Karla says of her inspiration for the piece and the use of Bar in particular… “I’m really curious about the kind of mature sensuality that some young girls portray. I have done various stories based on that subject, but I wanted a model with a face that exuded sensuality more than innocence. Luckily while browsing through agencies’ websites I saw Barbara and I knew she was perfect for the shoot. I had already found the perfect location so I contacted the agency right away to book her in for the coming weekend.”

Karla went ahead with the shoot that weekend even though the team she usually works with was not available. With only her and the model present though there was an upside, as she says, “it was easier to get that intimacy I was looking for.” She adds “I was looking at the work of Sally Mann and I began thinking about the ambiguity of some of her photos; the way they provoke mixed feelings. I wanted to experiment with that.”

Of her workflow Read says that “I didn’t shoot the story in any particular order.” She adds that the shoot itself just evolved from a mixture of planning and spontaneity.

Read used only natural light to create the beautiful European post-war-cum-timeless feel to the shots. It’s easy to guess that a major influence on her is Richard Avedon, whose work she says influenced her decision to take up photography full-time. She also cites as inspiration the strong story-telling techniques of Helmut Newton and Peter Lindbergh and says of them I take as reference in almost every shoot I have.

Credits
Photography, Styling, Makeup - Karla Read
Model - Barbara @ Code Models
Layout - Taryn Yat