Atelier BMORE invites Midori Amae to the cover of REVÖ Magazine's May/June 2022 issue. Two2 Films was there to capture the #SLAY.
"Give me the situation. [And] I know loosely what's happening and I'm able to continue the dialogue. I'm going to do what the character needs." -Midori Amae
I got the chance to be the spirit in the room, tonight. I know something great is going to come of this, even though I'm not sure exactly what "this" is currently...other than the moment of Now. All I know is, I've filmed for 6 hours and I saw moments that aligned. Midori Amae, is a great being for me to document. It's her eyes. They talk to me, even when she's conserving with others; her body language is just as intriguing while she rides the waves of the cacophony of tunes. I keep the lens on her because I can see an idea forming and I love to capture things from conception through post-production.
Like Gordon Parks, the amazing photographer whose photographs have been in LIFE Magazine, I, too, took to photography to be the catalyst of income in my life. Unlike Parks, I feel I was guided towards photography early on by an unseen force of peace. A vision that I can recall, a feeling that I've harnessed, a knowingness that is always within me all wrapped up into a single "click" of the shutter. This is why and how I am able to capture such great moments. I talk to my subjects, "My Peoples" as I call them, prior to photographing them, so that I am able to innerstand who they are and who they present themselves to be. I consider myself to be an introvert, so one-on-one conversations are prime blossoming moments for me, especially when I am intrigued or interested in the person that I am in the presence of. I am an authentic lover and I'll love on anyone who is silently or passionately speaking through their eyes.
I learned about the power of a creative team by watching everyone make the magic happen. It was quite wild to see a makeshift bald head atop of Midori's face as the MissyQuai hair and makeup team took their knowledge and expertise and applied it to Midori's brand with every look. "She's going to be bald with a crown on. Boom!" I overheard someone exclaim. And their excitement assured me that this was a perfect idea to whomever's mouth expelled it. And I couldn't wait to see the results.
This film takes place in Baltimore, Maryland at Atelier BMORE, which is a production house ran by the creators of REVÖ Magazine, Terrell Edmonds and Devin Dooley. Meeting these two beautiful melanated men through their works on the walls as they walked around me and showed me love as Midori Amae's guest, was thee most comforting place to be. No one ever knew that it was I, Yasmine D. Lawler who felt weird about taking up space when I initially pulled my camera out. Nobody was the wiser because I didn't allow those imposter thoughts to overpower my desire to create thee best version of self reflection in those moments. I knew the night was bigger than the uncomfortable lies, I knew this experience would lessen the lack luster ideas, so I decided to choose happy thoughts and continue to move on and capture what I felt were the "right moments."
Midori Amae has this personal aura that exudes as a modeling coach and transfers to her students. I've witnessed it. She tells you what she does, she listens to you. Next, she shows you how the two co-create by showing you the steps, which allows you to channel your attention and ask questions. Then she welcomes you to the floor. With a slight adjustment in thought your confidence shines through your walk. It's pretty amazing to see and even more amazing to know the place it all comes from. The Love within.
“Adopt the words as your own, you'll never have to feel like you're memorizing something else. It's all you, it's already right here.” - Midori Amae
She has pillars for inspiring each person she comes in contact with, in order to transform their business lives. It's like character development. But the ethical character that's within, the one with positive self-talk, the one with refreshed ideas & affirmations, the part of you that grows with you no matter the age. I believe she is successful because she did the work first and in understanding oneself she's able to be unbiased, read the situation quickly and connect the portions of the portrait. She's a researcher with guides for everyone while on their journey.
“...Different photographer, different stylist, different makeup, different model, it would've been totally different. All of us had to do this. This was perfect.” -Midori Amae
By the end of the night it's almost thee AM of the next day and I am quite hungry and tired. I'm glad to have stepped away and gotten us [Midori and I] food for we hadn't eaten that well before we showed up to the photoshoot. I am a firm believer in making sure I take care of the people that are hungry.
I'm laughing currently, because when one reads this they'll have that half a second of thought that someone is famine. And on the grand scheme of things, maybe. But I believe since we haven't always been consistently offered the healthiest foods in our lifetime, we really don't eat that well as a country, here in the United States. So much of our foods are manufactured rather than grow naturally or outsourced from other countries. It's like we've been zoomed in on a robotic production assembly lines.
Like the phrase "Don't Feed the Models." Please. Eating good is just an extension of being good to yourself.
We did great work experiencing the moments of the day. And at night, we ate goooood.
Review source: Midori Amae
