I got to photograph the space and the owner recently.
An amazing friend, Amy Elizabeth Frady, is opening her luxury salon, Vanity by Amy, in Yorktown on September first. She’s a Licensed Cosmetologist that provides hair and makeup services. She’s IBE Certified (Extensions), and specializes in weddings, events, photoshoots, bodybuilding shows, and stage makeup.
Amy and I have teamed up several times in the past and we always have a blast when we do. You can see the results of our most recent collab here. She’s a ball of energy and fun with a smile that lights up the room. So, when she asked me if I would like to come out and photograph her new salon, I didn’t give her a chance to finish the question before saying “yes”.
We started out by documenting the space itself. The process involved me wedging myself as tightly as possible into every corner of the Salon to show off the design and layout of the space. As you can see it’s a very modern design. The best part was that, as she was a minimalist, there was very little to move out of the way or “hide”.
If you shoot interior then you know what I’m talking about. You spend half the time re-arraigning things for a more pleasing design, remove clutter, the kick knacks, the trash cans, and other signs of humans. You want the space to shine and be the star. Once you get the shot, you get to put it all back.
Simply put – 75% of interior design photography is moving stuff.
I’m not going to lie, it had been a while since I shot interior architecture/design but the info was there, buried deep in my noggin. Once I started, it all came back to me very quickly. The trick, as always, was getting as much of it right in camera so there was a lot less work to do in post.
After that it was time to show off Amy in her space which, for me, means cutting loose, letting her be her, and document it all. Funny part was that II brought all this lighting gear that I ended up not using because the salon was filled with natural light. The only time I broke out the strobes was when I photographed her, in a black outfit, against the black wall in back.
When it was all said and done we both left happy with what we got and are making plans to team up again soon.
Her salon is located at 5906 George Washington Memorial Highway, Suite I, in Yorktown and she can be reached at Amy@vanitybyamy.com for appointments. You can see more of her work at her Insta page and her Facebook page.
The grand opening is scheduled for September 1st from 4-630.
Photography by Mark K 