Model Behavior Creative Director Karen Silveira recalls how rain became an unexpected character in this photo shoot.
My first encounter with Rodney Smith’s work was an image in The New York Times Magazine in the early 1990s. It blew my socks off because it was so different and fresh.
At the time, fashion photography was trending towards “heroin chic” and shock value. Tom Ford at Gucci was bringing sex into advertising. Benetton was taking on AIDS, race and religion. Grunge photos of Kate Moss were conveying a sense of darkness and rebellion. Nothing was taboo.
Rodney’s work was a refreshing departure. It was filled with timeless elegance, gentle humor, and a deep respect for the people he photographed. I was drawn to the beauty and stillness in his images, a stark contrast to the hectic world of fashion.
Our first collaboration was an Ellen Tracy campaign in 1994. Linda Allard, the creative force behind the brand, was a woman who designed for real women. The collection was inspired by great romances from literature, like Wuthering Heights. And I knew Rodney was the perfect fit. The models he selected weren’t typical back then. They weren’t “supers” like Naomi, Linda and Christy. They weren’t waifs or young girls. For this shoot, we cast India Hicks and Tereza Maxova, both striking women in a very classic, elegant way.
But on the day of our shoot it was pouring rain and dark. Rodney was not a happy camper because the environment was such an important element in his pictures. We finally found this little lakeside chicken shack. The exposures had to be incredibly long and the models had to stay motionless, despite being drenched. But what the rain brought was a kind of stillness to the shots. There was a beautiful contrast between this little dark floating house and the formality of the clothes.
Beyond his technical skill, Rodney had an amazing ability to connect with his subjects. He was genuinely interested in getting to know the people he photographed, which really fostered a feeling of ease and authenticity during our shoots. That connection really comes through in his images — they have a depth and intimacy that you just don’t see very often in fashion photography. It was exactly the romantic feeling we were going for.
You know, I think about photographers, like Peter Lindbergh…and Rodney. There’s something special about the few photographers who truly loved women and saw their strength and individuality. They photographed women as equals, as muses…not just clothes hangers.”
Karen Silveira is currently the creative director at 1stDibs. For 15 years she was the Chief Creative Officer at Tiffany.
