Some things go hand in hand: peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, The Bachelorette and Wine, Carrie and Big, spray tans and photo shoots…
Yes, you heard that last one right. Local photographer Stacey Pentland and airbrush spray tan afficionado Jenny Schneider, owner of Apres Soliel tans, teamed up to make magic happen. I spoke with Pentland to gain a little bit more insight into what she does, how she operates, and why these two things flow together so seamlessly.
CM: What about your style sets you apart from other photographers?
SP: The experience that people have. It’s just not the beautiful photos that I happen to capture. I look at the photos and I tell an emotional story from beginning to end. My customers feel like ‘oh my gosh, it’s my friends Stacey that’s coming to shoot my wedding.’ I’ve always hear friends of mine about their wedding photographer and the lack of the communication they get. I wanted to make sure that wasn’t me.
CM: Most of your clients aren’t models. How do you get them to loosen up?
SP: Feeling comfortable in front of the camera is HUGE. Laughter is the best way to get people to relax. I had one couple—it was so funny. They would pseudo pose, but then I want it to morph into something that’s a little bit more “them”, not this posed editorial shot that they sort of liked in a magazine. I told the groom-to-be, ‘your nose is in her eyeball. You look ridiculous!’ And then they burst out in laughter. I then got to capture “them”.
CM: How do spray tans play into that?
SP: It really adds an extra layer of confidence; when someone’s going into the photo shoot, they feel more comfortable. They’ve really put their best foot forward. It’s one less thing for them to worry about. Especially with boudoir, I find that when girls get a spray tan, it’s symbolically an extra layer of something on them—even if it’s not clothing.
CM: What has your personal experience been with getting spray tans?
SP: The fact that I have extremely sensitive skin has made me wary to any sort of spray tan. When I get my eyebrows done, I get the best wax—and every time I still break out. I have to tweeze or thread. Jenny suggested that we do a little test spot on my leg to see if it would work. It was fine with her spray tanning solution, so last week we did a full spray. I said ‘okay, let’s do it. Let’s go all out!’
CM: Lastly, tell me about your shoot with Jenny.
SP: It was a load of fun. First of all, Jenny is always the hostess with the mostest. She’s got food, music; I’m trying to make her feel comfortable, and she’s trying to make me feel comfortable. She’s great. We have such a good time. Her dog was running around, and he actually made it in some of the photos! It’s always like a party with jenny.
To share your own laughs at a photo shoot, please check out staceypentlandphoto.com; for your own spray tan party with Jenny, go to apressoleiltans.com. —Caitlin McCulloch