Seeing You Fine Art Series by Toni Olver

Our latest feature is a stunning fine art fashion series from film photographer Toni Olver. Toni’s series portrays the concept of how we allow strangers into personal moments of our lives through social media. Here is more from Toni about creating SEEING YOU…

I came across Jono’s instagram page while I was deep in an Insta stalk. On entering his page, I was instantly mesmerized by his ability to appear to be staring straight back at me through his images. With his strong features and dream like aesthetic, he instantly captured my attention.

After weeks of begging for an opportunity to shoot, he agreed to meet up with me the following day, giving me less than 24 hrs to come up with a concept.

We met up at 10am that morning for the first time, and, by 2pm, we had finished what I believed to be one of the most satisfying shoots. He made the whole process so ridiculously easy!

I stuck with the concept of “seeing him” and him “seeing me see him.” An idea of living in a world where we project our lives onto social platforms allowing complete strangers a first hand look into our lives, sometimes a very curated portrayal of our lives, but also sometimes a very real imitation of ourselves.

There is a strong sense of strength and beauty in being real and truly vulnerable to strangers. Thankfully, this idea of being one’s true self no matter the boundaries is becoming truly celebrated and accepted in society, no doubt we have a long way to go, but I wanted to capture the essence of allowing a stranger to peer into your life for a moment, as you peer right back. Sharing a moment, a few hours, or perhaps a lifetime of connection through that single experience.

Through this series, we take a look at a very obvious change from a somewhat hidden yet “showy” version of Jono to a nude, raw version of himself.

Analog cameras and films used: Canon EOS 3 (Find at KEH Camera with code SIWF21 for 5% off or on eBay) | Kodak ColorPlus 200 (Find on Amazon)

Connect with Toni: Instagram

Model: @jonoforlee of FanJam Models | Styling and Makeup: @toniolvermua

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