The 60s in black and white
Jenny Hellström was born and raised in Gothenburg but now lives in Stockholm,
Sweden. Her interest for photography started when looking through her
dads many photos and slides from the 60s and her early childhood. “I
could watch both black and white prints and slides on the projector for hours
and that characteristic humming from the projector fan with the special sound
when a slide is changed in the magazine, fills me with a very nostalgic feeling”!
She actively pursued her interest in photography with the use of her dad’s
old Pentax Spotmatic and began developing black and white photos in her own
dark room. “I always had a camera in my bag as a teenager and brought
it wherever I went”. Jenny started to photograph models much later and
realized that she had a skill to make people feel comfortable in front of the
camera looking their best. “I prefer to shoot models now and have always
been fascinated by faces, expressions and the human body. I like to capture
someone’s unique beauty and personality in a picture and always try to
bring out that little extra of the model to get a connection that hopefully
is visible in my photos.” The 60s are a visually inspiring decade
for her, she recalls finding two books from the 60s called “5 girls” and “Cowboy
Kate” by Sam Haskins, containing fantastic artistic nudes in black and
white with a strong 60s feeling especially interesting. “I gained lot
of inspiration from those books and also made a session with the model Petra
using clear influences from the "Cowboy Kate" book as a tribute”.
She has since moved on from the old Pentax to a new digital Canon and created
a studio in her living room utilizing flash softboxes and umbrellas.
Not just a photographer
She worked as a 3d artist, graphic designer, and computer game artist for
many years creating 3d worlds and concept art for console games and now works
as an art director at a gaming company, “It was like a childhood dream
coming true”. Her interest for fantasy, sci-fi, music, films, games,
comics, pop culture, and fashion often influence her photography. Utilizing
Photoshop she spends a lot of time retouching, combining graphics, and creating
an enhanced version of reality or just pure fantasy in her photos. While
working as a stage lighting technician at the Gothenburg city theatre for some
years she learned that lighting is an important part of photography, a big
part of it is “mastering the light”. “I retouch a lot of
photos but don’t want my models to look plastic and I don't change features
like increasing breast size etc. My retouching is more about enhancing the
job of a really skilled make up artist. Fantasy photos are of course a different
thing, there are no limits”. Jenny isn’t a person who wants to
conform to mainstream fashion or glamour photography, “always had a fascination
for the alternative, people who are different”. “When I
take nude photos it must be with a confidence and strength. I don't like the
mainstream glamour genre - I´m looking for a different kind of sexiness
- more alternative. When it comes to nudity in photos I have an advantage of
being a woman, models seem to feel relaxed with me.
Inspiration through music
Her love of 60s retro, burlesque, and pinups have contributed to her work
as a pinup illustrator and a clear connection to the models from The Core can
be seen. She has produced illustrations on t-shirts with models from
The Core back when it was known as Nocturnal Models and is currently working
on a project with burlesque pinups. Future plans are for a big photo
shoot at an interesting location with influences from retro pinups and the
burlesque genre. Besides photographing many of The Core’s models
Jenny has also photographed Photographers such as Ben Christo from Sisters of
Mercy, Ryan Roxie and Happy Pill. After recently discovering how fun
it is to take live photos at concerts, she says that music is as much of an
influence to her photography as anything else and can’t retouch photos
without her favorite playlist. She continually strives to develop
her skills and learn new techniques to turn all the visions in her head to
actual photos and reach out to more people with her photography. With
more photo shoots on the agenda and a lot of ideas for new sessions with The
Core models, Jenny’s retro style and creative techniques definitely make
her photos something to look forward to.
Find out more about Jenny and see her photography portfolio by looking at her photography profile here at theCore. Jenny is available for booking through the Core.
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