In The Studio: Anania, Talia and Zoey
ZDS Creative held our first in-studio photoshoot since our studio space re-vamp! Our dear friend Anania (they/them) reached out to us to schedule a Valentine’s Day-themed shoot and we couldn’t have been more excited to collaborate with them!
What began as a mood board made by Anania quickly turned into a detailed set design, bold styling, and full makeup looks done by both Anania and Zoey on themselves. Instead of opting for a classic, lovey-dovey-themed shoot, Anania was interested in exploring a darker (but still classicly loved) theme: vampires. A few viles of fake blood, glue-on fangs secured with the heat from a blow dryer, and one very beautifully baked heart-shaped cake later and we had created the seraphic Valentine’s Day dinner date of our dreams.
Both Zoey and Anania almost immediately fell into their characters, and with that, a storyline easily emerged—Anania a sly vampiress, and Zoey as their dinner. What begins as a sweet, picture-esque romance ends with Zoey face-down on our pre-set table, Anania perched over her with a vengeance and thirst almost too palpable to keep me from grinning behind the camera.
One of my biggest takeaways from this shoot wasn’t only that I’m obsessed with working around friends, but that I value (and thrive) under intensely collaborative working conditions. Without Anania’s drag expertise, Zoey’s willingness to theatrically play her part, and our respective abilities to listen to each other in the throws of a shoot, we wouldn’t have been able to create the images that resulted from our time together. That and being in our newly revamped, colorful, comfortable, and safe space allowed us all to dive in, without inhibitions, and bring Anania’s vision to life.
To see more photos and behind-the-scenes content from our studio shoot, follow both ZDS Creative and Anania on Instagram and TikTok.
Interested in renting our studio space? Want to shoot with Talia and Zoey? Shoot us an email so we can find a custom solution to bring your artistic vision to fruition.
