jacket. Zara
bag. Naeela Designs
glasses. Parfois
opposite
dress. Model’s own
waist coat. Joe Fresh
bag. Naeela Designs
fishnets. Gucci
This Schon! online editorial is shot by colour blind photographer Nicholas Merzetti. Nick plays with perspective to bring the ethereal and weird to each shot. Styling for the editorial is by Rebecca Wengle, who pulled garments from Bag Designer Naeela Designs, ASOS, Gucci, Zara, and vintage finds for models Ceilidh Tooth and Breanna Pugh from Want Management. Hair and make-up artistry is by Angela Lee.
To discover more about the photographer and this editorial, Schön! spoke with Merzetti to learn more about his inspirations and history as an artist.
When did you first become interested in photography, and what made you want to pursue it as a career?
Being colour blind, I never considered photography as a possibility. I was always creative and drawn to the arts but couldn’t paint or draw, so I was more of a science kid. It wasn’t until I moved to Europe and my uncle lent me his camera that I had an epiphany. It suddenly felt like I had a voice, like I could take the things I imagined in my head and inject parts of them into a scene. No one was there to tell me I shouldn’t do it because I was colour blind, so I just kept progressing and landing jobs.
top. American Apparel
harness. Zara
trousers. H&M
opposite
Ceilidh wears
jacket. Zara
bag. Naeela Designs
Breanna wears
top. American Apparel
harness. Zara
trousers. H&M
bag. Naeela Designs
skirt. Exile Vintage
fishnets. Gucci
bag. Naeela Designs
opposite
jacket + harness. Zara
top. American Apparel
trousers. H&M
How do you think being colour blind influences your work?
It definitely provides me with a unique perspective, which is the greatest gift I could ask for. It forces me to come up with other ways to inject interest into a scene and causes me to be much more drawn to distortion, texture, and contrast in luminance vs. colour. I do understand the importance of colour theory and have workarounds to make sure I photograph colour in a way that makes sense, but the lack of colour depth in my life has given me something unique to say.
What were some of your inspirations for this shoot?
I’m really trying to find the limit of what can be appealing by playing with the lens’ perspective. For instance, shooting the photo so that the models’ hips look outrageously big. It’s not a thing that would normally be considered beautiful, but it evokes an emotion, and I think that’s very important.
Ceilidh wears
jacket. Zara
bag. Naeela Designs
glasses. Parfois
Breanna wears
jacket. ASOS
bag. Naeela Designs
opposite
dress. Model’s own
waist coat. Joe Fresh
bag. Naeela Designs
fishnets. Gucci
jacket. ASOS
fishnets. Gucci
boots. Dr. Martens
opposite
jacket + harness. Zara
trousers. H&M
bag. Naeela Designs
glasses. Parfois
What emotions were you seeking to capture with this editorial, and how did you seek to do so?
Unease, weirdness, etherealness. A few of the images I tried to push to the point that you feel uneasy about them because of the extra large hands or distorted body parts, but then the fashion and models’ inherent beauty brings it back so it works cohesively.
What’s been inspiring you lately?
I’m inspired a lot by physiological horror, astral horror, etc. I’m trying to work that into my shots without going the dark beauty route. It’s not easy, but I think I’m getting there with some of the angles and perspective choices I’m making. I’m also inspired a lot by Lachlan Bailey’s ability to capture effortless emotion; he’s my favourite photographer out there right now.
skirt. Exile Vintage
fishnets. Gucci
bag. Naeela Designs
opposite
jacket + harness. Zara
trousers. H&M
glasses. Parfois
Discover more from Nicholas Merzetti on his website and follow him on Instagram.
This Schön! online exclusive has been produced by
photography. Nicholas Merzetti
fashion. Rebecca Wengle
models. Ceilidh Tooth + Breanna Pugh @ Want Management
make up + hair. Angela Lee
bag designs. Naeela Designs
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