PRESENTED BY MICHAEL HENRIQUEZ

Mother Virgo in the Woods (2021) – Starring Thais Riveria, Creative Direction + Photography by Michael Henriquez

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Mother Virgo in the Woods is a maternity project celebrating Thais’ pregnancy. Thais was interested in capturing her maternity chapter around the themes of nature. She deliberately gave me the creative freedom to creative direct the project entirely; trusting my vision.

 

Mother Virgo in the Woods was shot in a local park near Thais’ home as the base for a photoshoot to capture trees, grass and other natural elements. My main focus for Thais’ maternity shoot was to remove Thais from the real world we were shooting in and place her within a setting that emphasized the phantasmagoria within motherhood and nature. I took a literal approach allowing the Virgin Mary and elements of the universe to take the lead. 

The challenge of constructing this project was the time constraint. Due to our different schedules we shot two weeks before Thais’ due date. I dedicated the first week assembling wardrobe (which was thrifted for $5), inspiration for hair + makeup, and searching for a shoot location. The second week was dedicated to the photoshoot, finalizing images, and editing to make sure Thais’ was able to present her maternity shoot before the arrival of her son.