Issue link: https://www.ahpindiestylist.com/i/1298824
26 indie stylist Volume 1 Issue 3 Although my family was amazing, living in Utah as a gay man was just an uncomfortable situation. So, one of the guys I trained horses for invited me to move away from Utah to find myself and, hopefully, get a fresh start. He lived in Colorado, so I moved there, which I thought would be a good idea, except I didn't have any friends. Also, when you grow up with a religious background, there is a lot of guilt, right? So I went through a point in my life where I was like: Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? This guy— thank goodness—saw my struggle. And the Universe is so interesting. The way he made his money to pay for his horses was by owning a hair school and a whole chain of hair salons. He said to me, "Why don't you go to hair school? You can make some friends." Originally, I told him no. I just told my parents I'm gay. I cannot become a hairdresser! But, honestly, I ended up saying yes because I didn't have any friends, I was questioning my worth, and I was in a lot of pain. Saying yes was the best thing that ever happened to me. That first day of hair school, I met this amazing group of people. They were all so accepting, and they had this common vibe of wanting to make people feel better and to see their own beauty. All the things I was insecure about—or worried about—they just kind of laughed at me. They're like, "You don't even know how amazing you could be or how amazing you are." They taught me how to love me. Hairdressers really taught me how to be OK with who I was. I didn't know if I'd be any good at hair, and I didn't know the career path that was in store for me, but I changed my mentality. I said, "I will be part of this industry because the hairdressers saved me, and they helped me learn to love myself." So, that's why I committed to becoming a hairdresser— even before I picked up a pair of scissors! WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR THE COVER SHOOT? This was a fun shoot that we did in New York City shortly before COVID. My photographer was in town for another project and had to stay an extra day. He is my favorite photographer to work with, so we decided to do something that could be used as an editorial for beauty, as well as a fashion collection. We were inspired by a Balmain ad. It was midnight dark, and we liked the lighting and mood of it. We just built from that lighting concept and applied our own thing to it. And, since the backdrop looks like it's at night, the wardrobe we used has a little sexiness to it. TELL US ABOUT THE PROCESS OF SHOOTING A COLLECTION. When you do a shoot, there's always one key player—the focus of the shoot. In this case, it's a hair shoot, so the hair needs to be seen first. Sometimes "hair stories" can be too avant- garde or too aspirational for consumers. If the photographer is trying to land a big campaign for Target or something like that, he's got to have images in his book that are just beautiful hair—they can be statement-making but not too off-putting or terrifying—not too "hairdressery," as I like to say. It's a fine balance. When doing a collection, I need the hair to be beautiful enough for my book, but I also need to consider that the wardrobe stylist borrowed some expensive clothes, so we need to make sure the wardrobe—and all those things, like the hair, makeup, and photography— have a very cohesive vibe and are nicely balanced. One thing should not overpower the others. When we pick team players, we use the WhatsApp chat because my photographer lives in Holland. When planning a collection, we start bouncing photos around for ideas and lighting. The models I select dictate what I can do with their hair. Planning for a photo shoot is 80 percent, but it's not exact. I'm not pulling a picture and saying this is what our goals are. I'm thinking, I want to see how this style works with her face shape and her hair type, and then see if it's working. I'm a big believer in not overdoing or overworking. My mantra, my belief, is: Work with what you've got. They're beautiful girls who are professional models. So just style their hair really uniquely, really beautifully. Plus, nine times out of 10, when we're doing jobs like this, you can't cut "I just told my parents I'm gay. I cannot become a hairdresser!" —Ammon Carver