Portrait 4

Portrait #4 - Cody Aaron Roussel

Cody and I first met during Summer Orientation in the summer of 2010. He was an incoming student, pursuing architecture, and I was the orientation leader for the College of Art & Design, which houses that major. I didn't really get to know him, however, until almost half a year later. I was looking for models to shoot for fun, and I had chatted with him a time or two about my photos. Thinking he might be interested, I offered him a shoot, and sure enough, he was. We began planning a shoot, and started to become something much closer to friends than just photographer and model. Before you knew it, we had planned a photo adventure in NOLA. It was, and still is, one of my favorite shoots that I've had. Since that shoot, Cody and I have grown quite close. Not only is Cody an incredible model, but he is also an incredible person. Easy going is an understatement. He has the most relaxed view on life that I've experienced in a long time, and it is very refreshing. His heart is huge and if you've ever met him, you know that his quirky humor can easily lighten the room. He is currently in Florida, working at the happiest place on earth, Disney World. He's working merchandise for the Disney College Program, and  will be finishing up mid-winter. A couple of my friends and I are going to visit him during fall break. Should prove to be quite the adventure!

Here are a few more shots of him:

Portrait 3

Portrait # 3 - Erika Letten

Erika and I grew very close very fast. It was my junior year in college, and I was starting to really get into my painting classes. Once you get into the upper level classes of your particular area of study, you naturally will tend to have classes with the same people over and over. In this case, however, Erika and I hadn't yet had any coinciding courses. We sat next to each other on the very first day, still a little unsure of each other, but feeling perfectly okay with it. Besides, it was only the first day of class, and if I ended up not liking her, I could just sit somewhere else the next time, right? Once class got started, however, something that Erika said made me laugh so hard that I nearly fell off of my seat. I looked at her and said, "Me and you are going to be best friends." Sure enough, as the semester progressed, we began to become attached at the hip. Our professor would refer to us at twins, or sometimes as partners in crime. (My favorite was "Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum"). We grew even closer the next semester, during which we had class together every day of the week. And here we are, one year later, still hilariously inappropriate, still ridiculously frank, and of course, still fulfilling my prediction. 

Here are a few more shots of her:

Portrait 2

Portrait # 2 - Elizabeth Brabham Belgard

About Elizabeth: "I'm 21 years old, from Kinder, Louisiana. I have green eyes, and like to read GOOD books (anything other than romance, pretty much). I have a new obsession with war movies/literature. I love 80's music and indie/folk/bluegrass music. I like antiques, art that features some kind of silhouette (bird silhouettes are my favorite). I love elephants and amaretto ice cream with strawberries. I need lots of "me time", and I'm a night owl, so I take naps a lot during the daytime. I love to go running and work out. I LOVE learning about plants, animals, and other living things, so biology is my favorite subject.  I like to draw, but only when I'm SUPER stressed out. I never draw without a good reason... lol. I'm moving to Japan in an month and I'm about to celebrate my 3rd month of being a wife. OH and I LOVE Scrabble!! And old pictures! Well... all pictures in general. Lol. But especially old ones."

I first met Elizabeth in high school. I was a leader in a local youth group, and she attended the school that was attached to the church with which my youth group was associated. We knew each other more as acquaintances than anything, and I can definitely say that at that point, our relationship was nothing special. Basically we were of the same age and had similar circles of friends. Well, fast forward a year or two, and lo and behold, we are both attending LSU. One day, I was sitting by the clock tower and she passed by. Instinctually, I flagged her down and struck up conversation. We chatted for a while and then traded numbers and expressed wishes to hang out again. Now normally that kind of thing doesn't really go anywhere, but with Elizabeth and I, it actually did. Not only did we get in touch with each other more, but we also grew to have a surprisingly fresh and new friendship. And now, three years later, she is still one of my most trusted friends. Not only is she someone I can talk to about pretty much ANYTHING, but she's also someone who is fiercely loyal to her friends. She's beyond spunky, wonderfully innately artistic, and perfectly down-to-earth about it all. Her outward beauty is only surpassed her inner. A few things I've learned about her? She's distinctly independent, yet devotedly in love with her recent husband, Andy, who is in the military. She hates the nickname Lizzie, but will be completely content with Betty. She is always up for an adventure, and would hop on a plane to fly across the world in a heartbeat. She sings. She plays guitar. She's smart. Whenever people talk about 'the whole package', an example is Elizabeth. Since I got to college, she's been one of my favorite models to photograph, and she will be sorely missed while overseas. 

Here's a few more shots of her:

Portrait 1

Portrait # 1 - Soleil Lisette Casas

About Soleil: "20 years old, born in Gretna, LA. I like drawing, painting, reading, graphic design, watching movies, learning new languages, eating anything with sugar, and getting a good nights rest! I want to illustrate children's books and probably even write them. I also want to travel one day and hopefully live in Texas or New York! Right now, I'm working on building my graphic design portfolio and my illustration portfolio because I graduate in a year!!"

Soleil and I have known each other for three years. She was in my orientation group whenever I came through in the summer of 2008, and we have been friends ever since. I distinctly remember standing in line to take my picture for my TigerCard and striking up conversation with her. For those two days, it was two little incoming freshmen (and the occasional tag along) trying to figure out big old LSU. Since then, we have been in multiple art classes together, whether it be dreadful art histories, falling asleep during lectures and cramming before tests, or watercolor with Ed... well, when we went to class anyway. Soleil is always a bundle of energy. She always has a smile on her face, and she has this infectious laugh that never fails. (Granted, of course, that she's had her coffee that morning.) She is wickedly talented at illustrative art, and when it comes to graphic design (her major), she's on par with the best of them. Never a dull moment whenever she's around, and she's a friend who listens when you need it. 

Here's a few more shots of her:

Portrait 0

Welcome to 100 Faces!
To kick things off, here is a little more about myself.

Portrait # 0 - Justin Reed

Things I do: Photograpy, painting, drawing, art-ing in general. 

Things I like: Good food, good friends, a good cup of coffee or tea, thinking outside the box, getting to know new people, hearing stories, creating stories, folklore, graphic design, museums, the color white, elephants, tie dye, music of all sorts, novels, tennis and volleyball, and crawling into a freshly made bed.