Seville, Spain - August 2019

What inspired this photoshoot?

For the past 15 years I’ve traveled with two of my best friends all over the world. We studied abroad in Vienna and ever since that have picked a country or continent to travel to almost yearly. We created plans to go to Portugal in September 2019. I found a crazy flight deal to Barcelona and decided to come here for a few weeks before meeting them.

I fell in love with Spain the minute I stepped off the plane. There’s a certain energy and vibrancy about this country, and Spanish culture in general. It’s why I keep attracting to it. I didn’t know much about Seville, but had heard from a lot of people that it was a gem worth visiting. After Barcelona, I came here and instantly knew I wanted this to be my next photoshoot location. Seville is full of large ornate cathedrals and palaces and charming narrow cobblestone streets.

I also brought a shimmering gold couture fashion gown by designer Nha Khanh with me which made this location a solid choice.

How did you find your outfit?

My niece Mila is best friend’s with a girl in Dallas whose mom happens to be a high-end couture fashion designer. Originally from Vietnam, Nha Khanh uses her culture and talents to design one-of-a-kind pieces. Each dress she designs looks like it belongs in a magazine. Twice a year her studio holds a sample sale. Last year while I was traveling in South America she had a sale and my sister sent many looks to me. I fell in love with this gold shimmering gown with pleated details and a train. At the time I didn’t have the extra funds to purchase this gown, yet I never stopped thinking about it.

In July 2019, I came back to the states for a few weeks. During that time, I took on the bold responsibility of watching my sister’s 3 kids (ages 6, 4, and 21 months) for 5 days while she and her husband went on vacation. As a thank you for this tall responsibility, my sister surprised me with the gold Sydney gown I had been dreaming about. I was shocked!

I brought the dress to Spain with me and instantly knew Seville was the place to feature it.

To view more of Nha Khanh’s collection and her unique couture children’s line, click here.

How did you feel during and after the photoshoot?

This photoshoot took place in the morning to catch the soft sunlight. I love doing morning shoots even though I’m not much of a morning person. I had a makeup artist come to my Airbnb where we got an early start. Part of the fun of this mission is allowing the stylist and makeup artists to create my look based on what they envision. My look was very dramatic and paired well with the gold dress. I felt like a princess walking the streets of Seville. Little girls came up to me asking if they could take a picture with me. It felt very surreal. And the location was so stunning that it brought the experience to life.

Photoshoot Credits

Photographer: Aoife Casey

I booked this photoshoot pretty last minute. I normally like to find photographers via word of mouth referrals and hire directly. This time I thought I’d experiment with Airbnb Experiences. I was excited to find a female photographer. As I noted in other places, the photography industry is very male dominated so any opportunity I have to work with a woman, I grab it. I immediately attracted to Aoife’s profile and her mission to capture women in their essence. She is really skilled with capturing movement and has an artistic style to her photographs. And what’s unique about Aoife—she brings her Polaroid with her so that her subjects can have something to remember the shoot. Aoife is Irish born and has been living in Seville for 2 years.

While I love Airbnb Experiences for connecting the two of us, I did not like the little cost associated. Photographers spend a lot of time and energy during the actual photoshoot and many hours behind the scenes editing and processing photos. Airbnb takes a 20% cut from each experience which leaves the artist receiving very little compensation for their work. It is a great tool for attracting customers, gaining reviews, and building experience. I was so happy to support Aoife through this medium. And at the same time, I know all of the work that is involved, so I gave her a nice tip as a way of letting her know that I support her vision. This is why I do these photoshoots, so that I can hire local and support them at a fair wage. You can hear more about my thoughts on this on my Facebook page.

To learn more about Aoife Casey and to hire her, visit her website and Instagram.

Hair + Makeup: Carmen Cubero

I found Carmen through a referral from another makeup artist who was not able to support me last minute for this photoshoot. Carmen lives in Seville and has been a MUA for 5 years. She teaches at the local beauty school here. Carmen was a joy to work with. She is super talented and has such attention to detail.

To hire Carmen and check out her other looks, visit her Instagram page.