MUSIC // Larce Blake

I love when people reach out to me to take photos - a second time. It tells me that there is a sense of trust or a mutual comfortability between photographer and photographee. That's how it felt with Larce. My mother's best friend's son. We've known each other since childhood. It wasn't until our first photo session that I really got to understand him as a person. When he suddenly texted me to do a second photoshoot, I couldn't say no to him. He's so cute. I look at him as the same little kid with big curly hair and the most adorable baby face. Being six years older than him, it was tough to see him as anything else. But photographing him, it was so easy to mature him and capture the adult that he's become. Despite being a freshly twenty year old music producer, Larce looked so much wiser when it came to the photos. His eyes - those are the kind that show earnestness, passion, and ambition.

We didn't have many options that morning for location. Our scheduled photoshoot was pushed up to three days earlier and I was forced to select a location close to where we were. My apartment complex has a nice large and spacious parking lot. It served as the main backdrop for most of the photos. I think I flock towards these places because it reminds me of giant photo sweeps and saves me heaps of trouble from setting up my own. It fits Larce well. He has a very quiet disposition and a teddy bear like personality. It's hard to believe he is musician with serious goals for his producing career. Simple walls like this suit him the best. But these next set of images play into his background. His EP was called "BALMES" which was the family name of his Filipino grandfather. Being Filipino himself, Larce had a lot of inspiration in The Philippines during his summer vacations to the country. For that reason, I wanted to do more green and earthy settings without feeling like we stepped into the Arboretum. The tall bamboo reeds worked out great. It was the perfect hint of his Asian roots and also the only type of shrubbery I could find right then and there. 

That photo session was fun. I couldn't be more pleased. It's nice to develop a new relationship you've known for a long time but didn't really get until now. Check out his music below: