WHY I DIDN’T USE MIGUEL’S “USE ME”…WITH BASTIAN C

We’d planned to do two shoots of Bastian C: one more fashion-style outside at Nikolaiviertel and the other in underwear inside his home in Mitte. For the former, as with all the Elska shoots, there was inspiration from music. That outdoor shoot, which is included in the final version of Elska Magazine Issue (02) Berlin, was titled “Though I try to resist, I still want it all.”

It’s a line taken from Troye Sivan’s “FOOLS”. I need these musical inspirations but usually I don’t get too literal with them, i.e. I don’t attempt to have the model act out the meaning of the song. Neither do I get fussy about the wardrobe or styling. I prefer the model to be themselves. These songs are more of a personal inspiration than one that is obvious to the viewer.

My mistake was that for the indoor shoot, I did get too literal, and that’s why those pictures didn’t get included in the final issue. The title for the indoor underwear shoot was “Just let me show you hot to touch me, I can teach you”, a line from Miguel’s “Use Me”. During the session I instructed Bastian to guide one hand with his other onto his body, as if one hand was leading the other around. In the end it looked too forced so I cut them. (However, if you’re interested, I did make those pics available for download in Bastian’s Elska Ekstra e-zine, including outtakes and behind the scenes shots from both our shoots with him.

I’m sorry, Bastian, for this. And I’m also kind of sorry to Miguel, though I know I’ll end up using another one of his tracks for inspiration in a future issue.

Elska Boy: Bastian C

Photographer: Liam Campbell

Location: Berlin, Germany

Elska Magazine: Issue (02) Berlin + Elska Ekstra 2.1

#BerlinGermany