Dee Rogers by Mickaela Tombrock

LA-based photographer Mickaela Tombrock @mickaelatombrockphotos presents this fashion editorial exclusively created for Vanity Teen online with the up-and-coming actor Dee Rogers @daterionrogers.

“In the summer of 2019, I realized I wanted to go full force with photography and since then I have been trying to find my voice in a sea of so much talent! Being a self-taught photographer comes with a lot of trials and errors. It can be stressful, frustrating, and yet astonishing because within-trial and errors life happens and it usually brings something unexpectedly beautiful to the table. Since 2019 I have been published over seven times in various photography and art magazines and each time my jaw drops. Each photoshoot is a journey of its own and it’s so beautiful to see them come to life,” says the photographer.

“I was so excited to work with Dee. Dee Rogers is an up-and-coming actor in Los Angeles originally from Tennessee with the most extraordinary eyes. They are actually the reason why Dee and I met. Dee walked past me on a sunny Sunday afternoon and I happened to catch the sun lighting up his eyes. They almost looked like see-through! I kept walking thinking about his eyes when my body, without hesitation, took over and turned and my legs started jogging and I kept yelling excuse me, sir. I remember I kept thinking, “what am I doing?!” And then the other part of me thought “if I don’t ask I might never see him again and a door would be closed forever”

“Dee was all suited up, looking dapper and determent. At first, he didn’t hear me but after the third time, he stopped and looked at me like I had lost my mind. I started laughing and excused my very odd way of introducing myself. I think I said something in the line of “please excuse me but can I take your photo?” Dee, later on, said that he loved that I hollered him down but was quite skeptical until he saw my work! After that, he made sure that we would collaborate! We met up and brainstormed and moodboarded and had so many stories we wanted to create. In the end, we got too impatient and said “let’s just shoot something.” This is our first shoot together. No moodboard. No brainstorm. Just an old fashion test shoot. Many more to come. So I guess this particular photo shoot is inspired by collaboration, life and to let it all go. It tells a story about two people meeting for the first time, trying to figure out how to capture one and another.”

This photoshoot was shot on a Canon mark IV switching between the photographer’s two favorite lenses, a Canon 35mm and Canon 24-70mm and it took place in the heart of Hollywood, just a block away from Paramount Studios.

Model and actor Dee Rogers @daterionrogers photographed by Mickaela Tombrock @mickaelatombrockphotos, exclusive for Vanity Teen online!