Annie Baker Photography x Gladu Photography x Sadie Luxe

There is something really special about getting a group of creatives together and basically saying, let’s make something weird, beautiful, and completely different. This editorial session started as a collaboration with Sadie Luxe (@sadiewoodluxe), a hairstylist looking to expand further into editorial and runway work. One of her goals was to submit her work to Denver Fashion Week, which meant she needed photographs that showed what she could do outside of traditional styling. She wanted bold hair, interesting shapes, color, texture, and looks that felt like they actually belonged in the fashion world. So naturally, we took over downtown Denver with five models, some seriously insane hair and makeup, two photographers, and a whole lot of creative freedom. I photographed the session alongside Jovina of Gladu Photography (@gladu_photography), who joined me as our second photographer for the day. We photographed throughout 16th Street Mall and Denver’s Arts District, using the city itself as part of the editorial. Instead of creating everything inside a studio, we wanted the polished, intentional styling to contrast with sidewalks, buildings, streets, murals, and everything else happening around us. Honestly, it was SO much fun, and every model was given a completely different identity, which ended up being one of my favorite parts of the entire shoot.

Alexis Praska — @aepthatsme

Alexis came into this shoot having never modeled before, which makes her final images even more fun to look back on. After the experience, she said she wants to continue modeling and gain more experience, which I absolutely love considering this was where it started. Her look was impossible to miss. Alexis wore a bright pink editorial makeup look paired with space buns that transitioned into long, extended rope braids. Metal hooks connected different sections of the hair, with additional metal details hanging from the ends. It was colorful, playful, a little futuristic, and exactly the kind of look that makes an editorial session so much fun to photograph. Against downtown Denver, the bright pink and exaggerated braids stood out even more.

April Rain — @aprilrain_92

April brought more modeling experience to the group, having modeled for approximately two years and recently signing with Models of Design. Her goal is to continue moving into runway and fashion shows, and she has also recently started hosting Instagram Lives with guests as she continues building her presence within the industry. Her look was easily one of the most elaborate of the day. Sadie created an extreme sculptural hairstyle topped with a flower-shaped headpiece, while April’s makeup incorporated an iridescent finish that shifted beautifully depending on the light and angle. In some of my favorite images from her set, April also carried the suitcase she had brought with all of her getting-ready supplies. It wasn’t originally some massive planned prop; it was simply part of the day, and that made me love it even more. Walking through the city with this incredibly editorial hair and makeup while carrying her suitcase created images that almost felt like we had caught a model somewhere between backstage and the runway.

DanVy — @danvy.vy

At 29, DanVy has been modeling on and off since she was 16, bringing years of experience in front of the camera into this collaboration. Her look centered around red face bows and three braids sculpted into loops across her head, creating one of the most structured hairstyles from the session. There was something incredibly graphic about her final look, and the combination of the red detailing, sculptural braiding, and the lines and textures of downtown Denver gave us so much to work with photographically. Rather than trying to make the hair blend naturally into the environment, we leaned into the fact that it didn’t, and that contrast was exactly the point.

Samantha Caquias — @samantha.caq

If you’ve followed Annie Baker Photography for a while, Samantha might already look familiar. Samantha isn’t a professional model, but she has modeled for me multiple times over the years and has basically been around since the beginning of Annie Baker Photography. She is always willing to jump in front of my camera and is open to new modeling opportunities, so getting to bring her into something completely different from our previous shoots was especially fun. For this session, Samantha wore a black-and-green eyeliner look paired with a ponytail made from her natural curls. Two braids were brought forward and shaped into a crown across her forehead, creating this really beautiful balance between her natural hair texture and the more unconventional editorial styling. I’ve photographed Samantha before, but I had never photographed her quite like this. That is one of my favorite things about collaborative work: you can photograph the same person multiple times and still find an entirely new way to see them.

Sitora Oduca — @madaminka

Originally from Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sitora Oduca is a Kazakhstan-born model and creative now based in Colorado. She brings her Central Asian roots and individuality into her work while continuing to explore art, fashion, modeling, and creative expression. For Sitora, we went full space girl. Her makeup incorporated stars, purple glitter, and a black base, creating a dramatic celestial look against her bright red hair. Instead of adding another complicated updo, Sadie took her hair in the opposite direction with a sleek, wet-look slick back. The simplicity of the hairstyle allowed the color of Sitora’s hair and all of the details within her makeup to completely take over. Her entire look felt futuristic, slightly otherworldly, and completely at home in an editorial setting.

The Creative Team Behind the Session

Although I absolutely love creating timeless photographs for my regular clients, collaborations like this give me the opportunity to push outside of my normal work. For this shoot, I still wanted the photographs to feel like Annie Baker Photography with intentional color, beautiful skin tones, strong composition, and images that won’t immediately feel dated, but I also wanted to push the editing, posing, styling, and overall energy further into the fashion and editorial world.

Working alongside Jovina from Gladu Photography also meant we had two photographers interpreting the same looks differently throughout the day. Add five completely different models, Sadie’s styling, bold makeup, downtown Denver, and absolutely no requirement that anything needed to look “normal,” and we had the perfect environment to experiment. This wasn’t about creating five versions of the same pretty portrait. It was about giving every model her own character and giving Sadie the opportunity to show range in her work, from extended braids and metal hardware to sculptural loops, natural curls, wet-look styling, and full editorial headpieces.

From Our Editorial Shoot to Denver Fashion Week

The coolest part of this collaboration happened after we wrapped the shoot because these photographs weren’t created just to sit in our portfolios or make a cute Instagram post. From the beginning, Sadie had a goal for them: Denver Fashion Week. After we finished photographing the looks and delivered the final images, they became part of Sadie’s submission as she pursued the editorial and runway work she had been working toward, and she got accepted into Denver Fashion Week!

Knowing that photographs we created together on the streets of Denver helped showcase her work for that next step makes this session even more special to me. There is something incredibly rewarding about photographing someone’s creativity, but there is something even better about watching those photographs actually take them somewhere. What started as five models, some wild ideas, a hairstylist ready to push herself creatively, two photographers running around downtown Denver, and a lot of hairspray turned into something that helped open the door to Denver Fashion Week. That is exactly why I love creative collaborations like this, and I cannot wait to see where Sadie’s work takes her next. Congratulations, Sadie. Denver Fashion Week looks pretty good on you already.