Pulp Skin – Carte Blanche

carte blanche (ˈkɑːt ˈblɑːntʃ, French kart blɑ̃ʃ)

— n , pl cartes blanches
1. complete discretion or authority: the government gave their negotiator carte blanche

On most editorial shoots, we need to carefully consider the editorial parameters, or the even the over-all ‘look-and-feel’ of a magazine. For example, the images we create for a fashion magazine meant for teenage girls are completely different from images that we create for a men’s magazine, which in turn would be different from images we create for a more sophisticated women’s fashion magazine, or from the portraits we shoot for a more edgy or conceptual publication meant for adults.

‘Carte Blanche’, however, is where the situation gets turned around. It is when a client gives us complete creative control of the shoot, from concept to execution. In this case, our client was Jag Jeans, who were sponsoring the production of a spread in PULP Magazine (Philippines) called ‘PULP Skin’. Asides from the basic concept that the shoot had to be ‘sexy’ – it was to be published, after all, in the ‘Pulp Skin’ section – the concept, styling, model selection, and execution was entirely up to us.

This situation is ideal, because then the creative team can just take the gloves off and…create. Notice that there are no jeans in these images. It does however, provide positive publicity to the brand, since the readers know who is sponsoring the production. The Pulp Skin section was quite popular, and not only to male readers (who happen to be a large part of the brand’s target market), but also among the publishing and fashion community. Many photographers and stylists use these ‘Carte Blanche’ shoots to show off what they can do when there are virtually no limits.

Styling by Millet Arzaga
Photography by Tommy Zablan
Modeled by Roisin