Cottage Core

As May comes to a close, I wanted to celebrate the endings and new beginnings this month brought. I finished my second year of college, I made it through one year of the pandemic, things are starting to open up again, I am leaving to go to Vermont this summer for a camp counselor job; all of these events seem to bring a new hopefulness around the next few months leading up to school starting up again. To acknowledge the mountains that we’ve climbed during this past year, my stepmom and I wanted to do a special photoshoot that commemorated our perseverance. What better way to celebrate than by taking whimsical photos in nature! 

Earlier in the pandemic when my family was quarantined in our house due to all of the L.A. county mandates, my stepmom and I became obsessed with the “Cottage Core” aesthetic. At first, I was wary of this kind of style (as it’s not in my wheelhouse of fashion): flowy dresses, picnic baskets, and laying in flowers. This interest in idealized rural life became our photoshoot inspiration when we could actually go outside again. Our favorite thing about the cottage core concept is that it embodies simple and nostalgic tones all while existing in harmony with nature. My family would often go on hikes near our house throughout the pandemic, and the set for this shoot was on the trail our favorite one. 

All in all, this shoot was a nice way to spend a little more time with my stepmom before I left Los 

Angeles, and work with her on a creative level. I had really only taken photographs of my friends or people near my age in the past, but this shoot got me out of my comfort zone in that sense. I am very grateful to commemorate the beginning of summer with this shoot, and I’m looking forward to seeing what life brings.