“Three characters, one afternoon, one person underneath it all.”
Same Model, Three Women: The Power of a Wig Change
There’s a trick every experienced photographer and stylist knows but rarely gets talked about: you don’t need three models to tell three stories. Sometimes all you need is one model, three wigs, and the right locations to match.
This series was shot across Echo Park and Chinatown, all on 35mm film with the Leica M6 — a fully manual, rangefinder experience that forces you to slow down and commit to each frame. No chimping a digital screen between shots, no instant feedback. Just trust in your read of the light and the moment.
Three looks, three completely different women
The Red Updo — Fierce, sculptural, a little dangerous. Shot against fire escapes, wrought iron gates, and sun-bleached stucco, this look leaned into sharp angles and a confrontational attitude. The burnt orange wardrobe against that deep auburn hair felt like it belonged to someone who knows exactly what she wants.
The Black Curly Bob — Soft where the red was sharp. Polka dots, bold ruffled sleeves, greenery in the background — this character felt playful, a little mischievous, caught mid-glance over the shoulder. This was also the only setup in the entire series that used a modifier: a 6×6 scrim, bounced to soften the light on her face against the polka-dot dress. Every other frame in this shoot ran on natural light alone — it was too good a day not to use the sun as the only source.
The Platinum Bob — Cool, detached, cinematic. Shot around an abandoned car in a garage, this look went full noir — sheer black fabric, red-orange eye makeup, an almost eerie stillness in her expression that felt worlds away from the other two characters.
What made it work
The wigs sped up what would normally be a full hair change between looks — no reshoots waiting on a stylist to redo a color or cut, just lift one wig off and drop the next one on. But the real magic wasn’t the wig itself. It was watching the model’s attitude shift the second each one went on. She didn’t just look different — she became different. Posture changed. Expression changed. The energy in front of the camera changed. That’s what made each character feel organic instead of like a costume change.
The takeaway
A good wig isn’t just a styling shortcut — it’s a tool for storytelling. Change the hair, and if your subject commits to it, you don’t just get a new look. You get a new person.
Team:
Fashion Stylist: @mikesam_creative
Hairstylist: @emmacroftmakeup
Makeup artist: @rebeccasophiemakeup
Retoucher: @retouch4.me
Film dev: @jfphotolabinc