I shot HG while I was on tour - my only connection of the tour, despite trying quite a few times.  With only a couple of days in any given city and almost no notice, it was a pleasant surprise that I managed to get anyone at all.  I'm happy to say that with my tenth shoot, I applied everything I'd learned so far and, after quite a few fits and starts I ended up with a shoot I really liked and could be proud of.

I did the shoot mostly at a hotel in Des Moines with no backdrop, no special lights and a lot of patience from a willing model, and the story HG had to tell was interesting, both for the tattoo portion and from a life-experience perspective.

BRANDED:  Is there a story [of your lower-back tattoo]?

HG:  A little bit. 

BRANDED:  Okay.

HG:  (laughter)  Um, I was fifteen when I got it done.  I asked my mom if I could get a tattoo and the first thing she said was “you need to talk to your grandparents” because she was not going to let me do anything they didn't approve of.

BRANDED:  Okay.

HG:  So I went and asked them and at first they said “no”.  They worried about me doing something for life.  Then I told them that I'm designing the tattoo, I'm drawing it out myself.  I'm deciding everything on it.  It's going on my lower back.  I can cover it if I want to, but I want it to show, I can show it off, whatever.  And they finally agreed to it.   And my grandpa actually took me to get it done and he held my hand the whole time.

BRANDED:  So your mom was okay with it.  Your grandparents were okay with it.  Did anybody in your family see it and freak out?

HG:  Nope.

BRANDED:   Nope?  It was all..?

HG:  As long as it was okay with my grandparents, it was fine.  (laughter)