The story behind En Vogue’s legendary 90s album artwork:
for the album cover shoot with En Vogue in March, just days before Dawn announced her departure to the world."We were expecting four to show up -- but it was just three," Russell says."We got the vibe to mind our business, so we did."
Everyone understood the assignment and did what had to be done."They were super professional,” Connie remembers. “When you get to that level, you have to bring it home. We knew something was going on, but we weren't going to ask because then it might ruin the vibe. We didn't even want to go there." But discretion worked perfectly with Guzman's approach, which is technically precise and conceptually open."We're not very chatty on set," Connie says."We're quiet, moving around, taking pictures, and letting people do their thing. We don't direct people or tell them what to do. We have some ideas, but they're vague. We'll just throw it out there and see what happens. We want people to be themselves and have fun.
Fun is the perfect word to describe Guzman's aesthetic, readily pairing Soundgarden with a chainsaw or Iggy Pop with a hammer."We're the people they bring in when they want something different," Connie says."We don't identify as one particular type of photographer, such as fashion, portraiture, advertising, or. We always say that we have a point of view, and that's what you'll get.
This philosophy helped establish Guzman as a singular force long before the idea of photo teams was popular. Connie and Russell first began to make a name for themselves shooting nightlife personalities and avant-garde fashion for the in their lower Manhattan photo studio during the 80s.