April 29, 2009 @ 2:43 pm

Kanye West and Amber Rose Photographer Tells All

Rob Kenner

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Steve Shaw, who shot the couple, breaks down the sensational shoot and brings the story into focus

A picture is supposed to be worth 1000 words, but when Kanye West posted on his blog on April 17 the image of himself and his lovely naked girlfriend Amber Rose nestling her blonde-stubbled head in his lap, the shot generated many more words than that.  

The post’s title, “Here’s some photos I did with Steve Shaw for my LV shoes,” sparked widespread speculation that the racy shot was part of some top-secret Louis Vuitton ad campaign for The Louis Vuitton Don’s new line of black-on-black LV kicks, which he’s rocking in the picture. However, on that same day, the nymag.com blog The Cut reported that there was no such ad campaign in the works, going on to speculate that the “rump” shot was probably for “some kind of urban magazine,” before adding in a condescending tone, “Unless Vogue has lost its mind.”

Rather than adding to the confusion, we reached out to Steve Shaw, a VIBE contributor, who gave us the scoop on those much-talked-about images.

According to Shaw, the shoot was “not for LV but for a magazine in Hong Kong called Prestige. We shot it at my home in Venice a few months ago. Amber was with Kanye and I asked her to be in a shot. He is wearing all LV clothes and it was to showcase the new line of shoes he has designed for LV, which are amazing!” Note to Kanye, I wear 13s, know what I mean? (Review copies are always appreciated.)

Shaw describes the shoot as “surreal,” and not just for the obvious reason. “During the shoot, Kanye had a showcase on VH1 that we were watching while we shot,” he says. “He was singing and dancing along to the show while it was on the TV in my living room—it was quite a surreal moment!”

But overall, “Kanye was amazing to work with,” says Shaw. “He was a true pro. He knows exactly what he wants but was very open to a creative collaboration while we shot the images.”

One last question, though: How exactly did her clothes disappear?

“I just asked Amber to take off her clothes and she did (with Kanye’s permission, of course),” Shaw says, in his roguish British accent. “I have a certain way with the ladies.”

Article tags: Kanye West, Amber Rose 

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