F-Stop 504 creates a safe haven for New Orleans’ creatives
September 23, 2022
F-Stop 504 is a non-profit creative collective that hosts free-of-charge, themed events where individuals of all skill levels may participate and network. The major events at F-Stop 504 are photo walks, where individuals are asked to come dressed in the theme chosen and be photographed and styled by other creatives.
Chubb and Morrill founded the collective in November 2021 with the goal of bringing together people from all across the city to network and share their artistic passions in anything from photography and digital media to fashion.
“We don’t pressure anyone to be one thing, and that’s the power of F-stop,” Chubb said. “Everything we do is open to interpretation.”
Apart from being the co-founder of F-Stop 504, Chubb, a business marketing senior at Loyola, is a fashion model and stylist who sells clothes and offers inspiration on how to style them.
Chubb, popularly known as Emilee the Visionary, began her modeling career in 2020 and has since been focused on achieving her goals and is keen to push her fashion profession to the next level.
Chubb and Morill focused on wanting to provide a platform for individuals to connect without having to spend money and were surprised at the amount of businesses receptive to holding their events free of charge. They recently held indoor events for free at locations like the Rook Cafe and the Creole Gardens Hotel.
They have also begun hosting clothing swap events, which will take place prior to their photo walks to bring clothing that people don’t wear anymore and trade it for free with others at the event. The goal is to provide an option of free and reasonably-priced clothing for their personal closet and to use in the photo walk events.
Chubb expressed how exciting it is to see everyone dressed in different colors, patterns, and fabrics, and how F-Stop emphasizes the value of photography in preserving the memories and inspiration from their events.
“To me, photography is a chance to have something live forever,” Chubb said.
As a professional portrait photographer, Morrill recognized that photography and modeling may be intimidating fields to enter, but she said she hopes that the events will help individuals learn how to feel confident and comfortable in their art.
Each photo walk is hosted in a different location with fresh, intriguing themes—such as prior ones like maximalist and monochromatic themed events—to provide participants the chance to express their skills in diverse settings.
Zia Castelones, a New Orleans photographer, said it can sometimes be difficult to connect with models and filmmakers in New Orleans, due to the community of creatives being fairly small. Castelones said that F-Stop makes it much easier for her to network with other artists in the industry.
“I was very nervous about attending F-Stop 504, but it was actually a nice experience,” Castelones said. “Everyone is networking and following each other, and the people there are genuinely so nice.”
F-Stop 504 strives to be the collective outlet in New Orleans that allows the growing number of creatives to come together, be themselves, and to have an excuse to dress however they want without feeling judged for it.
“No matter what kind of creative you are, no matter what that looks like, we want people to come have fun and be themselves,” Chubb said.
