A few years back, I discovered Adidas Tiro soccer pants and found them the perfect pants for playing tennis. I became slightly obsessed and wore them pretty much all the time, on and off the tennis court, for about a year. It was my one episode as an athleisure person, and I came up with this shoot during that time.  

Often, I feel inclined to photograph mature women in unexpected ways. Unfortunately, they are often overlooked and stereotyped in pop culture. And so the idea was that photographing older females in Adidas leisurewear would be fun and unexpected. To emphasize the absurdity of everything, I presented the pictures on Instagram with the ubiquitous jargon from marketing collaborations, such as Meri X Adidas and Mrs. Warner in Her Sitting Room X Adidas.  

It was my first project working in Minneapolis, and I wasn't sure how to find interesting real people to photograph. Nothing came from a Craigslist posting, and I wasn't into the mature agency models. Instead, I found Meri and Amy via their talent listings on a local theater industry website.  

I planned two shoots—the first was with Meri, and we used the perfectly dated theater and lounges at the Women's Club of Minneapolis for the location. In arranging the other shoot with Amy, she suggested her mother's home in Minnetonka. In the yard, we photographed Amy with her chickens and down at the swimming pool. It was great that we had various outfit options because Amy's 90something-year-old mother decided to sit for a portrait, which was my favorite picture. Mrs. Warner is pictured wearing an all-black tracksuit with fuzzy slippers in her floral sitting room.  

I worked with a photo assistant and Hair and Makeup artist for the two shoots.