Patron of the TikTok Arts
The Wall Street Journal Magazine sent me to photograph Olivia Tiedemann, a breakout social media star who had started her channel in a wealthy patron’s home in Southampton, NY. The creator was a personal chef who made some videos while the family was on vacation in Europe. During this period, her channel blew up. Rather than feeling it was an invasion of privacy, the patron, Dorothy Bandier, took it in good humor and encouraged this young person to maximize her momentum.
I went into the shoot ready to hold the older subject’s hand and make her feel comfortable in front of the camera, assuming that the influencer was going to arrive very camera-ready. But what I got was the opposite: it turned out that the Hamptons homemaker was a former model who had a confident sense of style, whereas the young creator was overextended and anxious.
I deal with people who are uncomfortable being photographed all the time, but I was surprised to find this in someone who shoots entertaining videos of themselves every day. She has over four million followers on Instagram.
Dorothy was easygoing and charming throughout. Eventually, she showed us some of her modeling pictures from back in the day, which was a real treat — she had a substantial collection of tearsheets to share.
Initially, I had planned an old school, Slim Aarons-style image, with a well put-together socialite, next to a scrappy creator kid. But as it happens on all shoots, you react to the reality in front of you. We shot three variations of the two of them side-by-side, with me trying to figure out how best to maneuver Olivia to look engaged and positive. To her credit, she was patient with the process and took direction well.
We then did a quick setup against a paper seamless, shooting it around the front of the house with some nice bounced light. I had a chance to do some shots of Olivia alone, holding a big prepping knife, looking to feature these later.
The magazine was happy with the session, and a few days later commissioned me to photograph another patron/influencer couple, this time in Connecticut.
The influencer/worker was Sebastian Trujillo, who develops residential landscaping and had a rising social media presence; his patron was client Meredith Feurtado. Both were fun and easy to shoot with.
Top Image: Olivia Tiedemann, Southampton, NY. July 13, 2026.
Second Image: An outtake of Dorothy Bandier and Olivia Tiedemann.
Third Image: Sebastian Trujillo and Meredith Feurtado, July 19, 2026.
Bottom Image: A BTS photo in Southampton, by Sophia Pallwein-Prettner.