“What’s Her @?” - Jisse Tamar
Styling by Amanda Massi - Trench Coat: Helsa; Tights: Kwame Adusei; Shoes: Saint Laurent.
There are people you meet in this industry who make the work feel like work, and there are people who walk through the door and remind you why you picked up a camera in the first place. Jisse Tamar is the latter.
She arrived the way people do when they are comfortable in their own skin. No grand entrance or performance of confidence. Just a warm smile and the kind of familiarity that made it feel like we had already done this before. Like we were picking up a conversation that had simply been on pause. She made it feel like a reunion.
I have been behind a camera for over ten years. I have photographed enough people to know that what you see and what you get are rarely the same thing. With Jisse, they were. What you see is exactly what you get, and what you get is considerably more than you expected.
Styling by Amanda Massi - Feather Top: La Pointe; Corset: La Perla; Silk Shorts: Lioness.
There is a particular kind of model that makes a photographer's job feel effortless. Not because they are easy, but because they are present. Jisse moved through each look with an elegance that felt entirely her own; no stiffness, no second-guessing, no waiting to be told what to do next. She simply existed in front of the lens and let the camera find her. Graceful, confident, and completely natural in a way that takes most people years to develop.
In over a decade of photography, her modeling was among the best I have seen. That is not flattery. It is an observation from someone who has seen enough to know the difference.
Styling by Amanda Massi - Lace Catsuit: Nookie; Skirt: Helsa; Shoes: Saint Laurent.
After the shoot wrapped, we sat down for her "What's Her @?" interview, and that is where the rest of Jisse revealed itself.
The series is built around a simple idea: the women we feature deserve more than a caption. They deserve a conversation. So we ask the questions that go a little deeper. The ones that get past the aesthetic and into the person.
What came out of our time with Jisse was something genuinely endearing. She is thoughtful in a way that does not announce itself. She is honest without being performative about it. She is still figuring things out, as anyone worth knowing usually is, and she is not afraid to say so. She talks about love, about the assumptions people make, about what it means to feel most like yourself. And she does it with the same ease she brought to every frame we shot that day.
By the end of it, the only thing that surprised me was that anyone had ever gotten her wrong.
Styling by Amanda Massi - Swimsuit: La Perla
Jisse Tamar is our first. The first face. The first cover. The first entry in a series that will go on to introduce the world to women who deserve to be known. Not just seen.
She was an honorable choice to open this chapter of KANDYHOUSE. The kind of choice that, looking back, will have always made sense.
We are grateful she said yes.
The Team
Photography — Mr. Kandy Styling — Amanda Massi Makeup — Stacy Salazar Behind the Scenes — Yunuen Valencia
Jisse Tamar is the first installment of “What's Her @?” a KANDYHOUSE original series featuring the models, artists, and creators who define the aesthetic of their generation. Watch her full interview on YouTube.