Smoke and Tea Photography Session Behind the Scenes

Photography Tips

Do Burning Man tea houses have a life after the annual Nevada desert extravaganza? Some do! Entranced by the scene of the Deep Tea Haus at Burning Man, wardrobe stylist Jasmine Hamed decided to team up with professional photographer Thomas Kuoh to shoot a “smoking hot gypsy tea party.” Here’s how they put it together:

The Deep Tea House started out as a birthday celebration for one of its members. The participants liked it so much they decided to bring it to Burning Man as a tea kitchen whose aim was to combine beautiful sound and house music with an intentional tea service. The next thing you know, they find themselves at the house of famous designer Hicham Tazi for an afternoon of bohemian costumes, Moroccan decor, and, of course, tea.

Although ostensibly just a gathering of friends enjoying some tea and music, such lifestyle shoots can be pretty complex to put together. For this shoot, photographer Thomas Kuoh brought in a team of artists to do the make up, hair, jewelry, wardrobe, modeling, and props, as well as a number of photography assistants.

Originally intended to take place in a Tibetan yurt, Kuoh had to change the venue at the last minute. Luckily he’d collaborated with Tazi before and was able to move the shoot to his beautiful, Morrocan-style house. In the end the shoot went off magnificently, a great time was had by all, and Kuoh came away with some great photos.