Melis+Dainon
Melis+Dainon[edit]
Melis+Dainon is a photography and casting direction company run by co-founders Melis and Dainon Steiner. The pair opened the company in 2012 and specialize in fashion and beauty photography and casting direction in New York City and Los Angeles. They are known for their natural light images shot on location throughout the world.
Creative Projects[edit]
As of 2018, the creative duo have begun to introduce travel and street photography to their work and recently announced their new "Street Beauty" style.[1]. The artists said on their website that the Street Beauty project mixes their passion for beauty and travel photography, focusing on diverse faces shot documentary style in streets throughout the world. They launched the series with The Lions NY model Flaviana Matata in Chinatown, NYC. Their Instagram page says the photoshoot combined their Street Beauty style with their Authentic Beauty project which shows models without makeup and with minimal retouching[2]
Works of Note[edit]
Some of the notable people that Melis+Dainon have photographed include Celina Jade (star of China's highest grossing movie, Wolf Warrior 2), Jesse Lee Soffer (actor known for his role as "Detective Jay Halstead" on NBC's "Chicago PD"), Guillermo Diaz (actor known for his role as "Huck" on ABC's "Scandal"), Flaviana Matata (model, philanthropist, entrepreneur), Barbara Fialho (model and musician). Their advertising and published works have appeared in Elle, Marie Claire, InStyle China, Variety, US Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vanidades.[3]
Personal Life[edit]
Melis+Dainon refer to themselves as partners in life and art[4]. According to various sources, they met at Punahou High School in Hawaii and have been together for 19 years (as of 2018). The couple never married, but filed for domestic partnership in 2017 after 18 years together. They do not have any children and have publicly stated that they do not plan to have biological children. Instead, they are known for their dedication to their dogs, Li'i Bear, Rebel, Haydie, and Nori. Haydie and Nori are both foster-turned-family dogs.
Multi-Cultural Family[edit]
The creative duo say that their mixed families and experiences being raised in Hawaii, a majority-minority state[5], are some of the reasons why diversity is so important to them in their casting and photography work. The artists are known for challenging the brands they work with to pursue non-stereotypical faces to represent their brands.[6] Melis is of mixed ethnicity, including French, German, British, Filipino, Chinese, and Polynesian ancestry. Dainon's ethnicity is mostly European and Iberian, and his three younger siblings were adopted from South Korea and China.
LGBTQ+[edit]
Melis is an open member of the LGBTQ+ community. Referring to herself as pansexual, and often seen as non-gender-conforming in her personal style. Her shaved head has become a signature look and is seen frequently in the duo's autobiographical works.
Veganism & Animal Rights[edit]
The duo are vocal about their veganism and dedication to animal rights. The couple went vegan in 2008 when Dainon was working as a lobbyist for Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C. Many of the companies they work with are cruelty-free and support animal welfare or environmental groups. They also state on their Instagram page that they do not shoot real fur in campaigns.
Education[edit]
Both artists graduated from Punahou School, the high school made famous for its most well-known alum, President Barrack Obama. They also both graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2005. Dainon earned his Master's of Social Science (M.S.Sc) with focus on International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He is also a graduate of the George Washington University Law School.[7] Melis earned her M.B.A. from the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Management.[8][9]
Melis+Dainon Page Review[edit]
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- ↑ "LA | New York Fashion Photographers | Casting Directors | Melis Dainon". New York Fashion Photographers | Beauty Photographers | Melis + Dainon. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ↑ "Melis+Dainon Photo & Casting (@melisdainon) • Instagram photos and videos". instagram.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ↑ "Models.com".
- ↑ "Melis + Dainon - Photographer". MODELS.com. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ↑ "Fashion Branding | Be Brave or Be Invisible | Melis+Dainon". New York Fashion Photographers | Beauty Photographers | Melis + Dainon. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ↑ "Fashion Branding | Be Brave or Be Invisible | Melis+Dainon". New York Fashion Photographers | Beauty Photographers | Melis + Dainon. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
- ↑ "LinkedIn Profile - Dainon Steiner".
- ↑ "LinkedIn - Melis Steiner".
- ↑ "Nous Magazine".
