When a photographer and muse meet and truly see one another, it’s a magic moment. For photographer Jason Renaud and model-artist Devon Ross, that meeting was forged by a shared taste in alternative music, raw photography, and an instinct for the unpolished real. From their first shoot together in an LA canyon, the pair clicked, and a friendship emerged alongside a fruitful creative partnership. Continuing to shoot whenever they hung out, Jason’s intimate and poetic images of Devon capture her wholly herself – unguarded, instinctive, and playful.

Now, the pair have curated these images into a photobook titled Her Blue Eyes. Spanning different times and locations, the photographs show Devon in her truest form – lounging in bedrooms, wandering through nature, surrounded by her books, records, and the objects she loves, wearing whatever she happens to pull on, from vintage dresses to shredded band tees. It’s an ode to Devon; her magnetism and quiet intensity. On a cold LA morning at 8am, Jason and Devon recalled the making of the book and took some exclusive images of each other for us: Devon by Jason, Jason by Devon.

Alex James Taylor: How did you both first meet? What attracted you to each other?
Jason Renaud: I think we started talking on Instagram first, but I had first seen her work in Irma Veep, this fantastic show on HBO Max that caught my eye. I was drawn to her mood and felt that she gave a great performance. I wanted to see what else she was up to – I discovered her music and promptly when to a show of hers in LA.
Devon Ross: I’d seen Jason’s work around for a while. We connected on Instagram, and then we met at my show and instantly vibed.

AJT: What are some shared interests and art that pulled you together?
DR: I feel like we share a lot of the same references, and general music taste – which is pretty important to me when forming an artistic connection with someone.
JR: I agree with what Devon said. For me, one of the most important parts of any collaboration is having a mutual understanding of references and research, it just adds depth and weight to any collaboration and makes it feel more honest.

AJT: Do you remember the first time shooting together? What is your relationship like on a shoot?
DR: I think we both like working pretty quickly. I don’t know if that’s right to say, but we both are super quick when it comes to shooting and like to be done fast. We just met up in this canyon in LA and it just came really naturally.
JR: I didn’t even remember that that was the first shoot, [laughs] you had to remind me. We just got along super super well. Sometimes on paper, you think a collab should work well visually and it doesn’t totally match, but this was instant creative chemistry. I think we shot for a total of one hour and three looks – to this day those are among my favourite shots of ours, a few made it into the book too.

AJT: Jason, in the book you describe Devon as an ‘It Girl’ – what does that expression mean to you and how do you think Devon encapsulates this in her own way?
JR: ‘It Girl’ is a term that’s kind of indescribable, but you know it when you see it. It’s enigmatic, but there’s an energy that draws you in. Devon to me is just effortless – she’s cool without trying to be, and genuinely cares about the art, music and film she makes. Even when she’s ‘casual’, she still looks cooler than I would ever.

AJT: How many sessions, and how much time went into creating this book? How many times did you shoot together over the course of time?
DR: I actually don’t know.
JR: I think, I’m losing track too, but I want to say ten or so times, on covers, backstage, style-ups, and a bunch of stuff in between. It was also between LA and Paris, we had shot a couple times around Pais Fashion Week, including Devon’s debut Louis Vuitton walk, which was super exciting. The sessions ranged in time, as we said earlier we shoot fast, so it wasn’t so much time shooting, but more editing, refining, understanding the narrative thread of the book, including a lot of different environments. I wanted to see Devon at different stages and processes of creating and living her life.

“Even when she’s ‘casual’, she still looks cooler than I would ever.” – Jason

AJT: And how did you curate the book? What was the process behind choosing the images?
JR: With most projects, I have to give myself a deadline otherwise I’ll constantly be editing, re-editing, and shaping the material. We had so much, it’s hard to decide what should go and what should stay, all of it is part of the story in the end. Oliver Shaw from Friend Editions was crucial to the book’s final form, he was able to really help craft the through line of the book and be an objective pair of eyes on the material on the final edit. We wanted it to feel like a real portrait of Devon, removed from any pretension or overly fashioned shots.

AJT: Devon, how do you see yourself through Jason’s images?
DR: I’ve done a lot of photoshoots over my career, and many of them I didn’t feel like myself. Every time we shoot, we do exactly what we want, and as a result, I feel the most myself when I look at these images. Most of the time, there’s no hair or make-up styling really, it’s just us creating something.

AJT: Were there any particular references or inspirations that fed through the book?
JR: I find so many beautiful references from photo books from the 1980s and 90s. In general, there was less oversight or maybe more creative freedom in older publications and books. I think today there’s so much curation and this idea of content that sells, I really wanted to make a book that could exist for just being itself. A great subject, interesting shots, a real portrait of something that’s removed from any qualifications or branded identity beyond just Devon herself.

“I feel the most myself when I look at these images.” – Devon

AJT: Can I ask about the teddy? Is that yours Devon – what is its significance? DR: That teddy was given to me by a very dear friend of mine, for my birthday one year. It’s a re-creation of something a fan had made for Jimi Hendrix.

AJT: Have you discussed any future projects??
DR: We are always planning and want to do everything creative together.
JR: Absolutely. I’m currently finishing pre-production for a short film that Devon will be a part of, and I think we have a cover in the works right now, too. But beyond that, I know at some point in the near future we’ll just want to shoot, hang and make great stuff. Maybe a second book ten years from now.

AJT: Lastly, Devon, you have the best collection of vintage band tees. Any favourites?
DR: I’ve collected a lot over the years, but my most special are my Sonic Youth Goo t-shirt, and my Iggy Pop Lust for Life t-shirt.
Jason: I also have a Sonic Youth t-shirt, I actually shot Devon in it and it made it into the book. From the Sister album tour in the 80s.