Alina wrote me soon after I sent out a travel notice via OMP back in February, and we discussed what we are going to work on together.

As soon as she mentioned that Marcel will be working with us as our stylist, I was totally excited and was very much looking forward to it.

Here are some images we shot for fashion, editorial and swimwear concepts around Lake Mead, Las Vegas.

I am totally impressed by her skills in modeling and Marcel’s skills in makeup and styling artistry… I look forward to future opportunities to work with both of them again!

Nikon D2x, 200mm AFS VR F2, Hensel Ringflash

ABOUT ALINA SMITH

There is a reason why country/pop singer, songwriter and producer Alina Smith has been selected as one of the “20 Artists to Watch” by the Herald Examiner magazine. Championed by many of Music City’s pros, including the Grammy-winning artist Lari White and hit songwriters Danny Myrick and James Otto, Alina’s music has been described as “unique”, “special” and “very fresh”.

In the last few years, Alina has amassed millions of music plays online, won first place in the Los Angeles “Battle of the Bands” on KTLA-TV, as well as many other honors (HMM Awards, Great American Song Contest, Temecula Music Fest, Johnny Mercer Foundation). She sang for millions of people on CC-TV in Beijing, China and has had her songs covered by major artists in Japan.

A true country girl, Alina was born in a small village outside of St. Petersburg, Russia after the fall of the Soviet iron curtain. Her early days were spent singing and dancing in the woods next to her parents’ house. Her mother, a foreign language teacher, spoke English to Alina from babyhood. She also played a lot of American music around the house. “My favorites were Hank Williams and Dolly Parton, although I also really loved Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway,” recounts Alina.

By the time she was six, Alina taught herself to play piano and was supporting her family with music. She would soon join an internationally-known singing group called “Aurora”, which played fifty plus shows a year in Europe. When a relative of her mother’s, who lived in Las Vegas, invited Alina to come over and pursue a music career in the States, her parents agreed to let her go. In the years to come, Alina would move to NYC, then to Los Angeles, writing with the top local talent and playing hundreds of shows at clubs, such as Hotel Cafe, Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall and The Mint.

Now, having recently relocated to Nashville, Alina is co-writing with the likes of Meghan Linsey (artist with the Big Machine label group), Trey Bruce (Trace Adkins, Faith Hill), Kris Bergsnes (Winona Judd, Tim McGraw), Phil Barton (Lee Brice, Paul Cowderoy) and other great country songwriters. She has also started a boutique recording studio and has been producing music for herself, as well as other artists. Having just completed a demo EP, she is seeking a label home for her new songs. Bet thou not against her!

ABOUT STYLIST/MUA MARCEL MUNOZ

Marcel is a well known and accomplished makeup artist / stylist. He has been featured in such national publications as Elle (twice), W, Short Cuts, Salon City Star, and California Hair Stylist. His bridal work will be featured in an upcoming issue of Salon Plus, a Spanish magazine with international distribution. He has produced his first instructional, step-by-step video on bridal hair that is available in both English and Spanish. And if that is not enough, he had written the first in a series of instructional books on all phases of hairdressing.