Shoots: Jade

If you haven't gleaned my preferred style thus far, I like to shoot a lot of earthy, neutral colors within a nature setting... and usually in/around magic hour. I'm a huge Terrence Malick fan, so it's pretty clear where my look is derived from, amongst a short-list of others.

However, I'm looking forward to doing/trying new things as I continue to (and will forever be) grow/learn in this trade. So, I decided to grab the lovely Jade, a recent sign at Zuri Model and Talent... and head to Venice Beach for a colorful, people-filled beach shoot with themes of 'light, summer fun' in mind. I also aimed to create a more traditional "commercial" look-- versus my typical, "girl lost in sun haze" thing.

I know "the beach" is probably the most cliche setting in photography, so I tried to mix it up utilizing the insane mash-up of colors around the Venice boardwalk. We even convinced a group of skateboarders to pose with her for a fun, impromptu set. Notice the kid giving the enthusiastic "thumbs-up" to our left of her. I snapped about 20 pics and he didn't move once-- just that same grinning mug in every shot, which still cracks me up every time I look at him.

Jade, herself, was cool as shit; that's exactly how I'd describe her--a down-to-Earth girl, fresh off the bus from Atlanta (with a southern accent to boot)... and is already quickly finding success in an otherwise intimating town. I wish her the best of luck!

Breaking down the tech-specs: I mainly kept the 24-70mm on, and stayed between 50-70mm the majority of the time. I thought I'd need my ND.6 filter as it was pretty bright (or so I thought), but quickly found I could get a decent DOF without it. I could've kept it on, but that meant boosting the ISO and I always try to stay at 100 when shooting outdoors, whenever possible (even though on the mkII, grain/noise is nearly undetectable until over 1200). For the shots on the actual beach itself, I threw on the 70-200, just so I could really crush the background and bring her into the main focus.

I was hoping for a gorgeous sunset, but as it approached, dark clouds quickly formed on the low-horizon and the sun disappeared behind them for good about an hour before sunset, so backlight, hazy, sunflares were out for this round.

I have to especially mention the fabulous Kristina Van Dyk, who was the stylist for the shoot-- man, what a pro this girl is: organized, methodical, and most of all, talented. She came with an arsenal of choices (tailored from a number of reference photos I sent her prior) and had every kind of accessory to match. She's relatively new to the world of commercial/editorial fashion, but if this is her just getting started, I can't imagine what a bright future she has ahead of her. If any of you fellow creatives are in search of a stylist, please contact me for her info. I can't recommend her enough.

Another shout-out goes to the MUA, Evelyn Sanabria, who I had worked with before. Another prime example of a professional who is not only good and fast, but stands by the entire shoot, jumping in without me even having to say anything, to touch-up the model or fix an out-of-place "anything". Another highly recommended person of interest that should be on your radar.

Overall-- yet another successful shoot under the belt. I know you are all getting tired of me having positive experiences, but what can I say? I'm gonna ride this lucky wave as long as I can.

**My now typical disclaimer saying that Blogger is great, save for their shitty compression. All photos are much more vibrant/colorful than seen here. Check my pending website as soon as it's up to see true representation.