Shoots: Duo

As mentioned, I had shot April&Hailey in the same session... and while modeling agencies generally don't like to feature two or more models from the same agency in one photo if it's just a test-shoot, I figured since I had them both right there, might as well take advantage of it, if only for practice/fun.

Shoots: Hailey

I actually shot Hailey (also from Photogenics) at the same time I shot April-- so there's not really much more to report tech-wise. Hailey is/was a brand-brand new sign at her agency-- I believe I was one of her first photoshoots, ever-- and I can see why she was snatched-up as soon as she was scouted... the kid certainly has "got it"-- a born natural model. There's something "innocent and lost" that's conveyed in her eyes... and it totally works for the camera.

Hailey was as sweet as she was shy off-camera, but went into total pro-mode as soon as I started snapping; I can see a bright future and long career in this industry for her.

**I know I'm a broken-record, but I can't stress ENOUGH how much the Blogger's compression saps quality and color from the photos I post here. Does anyone know of a solution or something I should be doing differently to prep the photos for upload? I work in the sRGB color-profile, so all my colors are web-safe, but something that Blogger does makes the image quality worse than Facebook-- and that's saying a lot!

Shoots: April (and debating the 85mm 1.2)

April is the real deal... like, for real. The 6-foot, multi-ethnic, California native is the very definition of a pro, yet a fairly recent sign at Photogenics , you'd think this girl has been doing this for years. Want to hate her even more?... she was a total sweetheart and laughed at all my jokes. And while I think they were merely only "polite laughs", I appreciated it nonetheless.

The shoot took place at my now firmly cemented default location: Griffith Park; with make-up and styling starting at 3:30pm, taking about an hour before we got shooting, with last shot about 30 mins after sunset. I started with the 85mm 1.8 prime... but quickly swapped it out for the 24-70mm 2.8 and never put it back on. I'm finding that while I love-love-love my 85mm... I just can't really use it for anything other than traditional portraits-- and I'm not doing as many of those as I first thought I would when I bought the lens. I need the breathing room that a 35mm or 50mm focal length provides when composing a frame.

In the beginning, I was hell-bent on owning the coveted Canon 85mm f/1.2L.... at a fetching $1,970; the legend of this lens made me want to buy it blind... I'm so glad I did not. For anyone torn between the 1.2 and the 1.8-- forget all the talk about the slower AF and back-focusing issues with the 1.2... you only need to say to yourself..."When am I ever going to need to be at an aperture of 1.2?" The answer will be nearly never; 1.8 is a perfectly adequate aperture to get that legendary thin, creamy DOF. If it's worth the nearly $2k so you have the option of having a subject's eyes in focus, but the tips of the eyelashes begin to get blurry, I have two things to say: 1) What kind of photography are you really doing? and 2) Can I borrow $5 grand, cause you clearly are doing OK at the bank. I'll pay you back, I swear.

Listen, I'm not saying 85mm isn't a useable focal-length, quite the contrary... I'm merely saying for less than $400, you can have an extremely comparable alternative, that even is widely commentated on being sharper than the 1.2, anyway. Sure, the L-series touts being weather-sealed and sturdy and tough... but unless you're a journalist in the Middle East running from an RPG attack, your 85mm 1.8 is going to survive just fine in your camera bag. In fact, if you were a journalist in Afghanistan you WOULD want the option of being at a 1.2, in order just to get an exposure in low-light, because a flash is going to get you a sniper-bullet right between the eyes.

But I digress... back to April's shoot...

I brought in a 22" white reflector disc for a few of the back-lit shots, but other than that, no flash or fill were used otherwise. Her mom was on set the whole time, too... which was actually great because I put her to work watching my equipment or holding the reflector when needed. I just wish her dad and sisters came, because I would've had stuff for them to do, as well!

Special mega thanks to the wonderful killer-combo MUA & hairstylist, Tasha Brown... who honestly and literally, is way way waaaaaaay above my paygrade to be slumming it with me. Guess it helps to have a mega-successful TV producer girlfriend who can hook you up! Tasha was such a bright happy light on set and so freaking good, it pains me that I'll never be as good at anything, as she is with make-up. She also jumped in with a lot of coaching and suggestions for the models when shooting, and man, was that appreciated; it was so great to have a second pair of eyes, catching smaller things you don't notice in the moment, but become glaring, rendering a photo unusable later... such as an out of place chunk of hair, awkward hand gesture, or a section of clothing puffing out. Thank you thank you thank you Tasha!

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.