Being Human

This is my first shoot at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The model for this shoot was a good friend of mine. I have shot her before, but honestly I wish I could shoot her more often. With her, there is so much left to explore. I'm still curious about the kind of work we can do together. Anyways the shoot went well. At first I was worried about the new studio, new strobes, new camera. I was using a lot of stuff I never used before. After I got over all that it was time to focus on my model. She performed great. Therefore my performance had to be at least as good as hers. I want these photographs to be about fashion. Focusing on the model in front of me. All I want to do is set the stage, give her the opportunity to blossom in front of the lens. Allow her the choice to be free. I want not only to show the model with her hair, make-up and clothes but also the human aspect of it. I want something about the photograph to remind people of the person that is in front of the camera. That reminder can be the sensuality or anything that has to do with being human. I think that is important.

Hard Work + Patience

This was honestly one of my favorite shoots. Maybe I see a series coming from this work. My model Kaity was phenomenal. She performed and I performed. There was rhythm while I shot, the right energy came out and that was it. My vision came together and it shows. I came as close as I will ever come to being satisfied. When things go right you feel like all that hard work, all the planning, all that thinking, all the chances you took, it all pays off in the end. If you keep at it the results will come. I learned that you have to be patient. Results take time to develop. When you get the right results it feels so fucking good. In this shoot kaity opened up to me in a completely different way. My camera is the tool, and I use it as an excuse to explore her. All young photographers know what being discouraged feels like. I know all too much what it feels like. All it takes is handwork and patience. Stick with it, the harder it gets, the closer you are. I must say hard work plus patience equals great results.

A Starting Point

I just kept asking her to light another cigarette. She has this strong, confident, seductive presence in-front of the camera. Every time she lit a cigarette she became so calm in such a beautiful way. All we did is walk around the beach. Talk. Laugh. Relax. Shoot. Basically, we just bullshitted. Even though Jill is my friend from school and I have shot her before. It was like I was getting to know her all over again, even felt like I was shooting her for the first time. I feel that with this shoot I scratched the surface. I am excited to keep shooting her because I envision many great things to come. After having a taste, I just wanted more. What worked in this shoot was that it was just her and I. The moment. The situation. Just being there was enough. What is interesting is that I learned more in this shoot about her, then I did while I went to school with her. Sometimes that is what a whole shoot is: A starting point.

It's Okay To Use Some Help

Kaity, who is my girlfriend and also a photographer was shooting our friend Grace. After her shooting at the beach I was asked if I wanted to shoot as well. I couldn't resist. I told Kaity I wanted to drive to a different location. I was fortunate enough to find a great location where the natural light was pleasing. This was another spontaneous shoot, where I would focus on the subject in-front of me. After shooting a couple of shots I realized that kaity was talking and interacting with our model Grace while I shot. Whether she knew it or not, I knew then that kaity was going to play a big part in this shoot. Part of being a photographer is recognizing when something might work and admitting it to yourself when it doesn't. In most cases I would want to be in total control of the shoot. So that I can lead it where I want it to go. For this particular shoot I gave up some of that control, because Kaity and Grace's connection was interesting enough to make successful photographs. I would still direct and have some control, but having Kaity there made a huge difference. By the end of the shoot, Kaity and I were both shooting Grace at the same time. It's alright to take a risk. For me that risk was allowing myself to use some help.

Logo

I been thinking of changing my logo. I am not sure if I like it or not. Maybe I just been staring at it for too long. At first I was very satisfied with this logo. For now it gets the job done.