Angelina Jolie

Well having Angelina Jolie in my studio was just amazing. Hopefully Megan Fox will be the next to visit. In all seriousness, this is as close as I will come to shooting Angelina Jolie. Since the moment I saw this book I wanted to create this photograph. It's quite simple. The model I used was Kaity, who couldn't be any more perfect for this image. The reason is because she absolutely adores Angelina Jolie. So for this shoot, she got to live her dream and spent a day in her head. Literally. Honestly I enjoy when my photographs relate to something about a person. It can be as simple as this. Other times it takes time for a photograph to speak to me. That connection does not have to be an object, like the book here. I mean it could, but it can also be an expression, a gesture, a mood, a feeling that was captured. Sometimes a small little detail can make all the difference.

What Are You Looking At?

So this picture was taken at church last Sunday. Okay maybe it wasn't but for some weird reason it reminds of church. I can't figure out if it's her facial expression, her clothes and styling mixed with the wooden background that evokes that feeling. She looks formal and stiff. To contradict that formality and seriousness, I have a girl in red underwear just showing her ass and legs. Every time I turn to look at the girl in the red underwear I feel judged. It feels like if I was doing something wrong. Like if Kaity (left) was telling me what are you looking at?

All You Have To Do Is Show Up

Being at the right place at the right time. I went to shoot an event at my church for my photojournalism class. At first it was kind of weird shooting since I saw everyone looking at me, probably wondering who is this guy with that big ass camera. After a while they forgot all about me. I was shooting as I carefully moved from one place to another. At times people were so deep in pray that I felt I had to stop shooting for a bit just to show some respect. I felt that it was very important to be respectful of the situation. The ultimate goal is for people to trust you. The most difficult part for me was that most of the communication took place non-verbally. By the end of the shoot I got this photograph of my father praying. To me this photograph is very honest and powerful. It is also personal to me because after all it is my father. I try to be careful because I know sometimes a personal attachment can blur my judgment. Anyways, I got a call the next day. They want to see my photographs. I found out that they were in need of a photographer and they are asking me to shoot more events like these in other churches. Its seems like a great opportunity. All it takes is some good timing, a little bit of luck, but more importantly all you have to do is show up.

Keep Shooting

If the situation is right you should keep shooting. This was shot right after my staged reality assignment. Just when I thought I was done, I found that the shoot turned into something else. Make sure you don't overwork your model unless you are doing it for a reason. It is important to be conscious about everything you do and say. So that you direct the shoot in the direction you want. Even when you think you are done, it can never hurt to get a couple more frames. Sometimes that can be the difference between having something good and something great. If the situation calls for it, just keep shooting.

Staged Reality

I had to shoot an assignment with the theme "staged reality". My interpretation of that was creating a moment or a situation that will make the viewer wonder what is going on. I wanted the viewer to wonder what she is thinking? What is she doing? Does she seem OK? I used colors to make the photograph visually interesting and bring color contrast to the image. I wanted to give the viewer visual clues for them to make their own interpretation. This is my staged reality.

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.

Lets Not Forget About Body Language

Today I decided to just relax at the beach with one my good friends, Jessy. I am making it a habit to bring my camera everywhere because you never know when you might need it. I asked her before hand if I could take some pictures of her. She said "not today". Regardless I brought my camera. We were just relaxing at the beach on a windy day. Not your ideal beach day. We made the best of it. She was nice enough to bring some chocolate sandwiches. Yes! I said chocolate sandwiches, on wheat bread if you must know. Surprisingly good. Anyways, after getting more than enough sand in our faces we decided to leave. I still had hope of being able to shoot her. So I asked her again, and somehow annoyed her enough to say yes. So we were shooting in the parking lot. The sun was harsh and right above us. Not your ideal lighting situation, but I just wanted to focus on the person in front of my camera. We blast the music in my car, trust me, it doesn't go very high on my green Lamborghini. I wish. But anyways, it did the job. The shoot was not planned, it was just spontaneous. So she had no make-up, hair was not done, and so on. I knew that body language, color, and composition were going to be very important in creating a successful photograph. So we both went to work with what we had. Sometimes that is all it takes. You take what is given to you and you make the best out of it. Recognizing the importance of body language, I would try to direct her so that her body language would be interesting. She was able to give me what I was looking for. Even though most of the time I concentrate on faces, today I learned I cannot forget about the importance of body language.

Faces

A face can be so powerful. That is why I am so attracted to faces. You can photograph the same person under the same conditions over and over again and one frame can look so different than the other. A facial expression can completely make a photograph successful. There are many components you have to pay attention to when photographing people. The most interesting to me is the face. It's something that you can't totally control and that makes it exciting. It's just so powerful. A face can give you something extraordinary and unexpected. That means I have to to put myself in a position where I allow the unexpected and maybe then I can get something extraordinary. I want to keep pushing myself. Push my photography to have layers of meaning. I want to get uncomfortable, because then I know I'm doing something new. I want to understand deeper why I take the photographs I do. So much stuff to think about: After everything, it comes down to having a human being in front of my lens and the obsession that I have with faces.

When I say "We're done", I'm lying.

So this week I went shooting at the beach again. The harsh sun was out so it made it less then ideal to be shooting. Tried looking around for locations where I can use the light to my advantage. After a while of shooting I said, "OK we're done". Even though I wasn't 100 percent happy with what I got but I did not want to exhaust my model, Kaity. It was a good decision since I was really just looking for another moment to pick up my camera again. So after we stopped shooting we were hanging out on the beach. Kaity, who is also my girlfriend, wanted to drive across the parking lot. Afterwards she was semi nude in the back seat. I didn't say anything to her. Just picked up my camera, and we both knew what we were doing. As soon as I started shooting I knew that I was getting what I wanted. Sometimes you have to wait for something to happen or for that moment to come. Most important thing is recognizing it. On shoots, I find myself numerous times saying "We're done". And that is where my subject drops their guard and allows me to capture something real. Now every time I say "We're done", it just means I am waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. This time I got lucky.

Just My Camera And The Beach

This shot was taken at Robert Moses in Long Island, NY. Only natural light was used. The only equipment I had on me was my camera. I was there to relax on the beach, but somehow it turned into a mini photo-shoot. My model, Kaity, was in front the car dancing, jumping, laughing. The energy of the shoot was amazing. Got many shots of her in high energy. Then she relaxed. Wrapped her towel around her self, since it was a little windy. She gave me this look and I knew this was the shot. I have learned that you must place the subject in the situation you want. Then something is either is going to happen or it is not. You must be ready when the moment comes.