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.