Themed shooting with Kamal Moummad

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One great thing about working with someone like Kamal is that every time we shoot I can get at least two, if not more, very different looks out of the shoot. I got ahold of Kamal earlier this week after a number of cancellations left me frustrated and annoyed. The best part of having friendships with models like Kamal, they won’t waste your time if you say you want to shoot something.
So, we decided it was long overdue to rock a new shoot immediately, and met up the next day.

Creating a portrait of Kamal isn’t exactly something I would say is easy… and that’s simply because he has so many different looks. So I knew this would really just be more of a fashion and themed shoot type of day. The image above was more the casual-feel shot.

We also found this old chair in the basement of the building we were in to use. It was a nice contrast of old/ugly to his clean/sharp attire. The serious pose and piercing stare at the camera worked great as well.

And of course we HAD to do a gang/hoodlum style image with a much more evil glare.

We also did some natural light headshots outdoors that afternoon. This one was actually really nice, except we moved shortly after because the background was a bit too distracting.

Playin around a bit before going inside to finish the character shots.

Also, earlier this week I edited a slightly older shot of good friend and singer Jesse Hart.
Jesse is getting ready to go on tour again in Brazil and will be leaving the country shortly. So, for those of you in Brazil… keep an eye out for his tour dates.

And another recent addition to my portrait series is David Saber, DC. I met David a couple years ago through an old friend. This was a peaceful shot that I really liked and wanted to add here. His eyes came out a bit turquoise through my editing… honestly I’m not sure exactly why since I didn’t alter their color.

Also,
I was recently contacted by RAWartists about showcasing some of my work at one of their upcoming events. Tonight I went to the Hollywood showcase they had.  I’m going to try and get more information on which upcoming show they’d like me to take part in. So, stay tuned everyone and I’ll be sharing information on when/where you can come see my photography there!

This weekend I have a few small shoots coming up including shooting friend Rick Thorne and the Good Guys in Black tomorrow night. They need new band photos for the Warped Tour this year.

I’ll catch you all soon with more images, and more updates on what’s to come!

 

Jackie Goldberg – The Pink Lady

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It’s always interesting the people you can bump into in an afternoon out with friends here in Socal.
Today, while in Burbank, my friends and I met Jackie Goldberg. Jackie, I found out, goes by “The Pink Lady” – which makes sense for anyone who might happen to see her since she wears all pink.

Actually, the reason I noticed Jackie myself was due to her outfit and style. Pretty much everything she had on and was carrying was pink. She wasn’t just wearing it, she owned it. Down to her pink converse wedges. I commented to my friends – I need to meet her. I want to go talk to her, and take her picture. Comments like that usually go fairly unacknowledged by my friends mainly because hearing me say I want to photograph someone isn’t anything new or surprising.

Well, I was fortunate enough to catch Jackie right as she was leaving the cafe we were at. I was positive I had missed my chance after she walked out; but then she walked back in briefly, so I introduced myself.

It turns out that Jackie does all sorts of seminars and talks for seniors about how life isn’t over when you’re older. She’s also one of the stars in “Rockin’ with the Ages” – which is a musical where all the stars are over 60 years old!

Unfortunately since it was quick portrait I had to use available light. And it was late afternoon in Burbank AND it had been snowing and hailing the last hour or two (I know, crazy right? Snow in Socal?!). So I had to make due with higher ISOs and low apertures. I was still able to get  a pretty nice quick portrait.

Al took a quick snap of us chatting too.. For those who haven’t met me, I’m a giant compared to a lot of people.

For those interested in Jackie’s seminars, please check her website: The Pink Lady
And for those interested in “Rockin’ with the Ages” musical tickets, email Jackie at PinkLady7@earthlink.net

I apologize for no major update this week. Things have been a bit hectic and I had a number of cancelled shoots this week. I’ll have more for you all as next week starts off.

The Portraits continue..

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This week my work has been all about portraits of people around me. And to start it off, I’m going to take my photography back two years to when I just moved to Southern California.
I met Cliff as I was wandering around the Grove, in Hollywood. I was actually there with my camera seeing who I may meet and photograph. Cliff and I started talking about camera stuff – he works in film – and at some point in the conversation I took this image of him.
But it wasn’t until this week that I finally was at a point with my technique that I was able to edit it in the way I originally wanted. That took a lot more experience and practice since that afternoon long ago. So note, don’t ever delete RAW images you may one day want to go back to and re-edit.

The thing I love about this image of Cliff, his eyes.

Here’s a tighter crop… or you can just click over to my portfolio for a higher res version.

This image of Teo I shot outside of Anthony’s shop. Teo owns and operates his own mobile car detailing company and travels around the area here between shops and dealerships for his work. He stays pretty busy and I bump into him every week and a half or so. The other day was one of those times and I wanted to get a quick image of him since I was positive it would come out great.
I’m really pleased that the pose, combined with the bright sunny day adding to the squint in his eyes, all worked exactly how I hoped.

This image of Sam I took while he was on a break at work. He wasn’t thrilled at the idea of me photographing him while he was smoking, however I wanted the shot. I was actually more interested in his pose, kneeling down, and his hood from his sweater draped over his face in the cold weather. The cigarette really just ends up adding a bit of attitude to the shot.

Last is this image of Mac. This is a photograph I took yearsss ago – I actually took it three cameras ago, haha! So it’s a sensor that’s a few generations old, and it’s a third the resolution of what I shoot with now!
However this has been my most favorite photos of Mac that I’ve ever shot. The little smirk is totally his personality coming through in the image.

So, I have a question for you guys…

If I start doing portraits, say three a week, is that something everyone would have interest in seeing?
It’s a project I thought of doing when I moved to LA and then stopped as I got busy and didn’t have the time to go out and meet people.

Oh, and here’s a preview shot from last week’s shoot with Bambi in Long Beach.
I’ll have a couple more images of her to share at the beginning of next week. Later this afternoon I’m leaving for San Francisco and will be back Monday.

Bambi is a burlesque dancer in Sweden. She was in LA for a couple weeks shooting and contacted me to do some colorful fun photos. I’ll have those up later, but this was a quick image I wanted to do with her after we finished the other shots.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone! See you in a few days!

BMX rider portraits, Buena Park

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When I wanted to do portraits with some interesting people my first idea was to get ahold of Sean Logan – a BMX rider.
I knew that I could create an image of him and maybe a few friends he rides with that would be awesome and telling at the same time. Ironically, none of the images above have much to do with what I set out to create – those come later.

I met up with Sean and a few other riders at Adam’s house to shoot. Adam, along with many other riders, have built some massive jumps in the backyard for them to ride.

When I say backyard… I mean they seriously converted their backyard into their own private course.  Check out Adam in the white hat for a bit of size comparison to the jumps.

But lets start out with the images that I set out to create…

I wanted something a bit gritty looking. Dirty in the sense of “dirt” for a BMX feel.

I created a similar shot with Adam. I kept the bikes in there as a token “yes I ride” theme. However it worked out pretty much exactly how I wanted. All the focus is still on their faces/eyes and the bike comes second. The editing fits the theme perfectly.

These shots were images we did in addition to everything else. While I wasn’t dead set on color shots because I envisioned the photos above first, they came out great and we had some fun. Here’s Sean, whose hair, by the way, still looks like this after hours or riding… it’s crazy.

And speaking of crazy… Stuntman, and friend, Crazy Mike was there to have a few images done as well. Mike and I have worked together multiple times and when he heard that I was shooting with Sean that afternoon he came down with his buddy Ninja Nick so I could do some cover shots for a TV pilot they’re working on. I’d share them here… but I can’t. Sorry guys!
Mike’s personality always comes through in ridiculous images like this one. Haha.

Adam Saunders portrait ended up coming out great. Honestly, part of the reason I love it was that he grabbed his hat and threw a bit of attitude in with his lip.

Loren’s shot I dig because of the simplicity, and his eyes. Shades in photos always add attitude. But eyes humanize any image, and this one totally pulls you in despite all the color and busy-ness of the photo as a whole.

And while we’re on the topic of eyes… Check out Dustin Nette…
No, take your time, those are his real eyes. Not enhanced. I didn’t add color either. Dustin was throwing tricks and riding with everyone that day. But when he stopped and was walkin around I noticed his eyes – seriously, you can see them from 20+ feet away. I talked to him briefly and asked if I could do a quick portrait of him. I shot this with my 85 f/1.2 because I wanted all the focus just at his eyes and everything else to fall off. Came out great.

So, time for some action shots… since I’m sure that what many of you came to see.

Sean, doin a Superman over jump two.

Adam, backflipping jump two.
Check out the barn-type structure in the back. They cut out part of the roof and made a ramp to use that to drop into the jumps.

Loren, drop three in jump two.

Loren, turn down flip in jump two

Loren, backflip in jump one.

Dustin, cheesin’ it up for the camera.

Loren threw a flip table only about three times before we got a great image.

Sorry I don’t have the names of the tricks, I’m still learning all the BMX trick names. But, I’m sure a few of the guys can help me name everything and I can update later.
Hope you guys liked the images, I was really happy with how they all came out. I’m planning to try and keep going with these portraits and see what else I can come up with.

Next up will be images from a shoot I did last week with a Swedish model and dancer named Bambi – totally colorful crazy outfits and everything. I think you all will dig it. And if all goes as planned, I’ll be shooting long time friend and nation pole dance competitor Mina Mortezaie this weekend.

So Fresh. So Clean. From Black to White…

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Because for some people, a white wedding is best viewed on website that’s white – not black.

Among various editing and major back-end redesign and cleanup that I’ve been doing on my server and website, I overhauled my wedding section last night. Ironic that as my sports work and portraiture is picking up that I decide it’s time to redo my wedding section…. but, now is as good a time as any.

My entire portfolio is viewable only on a black background. I do this for a couple very simple reasons. Colored backgrounds are distracting. Designs and wallpaper on your website are distracting. My portfolio has always been kept minimalistic and clean.
But, I’ve been thinking I should add the option for people who like viewing wedding images on white, instead of black.

So now my clients and potential clients have the option in my Wedding section to view everything on white – just click here:

Simple, huh?

Go check it out, see what you think of the new white wedding section. Post any feedback and thoughts you may have.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I’ll have some new portraits on BMX riders this upcoming week. I’m also setting up a new military war-era shoot with some models I know in two weeks.

Tall, Dark, Beautiful. Shooting with Kassandra.

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While most of you were watching the Superbowl I was spending the afternoon shooting with Kassandra. Some of you may recognize her from our shoot on the K&N 2011 Calendar (view it here if you need a refresher, she’s November).
Well, it had been a year since we last shot, and even though we’ve talked about putting something together again for a while, life always gets in the way. We finally found time this past weekend to catch up on life, and make some great images.

Kassandra, for those of you who haven’t met her, is stunning. Tall, long black hair, and amazing figure. How are you not going to create awesome images?
The original ideas we started playing with were similar to the portrait style images of Mike Bell that I shot a week ago (check the last blog post). Kassandra loved the darker grittier feel to those. We ended up spending a few hours together and doing about seven different style shots. The image above was created in the middle of our afternoon together. I love the contrast difference between the white and black. And it puts nearly all the focus right on her eyes.

I like the uncropped version, too. But I’m sure most of you noticed that I’m a big fan of landscape/wide shots with my images.

Here’s what we were originally going for… a darker image. In this case we have a black/black/black/black shot. What I mean is that she has black hair, a black boa, black shirt, on a black background. Unfortunately for most of you guys reading this, you aren’t on calibrated monitors. But, for those of you that are, you will see that there is actually differentiation between all four elements in this image. This is one of those photo-nerd moments where I’m going to point out that there is a level of light/exposure control to create this shot. So for those of you new-to-photo readers that I have, practice with this idea ; )

Portrait style shot.
Really dig the attitude mixed with her style on the red-drape background. The border was added effect.

Kassandra showed me some simple images like this that she wanted to create. Again, very clean, but with contrast between the black clothes and empty surroundings.

Also a casual version, with a sweater and shoes.
But check out her Converse that she made!

We went out to the roof to see what we could shoot out there. Neither of us were completely feelin this location with the chess board. But, I figured I’d throw some layers and textures in to make it more interesting. Did it work? I don’t know.

But I do like this version more. Maybe I’ll go in and remove the background completely…

Edit! I removed the background tonight. Looks much better I feel like.

I <3 LA

Last shot of the evening was on this awesome couch. The only tricky part was Kassandra’s incredibly long legs on what was actually a very short couch. I still think it came out great though.

Between all the different style shots, catching up on life, and laughing at what’s new, it was great to see an old friend and shoot again. I have a few more shoots this week that are in the works including portraits of Sean Logan (the BMXer) and two more model shoots. I think I’m going to be continuing the portrait series with various people I know down here in LA in different industries. Should be fun.

Check back in a few days for more shots. I’ll try and post another blog this weekend.

Mike Bell, a portrait session.

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Mike Bell, a sound engineer from the Bay Area, has been rockin’ dreadlocks for nearly 10 years.
So when it comes to creating a really unique and equally awesome portrait, he fits the bill perfectly.

I’ve actually known Mike for a long time – and we’ve talked about shooting something in the past. I’m glad I waited until now to actually shoot since I’m much more skilled at this point than years ago when I first talked to him about it.

I wanted to create a gritty, darker, almost rough appearance in the shots. Something that would emphasize both his dreads and beard. And judging by the comments that people have already began making on my facebook albums, it looks like we accomplished just that.

This was the original concept. Clean. Simple.

Next we tried this shot. It was something Mike had seen in the past and wanted to try. Came out pretty cool actually.

I really like this side profile shot with his hair up. I felt like the treatment and border gave it a lot of added character, too.

The last thing we tried was a shot with a hooded sweater. This was TJ Lauters’ idea. He was on the set doing some behind the scenes photos and taking some video.
Here’s one of the behind the scenes images that TJ snapped while filming.

This was how I created the image up top…

TJ is currently working on a short video clip of the shoot. I’ll either be posting that here, or to my Facebook page (or both) as soon as it’s done.

Come back soon! I’m discussing three different shoots with three different models right now for this week.

Hollywood with Melissa Meza

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Last Friday I spent the afternoon in Hollywood shooting with Melissa Meza. Melissa is someone who heard about me through a friend, liked my work, and drove down to LA to shoot. Extremely flattering when clients enjoy my work so much that they travel (or have me travel to them) any distance that’s more than an hour drive.

Melissa is a dancer and needed some new headshots. We spent the first half the of the time shooting those – which ended up in a lot of laughter and story telling. See, Melissa is just one of those girls that smiles ALL the time. Definitely not a bad a thing, but trying to take a serious looking headshot just really doesn’t work because of that.

But we still managed to get some really nice, casual, images.

And Melissa has gorgeous hair – which you really can’t go wrong with when shooting.

Afterward we took some images that were a bit more styled and fun. She wanted to get some street-feel dancer-esc photos. Unfortunately we were only able to use one of the outfits that she brought. Bummer : ( I know

The photos still turned out great. Melissa wanted a darker higher-contrast feel to them. So we played to that and finished off the shoot before she had to get to her dance course in West Hollywood.
We had a fun time though. Hope you guys dig the photos.

Next up will be some more portraits – or possibly sports.
So I’ll see you guys back here soon.

A little sportbike rig shooting with friends.

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We’ve been having some great weather here in Southern California recently. So about a week ago I went out with some friends to do a little rig shooting on sport bikes.

We ended up having a really chill afternoon out riding. Tons of great clouds left over from the recent weather patterns that have been blowing through the area, and a warm sunny afternoon without much heat at all.
Since I had rented a fisheye lens for BMX photos the two days before this shoot, I wanted to make sure to get as much use out of the lens as I could. So I hit up my buddies here to see if they wanted to try various shots.

We started with a few passes up and down the highway for some motion images of riding. I shoot and ride one-handed for those types of shots, and found that it was much harder to use a fisheye this way than my 16-35 f/2.8 that I normally would use.
For the rest of images I used my rig arm and remotes to create those photos.

I’ll just go right into sharing those now.

First up was Al.
All of us ride recreationally, so none of have full riding suits like Adam who I did my last rig shoot with. The images came out great though and I’ve been experimenting with various types of editing for different looks.

This was a quick shot as Al left to do a second pass. That’s me in the background taking a shot with the remote that’s in my hand – Frank and Nolan are sitting on the curb.

This was the shot we ended up liking the most. Al leaned just enough to look toward the camera as he passed.

Next up was Nolan and his girlfriend Serena. The sunset added a lot of great color his gunmetal grey CBR600RR.

I was worried the rig arm would be too short for these images, but it ended up working pretty nicely. At least for a crazy skewed-angle type shot. Haha!

Last up was Frank and his white 600RR.

We also tried this shot of both Al (left) and Frank (right) riding together since they both have white bikes.

The final shot of the night was one of Al. This is actually shot by me while riding alongside him on a Yamaha R1.
I have the camera rig mounted low on the swingarm and am firing remotely while riding. (the remote is taped to the gas tank)
Definitely one of my favorite shots from the afternoon.

Here is how I created that image. I’m on right, Al is on the left.
Thank you to Frank for the photo!

Here’s a short video compilation from clips that Frank shot that afternoon! Mostly just him goofing around and cracking jokes. But you get to see a little bit of how this shoot was done.
I’m going to pick up a Flip camera or something soon so I can start creating more behind the scenes videos for you guys.

And here are a few more images from earlier that afternoon that I took.

I think it’s funny that every time we go riding Serena only happened to bring heels that day. But, we don’t do anything too crazy or fast..

All of us before heading out to do rig shooting. Frank is there, just behind me… whoops!

This was shot by Serena. So now I have a photo of me riding too! Woo hoo!

Hopefull you guys all enjoyed the images. Sorry for the delay. This past Friday I went down on the bike in a turn. It was low speed, but I hit some dirt/gravel as I was turning from one street to another. I hit my helmet in two places on opposite sides as I rolled. Always wear protective gear people. You never know what could happen. I’m fine, just a little sore. Bike is good, just some scrapes and cosmetic damage.

Check back soon for more upcoming shoots!

BMX, with Sean Logan

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I wanted to share more images of BMXer Sean Logan with you guys as promised.
As I talked about in my last blog update, I spent part of last weekend at the jumps with Sean Logan and Eric Hough. It was great to have a couple hours to just work on getting some great images that not only looked good, but were also accurate trick shots timed correctly on both Sean and my part as the photographer.

Unfortunately I don’t know the names of the tricks that Sean throws, there are a lot of names to remember and between all the shooting we did I simply lost track.

This was earlier in the afternoon. On bright, hotter days these jumps have much more of a harsh yellowed desert look. But we had some great clouds to work with this past weekend.

The only bad thing about these jumps is that they’re surrounded by power lines – which I try and remove from some shots.

This is shot from the handlebars with a fisheye lens. I’m thinking a mounted shot in a jump like this could potentially be pretty awesome. But Sean said he tried it and it didn’t work well. Bummer.

Toward the end of the day we moved locations slightly to take advantage of this tree at sunset.
All the shots we did here came out great.

This was one I shared in my last post, but I’m sharing again..

Coming up will hopefully be more images of BMXer’s Eric Hough and Cody McKenna. I’m just waiting on them to sort through the images I took so they can tell me which are the best shots (in the BMX world) – because they look for things in their technique that I don’t notice.

So check back soon!
I’ll also have photos and video from my motorcycle shoot to share with everyone.