So one of my older lookbook clients hired me to do another look-book for this coming fall line. most of my lookbook stuff is a little boring as the clients try to keep it cheap, we tried to have a little more fun with this one and the client gave us a little more freedom than usual.

Lookbooks are about the clothes and the buyers need to understand what the product looks like clearly, so you cant go crazy and make the clothes not look how they are. I decided to mess with the hangers, "The Models" and give them some high contrast, these are the first set of proofs from the actual look layout.

I was shooting several glamour beauty shoots a day for retail style clients and it was getting mundane. mostly because most of my subjects needed lots and lots of coaching and it takes so much time and energy to get them free of themselves. the worst part is by the time the people who are capable even letting loose let loose, the shoot is over and its time to shoot the next one so I get very little from them in the ways of artistic work and since these are regular people off the street I could not use any of these images for my own portfolio anyway.

Well I was shooting the normal bump and grind the other day when a model I used for a lookbook this season came in to shoot with my friend Alex, I took the opportunity to shoot Erica as Alex seemed a bit busy and was about to run out anyway.  So take a look and let me know how you like them.

We have not been shooting video lately but here is a clip from the Shooting Grace Hallows Video

So I am at that point where I am almost procrastingnating! I have almost everything I need to put this story together, I just need to decide on a clothing stylist, but as simple as that may seem. The clothing will make or break the flow if the shoot. I am very nervous about who I pick as each person has there own style and agenda that may not benefit such a editorial.
I Want the look to be very modern with some retro as background fill. I don't want the clothes to be dated out in 2 years as well. The story is truly based on fashion and it's effect on society as a whole. So I believe it is a element of strong importance to the shoot where i may need to handhold the stylist every step of the way.

So is it time to give you hints yet as to what I am shooting? I feel that I have been leading my readers along for a ride and maybe I have. The reason I'm quiet is because I hate to see my ideas shot somewhere else by some other photographer. My ideas and concepts have been taken before and it does make me cautious and aware the lots of people need more than inspiration, they need you ideas and how you plan to execute them.

Yeah that read correctly. I received a email from a modeling agency last week inviting me to their booth at the Porn Expo in New Jersey. at first I ignored it but then I got to thinking. Well I do shoot Beauty and most of those people need great beauty shots. So I went online and purchased tickets for me and an assistant to the Business to Business Session of the Expo, That where other companies go in a pitch their services to the expos vendors.

Well The trip was turning into a total waste of time. only about 20% of the vendors were even present and most were just little sex shop sellers. not too much for a commercial beauty photographer to care about. there were a couple of photographers there so I did have some fun speaking with them. but neither of them really were my cup of tea.  so now I'm bored a almost 2 hours from home I was about to leave when someone called out My assistants name and to our surprise it was Kathy Wong! one of my models, No! Shes not a Porn Actress she was working a booth for a laser cosmetics company who set up shop to promote their services. It was that familiar face in this odd world I was in that kinda made me stay longer....

So know you are thinking why am I even bothering writing about this? Well I dont think I will get any calls for photography out of my visit to The Porn Expo so in essence to drum up new business it was an epic failiure. But there is a silver lining, I was writing in the previous post that I am working on a new shoot and whole new story line. and I was short a few resourses, Super cool motorcycles for one of the scenes in the storyboard. Well one of the vendors was a serious custom bike designer in New Jersey, Tribal Iron Choppers and the Owner promised to let me use his concepts in my shoot. Not only that but I found another Monster Jeep that works perfectly into my story line.

So sometime you dont get what your looking for but you do when you are not looking for it. Please look out for my story coming soon!

This Photographer "Chen Zhun" Chinas top commerical photographer,  totally got my juices flowing a couple of years ago when I frirst saw these images. It gave me that fantasy feel I do with some of my work now. But recently I have been plauged by the need to almost reproduce this editorial piece and my mind keeps saying "COPY CAT!" Well, I have come up with one better and I am placing the team together to execute this shoot. I was to use Lisa Mitchell to do hair. Mellanie Harris was on my mind to do make-up and in fact that post seems to have a lot of competition, a few people are jumping at the chance to paint the maniquins for this and I am considering another old friend that I never work with before "Tussy Yoshida". but I may use him as a second as I have NEVER worked with him. So not I need to find my props and stylist. The location is one of many on my mind but I believe I will shoot the entire story on one canvas!

Basically I want to tell the story with one frame period and yes I really have a story and I can honestly say I will not be copying the great image story you see above but will be paying a tribute to it. All I will tell you in look out for the PoPo.

Here is a quick peek share of a recent editorial Shoot I did . I add these images to my professional Fashion and Beauty photography Site and I am currently submitting the retouched images to the editor to consigned the images for me to shoot, but as you can see by these image which are mostly RAW, there was not too much retouching involved in this shoot, Grace has excellent skin actually I would dare to say its perfect and a personality to match. Grace (the model) is a new face at elite and I would say she will definitely overtake the industry. I'm hoping to see her this fashion week 2010.

http://www.skyteam.com/news/gallery/index.html
The above link goes to the skyteam website and the high res image of the 10 Anniversary photo I shot for them this summer.
I received a phone call from Ketchum "A New York PR Firm" that I did a small job in the past with a few months ago and asked to reproduce an image a did a few years back of a bunch of guys from a wedding party walking down a street just off of Times Square. Their client had like that particular image and a few other lifestyle and portrait images.

The whole call was odd to me because I was just thinking about that particular agency that day and saying to myself I need to call them since they already know my work.

needless to say I was thrilled! to comply with the request, so I put my little shooting team together and did a little scouting session all over Manhattan for the client.
I came up with about 5 possible locations but because of a very limited amount of time I would have to actually do the shoot we had settled with one location in Central Park.
Of course that was the plan on paper but once we were mobile the client demanded that we do a Times Square shoot, So we made the stop by the Ticketmaster and began shooting. I need to get control of the girls to work as a modeling team with normally takes a bit of time getting used to each others movements. I believe after about 45 minutes it started working out and they began moving as one group. The facial expression also relaxed and I could start give a more composure style of directions as at first my directions were based on getting them relaxed and used to each other.

After What I call a pretty decent "Gorilla Shoot" we go to our planned location in Central Park Set up some lights and Take some Pictures. All in All a Great shoot even though I was only given about 1/2 an hour to do the whole thing!

I Finished the shoot feeling I really needed a little more time to really get the girls in a more candid and relaxed position. But the client was pretty happy with what I was showing them and that is what it is all about, Making the client happy.

It seems that ever year around this time I get all the cool calls about shoots, I listen to the caller make my assement and submit my bid.

Yes, these are big commercial projects that require a bidding process regardless if they like your work the best from the begining.  The odd thing about it is how the call came:

Well 2 weeks ago I was going over some old client paperwork and came upon my W2 form to ketchum an award winning PR firm that had hired me to photograph a Federal Express VP last year. I was a little peeved at myself for never trying to call them for any real work, real shoots other than a PR head shot and then a really odd thing happened. "They called me!" Yes, well not right there and then, but about 2 hours later I get a phone call from the executive that hired me last year to tell me that her client had looked at my website and pulled some images that they liked and they wanted to put together a shoot in June.  of course I'm trying to contain myself and I think I did a good job, I still asked all the right questions and got adequate answers back but they still drop that, "of course we are still looking at other photographers at this time, so can you submit a bid for this type of job and we will get back to you."  ARRRGGG! okay, so I feel a little rushed to give a number. No issues I find one that I'm comfortable with based on the licencing of the images and then shes gone........   off into the empty sound of a disconected phone and I must wait for years for the answer to come. Well not years but you know what I mean.

So a few days pass and I do hear back from Ketchum asking me about logistics and site scouting, these are all great signs as it seems it all pointing at me right now, but the client has no approved my quote yet.  So I never did tell you who the client is did I? well for all intent and purposes it still ketchem but its obviously their client I'm doing the shoot for. someone usually big, who can afford their fees. as Ketchum is really big themselves.

The last client I did work for through them was, uh, who was that again? oh yes, Federal Express, Well this one has Wings as well, Well many many wings actually.

I'll let you know when I hear back from them, I dont want any bad luck here.