DEATH VALLEY TEST

It’s been awhile. October has been the busiest month of my entire career. I’ve shot for 3 publications, a number of commercial clients and a gamut of random development sessions and test shoots. I’m finally catching up on edits and blogging. Amid all the hubbub I was able to schedule a shoot with new model Kristina Russ of COSMO Model And Talent Agency. 

A few months ago, Kristina’s face came across my newsfeed and immediately I thought to myself “This girl needs to be in my portfolio”. I reached out to COSMO and Kristina shortly after and things unfolded as they should. After throwing schedules back and forth we landed on a date. Without hesitation I had a team on board consisting of Isidro Valencia, a masterful makeup artist. Hair virtuoso, Matthew Tyldesley and we all know the amazing Project Runway famed Gunnar Deatherage and his work.

I pulled a couple of inspiration images and after a few minutes had a clear vision of what I wanted to do. Long flowing fabric in a desolate desert with smoke or fire in the background, something outer worldly and very dramatic. It was the only look I really cared about, I wanted this image to magnify the possibilities and show people what can be accomplished with just a simple vision. You have to trust your team and as a photographer, they must trust you. Fortunately, this team is my dream team, we had all the right tools to bring my vision to life. I wanted to go big and that is exactly what we did.

Kristina, having never stepped in a fashion shoot, was very green. it took some time to mold her expressions and I had to really work with her to gain the picture I wanted. But, she put everything into the shoot and I was very proud of her for stepping outside the box with us and trying new things. We did three looks and pulled out all the poses; jumping, lunging, glamour and beauty. It was a real challenge that she needed before she stepped on some sets. By the end of the 6 hour shoot, I felt like we had something I could dig my teeth into and was extremely excited to get into the digital darkroom.

The black and white image was a uphill battle. I was fortunate enough to shoot an original jacket designed by Gunnar and I wanted to make him proud. Also, Kristina had absolutely rocked the look, so I needed to make sure the final image was top notch. After re-touching, I just didn’t know where to go with it. I wanted it to be sleek and edgy, but I didn’t know which road to take. It took a lot of time back and forth with color, tone and curves to get what I wanted. It wasn’t until I created the large triangle behind Kristina, then it all came together. 

The image in the desert was all shot in the studio and compositied on the a stock image of Death Valley, California. it was comprised of three images, one of Kristina with the fabric, a stock image of a brush fire and lastly the background of Death Valley. Like the shoot itself, processing the image was one big experiment. I took things to new heights and played with new techniques, including shadowing, sharpening and frequency re-touching. It just goes to show, you don’t need a million dollar budget to achieve a golden image.

This entire shoot was built around patience. I sulked on these images for days. I would pull a few out of the batch and play around, then return to some commercial work. I didn’t rush into anything, I took my time and executed when the time was right. It’s not everyday you get to work with such talent on a simple creative test shoot in…. Death Valley. Joking.

Summer Sparks

It’s always a true pleasure and great opportunity to work with fashion designer and stylist Gunnar Deatherage. I’ve had the chance to work with him on many occasions now and we seem to constantly up our game. Fortunately, with Gunnar and NFocus Magazine, I have a space of creative freedom that I’ve pushed to the limits. This particular shoot was no exception.

When I think of July, I think warm weather, fireworks and that summer nostalgia. I really wanted to push my camera and step outside the box. I had been doing a lot of commercial work and I wanted to flex my creative muscles. I approached Gunnar with an idea; using a combination of sparklers and steel wool, I wanted to create portraits that “shined” through the pages. 

It’s called light painting. With digital camera trickery and a bright light source, you can create out of this world stunning imagery. Many photographers have mastered light painting, but none have mastered it with fashion and portraiture. It’s called “painting” because when you click that shutter open the rest is up to your creativity to “paint” whatever you want for the image to display, as long as your tool creates a strong light source. In this case we chose sparklers and steel wool.

I’m constantly finding ways to set myself up for failure and this shoot could have certainly gone down hill quick. Inspiring from photographers like Aaron Nace and Brett Jarnigan, I took what I what I had learned and dove in head first, trial by fire. It was certainly one of the most challenging photoshoots I’ve ever taken on. You just don’t get instant results as most shoots. Light painting takes practice and time, with this style of photography the “3rd time MIGHT be a charm”. It’s all a gamble.

Being my worst critic, I can’t say I’m 100% confident in the work, I feel like I could fill a page on the imperfections, but at the end of the day, its art. It’s the imperfections that make the images stand out. Despite my own fuss, I’m proud of the creativity we put forth, it’s not everyday you push yourself and the entire team out of a comfort zone.