Jason Thomas L.A. headshot

I got up early Sunday to drive into a part of LA I'd never been to photograph Jason.  He's done a couple of reality shows, and wants to get into some stunt work.  We shot for a couple of hours told each other dumb jokes, and made some great photographs for his portfolio.  These are my picks:

It's easy making a handsome guy who's comfortable with himself look good, T walked in while I was down loading my cards from the shoot, the first thing she says is "He's CUTE!"  Well I'm glad she loves me.

Meryeme Davies model portfolio Los Angeles

I drove into Los Angeles Thursday to photograph Meryeme.  She's building a look book and assembled a team to get it done.  

Hair by Severn Lang

Makeup by Erin Kiyoko Nakashima

We worked for most of the day to get four and a half looks (slight change of hair for the last 1/2) done.  I switched up the light with each look so i really got a chance to show off and flex a bit, it was cool.  I know I had a good time and I'm super happy about the images.  Plus it's great working with nice people.

Still experimenting with the new bracket this time supplemented by a bare Dynalite MH2050 head. 

Vega Keat Pictures form Wednesday

I found Vega on Model Mayhem, not my usual haunt, but what the hell, I wanted to find more models and it worked.  Vega wanted to do a pinup shoot, and I wanted to continue shooting on white.  She drove down to the house and we made these.

For most of the shoot I used my dynalite packs and heads, but I bought a new flash bracket last time I was at Calumet and wanted to try it out.  So while the first image is shot with one medium Chimera soft box to light Vega and three heads blasting the background.  This second image is shot with a Canon 580 EXII on a CB Mini_Rc not really my usual style either, and I dig how it looks.  Defiantly worth further exploration.

So where do you want to shoot?

It's always the first or second question a client asks, and honestly I'd love to say "come on over to the studio, we'll shoot and you can give me a big wad of cash", but since I don't (at the moment) have a studio, cause that's like expensive and stuff, I'm a traveller.  A few brave souls have ventured out to the house, but I know it's hike, and most aren't willing to make the trek.  T and I shot Michelle in her tiny (maybe 12x15) studio apartment, it was tight, but doable.  We tried to set up outside, but the wind kept tearing the backdrop paper so we headed in.

I can probably make any room in most apartments work.  When I shot Manuel; he and the background were on one end of his living room, my main lights were behind a couch, and I photographed on the other side of the living room table.  It made moving around kind of a chore, but we made it work, and got some great photo's.  So if you want to drive to me (San Bernardno) that's great, but I bet you have enough space for me to photograph in.

Michelle Lynn headshot/Model Portfolio Irvine, CA

T and I had a dinner date in the OC with some friends yesterday, and on the way we stopped in Irvine to photograph Michelle a young model looking for headshots to start her model portfolio.  We shot in her tiny bedroom cause like, oh MY God the weather was, like, SO not so cal this weekend.  Sorry that's enough valley talk.  Michelle was a joy to shoot, and such a nice young woman.

Since I love the square, and Michelle's not looking for an 8x10 sometimes I get what I want.

We did shoot another out fit, but the red just pops so nice, and we thought she's need a 3/4 length to throw into her port.

Friday sucked!

I spent almost all day in my truck, and not going anywhere.  I had to run down to Canon in Irvine to pick-up a lens I might have dropped.  Traffic into the OC wasn't bad so I had high hopes for the rest of the day.  I met my buddy Mike (only one of two good things that happened today) at the Yard House for a burger and a beer.  Raced home to grab my gear to run into LA to shoot a headshot.  The trip wasn't that bad till I hit the 101 and went six miles in an hour ... grrrr.  I then drove around Koreatown looking for a parking place and trying to call my model for almost an hour before I gave up and headed home.  At which point the rain started to come down in sheets.  Oh yeah normal people slow down in the rain Californians freeze up and crawl when it gets a little wet, two and a half hours later I get home to my lovely wife (the other good thing), who had beer in the fridge.  She loves me!

Since I don't have new photo's to post I thought I'd throw out a BTS shot from Wednesday ghetto reflector stand in all its glory.  After my Canon visit I did stop by Calumet in Santa Ana to pick-up a replacement.

I had a blast shooting Jessica, but sometimes I wonder if I should reign in my uber geek ... na that's silly.

Jessica Charles' Headshot Los Angeles

Once again I drove in to L.A. yesterday to photograph.  Jessica's been acting forever, and making wedding dresses for a few years.  She's meeting with an agent Friday and needed a headshot quick, so I brought the laptop and pounded this final edit out in her living room after we finished shooting.

She needed a theatrical and wanted a vertical, but I noticed she picked all horizontal photographs for me to edit, which suits me just fine.  Although in my perfect world I make them all squares, cause squares are awesome.  Or maybe I always wanted a Hasselblad, yeah T's got one, but that's hers.  I had a Pentax 67 in college (which I regrettably sold on eBay) a 6x7 cm negative is the same aspect ratio as a 4x5 or 8x10, oh enough photo geek stuff.  These are my picks form Jessica's: 

Just as I thought we were finished Jessica said she had a wig she wanted to try a couple of shots with ... and it was kind of like a different person came out in from of the lens.  Dig it cause I do.

Patrick Los Angeles Headshot

Patrick piggybacked onto Bryant's shoot yesterday, we shot while Bryant changed his looks.  He's starting out as a background extra and needed a headshot for his agency.

Bryant L.A. headshot/model portfolio

Once again I drove into Los Angeles to shoot a model, well two more on that later today.  Bryant is looking to apply to a couple of modeling agencies and I was happy to help him out with some great photographs.  We shot in his gf's 12 floor apartment with a beautiful view of the city 

2011-02-05 Kenny Martin

I drove into L.A. Saturday to photograph another young model.  Kenny and I got off to a great start, and ended up making some great photographs.  He's submitting a portfolio to Ford models and needed some specific poses, and he wanted a simple headshot which I nailed.

We started with a grey background, switched to white then back to grey.  I lit Kenny with two Calumet Nova S56's with Dynalite 2050 and Dynalite 4040 heads on one pack.  I blasted the back ground with two 2050 heads shot into umbrellas on another pack.

Photo of Christian and how I edit

Yesterday I photographed our friend Christian; he's a playwright and an actor and wanted a couple of new headshots.  This is one of the final edits.

I want the photographs I make of a client to look like the client, yeah I edit the images.  I correct color, brighten the eyes and teeth, and I clean up the skin.  I feel anything more starts to look unnatural.  If the people you send your headshot to don't recognize you when they meet you for the first time I've done both of us a disservice.  Here is a before and after crop of Christian's headshot:

I don't like to remove something that's part of the clients face, a mole/scar/birthmark is going to be with you when you meet with someone. It's you, and I hope you've learned to love yourself.  Will I remove a blemish is a client asks, sure, within reason in the pre-digital age what you saw was generally what you got, but everyone has an idea what can be done with a digital file.

Miguel asked me to remove the bags under his eyes.  He felt they made him look tired, alright I'm happy if your happy, but I think it makes his face look ... different.  Here is an image I edited where I did my "standard" skin is softening.  

So there are bags under his eyes, most of us have bags under our eyes, they give our eyes shape and our heads volume.  If you don't want to look tired get eight or nine hours of sleep the night before we shoot.