The Red Snapper

shawn

2010-09-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

And Photoshop Trickery )

thanks for looking in

Edited Version ;)

Маша

2010-09-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Маша и я давно дружим. Мы познакомились в Лос Анджелесе и так уж посчастливилось что мы с ней оказались в одно и то же время в Москве.
Ну нельзя же не пофотографировать старую подругу! Андреевский Мост, отлично подошел для нашей фото прогулки. впервые я оказался в нужном месте, в нужное время с моделью в нужном гардеробе! Цвета подошли идеально! мне оставалось лишь нажать на кнопки. Я попытался создать некий загадочный, чуть отстраненный образ для Маши, каким человеком она в сущности и является. Снимал все на Машину камеру Canon Rebel XSI + kit. Натуральное освещение.

slightly mad

2010-08-28T11:24:00.001-07:00

a lady is always a lady

Streetz

2010-08-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Я решил таки устроить маленькую съемочку с моей новоприобретенной камерой Panasonic GF1. Мы выбрались в центр Москвы, с друзьями и нашли вот эту классную арку, где мы укрылись от дождя и смогли создать незамысловатые кадры. Что скажу по поводу качества фото. Да это правда - камера шумит на ISO 400. Но в рот мне ноги - это почти что пленочный шум за который совсем не стыдно! его хочеться шарпить и выделять! Видимо это просто особенность матрицы, так как даже на топовых Canon шум лично меня раздражает.

Все таки маленькая камера упрошает наше грязное дельце обнаженных съемок в людных местах. Чик=чик и все снято в пять десять кадров и никакого привлечения внимания! Правда мы были не на оживленной улице, но все же, я понервничал. А в вдруг загребут? )
Очень доолен моим этим тестом! Денюжки потрачены не зря!

Street with GF1

2010-08-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

yes this cam is my new GF1 - girlffriend number 1 by Lumix! a truly great piece of photo equipment.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicGF1/

No - now granny is safe!!

some street photo exercises and space resolving/geometry practice shots.
Moscow Subway

Да - теперь эта маленькая камера - моя девченка номер один )
охрненская штучка для тех кто хочет зеркального качества в карманном варианте. не жалко ни цента на такое незаменимое орудие развития фото видиния!

московское метро

Fall in the Forest

2010-08-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Вчера мне было скучно и как обычно в такие моменты я кидаю клич в сеть для начнающих и не очень моделй чтобы посниматься. На этот раз мои поиски не заняли много времени и на зов откликнулась моя хорошая подруга, Алина. Мало того что она прекрасная модель, так она еще и визажист! В общем круто!
Мы были ограничены в плане гардеробы так что пришлось импровизировать с чем было, а то есть с оранжевым платьем. Она отлично подошло к зеленке Битцевского лесопарка и сделало кадр. По моему снимать без подготовки в лесу является одной из самых сложных задач для фотографа которому надо решить пространство и сочинить кадр где нет переизбытка деталей. В этом случае мы отыграли на контрасте цветов и поваленное дерево дало некоторую структуру, зацепку для глаза. Я подумал что оранжевый свет тоже не помешает и добавил один осветительнвй прибор за моделью. Я решил оставить оранжевые всполохи на листве чтобы закрепить оранжевый цвет платья. В общем вот так! фото джаз удался! )

Yesterday I was bored and as always I called out for models through the usual online resources available here in Russia. This time my search didn't take too long and my call was responded to by an old friend (not old by age by any means) Alina? who is not only a great model but also an amazing makeup artist. Cool beans!

We were verey limited as far as the wardrobe goes so the orange dress was chosen to compliment the greenery of the Bitza Forest. In my opinion shoots in the woods are one of the most challenging ones since it is incredibly hard (for me) to "resolve the space" and remove all the busy detail from the photo. You can try to blur it with a fast prime lens of course, but that's an easy way )
This time the dress made the shot and the color contrast played out nicely separating the model from the rest of the scene. I also put a Ranger Quadra with an orange gel behind the model which put some orange accents to compliment the dress.

visitor

2010-07-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

enjoy some natural light surreal stuff )

Zebra Composite Shot

2010-07-26T13:13:00.001-07:00

needless to say that I am super glad that this project is about to be over. Super fun and exciting but strict deadlines and long hours are kicking back at me.
This shot is similar to Arda's Promo poster in terms of the technique, instead that there is a photoshopped guy from the other shot (poster) )) creating that was fun - i had to remember the old times ))) the hardest part were burning the shadows right...
I am too tired to write more tonight (16 hour day - 7 to shoot and 7 to create this shot in photoshop) I need at huge octa to shoot big groups )) Donations anyone? )

Storm and the City

2010-07-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

Moscow. Day 31 of the heat wave. Seriously when will this stop? Gear fails, people fail. it's like 102 degrees every day and humid. Global warming is NOT about the ice age dammit! )
Meanwhile we had a wonderful easy going shoot with Kathy. Perhaps the easiest person to work with EVER. She wanted some artistic stuff on her walls with her in the main role. I had this whole concept developed, we get to the location and/// BAM!!! a storm, falling trees, knocked out windows and all hell broke loose. We hid in a cal tunnel and there you go - perfect natural light. We used Cali Sunbounce to do some rim lighting and it was beautiful. The only thing is that Victor, my friend, who was kindly helping me with the shoot, was almost taken by the wind while holding the reflector ))) kind funny, watching a 5.3 dude almost taking off in a tunnel ))

yeah. fun! hot!

Zebra Project

2010-07-14T05:04:00.000-07:00

No, no real zebras here, just an architectural bureau who wants to display its employees in a fun way for the Moscow Autoshow in late August. So the concept is such: each employee will have his/her unique concept with unique style and photographic approach. So far I've photographed 7 people and apart from hard work, it is lots of fun! The most challenging part were the concepts and the heatwave that we are experiencing here in Moscow. It hasn't rained for a month and the tempretures are in the upper 90F's... so... here's what we have done so far :)
starting from the bottom -

Architectural Draft Design Dude
Secretary
Designer
Head Architect
Architect (Travels alot)
Architect Drafter
Company Driver
two Company CEOs
Accountant
Architect

arda

2010-07-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Промо группы Арда.
Композитный кадр, совмещенный за очень коротокое время в фотошопе из шести кадров. Идея была общая что-то типа "пикник на обочине ганстеро-нарко-алко команды" или 6 еще живых друзей оушена )
Ребята просто наиприятнийшие в плане работы и слушались каждого мановения моих густых бровей! 2 ассистента (Ник и Женя) были просто на высоте, а если еще все это снимать под урчание 5б7 литрового Chevy Camaro прибывшего к нам на съемку, так вообще, повеяло духом Нового Света!
Вообще как все это снималось - да просто -

штатив, на нем камера. Камеру не двигаем, а меняем точки фокуса.
Ассистенто бегает по площадку с освещением и мы в редакторе аккуратненько вырезаем понравившиеся кадры и составляем их в единое целое. Очень выжно перед началом работы составить общую композицию, и гланое чтобы модели помнили как и где они сидят. Вот собственно и все. На обработку кадра ушло смешные (без иронии) 3 часа.
Желаю Арда дальнейших творческих успехов!!

---------------------

This is a promo poster for a pretty famous metal band from Moscow, Russia, Arda (3rd pic) (the rest are just for fun)
What a fun day! The guys were an absolute delight to work with and listened and paid attention to the ever slight movements of my bushy eyebrows ) Yeah - they were THAT good! )
The idea was to create something like a picnick of a gangster hangout who just finished robbing someone. I know, i know :)))
so// how did we shoot this?
I had only one light source available yesterday (my quadra head is burned, the new one is supposed to be delivered to me today (can't wait!!) and the only viable way to create this ws to combine 6 separate photos. So yeah. Fun times in photoshop for laughable (no irony here) 3 hours.
Special thanks to 2 awesome assistants Nick and Zhenya. So awesome to work with professional assistants and technicians! Their task was to run around the set with the power pack, helping with the Cali Sunbounce thingly... awesome day, and I do like the result.
now - back to bed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcISTVyN6vk&feature=player_embedded

POTN

2010-07-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Sayonara POTN. It's been fun. Too bad the moderators are so busy posting there that they don't even have time to shoot. :)

a Couple

2010-06-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Все таки решил писать на родном...
В последнее время мне очень захотелось сделать масштабную серию съемок в стиле близкому к Ренессансу. Вот первый результат, так сказать, проба перы в этом стиле. Пока что я не видел чтобы кто-то делал нечто подобное (ок видел, но их 2 человека) ))
Со светом пришлось бороться така как он то появлялся из за облаков - то исчезал. Все отсняли за 40 минут (36 кадров в общем ради 3х) Свет - Elinchrom Ranger RX SPEED (Deep Octa)
Я стал тратить очень мало времени на съемки так как уже знаю что буду делать.
час от силы не считая мэйка мы потратили вчера и около 2х часов на обработку всех 3х кадров - не считая обработки начальной, где я пробовал идеи.

Lately I have been wanting to do a project, a long term one, in a style close to the Renaissance artists of the past. Caravaggio and Fragonar are my guides here.

I have seen only a couple of photogs doing something similar (Annie Leibovitz and David LaChapelle. We shall see were this journey will take me...
Light - the sun was harsh harsh harsh and in and out from the clouds. We shot 36 frames and kept three for the sake of the story. My shoots are quick now since I know what I will be doing prior the day of the shoot. My advice - do the same.

Blondes

2010-06-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

For some reason I am shooting only blondes lately. Or maybe it is the dominant hair color in Russia? No idea. But with me picking up longboard skating (lol) and having some severely unpredictible weather, I have been taking a short break from shooting and spending more time thinking about what to shoot. I do enjoy the preparation wuite a bit. It doesn't have to be me running around the location (like in the Elements shoot) for 2 hours and then taking 15 great shots and calling it a day. An idea can develop while I am sleeping, watching a movie or skating )), and then emerge, sometimes completely unwanted, but pushing itself onto me to the point where I just have to go with it because nothing else works this day. Please note that this is only applicable to my very personal work, the examples of which are above.

I realized recently that I am also very fond of surrealist art and that had also had its huge influence on the way i photograph and process my pictures. I have always liked processing my shots in a way where it is not very clear just how much photoshop there is involved... Sometimes I will be working for 4 hours on a single shot, changing it so much that the RAW image will have nothing to do with the finished work (that is very rare recently, but it does solely depend on the way I have my ideas figures out)

for example there no photoshop in the sunny black and white shot. except that little swish - i liked the effect. The rest - just straight out of the cam. A Nikon d300 with a 30 year old lens (I am using tons of cameras now since I have pals letting me use some older gear)

so... what else... enjoy (or don't) the shots and please post your questions of you have any.

mm

Recently I have been fascinated with some fine art masters like Caravaggio. Tthis guy is on my top list... So the little house shot is my little attempt to start exploring that area. I am currently babying a concept involving lots more of similar styles. The problem is that it is really tough to put people together... oh, well, I'll talk about it some other time.

Witchcraft

2010-05-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

Some modeling tests - the photographer that was supposed to shoot tests for this model got sick and left the model hanging. Thankfully he has us (me and 2 other photogs) as pals and we took one for the team and did some simple test shots for this aspiring model.
I got to test my new goodies (Maxi Spot (amazing) and barn doors with a nice set of color gels by Elinchrom. Great stuff and I think these things will help me to create some interesting photos. I rarely see gels on location so it's about to change :)

anyway - i shot 10 frames with a Nikon D700 (my friends cam( and an Nikkor 85 1.4 and with some minimal PP i got this photo. I messed up the color modes and it looks less saturated and contrasty than in the psd file. I am a little confused my this, but I was told that this is because of the Nikon sRGB color modes... I have no clue.
D700 and Nikkor 85 1.4 are amazing tools, made WAYYY better than Canon 5d Mark II. I just wish Nikon had more Megapixels. I would have jumped to Nikon in a heartbeat just because of the build quality and auto focus... We shall see... muhaha )))

Elements

2010-05-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

... or rather - The Mistress of the Copper Mountain.
4 of my photographer friends invited me for a small shoot with their model friends )
totally impromptu. The location was stunning! i had no idea that right by the Ring Freeway theres a HuGe white sand quarry with humongous slabs of rock piled up. Amazing. Add some stormy skies and you have a a very dramatic location.
The rest was easy - one strobe - camera left on a tall boom + Deep Octa from Elinchrom with the front removed.

Dozed off In Moscow

2010-05-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

It took me more than a week to meet everyone I wanted to meet and to get started on my shooting routine here in Moscow. The weather is amazing and it looks like this summer is going to be promising. I need to renovate my old od apartment badly but for now I am staying with my parents which certainly makes both parties a little happier. Athough that old place is nothing short of a mess - it makes a pretty cool studio :) Super small location but quite spectacular when it comes to creative possibilities.
Two of my photo friends helped me to bring my new couch to the place and ended up staying until late. We decided to call up some amateur models and 3 girls showed up at 11 pm. Speaking of making the same thing possible in LA - No way in Hell you can get a model that you have never met on the same day esp. THAT late. Love love love Russian models. Professional. Ready to work!
Anyway - these are some model tests for Ogla (nude model) and Kate (dressed)

I will post more shots later but to make a long story short, I was trying out the location and some tricks with lights and quick concepts.

I wanted to create some images that woud speak to the viwer on multiple levels... depending of the audience's level of deapth pf perception I am hoping that everyone would see something that goes a little beyond the initial pic.

Escape the volcanic ash!! :))

2010-05-03T20:26:00.001-07:00

Prototype?

2010-04-30T02:10:00.001-07:00

boredom..............................
can't wait to get out of LA finally...
hate it here...

enjoy the product of having too little to sleep and too much time on hands.
I am waiting for the air to clear since that volcano has screwed up my travel plans delaying me here for weeks now...

Dry Lake Outing

2010-04-26T03:04:00.000-07:00

i shamelessly stole this one from Connor lol

Lovely day!
Connor stopped by my place on Thursday and we sat there watching a friend watching cartoons and... decided that it was about damn time to get out to Victorville dry lakes.

I have always wanted to go there but since it is far I really didn't want to have to drive by myself and some hot model. Pretty understandable, right? :) So on Saturday we met our models (lovely Brunette and Blonde (Monica and Lyz) from Model Mayhem and went there. Lyz couldn't really shoot that day so we had her working with us for about 40 minutes. Not much but she was so amazing that I am having some hard time choosing the pics. Anyway... it was windy and so freakin' dry that I think i drank like half a gallon of water in an hour...

If you ever go there with lights also bring lots of sand bags. Shit will fly over since it is VERY windy. Also think about having to go to the bathroom in a place where it is absolutely NOWHERE to hide... I mean one can be seen popping a squat (learned that expression from the models!) a mile away! lol
good times!!

About the pics... Since I had no idea what clothes models will bring, i just kinda went with what they had and with Lyz we had something sci-fi inspired. "Lyz, think about landing onto Mars" one could hear me telling her lol Why do people think that I am a nerd? bitchez... :) Monica , on the other hand looked very sports illustrated and we got to work with her for some good 4 hours. Tons of great photos and they will be updated as I process them.

Lighting wise it was easy. One or two strobes, and that's about it... Really the location is just so awesome that natural light will work just fine. Hard natural light that is. There's virtually no golden hour. It's like a golden minute. Dry air doesn't give this amazing light that everyone likes, plus there was no clouds that would reflect and diffuse the harshness of the sun.

Hard light is a great tool when you are comfortable with it. Just avoid distracting shadows. It means that your model will be facing the sun a lot. Have her close her eyes and on count "3" ask her to open them. This is a little anti squinting trick that everyone knows in SoCal.

wow it s 3:17AM - gotta go to bed. Whole day of retouching tomorrow. yay...

Shoot with Deshawn

2010-04-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

before i start - Connor - dude , you rock! The most fun I've had at at shoot in a long while! Thank you for the company and your help!

I don't think there's too much to write about here in terms of technical stuff - overpowering the sun with one Elinchrom Ranger and that's about it. The mixing and matching the colors was the fun part. This time it all fell into place somehow. I had an idea about the location, we did manage to buy some clothes (Scarf and pants courtesy of Ross lol.

i knew right away that working with Deshawn will be awesome. What a great model this guy is! He followed my every blink, every little tweak like a pro! It was almost impossible to communicate clearly because of the waterfall (a really small artificial waterfall on some plastic rocks, may I mention, but yet, very loud)

The goal of the shoot was to create 3. maybe four looks around the same concept. The initial concept was something scandalous and sexy and LaChapelle like. The clothes that we had begged to differ, so i just went ahead and changed it in my head real quick. You can't go wrong with dark skin and red colors. Add white and you have your royal combo of colors. always looks good!

I was pleased to see that the color photos got an extremely warm welcome on Euro phot forums. I was equally shocked by some of the responses in the 90 percent American forums, were people called the shots, gay, icky, vomit causing and so on... Albeit i heard it from the folks who primarily shoot high school seniors and pics of their dogs, but nonetheless i was quite displeased by the level of fucking ignorance.

a strange day

2010-04-15T00:53:00.000-07:00

everything felt a tad strange today.
Yesterday I met a cool bunch of aspiring photographers from LA Talent Connection. IT was cold but the conversation was warm. I invited everyone from yesterday to do some modeling tests with me today. Some showed up, some left early but after getting kicked out of the Science Center (I HATE THOSE DAMN MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!! ok i'm done)
we went to a near by junkie hot spot, where I have shot tons of times and knew that no one is gonna be bothering us... I am way too tired to write a huge long write up but I realized one thing. A good photographer should be able to think on the spot. Right away. Even when the day is not going the way you planned. Even if the models are beginners. Doesn't matter. MAKE IT WORK. if it doesn't - it is your fault. If you are walking away without a decent shot - you gave up. Wow... i was so close to packing up early... huge head ache struck me in the middle of the shoot and i just felt like a roller coaster accident victim through the night... I must say - I am very happy with the pics today. I haven't shot fresh stuff like this in a while. I need to do this again. Just say FUCK YOU to the rules and shoot from your heart... like jazz... i love this feeling... Almost ZERO processing here. (color correction and sharpening. The halo is a combination of the light behind the head and a slight.
dodge tool cheat.

Contribute pictures if you were there . I'll post them for all to see :)

thank you guys for all your help - especially Kevin - dude, you are the freakin best

No more CC

2010-04-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

I finally got tired of critiquing other's work.
It is just a waste of time for me... so unless anyone is specifically asking for it - no more forums posts, giving a detailed review of people's bullshit pics :)
I got better things to do - like playing Bad Company 2 and whooping some serious ass! :)

Pink Tights

2010-04-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

XXXYYYZZZ(cool name, eh?) contacted me through MM to get a TFP shoot. What the heck - what else am I doing? I was glad to see Danny responding to my invitation to shoot together and having another photographer at this impromptu shoot was endlessly more fun! I just like having fun people around! :)

The shoot started off roughly since the model...well let's say that the girl lacked any acting skills what so ever. I know it's not a good think to bad mouth people but this is just my honest opinion and... heck I have 2 people to back me up on this...
I must admit that some are not born to be models... anybody else BUT a model. The girl was just a flailing corpse at least until she got so hungry and so cold that she had nothing left but to genuinely look this way, which gave some positive results. Of course this is why you test your models - so you can have a particular model for a particular concept in the future. I realized that when 'll need a dead body present in the frame, I know which girl I am gonna call LOL :)

On the technical side:
The tree shot has a 580X II (thank you, Danny) as a rim, which was also triggering the Elinchrom Ranger with my trusty deep octa. It has been a while since I have used a small strobe and I totally forgot how to use those :)
The absence of the sun cut this shoot short (cold and dark) so we ended up not really shooting for as long as I expected. in fact I only shot 91 frames. At least the model made it easy to choose from because I have never had such a low keeper rate lolol :)
(ok enough is enough, she is a very sweet girl)

Processing wise.
Minimal skin retouching, reducing the red channel in skin, mask, darkening the sky (I broke my ND filter so I just emulated the effect. A little but of contrast on the tree shot, skin, red channel desaturation, a little bit messing around with the tree leafs. that's about it.

My favorite photographer

2010-04-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

when I talk to anyone about photography one of the points of discussion will eventually be the favorite photographers and those whose work really impresses and inspires us...

There used to be time when I could answer this question by simply pointing to a link on a forum. Some nicely done portraits, edgy senior shots (think Phamster - google him if you don't know who he is), smooth skin and good quality used to attract my attention because in the beginning we all struggle with the technical side of photography.

here's a little framework that I thought of just recently and perhaps it will help you to find your current place. This is VERY subjective:

Not being familiar with the techniques is something that we all went through and the quicker one get's over this huge steep learning curve - the better.
I call this Room 1.

Room 2 is where some fall into the gear acquisition obsession, pixel peeping masturbation. This is a dangerous area and, depending on how much money one can spend on photography, can last for a very long time. A person is being fooled by the notion that their new 200mm 2.0L and a Mark IV will produce amazing images. No it won't unless you make it to...

Room 3
Then it is the lighting obsession. Realizing that working with light is necessary is a great notion, but again, this room connects with the 2rd one. Getting more gear so those grand ideas for those grand shots come true. I 'll be frank. I just got out of this room, literally, several months ago. It takes a while to realize that every lighting situation is fixable with the simplest tools. Someone asked me - will a 580EX II be enough for a fashion shoot? my answer is YES! of course! You just have to know how to use it! Though if you are asking this question - you probably don't know yet. And that's ok. This is why you ask questions and practice practice practice.

Room 4
"pro"

So you have your simple (or not) tools, you know how to balance the lighting, how to create the mood and are proficient with working your first Model Mayhem models. You can easily shoot a family, a senior and it will look great. Some people consider this enough. What else do they need? Nicely shot portraits are always in demand and I know some folks who are super popular in doing just that. But there's one thing that will always push me away from this kind of photography... (weddings too) - it is REPETITIVE.
"I make 20K a month doing 3 wedding jobs and 5 senior portraits. It pays the bills and I can get whatever gear I want! REPETITIVE makes me rich!" I hear this a lot. And I can't blame people. But for me this is not why I started taking photos.
I love the artistic expression, I love when the personality of the photographer is peeking through every shot. I just can't help it. This is the kind of photography I enjoy looking at and creating the most. Trust me - it can be very lucrative. And by the way, no one said that an artistic photog can't create a nice senior photo. It is the other guy who can't create an artistic one because he never pushed himself...
If you can get out from this room - you will find yourself here in

Room 5.

Finding your style.

this room is about the strength of your ideas, technical side aside. Out of focus times and blown out faces should be the issues of the past by then. By now You have to know your gear like the back of your hand. Gear is NOT on your way to create great images. You don' think about exposure and the f stops. It is an automated process, like driving a stick shift
Here you will start thinking about your location relating to your idea and the wardrobe complimenting your location. The shapes and the patterns and the way they work together, the mood they provide. The colors that match, the poses that compliment the concept, the models that compliment your vision... This room has no end. It is an ever-expanding corridor with countless doors that lead to the multitude of your Idea sub-rooms and halls. You skip some and visit some a little longer...It is ultimately your subconsciousness and your CREATIVITY. It can be trained like a muscle. It can be educated like a kid and grown like a tree.
At first you try ideas that you have already seen. For example I loooooove the sense of movement achieved with fabric. So I shot tons of those. Were they original? no - not really. Does it have to be original all the time - nope, but when it is redundant (Google "ring book heart shot" and see what I mean)
it is not a good thing either. just try some stuff that you like, put your own twist into it, change it up, and one day you will see that there's something, barely noticeable but still unmistakable present, that links all your works. This would be... YOUR STYLE.
I truly believe that the task of every artist, no matter what the medium is is to get to the 5th room as quickly as possible. There are rooms beyond that - I am sure, but I am not there yet, therefore I don't know of their existence.

So what does it have to do with my favorite photographers? Everything.
They are all very far in the depths of the 5th Room.

One of the ways to start seeing the difference between a photographer and THE PHOTOGRAPHER is to find the PHOTOGRAPHER amongst the swarm of already skilled people. Let me help you here.

Here are some links. IT is up to you to decide who is who in your book.
As time goes by your vision will be changing. Perhaps some of these links will inspire you to start exploring.

these people inspire me:

http://www.erwinolaf.com/

http://yanmcline.livejournal.com/

http://www.lachapellestudio.com/

http://www.milesaldridge.com/

http://www.koendemuynck.com/

http://www.erikalmas.com/

http://www.thomkerr.com/

http://www.mrtoledano.com

THE WORDS OF WISDOM - EVERYONE READ NOW!!!! :)))

2010-04-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this guy's MM profile.
read it and have a great time!

http://www.modelmayhem.com/650058

always bitter and unhappy

2010-04-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

for some of you, who give a rats ass, it may seem that I am always bitter, unhappy and a just a grumpy old (not!) man. That I get some sort of sick pleasure of tearing someones work apart and that my ego is a size of Texas.
All I can say is - yeah you are fuckin' right about everything - now fuck off :)
lol

That's not ENTIRELY true.

If you'd like to hang out on this upcoming Sunday - I have a shoot that you are more than welcome to come to. There will be an amateur model that has never worked with me before. Imagine her surprise when she gets two (or three or eleven) sets of awesome photos!
Bring a light or a reflector. We will be shooting near LAX area.

Meeting time - 1pm at my place - 8655 Belford Ave. Los Angeles (the Madrid Apts)
call me at 812 327 7960
You will have an opportunity to participate in a shoot - so bring a cam.
I won't let you shoot my model all day long though, but I won't take all day long either. So... fair enough?
Again -
If you want to shoot all day long - get your own model (it can be a friend) and I'll tell you how to get a good shot if you so require. If you are nice to me I will let you use my Ranger (again, there will be a time limit)

Free free free - no money, no catch - just for fun - don't care for your dollars.

so...

seriously, this is why I hate MM

2010-04-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

what the fuck...
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mickie-Ryan
are you kidding i looooooooove your work i would be honoured to have the opportuity i would like to ask would you also be interesed in shooting my girl goup and i ? let me know
p.s sorry for the late responds i hardly log into mm

xxxxxxxx@ymail.com
(xxx)xxx xxxx

Misha Mikhaylov
11/29/09 8:44 PM (Message read)
Mickie, thanks so much for the rexponce, but i am leaving the country in 9 days until mid February. Id like to keep the offer standing, so when I am back in LA you will be the first on my list!

Mickie-Ryan
12/04/09 11:40 AM
please call me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i dont want to loose this opportunity!!!

Misha Mikhaylov
12/05/09 5:38 PM (Message read)
I will call you when I am back. You are the first on the list

Mickie-Ryan
12/07/09 8:55 AM
okie=) (fingers cross)

Misha Mikhaylov
03/07/10 10:41 PM (Message read)
I'm back!
shoot?

Mickie-Ryan
03/08/10 1:16 PM
of course are you free sometime next week?

Misha Mikhaylov
03/08/10 1:22 PM (Message read)
i have a bunch of clients, but I may cut some space for you. I need several days to establish my next week schedule.

(1 MONTH LATER!)

Mickie-Ryan
04/07/10 8:40 PM
just saw this does ur offer still stand i was thinking edgy sexy pix with these beautiful ladies

(links)

Misha Mikhaylov
04/07/10 8:55 PM (Message read)
lol this was like a month ago
seriously...
anyway, I'd shoot you, like we talked about. any day will do just fine.

Mickie-Ryan
04/07/10 9:03 PM
im sorry=( so much has happened i just got my 3rd girl ...are you free tuesday evening? also we have another girl modelmayhem.com/lyladee but she's out of town til the 20th if ur interested in that also? up to you just let me know
xoxoxoxo what's your contact?
prettylittlemonsters@gmail.com

Misha Mikhaylov
04/07/10 10:45 PM (Message read)
MM is the best way to contact me. or email - mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com

So - upcoming Sunday works best for me. I can only shoot 2 girls at the same time, since some of my gear is in repair now.
Also - I am leaving LA yet again, and this time its for good. So if you would like to shoot with us (me and MUA and assistant) you got until Apr 29. But again this Sunday is king

Mickie-Ryan
04/07/10 11:08 PM
ok the point for this shoot is the 3 of us to interact together are you completely sure we can't squeeze one in? we're all 5'3 and under petite girls let me know if not no worries i guess we can take seperates but if its possible that'll be great=)

Mickie-Ryan
04/07/10 11:09 PM
will we receive a disk?

Mickie-Ryan
04/07/10 11:16 PM
i retouched all my images in my port if that matters lol...i can so you more of my work if you wish i make a living retouching so you wouldn't have to be afraid i can sign an agreement stating that i can only post approved images by the photographer if you would like... let me know thank you so much im so excited

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 12:14 AM (Message read)
that's cute

- no image retouching - that's off limits to the models. (bam!) lol
- I've been doing that for much longer than photography (Vogue, Maxim, you name it)
-If you 'd like to retouch - get a cam and some models ))) jk

As for the pics - no disks - 3 or 4 images per girl tops. Though (not to sound cocky but ) you will get some higher end pics for your port.
THe more girls, the more images I'll have to work on. It's up to you.

lemme see those models again, please.

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 12:16 AM (Message read)
so... this Sunday?

Mickie-Ryan
04/08/10 1:06 AM
thats totally fine ... when do you usually give back images?

modelmayhem.com/misscharliepearl
modelmayhem.com/missdominicanrep
and me

the look is glam edgy sexy....

we need one image each girl and whatever you are willing to do left with the 3 of us together... what size can we expect? i would like to hang this up poster size ..

yes sunday please send us location and time

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 2:05 AM (Message read)
- first link is broken so... can't see the girl
- Ashley is cool

I guess it's just you two. 3 is a bit too much to deal with for now. and... makeup will take FOREVER for the 3 of you.

- Sunday is good. Let's meet at 12:30pm

ADDRESS - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

that's where I live and that's were well check out your clothes.

- the look - can you try to bring something Alien like, futuristic and we will be shooting some superpowers inspired editorial.

As for the images - I work EXTREMELY fast. Literally, sometimes you can have your pics on the same day. Usually it will take me 48 hours. But I work super fast, cause I have no life )

size of photos - 2100px on the long side - (350dpi.) Could be larger. (max is 4000px on the long side) so , yes poster size - you will have

You will be required to sign a model release, which is a standard procedure, BEFORE the shoot.

Wardrobe
----------------

- NO black fabric that ABSORBS light. Only shiny stuff (like leather - not like sparkled things)

- No pure whites
-No jean shorts and jeans
-no tshirts
-no busy prints

yes to -

extravagant dresses,
lingerie,
long leather coats,
super bright colors,
Super high heels,
ballerina skirts,
weird stuff,
spandex, preferably bright colors (like 7.99 in ANY TJ maxx)

basically something that you will not have the guts to wear out.
Something extraordinary. I've got TONS of ordinary clothed pics. This has to benefit me as a photographer too, remember?
If Everything is totally terrible - there's a TJ MAXX down the street, but I don't think it will go that far, though it happened before. lol

Mickie-Ryan
04/08/10 4:54 AM
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1326777

Mickie-Ryan
04/08/10 4:55 AM
ok great!

Mickie-Ryan
04/08/10 5:59 AM
it has to be the 3 of us its the point of the shoot for sunday if we do indivisuals first im thinking make-up will be finished by the time the 3rd girl shoots so no time will be lost ...let me know

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 9:50 AM (Message read)
Wait wait... The point of the shoot is for me to test you (alone) as a model. As of lately, my port is pretty full. What you are asking is this: try and shoot three amateur models that i have never even seen, who i am not sure have any experience at all, and shoot them all on one day, and that would be tfp? Heres the deal: as i said, i have limited gear and theres not enough lighting that i can take to even make it work for the three of you. I will shoot all three of you at a studio sometime next week (maybe) but first, i have to take a look at what you can do. 3 models is a huge undertaking. Two i can deal with, but dont forget that it was just you alone initially. Now... Think about it, and meanwhile i ll see what i can do as well.
P.S- have you thought about tha wardrobe that completely matches?

Mickie-Ryan
04/08/10 10:15 AM
yes we all have access to the worerobe that is required...if you wanted to just shoot me alone thats fine but i need group images right now ...i thought you underdstood that when i sent you the links to the other models if you are not interested that is totally fine but i thought you were....you don't have to shoot us as a group i can contact you at a later date if you are only interested in shooting solo images with me. thank you for your time...

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 10:48 AM (Message read)
Well, group images are great but it takes at least one go-see for me to decide. Heres the deal. I can invite some photographers with more lights and gear so all three of you can have all the fun in the sun. I cant tell you how and when you will get your pics, since this will turn into a photo party for the whole day:) i also can guarantee the quality only regarding my own work. I hope it us understandible. Mickie, it is all up to you.

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 10:58 AM (Message read)
to make this long story short

(not to sound bitchy)

- if you want to shoot - ok but it will be just you and 1 other model (any girl that you mentioned will do)

- if not - than I can't help you

TFP shoots are for the photographers' vision and for a model to pose and get the shots for the port.
Everything else has rates.

again, I don't mean to sound bitter, but that's just how it is.

Mickie-Ryan
04/08/10 11:13 AM
as a model this is tfp/tfcd for me also. In my opinion the model is just as important as a photographer. I'm also not getting any income from this shoot. i don't post all my images but i have about 150 images in my portfolio it's pretty full at this point as well .For a model to have no say so i totally disagree with that. i bring a lot to the shoot that other models can't produce. i beleive the model and photographer should agree on concepts/themes/vision in tfp/tfcd no one should just be a puppet. thank you for your time but considering you can't shoot the 3 of us i have to pass. If i have time for solo projects i can contact you at a later date if not then my apologises for wasting any of your time. Thank You

Misha Mikhaylov
04/08/10 11:49 AM (Message read)
best of luck to you in finding somebody to better suit your modeling needs.

I mean... really... what.the.fuck.

Getting Together

2010-04-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hey, this goes to all 2 people who read this blog and live in Cali:

I am leaving LA to go and shoot in Europe for about 5 months and most likely I'll never come back to this city (thank you, God, Satan, Buddha, Odin and Arnold!)

I'd like to invite anyone who is more or less interested in photography to hang out on any day, at anytime. Come to LAX area and bring your cam. I'll try to find a model or two and share whatever I know about shooting people as well as photographing them :D

so:

mikhaylov2@gmail.com

and unlike some of the motherfucking bastards that want to squeeze your last dollar, this informal, personal workshop will be FREE (no money!!) lol

The offer stands until Apr 30th. After that - I'Ll see ya in London, Moscow, St Petersburg, Athens and maybe Rome.

cheers.

Laura Soares. Maxim Magazine (UK)

2010-04-03T02:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.maxim.co.uk/girls/international/20764/laura_soares.html

I got Invited to shoot for the British Maxim, and more precisely ffor the their featured model, Laura. She is pretty and from Brazil. Is there anything NOT pretty from Brazil? This is why its my favorite country that I haven't been to! One of these days though... one of these days...
So the shoot was pretty much on a very short notice and I went in to a very unfamiliar location, and in addition it was indoors. Here I got pretty screwed with gear, with lights being still at the repair shop. Deep Octa and the Big Boy Ranger that's all we had today. We almost lost that too since the Ranger managed to take a pretty big hit after falling from it's 7ft stand :) lol
I won't go into depths bout the setup (one strobe! whooptydoo!:)

I have some rather mixed feelings about glamour photography. Since these pics had to fit into the format of the magazine and therefore had to be pretty simple and a little sexed up, I find no huge interest in doing this kind of work. I mean... how many almost naked chics can you shoot? ;) I know that someone who doesn't do this kind of stuff on a regular basis would think that it's the best job in the world but the truth is that it is a pretty draining a difficult business to shoot a girl with minimum showing imperfections. Add some self contentiousness and the lack of modeling experience and you have yourself a handful :) tough tough tough shoot...

mixed results and feelings, not really my type of a model and photography... but I feel pretty productive tonight. The retouch didn't take long, thanks to the wonderful MUA Donyet who works with me at every shoot and is the most helpful person in the world :) Like you can totally borrow a million bucks from her! lol

and of course I had to shoot something that I actually like
(experiments!! )

Happy Saturday morning - the best time of the week!
more pics from today are on the way :)

Kevin - A small tutorial on lighting and composition

2010-04-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Kevin is from http://www.motorportraitsla.com/ which is a high end studio here in LA to shoot cars, girls and everything else. The guys at the studio were kind enough to give me a tour around this giant place and I really liked what I saw. Great looking ramp, awesome cars, the only thing that is missing is a swarm of photogs rushing in. Pretty reasonable rates and I think an evening full of models and photogs along with some of the coolest rides around would be a great start for this new venue.

You can't just go to a studio and not take photos. Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera so I used a 30D with a nifty. Nice little combo and another proof that one doesn't have to spend tons of hard earned cash to afford the latest gear. It's all in your head and hands.

Here's a short step by of getting some good results.

First you have to find a model :)

here's our beautiful man! :)
The pic sucks major butt though. The light is flat and the face is grim.
We had some mirrors in the back and some cool light bulbs on the BG, so the task was to make all this to work together.

So I had to meter the lights first to set the correct shutter speed. The f stop was f4.5 just enough to blur the BG. What happened here though is that the lights were so bright that the slow shutter speed blew everything out miserably. This doesn't work either for us (duh) :)

The lights had to be underexposed by a stop and a half, just enough to show their warm glow. I asked Kevin to move further from the background just so the blur effect becomes more prominent. We also put a medium grid on the Alien Bee (wooohoo!) , having it a at 1/4 power. I like having my main lights high up to get this great Rembrant light. There's one problem here though. The composition is not really working out, since I cropped off the lights and the whole thing is at at an angle which is taking away from the symmetrical look I was after. Also, Kevin's face is merging with the dark background so we obviously need a second light source.

so we are pretty dark close to the end result. A nice rim at quarter power is gridded and set to the camera right, just behind the model. The horizontal orientation is working out nicely here and all we have to do is to add some color correction to get rid of the Alien Bee pink skin tint, add just a little bit of high pass filter to bring out the details in the face (I set it at 1.0px) and to add +5 on the contrast bar to make th epic pop a little. I also asked Kevin to produce the best smile he had available at 11pm after a long day...
Also I set our white balance to 4200K to make that white wall slightly blue. Since the Alien bees make any pic slightly warmer than they ought to be, we used this to our advantage. I also added a very slight color gradient effect from NIK plugins (orange and blue) to enhance the effect.

there you have it! if not a masterpiece, but certainly a rather fun little portrait of Kevin!
post your questions if you have any :)

Photo Reviews - part I

2010-03-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

from ckale1

So... why the brick wall? How many brick wall shots have you seen? me - probably one million. I dunno, but they just don't freaking work like that. Brick walls are some VERY busy backgrounds and they make my eyes hurt. Then you have those pink shoes. They take away fro, the pretty face and this is a pic about those shoes. They are just some damn bright that I can't stop looking at them! :)They way the model is sitting and the angle of the shot make me feel that the gal is gonna slide down from the frame. There's no tilt but the lines of the brick wall, the vanishing point perspective make this shot compositionally faulty. What was so terrible above that you have to crop it from the top like that? anyway... make sure to learn what the model will be wearing before the shoot. Tell them not to bring things that dont reflect light, seen through stuff, unless they are not wearing a bra (what's the point of wearing a bra with a see-through shirt? seriously - women - get real - it looks bad)

The old gas tation shot is better, due some good color cross processing (Nik Soft plugin?) that matches very well with the location. Just lovely colors and the harsh shadows are very well controlled here. So the colors and the light are good. The models expression is... well, it is what it is...
but why did you shoot at an angle again? You have that red window frame tilting the shot, the girl is blocking the pump, which looks awesome and if you have only placed your model at a straight angle in front of the window and the pump it would have been a great compo (pump -> girl -> window). The mistake here is placing your model to close to the objects of interest. Had she stepped forward, at the angle mentioned, there still would have been enough room to show (with shallow DOF) that all those awesome elements are present in the pic AND to make this shot about the girl.

From Nexus

When I saw the red pic, I was like "Oh, this is not too bad!" and then I saw the rest of them and realized that the first pic is a lucky shot.
So about the red pic - I like this. Not to the point of me screaming that I fell in love with everything, but this is not bad. I can see that time was taken to prepare and to lay the key elements into paces. This shot has been done and redone by thousands but it always works.
What I like here is the jaw line, the facial expression, and the post work. Not too much, not too little, just enough. Reds are very effective.

What I don't like - the lack of catchlights in her eyes. Gotta have them. Didn't turn out during the shoot? Draw them in. I don't know - just make them happen. Otherwise the model looks dead. I am not into dead models so this is not for me :)
I wish that the crop was a bit wider. The shoulder is cut off and that is one sexy part of a female body. How dare you! :)
Overall - this is a very decent beauty shot. This concept would have worked better with a paler model. I'd shoot a dark skinned model on a creme sheet with creme colored roses. Can't go wrong with that :)

The BW shot is pretty much a disaster. The low angle of the shot makes the model show a double chin. That alone should make this shot end up up in the trash bin IN CAMERA. The window is blown out to the point of attracting all of the attention.
The pose was supposed to be gracious and it ended up being "oh, I don't want my clothes to get dirty". The horizon is tilted and if you just could simplify the compo a little more by taking more of a closeup - this could've worked. Next time look at the key elements, the shapes of the location that you are dealing with and work with them.

from IVO

everyone likes a great looking butt. This is what these pics are all about and of. However the goodness ends here.

-The chin is merging with the shoulder and the model lost her neck.
-THe light on her face is strong and it needed to be turned further behind the model to create a nice rim instead of blowing her face out.
-Wrinkly fabric is looking amateurish here and I would've asked my model to lay on the floor and we could experiment with her wrapped in that fabric.
- the poses are just pornographic. Though we all watch porn (yes, Mrs Smoth, don't even deny this! :) but these are just too tasteless. Wrinkles on her back, odd faces and that butt (lovely butt) in the viewer's face aren't doing this model justice

Adriana

2010-03-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

SO...so... what happens when you get stuck at your shoot and totally unprepared? I have shot this girl before and she really wanted to shoot again, though I new she has got some lack of experience and a very unusual face that looks amazing in real life and tough to get a good angle while holding a cam... I went into this not knowing what clothes she is bringing (some extremely limited choices), where we will be shooting (ended up close to where I live at the moment, right by LAX. That location SUCKS! I mean any location should work right? :) right. And I did remember my yesterdays post and kinda laughed at myself :)) We were restricted by the wind (the Octa or any light mod wouldn't just stay, hence - natural light shoot), the sun - which was everywhere at that time of day, EXCEPT the coolest (if that's possible) places to shoot at...
Anyway... So I went ahead and remembered some of the fashion photography that I have seen online lately, which was done on your most common streets. The framing was used to make the most out of the elements that were already present. We had 5 palm trees, A small crowd of kids, watching us, a black SUV and some building in the back...
I also was in a strange mood, thinking about everything BUT taking pictures that day. Lack of sleep after a productive Saturday I guess :)
Anyway, here's a little movie for ya :)
yes, I JUST now discovered that I have Movie Maker on my PC :) lol

PS - just got some responses from multiple forums that "the model is dressed in ugly stuff and "she is not that pretty"... what can I say -
go fuck yourself... please :)

Speaking of Symmetry

2010-03-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

a simple hot tub can become something out of a sci fi movie. It's all about the point of view

Making Any Location Work.

2010-03-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Is it a shame when you see a pic at a killer location, like a auto scrap yard or an amazing rain forest or even Stonehenge and the pictures of a model in the midst of it all just suck? Usually it goes like this, and mind you - I was there as well less than a year ago:

1. OOOOOOOOO CHECK OUT THAT TREE!@!!!!@ONE1!11! ITS HUUUUGE!!! Gotta shoot there - Now (Calling up Nansy, a fun friend who could be a model at any given time of day, night and year, dressed or nude (love those friends!)

2. -Ok, ok, ok. Nansy - see that tree? Now... POSE!!

- Uhhm what, Misha?

- I said - Pose!!, Like... do something unusual! We don't want a usual tree shot, they are lame! There are tons of them on POTN and Flickr! :)

3. The girl stands next to the tree, you shoot with the widest lens and while tree is awesome, Nansy is a little bit out of place.

4. -Misha!! I love these photos, Nansy, would say in an hour! -

-Thanks, Nans! I know, I am THAT GOOD!

So... why does this happen over and over again with those who are just starting out and some more or less long term shooters?

It's because you (figurative) don't take your time and don't have a slightest thought about what you are seeing through your view finder. You rush into shooting and usually thinking about all the wrong things like:

Shoot! What lens is sharper in my kit for portraits?

Dang! I need an exact angle of the flash, otherwise it will suck.

Crap! What aperture do I use...

So. people. please. Do NOT think about these things before you have a shot in mind.

Learn how to compose first and this means - Grab your camera with your lens and SCOUT the freakin location. ANY LOCATION HAS A HUGE POTENTIAL. ANY. I'll give some examples later. It is all about how you train your brain to see. Look for unusual ways to see your location.

Crawl, Step on a ladder, lay on your back, jump up - but try to look for ideas that the location has already premade for you. Try to start from some obvious things. If there is a ladder - get a "on-the-ladder-shot", if there's a phone booth - ask your model to enter it and grab the phone.. stuff like this... THEN - take it a notch further. Here's a great way to think about this - if you have seen this done - don't shoot it. Sounds really difficult and it is even more difficult, since you can't imagine anything tha you don't know. So.. take those obvious shots and put your own spin on them.

Here's some ideas right off the bat:

-See a chair or five? Don't sit your model on them - toss them around, make the model throw them, freeze the action.

- See a car tire? Or even better? TIRES? build something from them, put them on top each other, play with the shape of the circle, pose your model to so the round shapes compliment him/her. (a model crawled around a tire could be a cool shot!)

I dunno... see a bus? Set it on fire! (oh ya this is the US, you can't do this here)

Getting arrested for settign a bus on fire? Ask the cops to pose! I mean... think outside the damn box!! (or prison cell) :)

anyway, you get the idea...

The next strategy is my favorite and it works very well when preparing a composed shot.

The strategy is simply called "Simplify everything". Check out the above shots - do i need to explain more?

By the way, this is my apartment complex. A great location for just about anything. Though, there are no shitty locations. There is not enough weed (experience) :)

By the way, the previous pool pics are shot just there and I'll use those pics just to explain things a little.

The first photo is an example of an unusual angle stuff that I just spent 10 minutes typing about. The diagonal lines by her face a shadows from the bystanding palm trees and I think they add some dynamic feel to the pic. The pose is already dynamic enough, almost forced and guess what - I try not to ever crop anything (why waste my precious pixels) I shoot with a shot in mind. Sometimes I don't know what I want, but I have a general idea.

The second shot is simplyfy example. We took a really busy BG and gave it some direction. The walls and the lines of concrete of the apartment complex are shot at an angle and makes the composition a little less "stable" and more dynamic. The angle of the models head is complimenting the lines (or vice versa). The lifesaver is the brightest spot, just for fun and to tell a little story. Also it serves as a "punch", an unusual and somewhat unexpected element which is not out of place, since there a pool there on the same visual plane.

This all sounds like some ultra nerdy stuff and I am a nerd. So forgive me. :)

Note - I don't think about all this bullshit when I shoot. Perhaps I do, but it is all subconsciously processed somehow. Also - I don't claim to be a genius at this, but I merely just try to answer some of the questions that I am being asked here and there by fellow shooters.

So... I know that by reading this theres no way in hell you can learn instantly, but I am hoping that this helps to gain some sense of direction and add the spirit of adventure and fun exploration in your photography.

Lastly - Submit your pics to mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com and I will give you some constructive criticism if you so require. I'll try to have some reviews every week since blogging became somewhat addicting :)

ok - go have a drink - it's Saturday! )

Mariah back stage from Today

2010-03-26T23:38:00.000-07:00

Shot Mariah today. TFP - Model Mayhem -etc... :)

the video pretty much tells you how this pic was shot :)

It was a fun day and the only bothersome thing was me giving the model way too many directions as she is rather new to the whole posing deal :))

Just shooting to get some new concepts going. :)

Quadra is in repair so I resorted to the bulletproof lighting of the Deep Octa (no beauty dish is needed with that thing, when you remove the front, leaving the small insert in though)

Зафоткали Мараю (не Кэрри, правда )) сегодня. Ниче так, тфп оно и в Африке ТФП. Зато расслабон и полет фантазии начиненной кофеином )) Все клево - просто задолбался позировать модель, так как девушка она не совсем опытная. И еще с кожей был просто абзац. Я бы показал до Фотошопа, но боюсь это не для слабонервных )))

Мой маленький генератор в ремонте, да и не справился бы с белым солнцем пустыни , так что лупили на 800 Дж. Черт - люблю я когда есть запас мощи в генераторе. Фоткали не очень долго - больше трындели.

Комменты с вопросами - велкам )

How to become a better photographer

2010-03-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Im sorry for the cheezy title but... it's kinda the only one that really fits.

...Apart from shooting all the time... Though I 've seen way too many people who claim that they have 20 years of experience and shoot absolute crap. I mean really, their stuff is so subpar that you feel pretty sorry for them. but apart from that...

How do you become better?

It's about learning how to see what's good and what is not.

All the great photogs show only their best stuff. How do we know that this is their best stuff? We haven't seen the entire session in RAW, right?

Here something interesting starts to happen. If the viewer likes the photo that has been processed and previously selected it means that he/she AGREES with the photographer's point of view. It means that there's some sort of being connection established between the two... The stronger the connection - the better the photo is perceived.

In my understanding to gain this skill of building the connection between the viewer and the photographer, the photographer must develop his artistic perception. All these books on composition and color theory are great, BUT they do not provide you with an ultimate guide of masterpiece creation. They only give you a very very vague sense of direction. Same goes for the comments like - "what camera do you use, or what is your lighting setup". It doesn't matter. What matters is the effect achieved at the certain time in certain conditions. We are not limited by our gear. That's what the manufacturers want us to think. We are only limited by our creativity.

To develop your eye as a photographer you absolutely have to look at the work of others. There will be some works that will stun you with their seeming perfection but once you become more and more experienced, your tastes will also change. What seemed to be almost impossible, in time will be achieved with easy. For me it was balancing the flash and the ambient, for example. It took me WEEKS to understand. Now - it takes me 3-5 shots to get the settings right and get started. No light meters, though it is a great tool. But that's only the technical stuff...

What about the ideas? This is that grey area that no one can really understand... Why do some ideas n a photo are so -so and some - just blow your brains out? Where do ideas like these even come from? I think that they are products of our subconscious which never sleeps and constantly processes stuff we see... So... the better the stuff that you look at - the better you become. :) This seems to be right?

But how to you know who is good and who is not when you have no experience? You don't. But there are critics that have decided for you. The photographers that "everyone"considers "the best" or "classic" are usually a good start. Compare your work to the best of the best. Try to do better. It is possible.

So do register on Flickr, go to PLSR.net, check out Photodom.com. The forums are also great. The people there will do their best to teach you new things...

Be aware that there's no limits to how good you can become. There's no limits to how creative you can be. Think of a shot and then find ways to create it.

Challenge yourself with brainstorming ideas

. Get inspired by movies, books, comics, news, youtube... whatever you can get.

get out there and wow the world with your vision of things!

HERE'S a GOOD START

http://www.lauriebartley.com/ EDITORIAL

http://www.haefnerphoto.com/AUTOMOTIVE

http://www.frazierproductions.com/UNDERWATER FASHION

http://www.lachapellestudio.com/POP ART

http://www.robertmekis.com/ LANDSCAPES

Hallucination

2010-03-19T00:51:00.000-07:00

I had only 3 shots at this. First - Quadra didn't fire. I am sending it to Manfrotto hopefully tomorrow.

Second - I didn't catch the guy

Third - Bingo ;)

Usually I wouldn't even do this kind of stuff. But this was a very surrealistic shoot some I was all about reaching this level. Just first baby steps in this direction.

Еще одна фотка из серии. Мы случайно увилили чуваков сигающих со стены и я просто обязан был заснять кадр с этим безумием! Получилось с 3 раза - причем я не считаю этот кадр шедевром. Компо - на треугольниках, дабы подчекнуть динамику и это все на что меня вчера хватило. Просто глядя на это фото мне хочется прохладной Фанты! лето.....

Hesitation

2010-03-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

The pic is from the the same day (yesterday).

I saw this giant ice-cream cone and thought it would be cool to snap a couple of shots right in the middle of the line to the kiosk. lol People DO freak out when a model kicks in. Unfortunately I don't have keepers from the fashion poses series, but this pic I do like for some reason. It's like a staged street editorial (new style? nahh!.. )

I did dig the feeling of shooting right in the middle of the crowd.

Lighting - Quadra - bare.

Red White and Blue

2010-03-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

Just not my day today I guess... everyone is unhappy with one or two or three things I do in this life... seriously. When I smoked I felt like a criminal for smoking in a bar. They banned that.

When I want to drink a can of beer outside i have to hide like a criminal... since they banned that also... I offer some honest critisism - well... you know the outcome. I try to shoot at the Venice Beach, the land of crazy, I CAN"T!

Wait a minute... there are people jacked up on alcohol, caffeine, weed smoke all over the place, pick pocketing... and... of course some bored authority has to come up and say something about me not being able to shoot here. It's a basketball court for goodness sake... I fucking hate that. no, really, i have no other worlds to describe this feeling.

We shot 31 frames and the makeup took 5 times longer than the actual shoot. I was so bummed that I decided to continue another day. Though I tend to never walk away without a shot. Thank goodness to Donyet (wife), who knows how and when to deploy my EL Quadra, which was bare here (camera left)/ I ended up with about 4 keepers which is really not that bad, considering that the Quadra was acting up a little bit, refusing to dump the excess power.

Anyway... what can I say. I wouldn't be doing personal photography if i don't like it. All aspects of it and especially the outcome. I love this shot. It's my new favorite (this usually happens after each shoot, but that's the whole awesomness of it!) Considering that this was the only jump shot - i love it even more. It's a lucky one. The sky is not edited, in fact there's very little editing here. Just in camera full on contrast and saturation.

Boom!

а теперь перевод на великий и могучий ёмаё!!

По ходу дела сегодня не мой день. Забанили с форума сукибляи вообще тут какая то хрень происходит. Курил - гнали из баров, пытался ныкаться по углам - все равно настигали, демоны! ) Пить пиво на улице из банки - криминал. Фоткать на улице - криминал.. совсемстали прижимать нас фото чуваков в этой стране. Сказали что это стоит 400 баксов чтоб снимать тут... Это баскетбольный сукакорт!! Охуеть... ненавижу всем своим маленьким каменным сердцем их всех...

Эшли и я (м Донъет) отстрелялись всего за 31 кадр. Но мыж не лузеры чтоб уходить без единого кадра! Есть еще 4-5 хорших которые надо обработать, но это занимае недолго. С затемняющими фильтрами клево работать. Надо накупить еще. Elinchrom Quadra на моё офигенное удивление оказался СУКА ярким! ) причем таким что в пол тыка пересилил солнышко.
То что кажется натуральным светом - на самом деле эта маленькая вспышечка. Солнце - сзади модели. в зените почти... Прищлось пожертвовать наличием рефлекторов конечно, но жесткий свет, это наше фсе! )

POTN

2010-03-17T10:56:00.001-07:00

So Photography On The Net forum just banned my access to their Glamor and Nude section. The reason - the lack of positive criticism from me. Apparently some people have got thinner skin than I thought. It's a pretty funny method of dealing with people actually.

"Sir - you either be nice to people or there's no amateur porn for you!"

shucks...

I love that forum, it has taught me everything to get started in photography. It has introduced me to some great folks, who later became friends. It's a neat little community

What i don't like about it that it has an EXTREMELY low level of artistic expression. People tend to comment on the SHARPNESS of a photo, rather, then what they feel when they look at it.

WAKE THE HELL UP! OF course it will be sharp! You just spent 10K on your gear, going through a midlife crisis and looking for a new hobby... You LOOOOOVE how IN FOCUS your snaps are. OF COURSE THEY ARE!. That's why your camera costs this much! It CAN focus even if you are a complete retard. Just push the botton - focus and SNAP - you have a sharp SNAP! a 22 megapixel sharp snap... Be happy... (too much diet coke? you tell me...)

I have no idea why it so. I go to European forums - different story. People there are actually trying to create something. I guess that's the culture. Aside from literally a handful of photographers, POTNers are, well... are not really there... Or just don't post their good stuff... Or Maybe I just don't see it. Or maybe I have raised my expectations to a level too high. Whatever it is, the forums folks seem to be more concerned about the L lenses and mark IV cameras than the actual photography.

No one likes to realize that their stuff is not up to par. Especially when they hear it from people they don't know. I got hand slapped for harsh criticism and, frankly it will not affect the quality of my life, nor it would bring me less work.

I am just a little sad that... THERE'S LESS FREEDOM OF VERBAL EXPRESSION IN AN ARTISTICALLY INCLINED COMMUNITY THAN IN A FUCKING COURT ROOM!

it's a private forum, and of course Pekka, the owner has all the rights to set his rules, that are frankly, fair... but somehow... this doesn't really help.

So... from now on. If you are reading this and require constructive and detailed feedback on any piece of your photography feel free to email me your work and it will get posted on this very blog, with detailed review. I'll try to do this once a week or maybe more often.

mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com

this is where you can send me your 800x600 pics.

Gotta run and shoot!

take care.

А теперь по русски!!

Бляб охуеть. пидорасы - гандоны и распиздяи!! ууф - душу отвел ))

Забанили меня из Гламурной фотографии этого Американского форума.

Типа слишком резко критиковал. Блин, ну и что теперь, говорить что кушать подано, садитесь жрать пожаллста?

Все на этом форуме хорошо, кроме того что фотки так ы большинстве своем МЕРТВЫЕ. Ни о чем. "Вот, дескать, посморите мои дорогие форумчане на это фото моего сынишки!" Первый коммент -Ох как резко!б потом, Ох а в фокусе то как!!! я так не умею!. Запостишь размытый абстракный портрет скажут - Отец а че - с фокусом промахнулся?..

БЛЯТЬ!

мертвяки и зомби.

Конечно у тя будет резкая фотка, дядя... Тыж только что слил 10 косарей зеленыз на свой Кэнон марк Четырнадцать! Они для этого и сделаны чтобы фокусироваться быстро и делать резкие фотки!

Ебануться...

Вообщем -

если хотите критике - конструктивной и чесной - шлите свои 800х600 на

mikhaylovphoto@gmail.com

отбирать буду 10 работ наиболее выдающихся как с плохой и хорошей стороны. Все мнения - только мои, но они основанны на сотнях тысяч фотографии которые я видел.

спасибо

PLSR.NET

2010-03-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

plsr.net is the website I go for inspiration. daily.

Imagine my surprise when I found my port on the first page.

I'm off to get some booze.

http://plsr.net/best-rated

Before the End of the World

2010-03-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

This is a rather personal piece in which Noelle (from MM) had fit rather well. I've always wanted to shoot a somewhat secluded place with a dreamy, china doll-like model, and of course to implement some overpowering the Sun stuff (my favorite!)

We used an Elinchrom Ranger, A Deep Octa (amazing!) with baffles removed and I happened to have an 4x (2stop) ND filters.

the first shot is just a warm up shot that I liked. The conditions were right to try something unusual.

Everything is falling apart

2010-03-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

had this idea for a full out shoot, and decided to try it on one of the pics from the previous session.

I've seen some effects where a person is being blown into pixels, but this is a rather blown to pure molecules deal. I tried it via several techniques, and since I couldn't find any tutorials, I just had to improvise. There are some cool debris brushes online and what I did was -

Clone out parts of his body

Pick the debris brushes and clone ON the same body parts but near him, so the colors retain.

very easy, but this is of course is not complete at all. I am still figuring out (actually I know how to do it already) of how to make him more 3d in the parts where he is missing chunks of his body...

Anyway, I'll try this with my model that is coming in on Sunday. I hope she brings some pain meds lolol :)

Nick

2010-03-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

Shot Nick today. Not only a great down to earth friend, but a great looking model who is really willing to work and very result oriented.

This was the forst time I shot anything on plain air and boy does it feel good to return "home"!!

no more restricted studios, no mind bending backwards about "what else can we create here near a white wall?" I love shooting outside and all that hard earned cash that went into battery powered systems are paying off (and paying for themselves) with great results that are pleasing to work with and provide seamless workflow. Viva my Rangers! can't say enough how good these things are. There's only one downside - I don't have more of them. And that RX Speed is heavy.

By the way there's a new kid in town

http://www.hensel.eu/PORTY/22-en-55--.html?PHPSESSID=cfe18bf099f8d095d0a3679458219971

but 4 grand for a light????????? Hensel - ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN MIND?

oh well...

anyway, so we went out to Kenneth Hahn Park , close to our house and shot a simple "cowboy" jeans ad style like stuff, just to get back into the routine of shooting in the wind and chilly weather (yes, California can be cold, usually because people under estimate the temperature outside and wear t-shirts all the time)

We had a Deep octa with the front removed for harder shadows, to make Nick even edgier and tougher than he already is :)) Orange sunset gave some beautiful color, and yes, it was enhanced just a tad.

The rim was held up at 9 ft by my wonderful wife. Just a wide angle reflected to separate Nick from the BG. i like the results.

The BW image went some processing, that is similar to Dave Hills technique, yet a lot more subdued. It's just so overdone that I had to too give it a try :) There's really nothing tough about this as long as the light is right. Photoshop and high pass filters can only take you so far...

I used NIK suite to process these images. Here's some samples from the shoot.

stupid LA models...

2010-03-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

Let me rave firstm since this is my blog and I could give a shit about what people think

So you know what... this is to you all LA models. you know who you are and you suck. You suck for not responding to TFP calls, you, bail, you are not serious, you skin is not clear. oooof... I can't believe how hard it is to get a model for a stupid little project. You either want money (never, unless you are well known), and none of you can shoot implied nudity... repressed sexuality of this country... Once on shoot - you can't model. I have to work VERY hard to get anything out of you...

no acting skills, no imagination AND you want to get paid for that? hell no!

ok I'm done - just had to get ot off my chest.

How I take Critique

2010-02-27T08:33:00.000-08:00

I take it really well, preferably with Diet Coke. I don't care of you don't like something, and write that the photo is crap. All you have to do is to prove that you can do better. If you are attempting to critique someone in a technical and constructive way - be a goddamn photographer, and have some good work for me to look at. If you shoot Little League Baseball, any kind of sports, snapshots of your toddler - you are forever banned from critiquing my pics. :)

My Demons

2010-02-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

Had this shoot a month and a half ago anf just now found some time to process a pic or two. Some personal work. very very simple setup but some outstanding models made this idea happen :)

Bending the Light

2010-02-15T01:32:00.000-08:00

I've been hanging out with some high end photogs lately. Yaya lucky me! :)

check this guy out - amazing creativity and technique. http://rashap.livejournal.com/

he insipred me to do some light bending aka shooting through glass (or in this case through my glasses).

I think the shoot was a success, considering an unexperienced model, who def. added some complications to the whole process.

I resorted to using my newly beloved 100mm macro lens so because of it's close focusing distance. The 85mm L is just not cutting it in this department. Though I used both lenses and I don't quite remember which one i used in these. Look at the EXIF if you are so interested :)

We used a bunch of class remains from one of my old lamps, brought to the studio from my apartment, that hopefully will be going through some major renovation.

two light setup (deep octa and my lovely Quadra with a Hensel 500Ws Monolight equipped with a red gel. Easy setup. Incredibly hard to execute concept (at least I know how it's done now)

Some mafia noir

2010-02-12T03:21:00.001-08:00

Yarik, a long ime friend wanted some mafia noir pics. He came by the studio in his pimpin coat and was ready to get some results.

We used for light to achive this dramatic light. One bare reflector was placed directly begind him to create that outline that separates him from the dark BG. I also found out that it is important to create more space for th emodel to move. We shot at a 2000sq feet set and placed the lights almost in the corners. We flagged the lights to avoid the flare and that created some ample room for our model to walk around and act tough :)

Friends

2010-02-08T04:04:00.003-08:00

some of my friends. These are all taken at different times under different conditions.

Mysteria

2010-02-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Long exposure galore.

Nina and the Artist

2010-02-03T16:38:00.003-08:00

some BW art modern for ya. Inspired by one of the famous art nude photogs in Moscow.

Lingerie Ads

2010-01-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this project for a week and a half and I must say that this assigment was so far one of the most challenging ones... The client was a large lingerie designing company and they wanted some summer images, to create a dreamy warm feeling of a summer day... yeah, except that it was -20F in Moscow

Anyway, the BG is pure Photoshop, created from scratch, using some preset brushes (you'll all recognize that grass brush lol) and some older pics of the sky and all those other mountains with flowers.

Anyway, it took me lots of time to create these (they wanted 15 images). I am posting only 2 for now.
Sorry, if some "purist" photogs won't like these...

6 lights -

Main - Octa

Fill - Small SB for face (clam shell)

Hair - Snoot

Strip - Rim

Strip - BG gradient

Strip - another rim (on face)

The lock, the stock.. and one smoking shutter :)

2010-01-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

vlad wanted something from the Guy Ricci movies and we took the shoot to the trash room of the Black and White Studios. The only down side of the facility is that it's prety cold there so shooting some bare skin is challenging for models. Another thing is fully dressed shoots. There's much freedom in that 2000 sq feet place :)

4 lights were used here

can you figure them out? ;)

Red

2010-01-31T04:02:00.000-08:00

red hot Alex -

single beauty dish in a shower with a red head is a killer combo!

Dancer

2010-01-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

Tina dances for Boris Moiseev and for show ballet "Todes".which is the most prestigious dancing troop in Eastern Europe. Amazing dancer and a great model. I hope these pics will do her well.

Shot with 3 light sources. Snoot through bars, stripbox and an octa.

Savage Beauty

2010-01-21T14:41:00.001-08:00

Avatar inspired.

Ingriedients

White wall

A friend

One bare bulb

vuala :)

Outtakes

2010-01-19T09:28:00.001-08:00

recent ideas tried out and ither scrapped or given out to friends.

Motherland

2010-01-19T01:13:00.000-08:00

Got inspired by vodka, 4am work nights and surreal atmosphere that Moscow surrounds me with.

Everything here is a reflection of another reality. So ever familiar, so very alien and so freakishly beautiful. Come to Moscow during the winter if youd like to see gothic faces in the subway train, aristocracy at the meat market, purity in the eyes of a bum.

a rather personal work here.

shot 20 frames. 5 lights

-1 backgound snoot

-2 rim lights (camera left and right)

-1 60 inch Octa main

-1 small softbox as fill

Alien Flux

2010-01-15T01:54:00.000-08:00

idea behind the shoot - what is Rammstein and Michael Jackson were Aliens?...

I met Masha at the Black and White Studios, during a photoshoot she was doing with perhaps the most well know art nude photog in Moscow, Yan McLine. I was blown away by the she feels the set and projects the images that have been stuck in your mind onto the set and in fron of the cam.

We decided to do a test shoot ight there and then, and while she was waiting on her boyfriend (Alex is also a model) to finish shooting with a photographer I snached her for 45 minutes, while coming up with the alien look. We found some random props at the studio and I quickly drew a tribal, HR Giger inspired tat on her arm.

The coolest thinG about this shoot was about the ease and the flow. Masha followed the directions to the "T" and we both pretty much knew what images will have to come out. Creative collaboration is key here. Of course the toungue shot was the most fun, and the wide angle series (more of which I will post) was the most challenging one. I decided to incorporate the underexposed ceilng into the shot creating an additional feeling of a sci-fi novel. This shoot reminds me of that Michael Jackson music vid, where he is with Janet on a spaceship....

shot with two lights.

BD (experienced ones will tell by the look of the shadow)

Bare bulb as a kicker and fill.

Star Wars Glam

2010-01-12T07:25:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I haven't done this before lol :)

The second shot is a commercial take on Starwars. Just a chick with a lightsaber.

The first one is more of the real thing - less glam, more Jedi :)

Mr. Lukas please don't sue me, Im just a fan! :)

Lighting -

7 sources

rim 1 - red gels - reflctor

rim 2 - white reflector

wall - green gel

Main - Deep Octa

Fill - 5ft Octa

Floor - small softbox

saber hilite - snoot

Another One of Tat

2010-01-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

I love the flow of fabric. As you may have noticed, it is present in lots of my work. It adds movement and something magical. I really like this one of Tatiana. It's from the same shoot as the Sin City styled one. I hope youll enjoy as well ;)

Sin n the City

2010-01-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

Always wanted to try something along the lines with Sin City film style.

Caought the opportunity to work with Tatiana Kon'kova who is pretty high up in Russian fashion modeling biz. Great model, makes everything easier and she was no exception. A delight to work with.

Lighting... 5-6 lights, depending on the situation. 2 kickers in the back, octa as a fill, one light for the "moon" effects, one additional kicker for the boots. Really nothing too crazy... I will be posting more of Tat, as I have 2 more shoots that I need to process.

Sinners Unite...

2010-01-03T23:43:00.000-08:00

As is happened somewhat randomply, I ended up celebrating New Year at my new found friends' photo studio. They invited tns of pretty interesting individuals, mostly models and phoographers.

The key element was the outfits. Some incredible stuff people wear nowdays in Russia. I got pretty drunk, got someone's Canon 30D with a 16-35L and set up a quick and dirty lighting setup involving a dish, one bare rim, and a strip box to get that gritty look, that we all remember frm Sin City. Mind you this was not a planned shoot, just playing around with the lights, camera and making models do studid stuff (as if they weren't doing it already.. .you should've seen what to gil models started doing AFTER the shoot... x rated stuff, I mind you! :))

anyway, here's some picturez. I will be repeating the same idea, undre more controlled circumstances hopefully today.

EDIT - have no idea wh pics are not showing up - heres the link insead

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=805127

Happy new year!

2009-12-31T05:58:00.000-08:00

:) :) :) :) :)

Nastya and Kat.

When MUA is tired

2009-12-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

Nina Just is one of the craziest MUA's I've seen! Super funny gal! She was very tired after a lengthy make up session where she had to put make up on 5 models using elaborate snow imitations, liquids and body paints. I asked her to pose for just 10 minutes and these shots I guess were the most suitable to her mood that day. Anyway, make sure your MUS is rested and fed. :)

Underwear Ad

2009-12-29T03:22:00.000-08:00

Alex contacted me for some underwear ad style image and told me that they had to be slightly "editorial". He is trying to make it in the fashion biz and I was glad to help him out.

The light was dramatic and the Quadra worked like a champ! The deep octa never seizes to amaze me as well. what a great versatile tool! Gosh, I need to be backed by Elinchrom! Help me Frank! :)

Maxim Magazine

2009-12-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

Or so I wish... ;)

I 've told myself many times that stuff that one sees in MAim magazine (american version where there's no nudity), is not really worthy of exploring as it desn' have any soul nor it has any artistic value. However during this shoot with Masha, a pro Russian model from Moscow, I realized how important to at least pretend that you are shooting for a famous publication. It has to be done professionaly, it has to be clean, you have to forget your lack of experience and just go with the flow.

The shoot lasted barely an hour, and we knocked out around 90 frames which is a very small number at least for me. The reason for such a short hoot was the weather outside the studio (-25F)

and therefore the heaters inside the large studio facility couldn't keep up with the cold. Masha was fully dressed for the light check, poses, etc and then we asked her to start posing for real, barely dressed. She was a trooper and just a very nice person, who never complained, whined or asked for anything (pro models are not just pro model looks)

below are the 2 shots we kept.

Fury!!

2009-12-21T00:40:00.000-08:00

I am currently visiting my family in Russia and boy is it cold here!!
We had a fashion editorial shoot of G. Skandal's new collection "Aliens" and it reminded me of the band called Rammstein. As you all may guess their music was playing VERY loudly during this rather tough shoot.

Lots of takes, lots of coffee and brandy, since it ws -30C outside and this huge facility is tough to heat up.

3 lights were used.

Stripbox with a red gel

Stripbox in the front

Small softbox for the BG.

hairspray and lighters for the fire.

Red gels for some reason gave a blurry effect and I have to look into that.

Also the Hensel Pro lights are prety darn slow in the recycle department so the shoot went like this -

click - tell a joke. click - cry a little. click - remember a curse word... yeah. fun but not really to much of it. I wish I had a profoto with its 10 clicks p/s. :)

Klara - my new favorite model

2009-12-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Klara is from Otto Models. Wanted something she didn't have in her book yet. I hope she likes...
One freakin' amazing model!! She is also a photographer so she knows what's going on in my poor head during a shoot.

I love Dockweoler Beach and I've been wanting to shoot there for a while now. The only problem is that the airplanes there are so loud that by the end of the day you lose your voice trying to screwm the directions to the model... lol. I resorted to communicating in a more of a straght forward way (last pic) :)

Klara came back to our house and she as so cold that beach shoot that a nice hot tub was a must. Good thing we didn't pack the lights and the cameras away yet, so here's one from the set. It is just one (out of 50) that I had the time to retouch and retouching was the hardest part here, since fair skinned people tend to get very red and blotchy while sitting in a 130 degree water... one tough retouch, and no you can't see the before.

Marla's Perfect Night

2009-11-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

Marla (band name MARLA)is a London and LA based musician/singer/composer/and now, with tons of confidence I will add "model" to the long list of her talents. While last night was not her first time in front of a camera, she absolutely blew me away with her artistic and expressive personality. It was so easy to work with her! Just set up and go! And she really went! Multititude of looks, sparkling personality left me with 500 shots with a 70% keeper rate. Really... what else a guy with a camera can wish for?!

These photos will probably be used to promote her next album which you will most likely hear about pretty soon. My favorite song on there is Betty the Raver is still playing in my head!

Lighting wise it was all very different but the ranger rx and the quadra were the saviors! There's also a natural light set.

Oumar Test Shoot

2009-11-27T22:51:00.000-08:00

Oumar is an amazing dancer and is not a bad model!
Today it was a go-see shoot, meaning that I've seen this model for the first time today and had a test shoot, just to learn their goods and bads.
To tell the truth, Oumar has lots of work to do in terms of learning how to pose, but his incredible physique compensates for the lack of modeling skills. I will be using him for my personal and perhaps
for commercial projects. Good day, but tiring, since I ended up consentrating on posing the model instead of shooting.
no oils were used, as he was quite shiny already it was hard not to overexpose the highlights
as for the lighting, we went a little extreme, removing all the baffles from the deep octa giving the guy very contrast shadows with very short fall off, where they were made even more contrasty by adding the kicker light.

Operation Cooperation

2009-11-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

Wow, Sunday was a blast! My new photo friend Kurt came in with some Alienbees to shoot with models Nick and Andre. Kurt is a great guy and if you need a good deal on a monitor he is your guy (inside joke, sorry)

Andre who is a professional actor and dancer and I ended up working together for pretty much all day and I have never worked with a model so creative and animate! Andre had all these amazing ideas, and I will tell you that for the first time ever I felt what it is like to work with a MODEL. No puppetier tricks, just hang in there and hope you are good enough to capture what this guy does.

At the end of the shooting day Kurt and I decided to come up with a quick lighting concept and the toughest part was to take our harsh Californian high noon (2pm) sun into consideration. Under good circumstances it actually makes a pretty good rim light at f16 ;)

anyway, look at the pics and see for yourself:

Adriana

2009-11-21T22:29:00.001-08:00

oday was Adriana's very first photoshoot and it was a "go-see" shoot with me as I am currently looking for models I can work with on a regular basis for various projects. Also, by the way, I am looking for some creative shutterbugs there, to pull together a small team for some greative togetherness... so if you are interested, dear SoCal peoples, holla.
Anyway, we shot at 2 locations and these are the shots that we liked (we have 50 keepers overall but I don't have the editing prowess for that)
It was miserably cold at the beach and we decided not to pretend and shoot a cool (cold) image. She is cold and she looks cold, hense the static pose. Small Quadra at the lowerst setting on a boom. bare

the second shot was a lot more complex.
Ranger with Deep Octa - camera left and 9 feet up
Quadra is fill
The sun happened to give off some orange pretty early in the day so we have some orange rim here.

Adriana has tons to learn in terms of posing but her amazing personality and natural soft looks made it happen tonight. Overall I am pretty happy and as always, feel free to bash, praise, say hi or send me cookies. All of these will greatly improve my quality of life

Like a Marlboro Ad

2009-11-18T20:23:00.001-08:00

had a fun shoot with a model looking to update her folio. There will be more but I edited just one so far.

Lessons learned

- don't let models venture away and talk to their friends on the phone while we are losing light.
- Be straight with them and tell them what looks good and especially what looks bad. They will give more shots this way.
-Ranger Deep octa is great, but I need a larger light mod. Suggestions? (Elinchrom, Profoto, Chimera only pls)

This is a simple shot and i used the big ranger and the Sun.

Fashionably lost

2009-11-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

This is the same Amalia model but the location is different, as well as pretty much the entire setup. I can't even say it was the same shoot. Same day, yes, but the rest...
let me just say that this was the most challenging location and the shoot I have ever done to date.
The place was really difficult to get to, being very deceiving how close it was. I sctatched the hell out of myself, while bringing the gear down into the dry creek bed.
The model was almost in tears, trying to stand up in high heels, which we decided to remove from the set entirely, after 30 minutes of struggle.
Technically this was the set of dragging the shutter and making sure the model is frozen in the time continuum. Lots of blurry shots in the beginning and about 20 minutes to find the right balance between the holy trinity of ISO, f stops and shuter speeds. I swear it reminded me of mixing a cocktail for some reason! We all needed a drink after this set.
I am pretty happy with the results, considering the circumstances. My wife was a great support, being an awesome MUA, model's support hotline and a voice activated lightstand! Love her to pieces!
Anyway, just one shot, sorry. More to come if I feel like it

Cool Waters

2009-11-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

Nick called me today, as I was walking my dogs, and asked for some portfolio headshots and a portrait or two just himself. Totally unprepared I said yes, since it was either a couple of hours of shooting or a couple of hours being bored. We have a heated pool at our apartment complex and decided to try something with water at the same time knocking out some natural light shots. Little did we know that our little model will be pushing himself almost to hypothermia THAT's dedication.

The light was pretty challenging since the pool is oddly shaped and we ended up with the deel octa to camera left and a bare Quadra all the way 40 feet away on the opposite side. I was very pleased at the performance of that little thingy, since it was working at full power while still managing to recycle at a pretty decent rate. Not as fast as the RX Speed though.

Nick is not a professional model and today was more of an extreme cold practice run for him. That heated pool is still 20 degrees cooler than I'd like it too be. Gotta go talk to the manager :)

Overall today pretty much was fun, since this is my first water shoot. I will absolutely return to our beloved pool and they say that the hot tub is gonan be fixed really soon :) cant wait!!

Mrs King

2009-11-13T20:50:00.001-08:00

my wife is very supportive even when I ask her to stay still for a minute (which is a huge accomplishment for her )
These are the samples from a quick test shoot we did right outside our windows on the bench. I tested my new Elinchrom Quadra and my wife tested her new hairdo

no makeup and very little editing. the top one is warmer since I played with color balance a tad. She liked the cooler one better and that's why i am posting both.

main - EL ranger with deep octa
hair rim - EL RQ w/small kit reflector behind a leafy branch (natural cookie)

the rest in the exif as always.

Foggy Due

2009-11-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

Souls of LA

2009-10-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

yet another street photo outing. There's always something magical about captureing raw emotions and just everyday life.
I encourage everyone who is passionate about photography and especially about people photography to go out and try this.
Play some music in your headphones and just watch. Don't forget to click.
You have only one shot to make it happen. I am not sure if I "made it happen" for the viewers, but consider this a neverending exercise in photography.

What I really liked about today is the light. Very harsh because of the super low humidity especially good for high contrast images, so this is what I was going for. Hard light is not always a bad thing, contrary to popular belief.

These photos were taken at the annual Taste of Soul event in LA, CA.

Brand New Kitty!

2009-10-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

actually kitties! The cat that lives by our place just had 4 little kittens and I am presenting one of them to you! Cute thing is only 3 hours old :)

Stormy Skies

2009-10-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

I' invited an old friend to work on some concepts and explore a location I've been waiting to shoot at for a while. It is on top of a tall hill overlooking the entire city. Quite spectacular. We started late (thanks, traffic) and on top of that it started to rain several frames into the shoot. We ended up waiting it in a small gazebo. So the actual shoot took around 40 minutes since Gyron, the model, started freezing his behind off (dude, it was only 60 degrees, what a whimp lol) Lots of fun and giggles. I will come back there again, perhaps during the sunrise.

The setup was really simple as you can see below and this is how we like it.

Ahh Seniors

2009-10-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've never done any senior shots so these are my first attempts at that. A rather quick shoot with Andrew (name changed) was lots of fun and it was great to expore each others creativity!

Avarice

2009-10-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Every now and then my head gets overloaded with ideas and the safety valve needs to be activated. This is the tie to experiment and to try something new. Model MAyhel is great for this. It's like getting some easy ladies with no strings attached - just for fun. No money, no pressure, no marriage :))

I've always wanted to do something with fabric and Coco - a great model, was just the right gal for the task. Here's some shots that we liked from that (8 hour long) day.

LA Heat

2009-09-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

I met this really sweet girl at a party hosted by a mutual friend and of course one of the first topics of our conversation was "hey would you model for me, pretty please? ;)"

She was great and didn't flake, which is an achievment on its own! So Donyet and I took Christina to Mt. Lee (Christina's last name is also Lee, how fun!) into the blazing 100F weather.

The light sucked so bad - it was painful, but I swer I will be putting a Power Ranger sticker on my Ranger because the beast totally saved the day. Shooting at 80% power and delivering crazy narrow apertures the Ranger made my day. Special thank to Christina who was a real delight to work with and proved to be a trooper in LA Heat.

Nick and Eve - Love in Monochrome

2009-09-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

've been eager to work with this couple for a while now. So happened they were both available on a weekday and came over to shoot. I will be honest that none of my prepared and drawn out shots happened (ok except the plane one, that one HAD to be done).
The original concept was "street photography style". Somehow the line of communication was broken and we ended up taking posed shots, which was not bad, but not really what I had in mind. They also disregarded my advice not to wear black or whites and especially doing that together lol... I guess I will carry over this concept to my next shoot.
For now - 4 photos that we liked.
Lots of keepers today, despite the harsh natural lighting and I am off to sleep a somewhat happy camper.

Hell On Earth

2009-08-30T00:04:00.000-07:00

First thought - the Russians have finally waged nuclear war on our little town :)

Nope - just the wild fires ) really great looking from 60 miles away. This was taken at Kenneth Hahn park where as you can see a spectacular view of the city opens.

New Elinchrom Ranger

2009-08-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Ranger RX Speed is a fine piece of gear. Here's some examples of what it can do

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T17:01:00.000-07:00