Black And White | YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN-tz

Gustavo

May 012011

Gustavo

Last week I had an awesome shoot with my friend Gustavo in Venice. An actor who moved here from Puerto Rico, he’s a very charismatic guy who is a natural in front of the camera. I recently had a discussion with a prominent Hollywood portrait photographer about how most of my subjects I shoot for editorial clients are not used to being in front of the camera and often need to be coached in order to look natural. I told him how much I enjoy it when I work with actors and models who know what to do in front of the camera and can really bring something to the shoot. He works with a lot of actors and said I’d be surprised how many don’t know what to do in front of a still camera. Fortunately that wasn’t the case with Gustavo, who gave me everything from goofy faces to quiet, reflective moments and was even dancing for awhile. Word is he’s a very talented dancer and competed a lot back in PR. Despite getting some great expressions, this moment stands out as my favorite from the shoot. If you want to see more, I’ve posted them on my Facebook page. Go check ‘em out! And while you’re there, feel free to “Like” me so we can keep in touch!

I’ve also entered this photo along with two others in the Photo District News’s Faces portrait contest, which happens to have a People’s Choice award. Please take the time to go there and VOTE for me by following these links! Looks like you can only vote for one though. And if you’re super nice feel free to copy the links and tell others to vote. Thanks!

http://facesphotocontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009411558
http://facesphotocontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009411559
http://facesphotocontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1009411560

Robert Lobetta for Hair's How magazine

portrait, uncategorized, venice No Responses »

Apr 152011

Robert Lobetta for Hair's How Magazine

Robert Lobetta

Last month I had a great shoot for Hair’s How magazine with legendary hair stylist and artist Robert Lobetta, though nothing went as planned. We had been aiming to shoot at the LA Louvre in Venice, but when we arrived I wasn’t happy with the limited access they were allowing us. So, we started looking for another space and were fortunate to be able to arrange use of the Canal Club, a nearby restaurant, as our studio. With the restaurant not yet open for business, we had the run of the place and were able to produce some creative shots. Robert was a great subject, comfortable in front of the camera and willing to work with me to make the shots unique. And when I offered to show him the back of my camera – something I’ve become accustomed to doing either because everyone asks, or as a tool to help me describe what I’m aiming for – he refused to look, saying that doing so would make him want to take control and he wanted to trust in my vision. It was great to work with someone whose business revolves around image, but who was still trusting enough to let me do my work as I see fit.

I had also brought all my lights with me, expecting to use them. Robert has a great look and I had a preconceived vision about the type of portrait I was aiming for. But once we were inside I kept being drawn toward a couple of wonderful natural light sources and, despite unpacking my stands and a couple of strobes, left them untouched, opting only to use a reflector. I think it worked out well.

If you’ve got some time, hop over to Robert’s site. He does it all and has a ton of great work on display.

Death Valley 2

landscape, Nature No Responses »

Apr 162010

Eureka Sand Dunes, Death Valley, Calif.

I have lots of new photos to post, but most are from magazines assignments and haven’t been published yet. So, in an effort to avoid stagnation I went back through my Death Valley photos and picked out a few new ones to post. More info about this trip can be seen 3 posts back, so I won’t repeat it here. More new work coming soon! Continue reading »

RX Bandits

portrait 24 Responses »

May 112009

2009-05-09-rx-bandits-final-web

I had a fun time continuing my experimentation with the Hasselblad the other day during a shoot with Long Beach-area band RX Bandits. The shoot was for Sargent House Records, who needed band photos for press kits being used to promote the bands upcoming album “Mandala.” The idea for this came from doing a little background research on the band and coming across a clip of guitarist Steve Choi describing their music as being a soundtrack to a movie playing in their head. I was thinking about doing a composite image using a bunch of sequential 35mm negatives to play with the cinematic concept, but not having a scanner and being on a limited budget I opted to continue playing around with my recent shoot-through-the-antique-camera kick to see if I could come up with something comparable. It doesn’t quite convey the concept that got the ball rolling, but it kind of evolved into its own thing that I thought worked pretty well. The band members were a bunch of cool, chill guys, making for a relaxed, fun shoot. Band members are, left to right, Matthew Embree, Steve Choi, Christopher Tsagakis and Joseph Troy.

Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN-tz

Gustavo

Robert Lobetta for Hair's How magazine

Death Valley 2

RX Bandits

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