MY WORK FOR LITTLE MOMMY SPOTTED IN TARGET

I just saw these in Target...a job I shot early last summer is now seeing the light of day. Little Mommy dolls for Mattel. I was involved in shooting all the images for the re-brand of Little Mommy. So More examples and tearsheets to come once they come out with all their advertising.

SECRET SANTA

COWBOY UP!

Howdy Pardner.......

SUPER COOL EDITORIAL ASSIGNMENT

I recently was assigned to shoot The Boiler family for Southbay Magazine. Kari Boiler brought Bugaboo strollers to the US from Amsterdam and John Boiler is the CEO of 72 And Sunny. What a fun and creative family to hang out with and in their new beautiful home it is easy to take some great images.

EL MATADOR

Dipping my toe into the world of motion to compliment my stills...AND I LIKE IT!

This is a low rez teaser version...larger will be available on my website soon.

BLOUME BABY, ACT 2

I recently just finished up a very busy day at a very beautiful house shooting images for my client Bloume Baby which are being shown on their website www.bloumebaby.com along with large prints for the store. This past year I photographed her and her store for an editorial article. She felt the photos and the article really conveyed an accurate sense of her brand so she hired me to shoot her fall catalog. Cute kids in cute clothes, what more could one ask for? Maybe a nap.

SUMMER IS OVER BUT THE IMAGES ARE HERE TO STAY

Here is a sneak peak at some work I have been working on this summer. This one just hot off the editing table. More to come soon......

YUMMMMMM

LETS TALK ABOUT PHOTOS

This past week I was asked to guest lecture with the photography students at The Art Institute of Nashville, via iChat. The students initially sent me a list of questions that spanned topics from my creative process, how I dealt with production, my time with Getty Images and my freelance career shooting for advertising and editorial clients.

Here are three of my favorite questions and topics we discussed:

1) How much has your editing and art directing experience helped with your shooting for yourself?

My editing and art directing experience impacted my shooting style by 90%. There were consistent themes throughout my photography education and early career, like light quality and composition, but producing and art directing shoots with other photographers to then editing their work helped me hone in on what works and what doesn't work to create a successful image. There are key elements that need to be decided before any frames are taken. Strong production elements like appropriate locations, great talent and the finishing touches of styling all add immensely to how I shoot and how I can succinctly find the moments and tell a story. I didn't know that coming out of photography school. Basically you learn a lot about what you like stylistically, what works photographically, and how to solve problems visually by being involved on all aspects of the production from concept to final edits. Magic can happen by itself, but through smart choices and clear direction it can happen a lot easier once on set.

2) Define "Authentic"

The advertising photography buzz word of the 2000's. This buzz word was coined in response to our cultures fixation on being plugged in to our mobile devices and the digital age. Authentic images are meant to communicate a more powerful message of the benefits of connection to each other and our communities not a staged life we can only aspire to.

Many editors and art buyers could have their own idea of what this buzz word means or what creatives mean when they ask for this in imagery, but basically it means the image has to be believable. The viewer needs to connect emotionally to the subjects or moments in this "authentic" image. It has to look as if it just happened and the photographer was there to quickly and luckily catch it. Or it has to feel that you are a part of the community being depicted. You have an inside view into a world you either want for yourself or already have and relate to. The viewer can put themselves in the scene...they believe it. The scenarios can be set up, but within that scene the moment you are trying to capture needs to feel like it really happened.

3)When editing your own images, how do you decide between them?

Editing film and contact sheets really helped me to quickly recognize which image successfully tells a story within a frame. Just the act of narrowing my view to image by image with a loupe I could see the shoot unfold and my eye could react to one image at a time. If my eye moves comfortably around the frame and the story is clear without any awkward visual interruptions or visual elements that take away from the believability of the image than it was a contender. Then came the idea of looking for compositions that left room for copy and were weighted nicely within the frame. Also, if I was looking at a portrait of a person and they were smiling did I feel like I could smile back to them? These were all snap judgements I needed to make while editing from contact sheets. now I edit in Lightroom. It doesn't provide the same intimacy that editing with a loupe and contact sheet provided but the qualities I am looking for in a successful image are about the same. The one thing that is the same is if an image jumps off a page of contacts, or a monitor, then it is most likely a successful image.

I would like to thank the teacher Johanna Lancaster for reaching out to me and asking me to be involved with her students. I hope it was as informative for them as it was enjoyable for me.

NEW WORK FOR FIT PREGNANCY MAGAZINE

Back in May I was asked to shoot a couple of articles for Fit Pregnancy. The issue has finally hit the newsstands so I can share it with you. It is the Aug/ Sept 2011 issue with a pregnant Jewel on the cover which was shot by Victoria Pearson, who ironically I used to art direct while at Getty Images. It is great to share pages with her.