Pet Pigeons at FD

Designer Veronica Lopez, along with her creative team, was in the studio shooting an amazing campaign for Pet Pigeons, an LA based boutique. Veronica provided creative direction, and Adrian Pruett was responsible for this amazing cinematography. A little bit about the designer: “Veronica transforms heavy metals, natural stones, and colorful wire into handmade, one of a kind, emotional expressions of strength and boldness. Her love of the female form and the aspirational and transformational nature of jewelry drives her new levels with each collection.” Be sure to head over to the website to see more of what Pet Pigeons has to offer: //www.petpigeons.us/ Director of Photography Adrian Pruett has a vast resume with some impressive experience, as well as an amazing body of work. Check out more of his work and connect via his WEBSITE. The original video, some beautiful stills, and the full creative team can be found HERE on the Pet Pigeons website. Pet Pigeons Espíritus Collection from adrian pruett on Vimeo. Stage C was used for this shoot, and thanks to some amazing creativity, the space was transformed into something sleek and simply beautiful. The studio features a high-key industrial look, with a huge bank of windows running along the east side of the studio. Equipped with a 19′ cyc-wall, standard colored photo backdrop paper, a green grass wall, 28″ Mola Setti beauty dish, and more, Stage C is a true photo/video playground! Take a look at Stage C HERE.

Toshio Taguchi for Jesús Coca

Here at FD, our Pro Stages have been gaining notoriety as an ideal locale for dance photography as well as music videos. Here is a set done by Toshio Taguchi with professional dancer, choreographer and model Jesús Coca.Toshio had this to say about his experience at FD Photo Studio: “I’ve been shooting for his new profile photo as a dancer. It was a perfect day for shooting because we shot with both natural sunlight and flash in Pro Stage I. Also, the studio was great for us.” Originally hailing from Japan, Toshio is a fashion photographer now based in Los Angeles. You can visit his WEBSITE to learn about him and see more of his excellent work, or connect via INSTAGRAM. Jesús Coca is a multitalented artist from Barcelona, Spain. You can get into contact HERE. Pro Stage I was used for this shoot. A huge space offering a lot of room to move around and accommodate large crews, it is also a fantastic choice if you plan on shooting natural light or want some of LA’s beautiful skyline in your project. Equipped with a large cyclorama, photo backdrop paper, and the standard three-light studio setup, the possibilities are truly up to you. The space also includes a walk-out fire escape, for a nice urban look. Take a closer look at Pro Stage I on our WEBSITE.

Spring Contest Winners!

FD Photo Studio has been hosting a contest for Spring 2015. The rules were simple, all studio users (photographers, videograpers, hair, makeup, etc.) were encouraged to write a Yelp review, and that made participants eligible to be randomly selected to win a 12, 8, and 4-hour package! We are extremely grateful for everybody who participated and left a review. We were glad to see that most of the reviews are positive, and are flattered that clients love our studio. We will definitely make sure to address the issues that some of the reviewers brought to light, and we will continue to improve the studio while keeping the same super-affordable rates. There were a total of 38 reviews, and the prizes were randomly selected from this pool. HERE ARE THE RESULTS: (Drumroll, please…) FIRST PLACE: The 12-hour package goes to Dion Bagaporo! Dion is a photographer, designer, and marketing specialist based in Rancho Cucamonga. He got his review in on the last day of the contest period! You can view his full review HERE. Thank you Dion, and congratulations! SECOND PLACE: The 8-hour package goes to LA based photographer Ricky Dorn. Ricky is a portrait and fashion photographer based in Corona, CA. You can see the kind words and photo taken at the studio HERE. Thank you Ricky! THIRD PLACE: The 4-hour package winner is Edel Ramirez, AKA: Edelart. Edel is a photographer and an amazing illustrator. You can see the full review along with photos HERE. Congratulations Edel! HONORABLE PRIZE: There was such great support by our studio users that we decided to give away a bonus 4-hour package! The additional package winner is Ryan L. of Costa Mesa, CA. Take a look at Ryan’s review HERE. Felicitations Ryan! Thanks again to ALL participants for the wonderful feedback! We will take your comments, good and bad, into consideration and continue to improve our studio. Stay tuned, will will be announcing a similar opportunity soon for this summer! FD Photo Studio thanks you for all of your support!

NINA B ROZE Shot at FD

NINA B ROZE, an active apparel line, was in the studio shooting some of their pieces for a current Kickstarter campaign. The team used Stage A, and they created some amazing looks!

Here is what they had to say about the session: “We had an amazing day at FD photo studio in Stage A. The lighting on that day could not have been better, its a beautiful white space that allows for tons of creativity. FD team is super helpful, Toma was there and answered all our questions with a smile. We ended up with beautiful photographs. I will highly recommend your studio to other creative types as well as coming back for our future shoots.”

View the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/414127847/nina-b-roze-luxurious-feminine-activewear-made-in

You can connect and learn more about NINA B ROZE HERE.

Stage A is a favorite amongst natural-light shooters at FD. The space features large windows facing north and east, with a great industrial feel and a view of Downtown Los Angeles. Equipped with the same hardware that adorns all of our studios, Stage A offers a myriad of creative potential. Take a closer look and view the calendar for availability on our WEBSITE.

Lighting How To: Corporate Portrait

Here is a fantastic, business natured portrait. We’re going to give a brief breakdown to explain the lighting, and hopefully provide you with some inspiration for your next studio project. This portrait consists of three lights: 1. The key light is a beauty dish to the camera’s left. The beauty dish is meant to give a concentrated, yet soft light; making it ideal for portraits. Beauty dishes come in a range of sizes, but they generally function like this: the light from the strobe reflects off of a central dish, illuminating the pan, and creating the characteristic light given by this modifier. Beauty dishes are often used with an additional diffuser over the front of the setup, for a softer look. Many wonderful portraits are made with this piece of equipment, and you can tell by the characteristic, small, circular catchlight in the subjects’ eyes. Seen here, there is a reflector positioned to the camera’s right, helping to fill in the shadows on the man’s face and body using the beauty dish’s light. 2. The second light is on a boom, slightly above and behind the subject. The strobe in this case was outfitted with a snoot, and used to highlight the subjects hair and shoulders. This helps to create separation of the model from the background, as well as add dimension to the figure. A snoot is a conical shaped light modifier used to direct the light and avoid any unwanted spill. 3. The final light positioned to the left of the subject is intended to light the background, adding a beautiful gradient to the backdrop. To avoid any light spilling onto the subject, there is a flag separating this light from the person being photographed. That is the simple breakdown of this photo. An interesting challenge for you – find a picture that you really admire, and try to analyze and recreate the same look the next time you’re in the studio! This awesome image and lighting diagram was provided by Toma Kostygina. You can view more of her work on her website: //www.tomakostygina.com/

Michael Miller with Lil Boosie

Photographer Michael Miller was in the studio making some portraits of hip-hop artist Lil Boosie. The crew chose Pro Stages I and II to make their images, and the production day went down smoothly. “Famed photographer/director Mike Miller has worked with some of the most iconic 90’s supermodels, photographed over 500 major-label album covers from all genres of music from Tupac, Nick Cave to Herb Albert. Recently photographed and directed YG, A$AP, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Jeezy.” Michael Miller is responsible for some very iconic images of big names in music and the entertainment industry. Browsing through his portfolio, you will come across some photos of that you have surely seen before. Take a look at some of Mike’s work on his website: //www.mikemillerphoto.com/ or via INSTAGRAM. “Boosie Badazz” AKA Lil Boosie is an American rapper hailing from Louisiana. You can connect and follow Boosie HERE. Pro Stages I and II are located on East 11th Street, right in the heart of the Fashion District. These huge, open floor plan studios offer a lot of space for your big production, or just to move around and have room to get creative. Both spaces feature large cyc walls as well as the standard array of backdrop paper. Pro Stage I has huge north and west facing windows, offering a lot of natural light; while Pro Stage I has one smaller bank of windows on the west side of the stage, giving the photographer or videographer more control over the ambient light. Take a closer look: Pro Stage I & Pro Stage II

Mannequins Available at FD

Need to cleanly display your garments on an appropriate form, or are you simply looking for props to add flare to your shoot? FD Photo Studio is now offering mannequin rentals for just $10 per form for your entire session. We have 3 styles available:

The full body, headless male figure is a light skin tone and stands just shy of 6 feet tall.
The full body female figure has a head, a great applicant for a simple showcase of jewelry or headwear. It is a sleek silver color, really making those blacks pop. She stands at an even 6 feet.
The torso figure is a cloth padded model in a subtle and classic gray. With the stand, it is 3 feet 5 inches tall.

To secure your mannequin-friend for a shoot, simply make a request when booking or let us know when confirming your reservation with a staff member. At just $10 each, why not!

Randy Ly for Super Street Magazine!

Hey car fans and Super Street readers! Randy Ly was in the studio shooting photos for the Vol. 19 No. 5 issue. Here are some of the photos from the team’s clean set, congratulations Randy! Randy Ly is a Los Angeles based photographer, and FD Photo Studio regular. Take a look at more of his work on his WEBSITE, or connect via INSTAGRAM. You can reach the model for the shoot, Rebecca Garcia, HERE. The team created this awesome editorial spread using Stage D. With opaque windows facing west and south, this huge space boasts some of the best warm evening light in the studio. Stage D is a large space with tons of room to work, and utilize both natural light and the provided studio lighting. A favorite for both photographers and videographers. Take a closer look at Stage D on our WEBSITE.

Corey Kennedy at FD Photo Studio

Photographer and brand creator Corey Kennedy spent some time in the studio making these suave images. The team took to Stage C, explored several creative solutions, and came away with some very solid images.

Here are some words from Corey about the session: “The shoot we planned was based in expressing her playful personality in a sensual scene. We also wanted to help display some of the pieces from my clothing brand, @nkdscty. The great setup of the studio allowed us to work very efficiently and use the additional time to think of different poses, angles, and sets that we didn’t otherwise plan. I will definitely use FD Studio in the future for studio sets.” More of Corey Kennedy’s work and information about his clothing brand, Naked Society AKA NKD SCTY, can be found on his WEBSITE, or you can connect via INSTAGRAM. The model for the shoot was Shay Maria, and you can connect with her HERE. Stage C was used for this duo’s creative session. The studio features a huge bank of windows running along the east side of the studio, as well as more windows providing natural light from the south. On the north end of the room, a large CYC wall, and the south features photo backdrop paper. With tons of space for a large crew, or for your small crew to move around and create, Stage C offers a diverse area for any project. A true photographer’s playground! Take a closer look HERE.