4 WEIRDEST MOMENTS During Photoshoots! We Asked 4 PROs

“Whatever situations you’re in, you have to find a way to rock it.”

Mary Marantz

Depending on the location, people you work with and random hiccups of uncontrollable universe, some peculiar situations might arise on set, which you might find simply weird. Maybe your maternity photoshoot will rapidly change direction, as baby suddenly decides that it’s her mother’s time to go into labor. Or during a nice set in the middle of a gorgeous meadow, a mischievous bee stings your model in the nose, and well of course it is a beauty shoot that you prepared for for months.

So what do you do?

We asked 4 PRO photographers in Los Angeles how they wing it 🙂

The full interview is available of YOUTUBE. For your convenience, here is the transcript of it as well.

Bekah Wriedt @bekahwriedt : I remember once I almost got kidnapped during a photo shoot. I don’t know if I could-

Bekah Wriedt @bekahwriedt : A white van. I was shooting downtown, and my model saw it. I had her turned to walk the other way, and she saw this white van flying towards us, and it had the door open. There was two men out, and we just went into our cars and drove away, and then they blocked the exit. They drove over the median, and it was quite the adventure.

Julia Mindar @juliamindar_photography : When I shoot outdoors, I see all these beautiful models. I have a lot of attention from the guys, passing by, whistling. This is the funny part, but I kind of like all these positive people are act positively. This is the fun part of this job, especially when they’re like … I shoot lingerie or something, so we get a lot of attention. We can have the little couch in there, taking pictures. It’s fun.

Kelly Elaine @kellyelainephoto : When I first moved to L.A., this must have been about six years ago or something. I wanted to get some new subjects, so I put an ad on Craigslist about doing black and white editorial work. I got three responses. One guy was fantastic and I still keep in touch with him today. One woman was a little off her rocker, but not dangerous, completely harmless. Then one other guy responded, and he said he would be fine with getting naked in the photos, if I wanted him to. Needless to say, I didn’t work with that guy. Just beware of Craigslist.

Loretta Richert @lolagraphy_photo : I have shot some dancers in the rain and in the mud, and I’ve hiked dancers into swimming ponds where it’s raining and muddy, and I’ll have them get in, and jump in. That’s a little peculiar, I guess. I mean, those are some of my … I love when something is odd or different about the shoot so I can kind of expand upon the peculiar.

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting!

will take place on February 6th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode :

Robert Tate’s Perfect Portraits!

“Sunny, warm, smooth, soothing” is how one might describe these amazing photographs captured by one and only Robert Tate. Swimming in beautiful natural light, the model looks flawless!

A snippet of Photographer’s story:

“Robert Tate is an experienced photographer whose work focuses on fashion and portraiture. Robert’s work has been featured in various publications and countless fashion brands’ look books and catalogs. ”

This session’s crew comprised of:

photographer: Robert Tate | Instagram

model: | Instagram

At the location:

Stage Hill 3 is one of our largest and brightest stages. Advantageously positioned with the windows facing west and north, this stage gets plenty of sift indirect sunlight in the first half of the day and lots of direct sunbeams in the second half. As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already. For more information visit stage Hill 3 on our website.

New York Stages: NY Rooftop

Catching winter sky in New York has become much easier, now that you have access to our New York Rooftop! With Manhattan views, easy access, plenty of space to move around, you can easily make another Woody Allen alike movie!

WHERE IS IT?

All 8 studios are located at 4020 22nd Street, 4th floor, Long Island City 11101. So plan your commute accordingly. Please call us if you are running late – (844) 644 3377.

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

If you ever rented out any of our LA studios – you know the drill. It’s the same policies, freebies and level of customer service (which is impeccable).

To mention it once again, here is what is included:

3x Flash Units (Strobes)
Paper backdrops (white, grey, black) come preinstalled.
Fans, Sand Bags etc
2x Make-up Station
Mini Fridge (3.2 cu.ft.)
Black Leather Sofa
NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED
It is a 100% private stage.
We do not require any permits/insurance to shoot
It comes with Sound System to set the mood of the session
Free WiFi is on us!

Find out more about our new NY Rooftop ! ‘s pricing and availability by visiting our website!

New York Stages: NY Studio 7 “Moroccan Tile”

There is the reason behind our intention to place moroccan tiles inside our New York studio 7 – these tiles offer a unique touch and feel to the area or space where they are incorporated. White tile embellished by yellowish-to-aquamarine gradient of the color wall can create an amazing contrast on the photograph. Keeping in mind distinct design of other 7 New York stages at the same location, in theory you can shoot dozens of different thematic pictures within one day!

WHERE IS IT?

All 8 studios are located at 4020 22nd Street, 4th floor, Long Island City 11101. So plan your commute accordingly. Please call us if you are running late – (844) 644 3377.

WHAT IS INCLUDED?

If you ever rented out any of our LA studios – you know the drill. It’s the same policies, freebies and level of customer service (which is impeccable).

To mention it once again, here is what is included:

3x Flash Units (Strobes)
Paper backdrops (white, grey, black) come preinstalled.
Fans, Sand Bags etc
2x Make-up Station
Mini Fridge (3.2 cu.ft.)
Black Leather Sofa
NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED
It is a 100% private stage.
We do not require any permits/insurance to shoot
It comes with Sound System to set the mood of the session
Free WiFi is on us!

Find out more about our new NY Studio 7 “Moroccan Tile”! ‘s pricing and availability by visiting our website!

Stage UPGRADE: Creeper/ivy plant in Hill 4

Upgrading stage Hill 4 has become if not daily but definitely weekly task. Although some changes, are small, each one is pretty distinct and create a theme in your photo that was impossible before. To remind you, there are THREE unique settings – Tropical “Jungle” leaf wall, white stained “staircase to heaven” section, and orange “desert” corner with woven chairs, and mosaic textured floor.And now there is an oasis in the desert. –creeper/ivy plant setup in the corner of the textured wall and the window.

As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already.

Check out Hill 4 on our website for included equipment and affordable rates!

Fine Art Festive Photo: Winter Portraits in the Studio with Gavin Hoey

In this episode the prolific photographer Gavin Hoey with Adorama TV is going to share this awesome Festive Stars background and his method of how to create Fine Art Portrait with a festive feel!!

To set the theme of the photograph Gavin uses a pre-made background with a big star in the middle of the screen with lots of small stars above it. The model will be looking up at the stars in the photo. David continues: “… the only problem is, this is the only star I’ve got, so this is going to do a lot of work and there will be a bit of post-processing involved. Now to make the post-processing a lot easier, I’m going to go with a black back ground…

… and then I need to light the star. Now I could use absolutely any sort of lighting for this. I’m going to go with the specular LEDs but anything will work because all I need is a nice flat image of the star. Now if you’re going to use LED lighting and aperture priority mode. Just make sure you adjust your exposure compensation probably -2, in my case to make sure that black background is genuinely deep perfect black.”

This composition will consist of two types of stars – the center, well lit star; and secondary cloned small stars.

David continues: “My second star photo needs a bit of logical thinking because there’s going to be a bright star in the middle, lighting the ones along the top, so I need to light this star as if it was lit from something below and in the center, so that means getting my light source and getting it lowered down so I have light coming up from underneath…

… what I need to do with this is just give it a little spin, just a gentle spin and as it comes around to me and squares up to me then I can hit the shutter and get my shot.

With these two versions of star we can successfully create our festive background in Adobe Photoshop. Luckily for you Mr. Hoey has already created a pretty neat template for that with lots of room for creative freedom.

Once the template is ready, we can bring in the model, in Gavin’s case the amazing Lauren!

For this light setup Gavin uses eVOLV 200 with a small Diffuser Dome on it. David continues: “Diffusing dome does a couple of things; it’s smooth the light, gives a lot more even light and it mimics the light from the star in the background. You could do this with just the bare bulb but it’s much more comfy for the models to have a slightly bigger light source like the Diffusing Dome to look at.”

“Now the whole thing is on a boom arm and if you’re going to use a boom arm, you need to take safety into account, so I’ve got a sandbag at the bottom, a sandbag at the end and that should mean, it’s nice and balanced so it doesn’t sort of suddenly drop down. “

Now, let’s see what would be the best position for the model to take for the final photo.

Mr. Hoey examines – “If Lauren looks towards me, it doesn’t really work because we only have one light in this shot, it’s from above and it’s not going to light Lauren’s face unless she looks towards the light.

And when she does that works really well.

“At the moment the eVOLV 200 is right up against the background and although that works, it is quite shadowy on Lauren’s face at least on the side that I can see from the camera position. Now to get around that, I’m going to move the light ever so slightly further away from the background and that should put a little bit more light on the side of Lauren that I can actually see and that works really well. “

Gavin continues: “I’m really happy how this is looking but there’s one last thing we can do just to refine the position that Lauren looks at, so if I asked Lauren to look towards the light, it could be quite uncomfortable, I’m actually going to ask her to look just slightly past the light which is a little bit more comfortable for the models point of view.”

“When Lauren does that and I go in close looking at her eye, I can see that the eye is really white and that is not the look I want. If I ask Lauren just to look in front and the other side of the light, I can actually see her eye in the shot and that looks way better so when I’m asking Lauren to look around, I’m always going to ask her to look just in front of the light.

Now it is time to take some pictures! Notice that the model is positioned against grey background, which is really important and will help a lot during processing photo in Photoshop.

After taking several images it is time to fuse our pre-made background and photos with the model together. To do that let’s drag the photo with the model onto the Gavin’s star project.

After proper sizing ( command + T (Mac) for size manipulation) we have Lauren positioned right under stars, as we wanted. Let’s stretch the edges of the imported photo so it will nicely cover whole background. Select edges of the photo, press command+T and start stretching the outer side towards the edge of the canvas.

Once we have the whole canvas covered up, it is time to blend the photo in. Go to Layer -> layer mask -> hide all.

Gavin continues: “Now this seems really weird because when you click on it, all of that work disappears and what we get is a black rectangle next to the layer. That’s a layer mask and I can bring Lauren back in just a few areas by getting the paintbrush tool, making sure my brush color is white, with a big and soft brush, I can just click and paint and bring Lauren back through and I end up with that nice vignetted look as well. “

Try experimenting more with Gavin’s template to get colder – warmer, more pronounced/dramatic looks!

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – Studio Lighting 101 : Introduction to Studio Lighting and 3-Light Set Up

will take place on January 9th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with Gavin Hoey and Adorama TV:

Become Better Photographer: Negative Fill with David Bergman

Shooting your subject with the flash looking straight onto the subject will give no-shadow, flat photograph ( like this one)

In order to create depth in the photograph we need to move our light source to the side, so one side of the subject will be brighter than the other.

In this episode David Bergman with AdoramaTv will show you how to create a Negative Fill.

Photographer David Bergman examines this setup: “However, if you’re shooting in a room with white walls, or even outside, you might still have a lot of light bouncing around. I’m simulating that look by using a big white V flat, and all of that light reflecting off the walls fills in those shadows a bit more than I’d like.

David continues: “Today we’re going to use negative fill. Instead of using another flash, or a right reflector to kick some light back into our subject, we’re gonna use black to absorb the light, and prevent as much of the reflection as possible. I can use another V flat or even carefully place a small piece of foam core or any black material like duvateen, on the shadow side of her face.

“Some light will always be bouncing back, unless we’re in a completely black room. But the closer I put the black card to her, the darker the shadows are gonna be.”

“The light hitting her on the right doesn’t change at all, but by making the shadows on the other side darker, it increases the contrast which makes the image just a bit more dramatic. “

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – Studio Lighting 101 : Introduction to Studio Lighting and 3-Light Set Up

will take place on January 9th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING TODAY? We Asked 4 Photographers Ep. 1

“Today, I am going to shoot someone… and they will love me for it!”

Unknown

What will new 2019 year bring to your professional portfolio? Will we see your photographs on the cover of Vogue or Sports Illustrated? Or will we have trouble catching our breath in awe while looking at your amazing work at major art galleries? This year can bring tremendous success to those who are ready to fight for it, to those who will treat every new day as the new opportunity to get one step closer to the goal!

So… what are you shooting today?

We asked 4 PRO photographers in Los Angeles the same question! 🙂

The full interview is available of YOUTUBE. For your convenience, here is the transcript of it as well.

Alex Harper @alexgharper : We’re shooting an artist, musician, and I’ve got a couple different setups planned. I have a lighting designer in there as well as an assistant setting up for me, right now. Thank God for them, and we’re just going to see. It’s going to be a lot of different lights, some stuff with plastic, gels.

Alex Harper @alexgharper : I really love warm tones, so oranges, reds, goldenrod, all of that spectrum. Honestly, I felt like I had to get away from it awhile because I was just so drawn into those colors, but took a break. I’m coming back. We’ll see how I feel about it, today.

Jhana @shotbyjhana : So today, I’m going to go out on the street and do some street photography. I shoot a lot of stuff downtown. There is a community called Skid Row, where a lot of homeless people live, and I’m actually doing a series on that. It’s an ongoing series. It’s been going on for probably like a year or more. But yeah, we’re going to be out shooting in the street. Random people, and cool stuff that we can see.

Molly Pan @mollypanphotography : I have wanted to work with Claudine for so long because she’s gorgeous, and she’s got the white hair, and she’s aging gracefully. I don’t get a chance to work with a lot of older people. The process of aging is just so beautiful. And now that I’m in my 30s, I’m starting to go through that process, and I’m really looking forward to getting older.

Jei Romanes @wanderlustcreatives : We are doing a fashion shoot, but it’s bridal-inspired. We are working with a really great designer, LA-based designer, and it has a very spring vibe. We are doing a lot of pastels and colors.

Gaile Romanes @wanderlustcreatives: Our approach is more fashion, but we always say that to make something more bridal, just add flowers to it. It makes it more romantic.

WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – Studio Lighting 102 : Portrait Photography Lighting!

will take place on February 6th, 7-9pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode :

Christine Han For Mystree

E-comm photo shoots are pretty popular at our studios for one simple reason – we provide everything you need to make your next collection look just perfect!

A quick excerpt from brand’s bio:

“Located in the heart of Los Angeles, Mystree was established in 2006 with a goal to create a boutique line that would outfit contemporary women with beautiful, high quality clothing. Our collection is mainly knit driven with heavy focus on lace, ruffles, crochet, sweater, and prints. We draw inspiration from west coast bohemian chic intertwined with east coast elegant sexy. Mystree is romantic, sophisticated, and comfortable.”

This session’s crew comprised of:

photographer: Christine Han | Instagram | Website

At the location:

Pro Stage II has been adorned with a few additions. Firstly, now there is a huge American flag that covers a good portion of the wall and is already becoming a hallmark of the Pro stages. In addition to that, standard photo backdrops of black, white and grey color, and studio lighting for stills are also included in the hourly rate. Make sure to catch the coolness of this space with your photo and video cameras and book with us NOW.