How to shoot in a rental studio with Mark Wallace

What is your workflow when you shoot at the studio? How do you prepare? What is the strategy? As with any other important event where your skill has to shine, a certain level of preparation is definitely required. While there has been a plenty of articles written by FD, we have decided to seek a third respected party opinion. Today, we would like to introduce to you the Studio Workflow of Mark Wallace, captured by Adorama TV. First step, once you get inside the stage:

EXPLORE THE STUDIO AND EQUIPMENT

It is very important to know what is included in the hourly rate. Some studios would charge extra for the strobe lights or rental grip equipment. Some studios would lack the essential furniture required for any successful photoshoot. The list of the things you need to make sure you will have:

Strobe Lights

With our studio you will always have three strobe already included in the hourly rate and ready for you inside the stage. It comes with various modifiers that are available upon request. In other studios however, it might cost extra.

Backdrops

While it is impossible to have all colors at the constantly running studio, the essentials are always required to be available. Make sure that the most useful and common colors – white, grey and black – are available. Find out, how the studio prices its use. At FD, you will have black, grey and white colors installed from the start, with 5 feet for any color included for free. We also provide other colors upon request at the additional price.

MakeUp Station and Changing Room

Is there a place for a model to change? Is it private? Is there a makeup station available for a professional production? Every photo studio in good standing must have it inside each stage. It also must come with clothing racks that are mobile, so you could load your wardrobe from your car right on it. Thinking in advance about the steamer is also a good idea. Some of these things would cost extra for you, so make sure to ask about it. At FD, we have it inside each stage except rooftop, included in the hourly rate.

Other Furniture

Couches, chairs, stools, cubes, plants, beds, anything that you might use in the shoot can become a crucial point of your success. Awesome studios, like ours, would always have a variety of props available for your game.

IF WORKING WITH MODEL

If you are working with the model, make sure to establish professional boundaries depending on your initial agreement right from the start. If the model hired you, pay attention to her needs, ideas and desires, your creativity is your asset but her wish is the law. If you are organizing the shoot for yourself however, make sure to set the legal agreement with the model, aka model release.

While there are many of versions of model releases available on the web, Mark Wallace prefers using Easy release. He also advices to sign the release at the end of the photoshoot, with the witness in order to fulfill all points of the leal agreement.

Have Your Equipment Checked

This one is the worst. Because if you forget battery, battery charger, lens, or (!) camera, and as it always happens, you realize it upon already entering the stage, friend you are screwed. And your client is screwed. So it’s double kill. To avoid it, let’s double check instead!

Camera
Lens
Battery
Battery Charger
Tripod (if you need it)

Be Prepared To Improvise

While there are many great studios (FD one of those) who strive to keep their equipment in plug’n’play mode and perfect working condition, sometimes small hiccups happen here in there. The trigger might not sync, the modifier might not turn, the backdrop might be stuck, and other that might happen while your shoot. DO NOT PANIC. At any great studio there is always a staff member that is trained and ready to fix it up for you, just ask for their help! Watch the full YOUTUBE tutorial here:

Daniel Iniguez in stage Art 1

Photographer Daniel Iniquez had a recent visit to our stage Art 1. Featuring a gorgeous model in a not less pretty natural sunlight Daniel delivered great balanced shots that are soft, light and warm. Want to learn how to shoot with natural sunlight? Have a look at the Youtube video where Jana Williams gives a great tutorial! Here at FD Photo Studio, we already have 16 stages plus the rooftop available for rent. While constantly expanding due to overwhelming demand of our stages we strive to bring not only the quantity but also the quality to our clients. Each of our spaces features specific advantages and perks, as we like to cater to certain needs – be it natural light, blackout, cyclorama walls, and different aesthetics offered by each of our stages. Every space has an independent calendar with up-to-date availability, as well as rates listed for each. Visit our website to browse our options!

Yoga Time by Carlo Perducho featuring Matt Toy

If not the open space under the bright sun and beautiful skyline around, what would be the best place for the urban yogi to practice and meditate? Nothing else.

Carlo Parducho had a recent photoshoot on FD’s rooftop with Matt Toy striking poses and stretching like you’d wish.

Carlo Parducho was very kind to share the story behind the shoot:

“I’m primarily a product photographer. I don’t normally photograph people unless it’s for someone I already know. This shoot was for my friend Matt Toy (by friend I mean one of my best friends not someone I call friend just because it sounds personable for marketing purposes. I mean we’ve known each other since 2004). Matt teaches yoga up in Berkeley but was invited down here by a local men’s activewear company to lead a class since he specializes in “Man Yoga” or yoga tailored for men. We always aim to create something different than the archetypal yoga photos. We opt for low-key instead of high-key images, contrasty and punchy instead of desaturated and washed-out.”

Not so long ago, we had a pleasure to take the interview from Carlo and shoot behind the scenes one of his product photography projects. Have a look at this episode in Hard To Clean Material interview Series!

Visit Matt’s WEBSITE for more information about yogi. And have a look photographer’s WEBSITE for more amazing projects!

ROOFTOP is located in our ART studios building and available every other day on the calendar. Encompassing the LA’s downtown scenery with highly energetic industrial sector this stage is perfect for picturing big city life. Upon your request we will provide strobe lights powered with mobile batteries as well as c-stands and other grip tools. Check more information on our WEBSITE.

PRARRI for Adidas and Nike

Photographer Prarri with help of models Emma and Apollo have visited FD Photostudio for some quick looks and a concept pitch for Adidas and Nike. Using various props and backgrounds available at our stages the team was able to come with multiple distinguished looks.

Here is a quick info about the photographer:

“@P.Rarri Is a fashion photographer based out of Los Angeles. Mostly focusing on editorial fashion and Art photography.

Grew up in New York,@P.Rarri went to film school where he developed his eye threw the lens. Shooting for over 9 years, Traveling

Across the country working with different brands and clients. “

Find out more about the artist behind the camera, photographer PRARRI by visiting INSTAGRAM, BEHANCE or WEBSITE. Make sure to follow the models’ Emma and Apollo social media!

Here are few snippets from the photographer’s INSTAGRAM feed:

A post shared by PRARRI (@p.rarri) on Nov 4, 2017 at 2:52pm PDT

A post shared by PRARRI (@p.rarri) on Oct 25, 2017 at 10:29pm PDT

PRARRI’s choice for the shoot was stage C. It features large South and East facing windows, with lots of natural light. It is notorious for accommodating large, high end production crews and sophisticated artistic projects due to its versatility. Enhanced with the large Cyc wall available as well as paper backdrops, grass wall and wood floor corner this stage brings variety to your backstage. Find out more about stage C on our WEBSITE.

Kurt Hugo Schneider at FD PhotoStudio!

Kurt Schneider shooting Attention Cover Video at FD Photo Studio

The undeniable hit of this summer/fall season, Attention by Charlie Puth, was inspiring enough for famous music and video maker Kurt Hugo Schneider to bring his band to our stage Art 1! Recording the cover video for the song was as great as the final product, a youtube video with 3+ million views! Kurt Hugo Schneider certainly a great fan following. Have a look at his INSTAGRAM and YOUTUBE pages for more amazing content! Stage Art 1 was a choice of location for this session. Adorned with features like white grand piano and three step podium this stage is a tool of versatility, provider of great natural light, benchmark of industrial Downtown minimalistic design. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning. Using strobes? No worries, we include 3 strobe lights in the hourly rate along with black, white and grey background available. Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.

Romeo And Juliet Cover Shoot

Contempo Arts Productions Cover Photo Romeo and Juliet

Contempo Arts Productions had a great experience working with FD Studios, where the campaign for their upcoming production of “Romeo and Juliet” was shot.

What is the mission of Contempo Arts Productions:

“Contempo Arts Productions’ mission is to bring new, unique and meaningful productions to the stage.

Born from the desire to innovate and convey a powerful message with which audiences of all ages and backgrounds can identify, Contempo Arts Productions seeks to reach out to, and bring together, diverse peoples through a universal language: the arts.”

Here are a few snippets from Contempo’s INSTAGRAM feed:

A post shared by Contempo Arts Productions (@contempoartsproductions) on Oct 19, 2017 at 7:14pm PDT

A post shared by Contempo Arts Productions (@contempoartsproductions) on Oct 17, 2017 at 11:50am PDT

The crew that made this shoot running: Photographer: Djeneba Aduayom Thayer Costume Designer: Dai Le Hair Stylist: Tilde by Matilde MUA: Sarah Soto Retoucher: Big Bad Red Graphic Designer: Juliana Giraffe Dancers: Adam Bloodgood, Marine de Vachon

Stage Art 1, a long-time FD Photo Studio favorite, was used for this shoot. With the high-key white industrial design that FD is notorious for, Stage Art 1 is a clean setting that can be manipulated to fit all kinds of projects. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning.

Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.

Vow To Be Chick!

A beautiful collaboration of the company Vow To Be Chick, a wedding dress online rental, and a photographer Stephanie Williams, widely known for her project This Modern Romance. The end result turned out in stunning and fun images of gorgeous brides in perfectly matching Art 3 environment. The story behind Stephanie’s brand:

“This Modern Romance was founded from a deep belief that true love + soul mates really do exist and that life can be a beautiful adventure. We are hopeless romantics at heart. The studio is led by photographer Stephanie Williams, a fashion and wedding photographer based in Southern California. Stephanie’s wedding work has been featured in numerous magazines, throughout the wedding blog world, and on the covers of Pacific Weddings, California Wedding Day, Destination Weddings and Honeymoons, and Destination I Do. Her first book entitle “This Modern Romance” was published in 2013. She balances her wedding work with her fashion clients, and she shoots consistently for commercial clients and clothing companies. She also educates photographers with workshops and one-on-one mentorships. Photography and travel fuel Stephanie’s passion. Her husband Isaac, her high school sweetheart, is her constant companion and best friend and true love. They have a beautiful baby girl, who is pure joy, and they live in Southern California with their three dogs.”

Have a look at photographer Stephanie Williams’ INSTAGRAM and WEBSITE for more amazing projects. Ready to rent a wedding dress? Check out Vow To Be Chick’s WEBSITE and INSTAGRAM. Here are a few spoilers for right from Stephanie’s INSTAGRAM feed:

Loved these berry tones from @jennyyoonyc campaign . . . Hair + makeup @kcwitkamp venue @hnypt #weddinginspiration #weddingphotography #bridesmaids #jennyyoo #modernwedding

A post shared by Stephanie Williams (@thismodernromance) on Nov 3, 2017 at 12:49pm PDT

Stage Art 3 is one of our most popular stages. Featuring shot perfect props such as an elegant white-and-gold chair with a mirror as well as a luxurious bathtub, this stage is always on a high demand. Art 3 now also presents a gorgeous rose wall for your unrivaled, outstanding background setting. Besides, this studio is supplied with a seamless backdrop paper of black,grey and white color and studio lighting found in all of our spaces, promoting it as a very flexible creative space. For pictures and more information about stage Art 3 check out our WEBSITE.

How to Choose the Right Client

Cover photo credit: kbdawg,  @madswurms

How do you choose the right client? Are there clients that you’d better avoid and refuse their proposals? Most certainly. While a lot of photographers and videographers are being tricked by the “money making” side of it and that “the client pays”, in the long run a lot of gigs with wrong clients would cause an actual draw back in your career. What are these instances? Who are these clients? Let’s have a closer look.

Pick the Client Wisely

You are only as good as your last project. So jumping on projects that either undermine your expertise or are out of your gear spectrum or area of expertise entirely is a bad move and usually leaves the client disappointed. Never be afraid to refuse the service if you estimate that you will not be able to deliver the highest quality. While loosing the potential client might be seen as a potential financial loss, the art of rejecting the offer and re-channeling it might actually be beneficial for your business in the long run. If you know someone who might be the best fit for the client, make referral, connect two together. Chances are, your client would be grateful for the outcome and next time will be calling you again either for an advice or the upcoming projects that then will be a perfect fit for your expertise. But he/she will definitely be calling you first!

Fire the Client Regretlessly

What are the signs of the bad client? Firstly, it is their attitude. If the client is not set to work on good terms and friendly environment, you will end up being drained of energy completely after such projects. The gigs that cause mainly irritation and frustration are better to be rid of. Secondly, get rid of clients who make unreasonable demands which do not reflect on the pay. Making of these demands towards you indicates the lack of respect for your professionalism, time and effort. This causes more stress and irritation than its worth. Thirdly, clients who are chronically late on payments are no good for your business either. Free up the space on your schedule by firing bad clients and hiring good ones instead. This selective process will accelerate your business dramatically!

Choose the Client Who Loves Your Work

When you get reached out by the client you never worked with before, most like it is because you are that good to be considered for hire. Clients who see your style, your unique approach to the project, your one-of-the-kind delivery are the clients who will value you and pay you the most. Cherish the relationship with such clients and always go extra mile for them to not only satisfy but to exceed expectations.

Clients with bad reviews are to avoid

The reputation of the client plays significant role in the decision making for his approval to denial. Each client carries not only the project but the reputation of oneself in the industry. If a client has a bad rep and you decide to work with him/her, you are most like to end up in the same category of stigmatized bad rep folks. For the sake of keeping the record clean and attractive for the market it is better to turn down clients who are already known for their lack of professionalism.

Trust Your Gut

Sometimes though, while the negotiation with the potential client is taking place, there is something iffy inside you that pulls your mind away from accepting the project. Even though you cannot provide any logical explanation (yet), listen to your gut instead. If the project feels to be off, it will probably be off. In this case it is better to decline the offer. Of course there many aspects of the business side and decision making that we did not have a chance to cover yet would have a tremendous influence on your bank account and financial situation overall. It is really about the balance you are after – if you would like to earn more but with heavier stress and more headache, doing the job you do not like, it is still your rightful choice. On the other hand, to help you sleep well at night it is better to avoid potentially harmful projects that will take away more than it will bring.

Photoshoot Ideas for Halloween!

As we are getting closer to our scariest holiday ever, people reveal their creative energy in the Halloween costumes, going berserk and weird to the full extent. With the fun and spooky mood that awaits us and happy kids screaming trick or treat at every neighborhood it can be a killer idea to save these memories on the photos and get creative in front of the camera as well! Here are few ideas for you of how to make this Halloween unforgettable!

USE COSTUMES! (duuh)

The first thing that comes to mind is of course your beautiful, naughty, scary, funny or what-a-heck-is-that outfits. Capturing your character can be really fun and gives an opportunity to be someone you have never been in real life, until now.

ADD PROPS

From the witch’s broom to the skeleton in your closet, there is plenty of props to play with during Halloween. A Thor is not a Thor without his hammer… hammer smashing a few juicy pumpkins in front of the camera!

TRY SILHOUETTES

Silhouettes usually look pretty dramatic on photos – the kind of mood that the Halloween holiday is know for. Now it is the perfect time to get the mystery out of your silhouette!

GO PLAIN SCARY

Unleash your creativity to the fullest. No more cuteness. Let’s go dark, eerie and goosebumps ready!

SHOOT OUTDOORS

Many theme parks are being prepared for the Halloween parks with ghosts appearing on the streets, spider nets growing over every window and bones of fake dead monsters swinging in the wind. Why not get the best use of it and take some marvelous pictures? Besides the parks, regular “daily” spooky places like cemetery are also great places to end up at night with the camera while wolves hauling on the background to the full moon.

WHEN NOTHING ELSE HELPS

Just stick a baby in a pumpkin. You’re done here.