As most photographers, I’ve had numerous portfolios over the years. Some good, some bad. Last summer, I hired Paper Chase to print three, 11×17 inch portfolios and was very happy with the results. Then, only a few days later I flew out to New York and showed my books to current and potential clients.
(I wrote about the portfolio reviews in a previous post that you can read HERE)

A week ago, I attended Shoot LA where I heard a lecture by Rob Haggart, the founder of the blog A Photo Editor. (Side Note: If you are a photographer…you should be reading it daily.) He also owns A Photo Folio, the company that hosts our main website. He spoke on the importance of incorporating Social Media into your marketing plan. One of the points he stressed was the importance of treating your social media presence as a distribution channel.

This got me thinking, what better way to ‘distribute’ my physical portfolio to potential clients – with no shipping cost – than to place it online for all to see. So this past week I filmed myself going through my portfolio, page by page and then posted it on my main website as a stand alone gallery HERE. And yes..I am drinking the tasty Americano I made for myself.

I did not place my ‘physical’ portfolio online to replace any future, in person showings. Quite the opposite. I still believe that a face to face meeting is the best way to gain the trust of a potential client. But as we know, most assignments are commissioned from our online presence. In doing this, I figured I would give people another way to experience my photography.

The video was edited Adobe Premiere CS5.5. The soundtrack was licensed through Vimeo’s online music store.

In closing, I am fully aware that I am not the first person to do this – but it is the first time I’ve done it.

Below is a gallery of the process of putting this video together:

I am honored to be one of 10 photographers featured in FoundFolios April FoundXPOSED portraits campaign released today. I am very happy they selected the image of Juanita. Out of all of the photo’s I have taken, this is still one of my favorite portraits. So I thought it would be cool to tell the story of how this image came about:

 I was originally supposed to be in Washington, DC on a week long advertising campaign, but our shoot was rained out. We decided to push the production a few weeks so at the last minute, I had some free time. Since I was already supposed to be out of town, I decided to shoot some personal work. My studio manager would be in studio and my clients thought I was out of state, so why not hit the road? I’ll never forget my brief encounter with Juanita. (click HERE to read the original blog post from 2009) I came across her in Globe, AZ on the first day of my roadtrip.

I packed up my vehicle with gear and food, and intended to be gone for 2-3 days. I planned on sleeping in my Honda Element (the seats convert into a full length bed) to save money and get the full ‘road trip’ experience. As you can read in the original blog post, unfortunately… that didn’t quite happen. On the first day out I got called back for 2 shoots that I couldn’t pass up. The amazing thing is that I ended up photographing 5 individuals on the first day. I came across Juanita near a cafe’ in an alleyway. I approached her and showed her a few images in my portfolio (pre iPad). A bit hesitant at first, she agreed to allow me to take her portrait.

As you can see in the image above, she has a beautiful – striking presence about her. You cannot help but be drawn in. The untruth of photography is that she was rather self conscious about being photographed. (as we all are at times – why do you think I’m behind the camera) She had dental issues and she didn’t want her teeth to be seen. I promising that I wouldn’t show them, and she agreed to be photographed. I then set up one light and led her to the apple box for her to sit. Here’s where it gets good… Just as I was about to begin the session, she started calling out to her ‘spirits’ and began speaking in a strange language. She then started waving her hands in a circular motion towards herself, as if to tell whatever she was calling out to, to come within her. This lasted for no more than 5-10 seconds and then she was ready.

It was a rather strange experience to say the least. But I just stood there and took it all in. Come on..where else are you going to have that happen directly in front of you? I almost photographed her doing that but I decided not to. At first it was more out of shock but then it was more out of intrigue to see where it would lead. And I’m glad I didn’t take advantage of that situation. Allowing her to have her moment, allowed me to capture this portrait of her. Strange none the less, but beautiful in the end.

Please leave any comments – questions below.

The soon to be released Canon 1D C - 4K camera with the new 50mm Cinema Lens.

I’ve never intended this to become a ‘gear‘ focused blog so this post will be a bit different.
But trust me, it will come around.
Having embraced the motion capabilities of the 5D Mark II I am excited about eventually moving to a more robust camera system. While working with the RED One on my Fox Sports campaign, I considered that to be the next logical step. Especially when the Scarlet was announced late last year at a more affordable rate.
Cut to today and Canon has been making headway with a few new cameras that are truly amazing. First came the C300 Cinema Camera announced this past November (same day as the Scarlet). Then, only 2 weeks ago they announced the Canon 1D C. (pictured above at a Canon event I attended) The first DSLR to shoot 4K internally and the C500, a 4K RAW version of the C300.
(and that’s just Canon. there are many other manufactures rocking out some amazing cameras)

So where am I going with this?

Well, as you can see, it’s hard not to get caught up in the mentality that a ‘New Camera’ will instantly make you a better photographer/director. And all of the sudden your current camera just doesn’t seem as sexy as it did 24 hours earlier.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand the differences between my 5D Mark II the RED and the new 1D C are HUGE. But I also know that I don’t have an additional 15-20K burning a hole in my pocket to go out and buy one today. What I do have – in my possession – is a camera that captures amazingly beautiful HD footage that has been played on broadcast television to mine and my clients satisfaction. And I can always rent the RED if need be.
So here lies my challenge:
I cannot allow myself to get lost in the hype. Convincing myself the minute…the second a new camera system is announced I need to throw everything out in the hope that the next best thing will be the illusive, ‘IT’. Only to have the same thing happen a year down the road.

While writing this, I began to think about how I went through this exact struggle in late 2004. I had recently shot/directed my first short film on Hi-8 and had done other video work with Sony Betacam’s the Canon XL1s but was never happy with their ‘video’ look. (I even had a client complain about the XL1s footage) But then, it all changed with the release of the Canon XL2. One of the first affordable cameras to shoot at a ‘filmic’ frame rate of 24p. There were probably others but I don’t remember. What I do remember is that the movie, “28 Day’s Later” had been filmed on it and I had to have it!
Side Note: This was an SD camera…this was before HD so I hope you get where I’m coming from now.
My progression in video formats over the years: VHS > Hi-8 > Beta > SD > HD > to today, wishing I could shoot in 4K.
To be honest, I don’t know where this leads. If I had the budget, and the clients were requesting it, I would buy a new camera today. But my clients aren’t demanding 4K…Yet.
So I write this to no one but myself in the hope that when I walk in my studio tomorrow and see my 5D Mark II, I will be thankful for what I have.

I am embedding the first music video that I directed back in 2005. It was for the band, The Reflection. I shot this on the XL2 over a two day period and the edited it in the original FCP (literally going a bit mad in the process…seriously). I haven’t shown this in a while, for many reasons. But I’m putting it out there… And you know what, I’m proud of this. Is it the best music video ever made..no freakin’ way. But at a young age, I knew I wanted to direct music videos. And with this I was able to fulfill that dream. Let’s just hope that there are more to come in the future.

The Reflection: Brandy & Wine, 2005

- please leave a comment below if you agree/disagree the ramblings above -

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It was an honor to meet the people that are working on this project. As well, it was truly amazing to see all the crazy stuff they had going on there. Take for example the…oh crap…I can’t say more. Both my assistant and I had to sign NDA’s (non disclosure agreements) on some of the additional stuff that was going on there. I wasn’t allowed to photograph anything beyond my assigned shoot. Which I respected.

One thing that I can talk about – but could not photograph – is the pod that Felix will be taken to the edge of the stratosphere in for this jump. You can see images of it on their website. They allowed me to sit inside of it and then walked me through the entire process, including what is going through his mind as he prepares to disconnect himself form the internal air supply, then step out on the ledge and jump in an attempt to become the first person to break the speed of sound with their body alone. I would be freaking out if I had to look straight down 120,000 feet back to earth. But that is why I am the photographer and he is the one doing the jump.

This was definitely one of those shoots where I felt blessed to have the job I do. To be able to go into a completely foreign environment and meet some amazingly talented people who are passionate about a project. I dig that drive that pushes you. Especially the kind that sends you to the stratosphere.

You can see the two page spread (above) in the May 2012 issue of Popular Science.

I recently came across these images while looking through an old, external hard drive. They were in a folder full of scanned negatives/polaroids titled, ‘Need to Organize’. Being an old drive, these images have since, been properly archived on our server with their corresponding shoot. I just hadn’t seen them in a while.

What really hit me about these images is how they represented a different time in my photographic career. These were all shot on a large format, 4×5 camera and range from Type 55 Polaroid/Negative to Color Reversal Film.
Side note: I primarily shot that campaign with my Canon 1Ds Mark III so yes, I was also shooting digital then.

As I am writing this I am trying to not sound like a crazy, old photographer. I am only 34. But seeing these, with all of their – in camera effects – made me think of how easily attainable cool effects like these are in Apps like Instagram.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do love me some Instagram. I have an account and regularly post images on there. It’s just crazy how much has changed in only 4 short years.

The cool light leaks…edge effects…water spots on the negative from not processing it correctly, all came through organically. Some good, some bad but all unexpected. I didn’t know that I had a light leak until we processed the chromes at the lab. Personal, I loved the effect of the light leak. The client, not so much. But that’s also why the 4×5 was more of a secondary option to shooting digital.

I cannot think of a better example than the image of the the model above. That image was shot on Fuji RDP Chrome. But as you can see in the gallery below, there is an alternate image from that setting that was shot in B&W on Type 55. A Polaroid that also has a negative attached that processes as you pull it from the film holder. Both shot with the same camera but with 2 different film stocks and different film holders. One processed in a lab, one on set. These days we’re choosing ‘film stock’ on our iPhones after we take a photo. Freakin’ crazy man…

I know I’m simplifying it but that’s how it is. That said, I dig it and fully embrace it. My studio is now 99.9% digital. Occasionally I’ll pull out my film cameras but in all honestly I love the images I get with my Canon digital cameras.
What’s crazier…sometimes I’m blown away with the images that come out of my iPhone.

Below is a gallery of a few more images from the shoot. Each with their own, one of a kind effect.

We’ve added a behind the scenes gallery to our site for anyone who wants to see all the crazy shenanigans that take place on our sets. There’s a good mix of images from both stills and motion shoots. Check it out HERE

And don’t forget that we also have a behind the scenes motion gallery with a few cool videos we’ve put together over the years. You can access that HERE

View the Gallery

As you can see from my post below, I recently embarked on a new, personal series of lifestyle – street portraits. Now only 3 weeks and 50+ people later I have officially launched a new gallery on my site.

I am very proud of this series since it came from the pure desire to create without knowing, or caring where it would lead. It is also an important step for me in the process of forcing myself to simplify in order to create faster. I’ve always been jealous of how musician’s can so easily get together for a spur of the moment ‘jam session’. I guess this was my version of trying to re create that vibe. Just a subject and I rocking out for a few moments to create something beautiful.

Most days I would put a full day in at the studio before heading out for a couple of hours to shoot before going home. On the weekends I’ll usually ride my bike down to a coffee shop and chill for a bit before starting to approach people. So, my out of pocket cost for an afternoon of shooting: A $3 Cafe Americano.

And don’t think that since the gallery is launched that I am done with this series. No freakin way. I’m having too much fun with it. Speaking of…I’m hoping to head to the fashion district in downtown LA later today. That is, if it doesn’t rain…

Peace, Jeff.

Today I needed to be a photographer. 

After wrapping up my emails for the day I decided to head out and take some photo’s. I stripped the 5D mark II from it’s battery grip and for the first time ever I put a shoulder strap on it. Inspired by my friend Giulio Sciorio, who has been rocking the street portraits with his Pen camera I hit the streets. I used to do a massive amount of street portraits but it’s been a while. And never have I done it here in Los Angeles. So I walked around my neighborhood of Los Feliz and started approaching random people. I actually had a great response and most people were down. A few said no, but I understood, so no worries there.

Below are a few images from today’s session. I definitely felt inspired just walking around being creative for no reason other than the desire and need to…

Since our move to Los Angeles in August of 2010 I had kept my studio in Downtown Phoenix since we still occasionally shoot  in Arizona and my studio manager worked out of there daily . Well, in December of 2011 we decided it was time to move on from this location. There were many reasons – not to mention the overhead of having 2 studios in 2 different states. That was crazy…
It was sad to see it go but I was glad to move on from it in this way. We weren’t moving out because we were closing shop or going out of business…quite the opposite. It was because I had decided to move my business – passion – craft into a new market. To challenge myself in a new place and see where it leads.
I loved shooting in that space for the 5+ years we were there and I will always have good memories of it. But I am also looking to create that experience in my studio here in Los Angeles.

As you can possibly see above in the photo and all around on this blog and my site…we are doing some major updates around here. So I apologize that some of the pages/galleries are not fully functional. We’re hoping to have everything up and running by next week.

Thanks. Jeff.