Breakfast

Being comfortable in front of the camera comes natural to Nicole, who's a fantastic model. But I work with a lot of people who aren't, especially when it comes to shooting kinda nekkid. For instance, how do you make the suburban mom who's hired you to do some cool sexy shots comfy during the shoot? A few tips I've learned:

1. Relax and let the client dictate the direction of the shoot. Don't give her a ton of direction. Instead, give her just enough so she can take charge and move in the direction she wants to go. Then just sit back and go with it.
2. Take a lot of breaks. Modeling is hard work, especially for a novice model or non-model (someone who just wants some cool sexy shots for their S.O.). So breaking, relaxing, drinking plenty of water and snacking are good things.
3. Be conversational. No one likes to sit in front of a silent photographer. Instead, strike up a conversation just prior to the shoot and provide plenty of praise during the shoot.
4. And finally - relax. If the photographer is tense, the model or client will be as well. In other words, enjoy this job - it's a good one.

Sweet Prop

Nicole brought this book to our shoot ("A Romance of Two Worlds" by Marie Corelli). I love it when I'm confronted with something I didn't plan for and that fits so well with my style. And what better than an old, dusty, faded out romance novel. Perfect! Thanks Nicole.

Scenic Drive

Nicole is a SF based model who wanted to work with me (I know...I don't know what got into her! ; )). We opted for something light and fun and a bit campy with this outdoor "lifestyle" series. Here are some of the results from our running shoot.

Lifestyle Beach Shoot with Jojo

Jojo is a model from LA who made the trip up to shoot with me (I hope she had other reasons for making the trip..). She wanted something lifestyle-y and smile-y so we went to a beach on a fucking crazy windy day (see bottom right photo). It was so windy, in fact, that we could only stand to be out there for about 15 minutes. But we did good and ended up with something that she was happy with.

Shoot with Lauren Fletcher

Recent shoot with Lauren Fletcher for her agency and for an editorial submission. We went out to Bolinas, CA (a funky beach town that wants to stay hidden from the public). This beach was small, but perfect for a little editorial action as it had a lot of variety in a very small space. And the fact that it was crowded provided a slightly more editorial feel. I'm especially happy with the bottom right photo. I think the spontaneity of shooting this way, and the hope that creativity will follow, is what makes this style of photography so addicting to me.

An interesting delimma

Sorry I've neglected this blog for so long (as if people keep returning to hopefully catch me talking to myself again..). I've been much too busy lately.

I've also been thinking quite a bit about an interesting delimma. About a year ago I started shooting the "girlfriend" series seen on my lot 8 portfolio. That work began out of a convergence of a couple of things in my life:
1. I was tired of shooting for others (a model, a client, etc.).
2. I wanted to craft something more than a picture (I'm a photojournalist at heart).
3. I found an old photo album of mine containing an ex-girlfriend from long ago and I wanted to recreate that old-photo-album feeling.
I found an outlet in the "girfriend" work to release all these desires and work through my "issues". (free psychotherapy...thanks!) And, in the process of shooting, I created a style that worked for me.

The interesting delimma I'm contemplating now is this: While I initially defined a style to work through the "girlfriend" series, that style now often defines me. It's an odd place to be ("It's Alive!" keeps coming to mind..). And what's also odd is that I still love the style.

I do know I'm no good with restrictions and that I will soon rebel against the style that has taken life. When that happens, you probably won't recognize me, but I'll try to convince you it's really me. ; ) Reinvention is hard, but healthy.

Modeling question

I recently received an email as follows:

"I'd love to hear how you come up with the concepts for your shoots, and how you direct the models. You seem to have such a playful interaction with them, and get looks out of them that others do not." (MM ID# 6226 - Maurice Photo).

Hey Maurice, here's my answer:
1. Coming up with concepts is hard - no doubt about it. On this portfolio I'm sticking to a very narrowly defined field (the girlfriend experience) so my concepts need to fit that genre. I generally reach into my own memory to pull out ideas from things I've actually done in the past with past girlfriends - or things I wish I would've done with my old girlfriends..; )

2. I explain this concept to my models and they generally dig the idea of role playing the "new gf" role - so I think that partly explains the relaxed, playful feel. Also, when I shoot this stuff I'm pretty much just goofing around and playing it by ear. There are no lights, no makeup artists, no wardrobe consultants, no poses, no clients - so I'm relaxed and I think that rubs off on the models. Finally - I've done a lot of photo journalism in the past so I'm pretty fast with my fingers...meaning I can capture those outbursts of laughter when they occur rather than trying to make someone laugh (which always looks a bit forced except on the best of actors).

Hope that helps!

Greg