Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

I just love to play sometimes.  Shoot for fun !!

Not far from Los Angeles is Agoura Hills.  Very few fashion photographers make their home here.   A beautiful rural town with green rolling hills and a pioneering spirit embedded in the locals that have lived there since the towns inception.
When I look at this shot I feel something good and warm.  The model’s face isn’t even toward the camera however, just by her body position, the tilting of her head and hair flowing back closing her eyes enjoying the sun she evokes a feeling of being free, young, and happy.  What is interesting about this shot is it happened by accident.  It was VERY windy and cold so the model closed her eyes and dropped her head back to get warm from the sun.  I clicked the shutter and thought that it would be a trashed shot.  When I looked at it on my monitor at home I was stunned.  The green hills, yellow flowers and blue sky together with the blanket and Ugh boots just makes this photo come together.

Your model does not always have to be looking at the camera.  Remember as I have said before that a photo that evokes an emotion is a successful photo.  Even if something technically went wrong that just cannot be fixed in Photoshop it doesn’t matter.  As humans we FEEL.  We crave FEELING.  Your most successful advertising photos ooze emotion which in turn penetrates us inside our hearts causing us to go purchase that product.

On the technical side, I faced the model into the sun on purpose knowing the viewer would only see the right side of her face.  I filled the slight shadow with my Metz 54z on camera flash at a very low power setting just to add a little pop to bring out the colors of the blanket and green grass. Out of all the shots where she was looking at the camera, this one where she was not looking at the camera was the one that “hit” me right away.   I will be happy to discuss camera settings, flash settings etc.  **PLEASE ASK OR COMMENT **

   You know many times in this world of photography business we get so caught up in the “business” when we talk to clients, models, designers, make up artists etc. that we forget to let the genuine personality inside of us come out.  I think it is really important to show potential clients who we are inside, what makes us tick and keep going even through the tough times and that includes on the shoot when things just are not going right.

The most important thing in business is honesty, integrity, hard work and family; never forgetting where we came from.   These words were spoken by Denzel Washington in the movie American Gangster.

You are what you are in this world.  You’re either somebody or nobody.  Again, words from Denzel Washington in American Gangster.   I think those are two brilliant quotes.

   As a fashion photographer it is my job to create, but create what ?  Create a beautiful photo ?  Well that is easy.  What is challenging is to create a beautiful photograph that emotes, expresses and stimulates.  It is my job to dig deep within my subject, reach in, invade and at the same time make my subject so comfortable and vulnerable that they give me their soul.  When I look through that camera into my subject’s eyes I am connecting and receiving all they have inside.  I am bringing out their true voice that will speak to the world,speak to YOU.   What is amazing is I know they are dieing to release that voice but they are apprehensive, scared for whatever reasons they have.  That is my goal, that is my love, this is what makes me wake up in the morning.  To know a person so deep that you know their soul is a high that I have not been able to match with anything else in my life.  When I am connecting with my model my blood pumps, my heart races and my intensity rages !

   I hope my photography speaks to you through my subjects voices.  A great photograph will speak to you and reach into your soul.

My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and entertain.

- Helmut Newton

Got this quote from a really cool site called photoquotes.com

This is celebrity Jane Seymour who lives in Los Angeles, California.  As a fashion photographer in Los Angeles I come across celebrities all the time.  Jane is a wonderful woman and photographing her is always fun and rewarding.

I shot this woman on the beach at sunset

Shot this with my Canon 1DS at 28mm. I actually used a polarizing filter to richen the blue sky and green grass.

*PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS OR COMMENT*

I just received the photos from my retoucher of my new beauty shoot. These by far are the most eccentric, out there kind of shots I have ever done in the beauty category. I felt I needed to break the mold of what I usually do. Sometimes it is easy to just keep shooting what you are used to and what is “safe.” So every once in a while I like to just “create” freely.

So for this editorial I used two light sources. My key light was a medium size strip bank placed below the model about stomach high aimed up at her face. My fill was a medium soft box placed above her head about 2 feet above. There is a slight ratio but not much. I wanted it to look eccentric and not traditional. The model was placed about 10 feet from the background as I wanted the background to go black. Other than that, there is nothing else to the shot.

Again shot with 35mm film, Velvia.