Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

Just an update about my private fashion photography workshops for you all.  They are going great !  I just had the pleasure of working with Jeff Corzine.  Jeff is from Malibu and we spent two days with a great model and make up artist.  We went over certain lighting techniques and when I taught him how to properly use the Canon 580EX II he was blown away by all the great features this flash has to offer and the amazing images one can achieve with it.

Jeff also learned how to direct a fashion model to achieve amazing results just by talking to your model and choosing the right words so she can act out a situation and a feeling in her head which translates to film, or in this case the final digital image.

I will post some images from our workshop very soon !  If you would like to know more about my photography workshops please contact me via phone or email  and I will be happy to discuss details with you.

Ok here are a couple images from our workshop. This first shot the model is dressed in a long beautiful form fitting gray dress. I didn’t want to light the whole dress from top to bottom. I wanted her brighter at the top and gradually get darker as the light falls lower. So I feathered the medium soft box. It was raised high above the model and tilted down so that the bottom part of the soft box hits from the middle just barely enough down to the bottom. I didn’t want the bottom of the dress to go totally black. I directed the model to keep her poses towards her key light. And in this case there was only one light anyway. That is also how you see that HER LEFT side goes a bit darker. I placed the light slightly in front of her so that it wraps around her but not too much. If I had put the soft box directly on her right side the left side of her would go completely dark which I didn’t want.  The second photo shows how to use fill flash without getting that harsh look.  I explained how I achieved this in the previous post in the gear review of the Canon 580 EX II.  Again, any questions please ask.

Cheers,

Jason

Hi everyone !  I just revamped my personal section on my site.  I uploaded a bunch of lifestyle photos.  Some are posed and some are candid.  The candid lifestyle shots with the mother and children were a challenge to shoot.  You’ve got to watch for everything.  It’s the little moments that are special which also happen so fast that you just cannot miss those moments.  You’re camera and eye have always got to be ready !  Here are some of those photos that capture the special moments.

Being on such a high treacherous cliff I couldn’t bring an assortment of lighting gear so I used by trusty Canon 580 EXII just enough to give them a little fill.  In Photoshop I added a bit of vignette and bumped the saturation a little.  Other than that no other post production was done.   I just told them to forget I’m there, just forget a photographer is even near you and do what you want.  So everything I captured was very natural.  Another good thing about not bringing a bunch of lighting gear is that the less invasive I am, the more natural reactions I will get from my subject.  Imagine having two strobes set up with umbrellas and sand bags right in front of them.  LOL  that would be invasive.

I love this next photo.  It just says so much.  Look at their faces and what they are saying to each other.  What I get from this photo when looking at the mother’s face is how much she loves him and what they have been through just in every day life.  She shows how much she really appreciates him as a son.  THAT is what makes a great photo.  When your subjects are speaking through their emotions.  When I am shooting and I get that from my subjects or models it’s an electricity that just runs through my blood like a flood of energy !

Again, I used my Canon 580 EXII to add a little fill and to over power the sun.  These lifestyle photos and more can be found here which also demonstrate many different lighting techniques.

So since the advent of digital photograhy many fashion photographers have asked me why their photos don’t look like film.  Some of the complaints are that everything is too sharp, too much contrast etc.  Well there are many reasons why these things happen, however the main consideration is that they are using too tight of an aperture.  For example they are shooting at f/11 or f/16 or even f/22.

When shooting with a 35mm DSLR, shoot as if you were shooting medium format.  When shooting medium format you lose alot of depth of field.  Consequently your model or subject is very sharp and the background is out of focus and you get very beautiful bokeh.  The best way to achieve this is to use a long lens.  For this photo I used my Canon 200mm 2.8 on sticks and shot it at ISO 200 f/4.5   1/200th.   I also used my Canon 580 EX II on ETTL.  Now here is where my little secret comes into play.  I bumped up the flash power to +3 stops and zoomed the flash head to 105mm.  I was a good 25 yards away from the model.

I got a great smile out of my model by joking with her, complimenting her and not just sitting there clicking the shutter like a robot.  I connected with my model because I took my time and composed and thought about the shot in my mind before I even thought of clicking the shutter.  Very simple make up and no shoes, great smile and a very beautiful girl in nature make this a very marketable stock photo.

In this next photo I told my model to walk along the log and try to balance in bare feet.  I also directed her to look at the camera and smile, laugh and just be silly.  The important thing to remember here is that she can’t just do all this like she NORMALLY would.  Normally one would smile too big and you would lose the eyes, and / or she would laugh so hard that she would get a double chin.  So directing your model and constantly reminding her to keep her chin up and look at the camera and don’t squint the eyes is of utmost importance.  The result is another very marketable photo that the model can also use for her portfolio.

In this photo again I used my Canon 200m 2.8 on sticks about 25 yards away.  Notice the beautiful bokeh again.   I shot this at ISO 200 f/4.5 shutter speed was 1/325th. I also used my Canon 580 EX II on ETTL, bumped the power up +3 stops and zoomed the flash head to 105mm.  What I did different for this shot is set my flash to high speed sync mode. In high speed sync mode this allows you to set your shutter speed to whatever speed you want.  I set it to 1/325th so I could keep my ambient light down.  Remember, you control your flash exposure with your aperture.  Any questions or comments are welcome !

I’ve decided to create a photographic gear review from someone who actually uses the gear.  One thing I don’t like about reading reviews on other sites is that they use the piece of gear for a few days and that’s it.  Well I want to read hands on reviews from a photographer who has been using the camera, flash, light etc. for longer than just a few days.

So recently I purchased the Canon 5DMarkII.  Now, I should mention that I HATE buying new gear.  I don’t look at new gear as a toy or something that I can have fun with.  A camera, light whatever is just a tool to capture what I really love which is fashion.  But because of digital I gotta keep up with the technology and that gets expensive.

The Canon 5DMarkII is a GREAT camera !   The 21 mega pixels is more than enough to shoot anything you need to shoot.   The full frame sensor is totally needed to capture the highlights and shadows, more bit depth, and the camera has the new Digic 4 processor which is FAST !   Use a UDMA CF card and you will not only be able to shoot multiple frames faster but also the images will download to the computer at lightning speeds.   Ok so you already know the technical details.  How does it perform on a job ?  The image below was taken right from the camera.  No post done at all.

I have to admit that coming from a Canon 1DS which is an old camera but still a workhorse that delivers amazing photos, was something I was very apprehensive about making the switch.  What I LOVE  about the 5D2 is that even with the battery grip it is still much lighter than any of the 1DS cameras.  I’m 40 years old now and not a kid anymore so holding a really heavy camera all day is something that my muscles just don’t like lol.

The focus issues I have been hearing about are non existent with this camera.  I haven’t had any problems.  Every shot is tack sharp.  But remember, YOU MUST USE CANON LENSES.  The electronics talk to each other much better than off brand lenses.  The only problem it does have is when I am shooting a model back lit with flair and not much contrast, it does have trouble locking focus.  But what I do is use the center AF point and I am fine.  I want to say to Canon that they should have put cross hair focus marks on all 9 AF points and not just the center AF point. I mean come on, the 50 D has cross hair focusing on all of it’s 9 AF points and it’s a less expensive camera !  What were you thinking Canon ?  But remember, when I first started shooting there was no auto focus and you had one focus prism in the center and you had to line up the two lines to get your focus so I will stop complaining lol.  When I am shooting in a normal situation with no back light and nice contrast, all 9 focus points work perfect.

I like the way the buttons are all laid out, easy to get to without having to look away from the viewfinder.  I can change my focus point with my right thumb.  One thing I must say I don’t like is that the dial on the left that changes your different shooting modes should have a lock.  I notice at times I’m on auto, or portrait etc. when I should be on manual.

The LCD screen is awesome and very accurate. The menus are easy to navigate and very self explanatory.  I like the way it feels in my hand WITH the battery grip.  Without the grip I must admit the camera feels small but then again, I shot just as great photos with my Canon AE-1 which is MUCH smaller than this camera.   We’ve all gotten spoiled.

The camera is very solid and I don’t have to worry about knocking it around a bit.  The material on the body makes it easy to hold and handle.  I actually only use the one battery that came with it and I get through  a whole 10 hour shoot day without having to recharge it.

The quality of the images of course is AMAZING.  With the new full frame sensor and 21 mega pixels you can make a friggin billboard.   The color tones are very accurate and even the white balance is accurate.  I ALWAYS shoot  a color card but never seem to need it.  The camera does everything but wipe your …………… well you know  lol.

Would I recommend the Canon 5DMark II ?  You bet your ass I would.   You can’t go wrong.

I know you all like behind the scenes photos and videos. I posted the video and now I am posting some photos of me shooting a real fashion shoot !
I had a wonderful crew who worked VERY hard for me and the results are amazing !

You can see how simple the lighting is and yet how effective it is. Those glass panels were lit with two Speedotron units. I decided to do this because I know that frosted glass, which is what those panels are made of, would diffuse the light and wrap around her creating a “heavenly” look and what is the name of the clothing line ?  Gods Daughter.

So as photographers we don’t just click a shutter button. We come up with the concepts that will tell the story behind the clothes.  Notice in the last photo the top of the glass wall comes up to her calves.  One wrong step and she would have fallen 20 stories.  Yes I do whatever it takes to get the shot. 

I recently was hired to shoot for a clothing line up in this cool club called Elevate in Downtown LA.  Drew Maw a cinematographer is doing a documentary on me and made this incredible video with his Canon 7D !

Fashion Shoot For Gods Daughter Clothing from Jason Christopher on Vimeo.

Behind the scenes video shot by Drew Maw. This was a photo shoot for a new clothing line called Gods Daughter.

Outdoor fashion lighting can be a problem with some photographers.  We have the elements to deal with, the hot sun, the constantly moving sun, wind etc.  Add the fact that if it is a test you can’t afford to hire an assistant to lug heavy lighting gear around for you.  Most of us don’t own a Profoto 7B pack because they cost around $4,000 to $5,000.  So what does one do ?

Outdoor Lighting With a Speed Light

I shot this fashion photo with one Canon 580EXII and that’s it.  No bounce cards or any attachments to the flash and it was attached to the hot shoe, not off camera.  The time of day was 1:25 pm.

As you can see the sun is facing the model.   Many photographers would think you don’t need a flash, the sun is hitting her.  Well that all depends on the look you are going for.  I like to use flash no matter where the sun is.  In this case the flash brings out the details more and gives the image a crisper look.

So I put my flash on the camera.   I was standing about 6 feet away from the model on a wide lens, 44mm so I could capture the entire scene around her.  I set my flash to hi speed sync mode so I could shoot at 500th shutter speed.  Why shoot at such a high shutter speed ?  So I could capture a nice blue sky and not blow out the background.  My  fstop was 6.3 ISO was 160.  Now when you use such a fast shutter speed you obviously need to demand more power from your flash.  Also using an fstop of 6.3 demands more power.  So I set my flash exposure compensation to plus 3 stops !  I also set my zoom head on the flash to 80mm instead of letting it set itself to 44mm automatically.  As you can imagine I was asking my flash to do alot and demanding a ton of power.  So I had a Quantum battery pack attached to it to give the flash the extra power it needed.  And that is really all I did with this shot.  I didn’t haul out the Profoto 7B with a beauty dish and another light for her hair.  I positioned her so that her hair was lit by the sun and my key light was my flash.

This situation is why I cannot stress enough that you MUST  know your fundamentals.  If I had put the camera on auto then this shot would look nothing like you see now.  ** This and many other photography fundamentals are techniques I teach you in my fashion photography workshop. It’s a two day workshop and you come out knowing MUCH more than you did when you first walk in.  Check out the workshop page for more info and please feel free to call or email me with any questions you have concerning  the workshop.**

If you have any comments or questions about this post, ask away ! 

With the new purchase of my Canon 5DMark II I also bought a Canon 580EXII speed light. This combination is simply amazing ! I shot this in not so great lighting conditions but because of the solid power of the 580EXII I was able to over power the sun and still maintain details in the highlights because I used Hi Speed Sync mode.
If I didn’t tell you I used a speed light flash you would probably think I used some really elaborate lighting set up.
If your curious about the details & how I pulled this off, ask me

Photographed with a Canon 580EXII

There are so many topics I could cover within this blog that I could drive myself crazy.  That is why I started this post.  Any questions you have about fashion photography, portrait photography, wardrobe styling, make up artists, shooting agency models, portfolio discussion, portfolio review etc. ask me here.  It will benefit us all !     So let’s see how long we can make this post.  Just reply with a question and I will answer it.  And remember to click the RSS feed to keep up to date with everyone’s questions and answers.  Also if you feel that any of  the social networks would benefit as well then please click the icons below.  Thank you everyone !

This is another photo from our late night fashion swimsuit shoot.  This time I only used the one 4′x6′ soft box in a horizontal position about 5 feet from the model.  But this time I tilted it up so that the log wouldn’t be so bright and what that also did was throw some light on the background sand.  I could have used a black cutter set under the box to block out some of the light but I didn’t have one lol.  My camera settings were ISO 200 , 1/80th @ f/10.  I used my Canon 28-70mm 2.8 L series lens and shot it at 30mm.  This means I was very close to the model and zoomed out wide.  I did this because I wanted to include more of the scene.  Remember, the longer the lens you use the more narrow your field of view is.  Of course the opposite is true with a wide lens.  Oh and I was sitting under the soft box.  I’ll make a diagram and post that.