Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

Ok so Day two of my private photography work shop with Kevin started off with looking over the images on my large monitor and critiquing when necessary.  Kevin will admit he was amazed at how often I pointed out little things that could ruin a photo.  For example, every single little tiny detail matters especially when it comes to the hands.  Experienced models know how to place their hands and make them look soft and pretty as they use them to pop a collar or rest them on the hips or running them through their hair.  However, an inexperienced model often develops the “claw” look.   This is when she might pop her collar with her hand and grab it with her palm facing out and her fingers bent so that her hand resembles a claw.  This is a major no no and so is palms facing camera.  Now I know what you’re going to say.  Sometimes you see models in magazines with their palms facing camera.  Well so what ?  Does that make it right ?  No it doesn’t.  I could open a Vogue and point out at least 20 mistakes that a model made in her shoot.  My God I have seen hundreds.  Don’t get into that way of thinking that just because you see it in a magazine then it’s ok.   So I told Kevin that when a model gives you the claw, it’s your job to point it out and have her correct it.  If you are shooting an experienced model it is still your job to point out a mistake and correct it.

Going over Kevin’s images I also pointed out things like the bottom of the shirt is folded up or  a bracelet was sitting too far up on the arm or the bra strap was slightly showing.   If you had a wardrobe stylist on the shoot it would be their job to watch  for these things BUT he or she might miss it and it is YOUR responsibility when looking through your viewfinder to look at everything before you click that shutter.  We also went over how he directed the model and he did a great job.  Many photographers get intimidated by the model and are afraid to direct them.  The reality is the model expects you to direct them and it is your job to direct them.  Overall Kevin really nailed some great shots.

Next thing we did was talk about how to find jobs and market yourself to potential clients.  I also went over how to approach agencies and obtain models for free test shoots.  Putting together a team of make up and hair is another step in the process and I showed him how to establish a good solid team.  By this time the make up artist and the model for the second day arrived.  Again Kevin observed the make up artist and this time he told her how he would like the make up to look.  He also used this time to get acquainted with the model which is a great time to break the ice.

Kevin wanted to learn a bit of glamor photography so in this case the make up is going to be different as well as the hair and wardrobe.  So we picked some outfits for our model to wear and we started to light for our first set up.  I showed him how to incorporate flair into his images and also how to use smoke for a cool effect.  I have a small fog machine that is great for this.  This image shows the result from our first set up.

When looking at this image remember that flair is real and shot in camera, NOT done in post.  As Kevin kept shooting he is constantly giving encouragement to the model, directing her expressions and poses and keeping that photographer to model connection flowing.  One bad habit I had to break Kevin of was looking at the image on the LCD after every single shot.  That is a surefire way to not create that connection and IF you have created that connection it will break it instantly.  DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR LCD .   I turn mine off after I know I’ve got my lighting set the way I want it.  It’s no different than shooting your first few Polaroids and then shooting until your next set up.  Kevin eventually took her off the stool and shot some fabulous poses in true glamor pin up style.

This image has it all, great expression, the wind blown hair, great make up, great styling, great lighting.  It’s like cooking a stew, all the ingredients have to be there otherwise the stew won’t taste just right 

This is another clothing change we did.  Kevin went in tight on this shot and you can see how beautiful the make up and hair is as well as the edge light on HER left shoulder and arm.  That strobe is doubling up as a back light for the smoke and to also provide a nice edge light.  The model’s expression is really what makes this photo, all the other stuff just accents it and adds that special touch.  It’s important to not over use the bells and whistles.  By that I am talking about the edge light, the smoke etc.  In any photograph you make, the expression is what will sell the photo to the viewer.  To dig into the model’s soul and extract her inner most thoughts and capture them on film is the magic that happens when the photographer and model are in sync with each other. This cannot just happen.  It takes many many shoots and much practice shooting with a variety of models to nail that skill.  I provide you with the psychological tools to give you a head start and start creating beautiful images.

The second part of our day was spent learning how to shoot on location with reflectors and a speed light.  Using the sun as your friend and combining it with a speed light can get you very nicely lit images.  I also taught Kevin how to use the hi speed sync mode for his flash and also how to deal with the model who has to deal with the elements you encounter when shooting outdoors.  If it is summer then you have heat.  If it’s winter then you have cold to deal with.  Models don’t have much fat on them and they can’t wear a heavy jacket.   They still have to pretend they are in a fabulous mood even if it’s 40, 50 or 60 degrees outside.  By the same token if it’s 100 degrees outside and they are tired and sweating, they can’t just pour a bucket of cold water over themselves.  So you the photographer must make her feel like she is doing just fine and keep her interested and excited all the while making sure your technical details are correct as you watch the sun go down faster than a speeding bullet lol.   Not as easy as it sounds.   This is one of Kevin’s images from that outdoor session.

This was shot with the model facing the sun.  How did she keep her eyes open and not squint ?  I held a 60 inch white convertible umbrella up to scrim the sun.  Kevin also used his flash to add some snap to the shot.  By using the high speed sync mode he was also able to hold the blue in the sky behind her. By this time it was getting breezy and cold.  The model doesn’t show it at all.  Kevin did a great job talking to her and keeping her focused.

The shoot finally ended and we went back to go over the images.  Kevin learned a great deal of information, more than I shared with you here of course and had a great time.  He was a pleasure to work with and a wonderful person.

This is where the photography  workshop takes place.  I show you how to set up an in home photography studio with very little expense.  It’s also a huge write off !  If you would like to know more about my private one on one photography workshops please call or email me jason@jasonchristopher.com.  You may also view testimonials and information about my private one on one fashion photography workshops here.

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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. 

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 !

Hi Gilbert, this is for you   I love it ! Thank you for the GREAT questions and requests.  This is the feedback that is nice to get because I really want to make everyone happy.  This is exactly what I want from everyone. Interaction, communication is a two way street.  Ok so check out the photo lighting diagram below.

Photography lighting diagram

I tried something different this time by actually putting the shot in the diagram.  Tom, thank you for the compliments. I apologize for not posting in awhile.  I’ve been slammed with shooting which also means I have a ton of content to write about.

The soft box was pointed at the model of course and angled down to produce a nice sculpting effect.  It was placed on a c-stand about six feet sway from the model.  I was sitting on the beach sand right under the soft box.  I could have lit the totally dark background but my client wanted it to go totally black so that’s what I did.  I offered my suggestion but in the end the client has the final say.  I didn’t use another light to hit her hair because in MY opinion it would look too much like glamour lighting.  With fashion lighting you don’t always want your lighting to look “perfect”, like it was a template you used from a “how to” book.  When shooting portraits that’s different.  As you can see the rock right behind the model is lit so that gave me some separation with her hair.

The pack I used is a Profoto 7B and yes I had a second battery that was sitting in the charger and I eventually had to use it.  I didn’t use a generator because the state charges alot extra to use one and the permit was already $1,200, which included a state park ranger with us the whole time and a lifeguard.  If the shoot was during the day the permit would only be $65 because you aren’t required to have a ranger and a lifeguard there the whole time.  BTW the county says that if ANYONE on the crew is going to be in at least ankle deep water a lifeguard must be with you the whole time.  Remember this is only for a night shoot.

Morgan did have a robe and between lighting set ups she had a nice warm 100 foot RV to relax in and fresh coffee which I took advantage of as well while my assistants set up the next shot.    Now as we were shooting there was no way for her to stay warm.  That comes from her own inner strength and me constantly talking to her to keep her mind off the cold.

The power output varied from each set up.  Sometimes we were at full power and sometimes were were at half power etc.  Just depended on the situation.   My camera settings were : 100th of a second @ f/10.  I didn’t do a custom white balance, instead I set it to 5900 throughout the whole shoot and shot a color checker for reference.   I had another assistant shining a Maglight flashlight on the model so I could lock focus.  LOL I laughed when the client said “Isn’t that light going to affect your lighting?”

Tom you are always welcome to ask as many questions as you wish to. That is the whole reason I started this blog.  You don’t have to apologize   EVERYONE please take note:  ASK AS MANY QUESTIONS ON AS MANY POSTS AS YOU WANT.  Go back in the archives and if there is something you don’t understand or you think of a question based on the shot that I didn’t cover by all means ASK ME.   If no one asks me questions then the blog just sits still.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions of topics they would like me to cover please let me know.  I made a category specifically for this.  Go to Photography Discussion-Ask me anything about photography and ask as much as you want.  Remeber this: there is no such thing as a dumb question.  I LOVE to teach and educate.  As a matter of fact I got my Associates Degree in child psychology because originally I wanted to be a teacher.   And REMEMBER TO CLICK THAT RSS BUTTON ! 

Ahhhh yes photographing a beautiful fashion model on the beach and getting paid for it.  The ultimate dream for most beginning photographers.  I mean come on, you’re at a beautiful beach, warm sun and beautiful women right in front of you.    Well yes that is awesome.  So when I got the call from my client I was stoked UNTIL she said she wants to shoot at night.  My mind raced with every possible problem that I would face which of course the client has no clue about  because that isn’t their job to know what problems could arise.

So we have fourteen swimsuits to photograph and five different locations at Sycamore Cove up in Ventura County.  Call time was 8pm and we would shoot until 3:30am !  Ok so yes it is summer here in Los Angeles but at night especially the later it gets on the beach the temperature drops very low.  I don’t know what the temp was exactly but it was friggin cold !

Yes the model was wearing pretty much nothing, the bikini’s are VERY small but I needed my fingers to work and needed my mind to function lol.  I wore a skull cap to keep my bald head warm and a couple of sweatshirts.

Ok so enough of my bitching.  Shooting on the beach during the day is a challenge but at night it is even more challenging. We had to calculate what night and time low tide would be and schedule the shoot accordingly. We got lucky as it was a full moon so we weren’t working in pitch blackness but it was dark.  Flashlights were a must.  I had two assistants, make up, hair etc. the whole shabang.

Now of course there is no electricity down on the beach so we rented a Profoto 7B pack, two heads and some grids.  My key light had a large 4 x 6 foot Pro Foto soft box coming from camera left and up high angled down a bit. My f stop was f/8.  The light you see on the rocks behind our model  was bare bulb with the standard reflector attached and my first assistant hand held it at just the right spot.  The tide would come in and sometimes the water was too high so we had to sit there and wait until I decided was the perfect time to pull the trigger.  You can’t tell but Morgan our model was freezing her ass off .  To make matters worse this was around 2:30 am !   It was VERY VERY cold.  So here she is not moving a muscle waiting for me to fire the shot.  This shoot was definitely a challenge.  You know what’s cool ? You can’t even tell how difficult it was because the final image looks like it was a breeze.  But that is what separates the men from the boys    I would love to get some questions and comments on this post.  There is much more info I have to offer.  How in the world did I lock focus ?  But I want you guys to ask and I also want you to think about not just the technical aspects of the shoot but the psychology and how as a photographer I had to keep my model feeling beautiful even though she was freezing and wet.

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The third day of our fashion photography workshop involved learning how to light on location mixing the sun with your off camera flash and really using it off camera instead of mounting it on your camera.  One of the really cool things we did was mounted Dave’s Canon flash on a c-stand bounced into a Photoflex umbrella !   One of the benefits of mounting the flash to a c stand with the arm is that you can boom it out at any angle you want and of course you don’t end up with a photo that looks like you used harsh on camera flash.

We spent the whole day experimenting and just shooting, shooting and shooting.  I would observe Dave as he photographed the model and suggest different things to say to the model as he was shooting.  We had a nice lunch and ended up with great photos.  Dave is a great guy and learned so much.  Dave gave his testimonial however if there is something specific you would like to ask him about his three day workshop please don’t hesitate to email him.  His email is dave@daveclee.com and as always I encourage you to email or call me if you would like more information.

high fashion lingerie photo shoot

This is a recent fashion lingerie advertisement that just came out.  Notice I posted this in the photography lighting on location section.  We shot this at the Bissell  house in Pasadena California.  Originally when the designer and I scouted the location we planned  the whole lighting scheme a certain way referenced from tear sheets she pulled from various magazines.  So I went over all the details with my assistants days before and brought all the gear we needed based on the ORIGINAL lighting design.

So we get to the location on the morning of the shoot and the designer decides she wants a TOTALLY different lighting design than what we had originally planned.  Well of course this is where your photography fundamentals come in and you better know your fundamentals otherwise you will never advance in this business.  I pulled my assistants aside and we discussed the changes that needed to be made in order to please the client.  Remember this:  at the end of the day pleasing your client is what will get you the call again for another shoot.

Long story short we made it happen and it didn’t take long to figure it all out.  Notice I placed this post in the lighting on location because it is on location and not just a studio where everything is controlled.  You have ambient light to deal with coming from windows and the sun is moving throughout the day.

Now in response to Stikman’s comment, yes you can go wrong even though you have great models.  Models are just objects to hang the clothes on to make the clothes look great.  Well if you don’t know how to light your models wearing the clothes, the designer will not be able to sell their clothes to buyers.  Buyers want to buy clothes, not models 

Just want to remind everyone that you are able to view my blog on your mobile PDA phone.  For example if you have an Iphone, Blackberry, Palm, basically any phone that you are able to access the internet with you will be able to view my blog as you would see it on your desktop computer.  I installed a plugin that enables this.

So now where ever you are you can catch up and view new posts !

My assistant shot some photos of me shooting that I thought you all might enjoy.   This was a shoot for NXS Hair Extensions.

Los Angeles photographer Jason Christopher

NXS Hair Shoot

beauty photo campaign

Beauty Model

This model is from Ford Model Agency.  For this shoot I kept it simple. I used just one small umbrella above and a medium silver reflector by Photoflex.  I placed a strobe on both sides of the background with a yellow gel.  The yellow gel combined with 18% gray paper gives you an olive color.  In the end though the art director decided they didn’t like that color and in post they had the retoucher just make it white.

So I recently shot  a fashion shoot advertising campaign out in Las Vegas and on one of the days we had to go find a long strip of road with very little traffic.  I had five models and about an hour before the sun went down.  Instead of setting up a really complicated lighting scheme I just worked with the sun and my Metz 54mz on camera flash.  I had my assistants park the car so the sun would be behind the model or at least coming from the side of her.  Taking out the Metz I had so much going on in my head, how should I pose her, expression, how much longer til I lose my light etc., I said screw it !  Let’s just shoot !  I was up close, about 4 feet from the subject on a wide lens, this creates a grand look.   It took about 3 shots to dial in my exposure and this is what I ended up with.  The client loved it !

Fashion Shot for Deliverance Poker