I recently shot for Nina Canacci.  They are a high end couture  prom gown designer.  It was a three day shoot at 10 hours each day.  We shot over 200 gowns with three models.  I have never talked about stamina because it’s just something that a photographer must have and I assume all photographers have enough stamina to shoot for a long period of time.  However the other day I was talking shop with a colleague of mine and he mentioned a friend of ours that would never be able to last 10 hours, never mind three days in a row.  Now that is not a good thing.  I mean let’s face it, any catalog shoot or advertising shoot is going to be a long day.  There are exceptions of course but the majority of jobs are 8-10 hours.

In this video you can see how hard I work and I think most photographers do work hard.  You can see my intensity.  I have a game face and I make sure that game face is on from the moment I step on set to the wrap of the shoot.  Photographers must have mental, emotional and physical stamina to execute a successful shoot.  We are the leader.  Everyone on that set looks up to us.  If we show any sign of weakness or uncertainty, then we have just lost our shoot.  The good news is we can get it back.  Grab the bull and come out like a lion in the second half and I guarantee that you will get your set back.

For this shoot I walked on the set and the first thing I saw was racks and racks of gowns.  Instead of letting that intimidate me, I remembered why I am in this business, and that is because I love women’s clothing and I love to capture the beauty and style of fashion.    So I greeted everyone with a big smile and looked over the gowns and got to work on lighting the set.  This was an easy set up.  One 6 foot silver lined umbrella to create a soft shadow on the BG and two strobes to light my white BG.   Some of the gowns were very light and were made to flow with the wind of a dancer.  It is a models job to put on a dress or outfit and know what to do with it.  It is the photographers job to know what the fabric is capable of and make sure the model is “working” the gown or outfit.   In the video you will see examples of this.

So sit back and enjoy the video.  I hope you have many questions that I will be happy to answer.

Nina Canacci Prom Dress Shoot By Jason Christopher Photography from Jason Christopher on Vimeo.

This is a behind the scenes video of a catalogue shoot I did for Nina Canacci couture prom gowns. We shot 250 gowns in three 10 hour days.

Recently I shot a catalog or sometimes called a look book. A designer will call me asking me to shoot their new creations.  Normally if everything on the designer end goes smoothly, I will shoot two seasons ahead.  So this shoot which is for Simply Mimi,  we shot this in August of 2010.  The collection is Spring 2011.  The time table isn’t always exact but everyone does their best to get the designs manufactured in time for the shoot.  This will give the designer enough time to design the catalog / look book, send it out to her buyers and ship her orders to the various stores in time for the season they were meant for.  Trust me, it NEVER runs that smooth and on time lol.

So this is a small sample of what I shot.  Now let me explain something to you guys.  You might be saying to yourselves that it looks really boring.   Well, it is  !  Shooting look books is boring UNLESS it is a look book for Gucci etc.  You get my drift I’m sure.  However, the bare bones fact is that I would rather be shooting than sitting in a cubicle all day answering a phone or working the drive through window.  ” Welcome to Kentucky Fried Chicken may I take your order please?” as I spit my gum out that I’ve had in my mouth for the past 8 hours !

Catalog / look book shooting is easy, quick and you make a pretty penny for a days work or two.  Do I put all my catalog work up on my site ?  Heeeelllllll no !

I show my artistic side and creative side on my site.  IF the look book is cool enough then I will put it up on my site.

So what is involved in shooting a catalog / look book ?  As you can see the lighting is all the same.  You MUST bring out the texture of the clothes and show them well.  This is not about being fancy and artistic with your lighting with dark shadows and moods.  These look books are for buyers of major department stores and they want to see the garments they are investing in.  Sometimes I will also shoot a lifestyle shot or two or three etc. to go along with the look book if the client asks.

So there ya go.  One of my recent catalog / look books.  Hit me up with any questions you have.  Trust me, I haven’t included every detail in this post because I am trying to get you all to think about what else is involved and ask me questions so we can get some interaction going 

Here we have from left to right; fashion model, designer, Jason Christopher- photographer and a fashion model.

Recently I had the opportunity to go to Nashville and shoot an up and coming country singer  named Hannah Bethel.   I got the call and was thrilled !  I LOVE Nashville !   The people are friendly and the state is just beautiful.  I also love country music.  Now I have been to Nashville several times but never in the middle of the summer. Well living in Southern California my whole life I’m used to heat , but dry heat.  It was sooooo hot and humid in Nashville that I couldn’t keep the sweat out of my eyes while I was shooting lol.

So the next step to this project was talking to Hannah herself  and throwing around ideas for her EP cover, back of the EP  as well as press kit shots.   Even though I had been to Nashville before, I still don’t know the surrounding areas and locations like I know the locations here.  So that meant obtaining some location shots and having them emailed to me.  Once we decided on the concepts Hannah had someone go out and just take some shots with a point and shoot.  So I get the shots and the locations are beautiful.  We got some nice green field locations, a really cool flowing stream, a straight long road lined with wild flowers etc.  My imagination started over flowing with ideas.  The only problem was that even though I knew what time of day the shots were taken, the shoot was still about a month away which means the location of the sun in relation to those photos was going to be different.  But that’s ok, that is something you work out when it’s time for the shoot.

I also had to use my imagination to visualize where Hannah would be placed in the shot.  This is where I want to stress how important it is that what makes a good photographer is not just his or her lighting skills but that they have that sixth sense of being able to “SEE” the shot before you shoot it.  That cannot be taught. Having an inner eye is a God given talent and you better be able to tap into it if you are going to be successful. But I had no idea what time each different shot would be taken and where the sun would be at that specific time.   It’s not like I could just call Hannah on the phone and say I’ll be right over to do some test shots so we can figure out how we want each shot to look.  So that made this whole process a bit more difficult.  But again, that’s ok because I knew I was flying into Nashville a few days early so I would use those days to go with Hannah and check out each location and note where the sun is, how the sun affected her, where the shadows would fall etc.

But before going out to Music City there was much to be done.   Hannah sent me photos of the clothes her stylist got for her.   I needed those photos so I could put the whole scene together in my mind and also make sure that the shots were designed around her music and her personality.  How did I get to her personality ?  I talked to her on the phone alot of course, looked at her Facebook page that had just regular photos of her in her daily life and I spoke with her manager.  I also listened to some rough cuts of the songs.

So now I arrive in Nashville and am slapped in the face with hot, sticky air lol.  We started our location scouting and to my shock the locations in the photos that WERE nice and plush with green were now brown and dried out.  The beautiful flowing stream was pretty much dried up and the wildflowers were pretty much non existent.   Alllll the planning of the shots, all my ideas and excitement went right out the window.  Well as you can imagine I was just lovin the situation at this point lol.  So I did what a photographer can only do in that situation.  I changed gears and scouted more.  I planned my ideas based on other locations that I liked better that even though were dried out, they had other characteristics that I could use.  For instance, an old abandoned barn, a long dirt road, etc.  I just changed the whole theme of the shoot and adapted as best I could.

Let’s move on….. I went to each location at different times of the day over the course of a couple days.  Now we get to the shoot day.  Living in Los Angeles the weather never changes in the summer. It’s just hot with no clouds.  Well as I was about to experience, Tennessee is not at all like that.

Big puffy white clouds roll by covering the sun every 5, 10, 15 min etc.  So I set up my first shot while Hannah was in make up and hair, the one with Hannah standing in the middle of the dirt road and everything looks great.  Hannah comes out of make up, I inspect every detail on her face making sure all the lines are clean and eyelashes don’t have any dried clumps of mascara ( my BIGGEST pet peeve) and tell everyone it’s time to shoot !

As I am shooting sweat is pouring down my face as I wipe it away every couple of minutes.  I’m drinking water like crazy.  Now the clouds begin to do their thing and cover the sun almost as if they are playing a trick on me.  Covering the sun, I wait for them to roll by.  They roll by I get off one frame and here they come again.  This went back and forth and I just had to succumb to the fact that the clouds ruled in this part of the country lol.  So eventually I made it through that shot.  I got some great images.

One thing to remember is not only do I have to be aware of the clouds, the sun etc., but also I have to consider and not forget that I have a subject / Hannah in front of me that is wearing make up and is hot and needs direction.  Remember, she is not a model or an actress so I am also directing her through all of this.  Not easy but….. fun !

We move on to the next shots and finish the day in the studio.  So this was a different kind of shoot in many ways.

1. I was shooting in another state.  I had to plan everything without actually being there.

2. I was shooting a singer, not a model or actress as I am so used to shooting.

3. I was working out in the elements of a totally different kind of weather pattern.

4. The locations I had chosen and planned to use totally changed and I had to choose different locations and re plan everything.

The major point is that as professional photographers we must be able to adapt to ANYTHING.  And in order to be able to adapt we must know our craft like the way we breathe.  This only comes from years of practice and patience.

Below are some behind the scenes shots and finals.  In all we shot five different looks.

Recently I had the pleasure of giving an interview about my  style of fashion photography and a  recent advertising shoot I finished that was challenging and fun.  Matt Haines, a photographer himself  has a wonderful photography site here, called me and asked me some great questions for his photography blog called Fashion and Light.

You can read the interview about my advertising shoot and the challenges it presented as well as my career and how amazing my fashion photography team is as we work each shoot and plan everything from set design, to make up and hair, lighting etc.  Casey Robinson my make up artist is also interviewed.

Matt shows you some photos from the ad campaign and the great behind the scenes video shot by Drew Maw.  Read all about this great fashion shoot here.

And as always any questions or comments are always welcome !

Thank you everyone for making my blog so special.

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.

I am a true photographer, especially a fashion photographer.  How many of you can HONESTLY say this ?  Think really hard because I am willing to bet that the majority of this new breed of photographers who have never shot film have no clue what the basic fundamentals of photography are .  Now I know you are all out there calling me an asshole and every other name in the book but the proof is in the photos.

I spoke to a photographer today who has only been shooting for about a year.  He told me how much he loves digital. I asked him why.  Get ready to fall back in your seats because his answer made me cringe.  He told me he loves digital photography because he doesn’t know the basic fundamental lighting techniques and he just fixes his photos in Photoshop.  If he needs an extra light he just pops it in where he needs it.  I was so thrown back I couldn’t even gather my thoughts to say anything back. Think about what this person said.  It’s SAD and PATHETIC ! And I am so damn sick of it !  Don’t get me wrong, he is a friend and a good person but it’s guys like this that are hurting the business and hurting true professionals like me and many others.

So now we have the business of photography to be concerned with. If he doesn’t know the basic fundamentals of photography do you think he knows anything about how to run a photography business ?  Hell friggin no he doesn’t !

This brings me to my main reason for writing this post.   Just because we are now shooting digital, does not give you an excuse to lose your discipline which is exactly what has happened with everyone today !  With the advent of digital, photographers have gotten LAZY and don’t even know how to connect with their subject, which is what makes a great photograph.  Richard Avedon was amazing at this.   I highly suggest you all go out and get the DVD Richard Avedon – Darkness and Light by American Masters Productions.   What you will see is he used a Rolleiflex camera.  The Rollei as most call it for short is actually my favorite camera and it only cost me $250 used of course.  They aren’t made anymore.  The camera is medium format, 6×6 cm and can take 120 or 220 film. There is no meter in it, no electronics, no batteries, no auto focus and no zoom lens.  You must crank to advance to the next frame and to achieve focus you line up the diagonal line in the focus prism.  You must hold it very steady and to make it even more challenging the image you see when you look down is reversed !  So lets say you are using 120 film, you have only 12 chances to get the shot you need/ want.  That’s right you heard me, 12 chances ! That’s it !  You don’t get 1,000 chances.  So you must take your time with your subject and this gives you the opportunity to actually connect !  There’s none of this taking the shot, looking at it to see if you got your exposure correct  wile the model sits there thinking about what a moron you are.

Meet the Rolleiflex !  Click the image to make it larger.  I labeled all the elements for you.  I still shoot with this camera on tests to keep my chops up.  It slows me down, relaxes me which relaxes the model.  I have to think about the shot and if I REALLY want to push the shutter, which btw is almost silent.  What I find very ironic is this post really can apply to everyone in any business and even in family life.  We all need to slow down, think, then react.  We need to reconnect with each other and remember why the person you are photographing is so special.  Why is your wife so special when you come home and give her a kiss ?  When you put your kids to bed at night look at them, talk to them, cherish them. Slow down and tell them you love them.  Ask them if they are happy.  Tell them how happy you are.

You could ask the same questions, say the same things to your subject as they sit in front of you letting you inside their soul to see everything.  And because you took the time to really look at them, get to know them, they are going to give you all they have, just lke your wife and kids or girlfriend will give you more and appreciate you more.  Life is all connected.  It’s one big giant circle and everything is interrelated.  Trust me…… try this….. you can’t go wrong.

So who do you think got me to start shooting the Rollei ?  My mentor and great friend celebrity fashion photographer Jerry Avenaim. He has taught me what Avedon taught him, Demarchelier taught him.  The fact that I am following in the footsteps of some of the greatest photographers to ever grace this planet makes me feel so special and I thank the universe everyday for this.

Here is another view of the great Rolleiflex.  You can see the viewing lens and taking lens.  You can also see how to set the shutter speed and aperture.  Look at this camera and think about how much discipline a photographer has to have to use it.  Remember, newspaper photographers  used this, photo journalists who had to be able to get “the shot” !  PHOTOGRAPHIC DISCIPLINE  ! PHOTOGRAPHIC DISCIPLINE  ! PHOTOGRAPHIC DISCIPLINE  !  Please get this in your head and practice it.  You will be a better photographer as well as a better person.

Looking down into the Rolleiflex viewfinder you see the image is reversed.  Yes this is my living room.  The image is reversed  however, your thinking will become so clear and concise.  Your photographs will become breathtaking and you will leave your mark on this world when you leave it.  That is something I am very proud to say I have done many times and it is a feeling that you will always cherish just as you will cherish the memories of the subjects you photographed because you slowed down, stopped, listened, looked and then…….. you reacted.

I wanna hear your thoughts and experiences.

Ok so your  client tells you that you will be shooting their fashion look book or ad campaign on location and you naturally assume it will be an outdoor location.  Ahhhhh lest we forget that location also means indoors and not just in studio .  This photo shoot for my client’s look book was pretty cool.  It was inside club Elevate and even during the day it was pretty dark inside.   So I hit her with a key light with a 40 degree grid.  Behind the pebbled glass were two lights at full power.  Remember that I wanted to create a heavenly look and my vision was to have bright white light around her.

High Key Lighting

So here is an instance where I had to light on location but it was indoors.  Something about this picture to me is special.  Remember me telling everyone that you should never let that camera out of your hands as long as there is a model in front of your lens ?  Well while my assistants were tweaking the lights I kept my eye on the model.  She just happened to look down for whatever reason and just the way her arms were positioned and her legs and the way her hair fell I saw it and shot it.  I think it’s the best shot from that series.  No we can’t clearly see her face but that is ok.

Never forget, as a photographer we are creating a mood, a fantasy, a feeling. We do this so our client can sell their clothes.  It’s not always about the model’s face.  Keep your eyes on the model and your camera ready to shoot just like you would do if you were holding a gun in war !!  This photo btw is right out of my camera.  It hasn’t gone through post yet except for removing the metal seam connecting the glass panel that was going right through her body from head to toe and it looks great!

Get it right IN CAMERA !  My mentor and good friend celebrity fashion photographer Jerry Avenaim taught me this a long time ago.  Always be ready !  Photographers have eyes in the back of their head and we also notice EVERYTHING around us even when other people don’t think we can see what is going on on the other side of the set or in the make up room etc. but we do know.  Good photographers are good observers.  When I am at the store, in a restaurant, at my nephew’s football game, the bank… you get my point.  I am always observing.  Develop that quality and perfect it.  I guarantee you will gain by leaps and bounds in your photography.

A photographer friend of mine recently came to me very frustrated.  He is very good at shooting lifestyle, commercial, weddings and let’s call it commercial fashion.  On his website he had all these sections up.  He asked for my advice and opinion on what I thought.  I told him to narrow down to two – three categories of photography that you really love.  Don’t think about how much they pay, or how much they don’t pay, just shoot what you love.

I told him this is something we all go through in the beginning of our careers.  He was concerned and insecure because he doesn’t know what he loves the most.  Eventually I told him you will know what you love the most.  It took me three years to finally know in my heart that I love shooting fashion and beauty.  But not just fashion and beauty, fashion and beauty advertising.  It all works out.  When we first start shooting, we literally have to get to know ourselves again, but this time we have to get to know ourselves as a creative.  We go through growing pains, emotional let downs, the highs and the lows.  Trust me, every single photographer out there who is working has gone through this process.  It’s a friggin roller coaster and you know what ?  It sucks !  It really does.  I mean come on, can you really say in your heart that you loved your teen years as a kid ?  Hell no ! But eventually we grow up, well MOST of us do lol.  And we find our way.  The path opens up right before our inner eyes and heart.  Sometimes it takes a road trip all by yourself and just shoot.  Shoot whatever you think is cool, beautiful, weird or whatever !  Just shoot !  Take at least three days and just drive.  No destination in mind, no preconceived notions.  Just drive and stop when you want to and shoot.  If it’s a stupid cactus or a stupid wood fence and you think they look cool, shoot them !  Take your digital camera but also take a film camera.  Yes that’s right a film camera.  It’s time to grow up !  I can guarantee that when you return from your little trip, you will feel totally different.  Will you have found yourself ? I don’t know.  But if you don’t, take another road trip.

The voyage of self discovery is something that every creative goes through and listen to this, you will go through ANOTHER voyage of self discovery again in your career and probably another time too !  That’s ok though.  As creatives we don’t ever want to get stuck in a rut.  We feel stale and useless.  I will mention my very good close friend and celebrity fashion photographer Jerry Avenaim who coined the phrase voyage of self discovery.  He had his own voyage of self discovery early in his photography career.   To this day he still goes through discoveries here and there.  I do, my other colleagues do, actors do, you name it.  If you are a creative you will always continue to develop.

The reason I am talking about this is that as photographers you MUST shoot what you love.  If through your own voyage of self discovery you find that you have changed, then go with it.  Never forget this though; clients will hire you because they love your style.  It could be your lighting style, the way you pose your models, the emotion you evoke from your models or it could be that they don’t even know.  All they do know is that when they look at your portfolio, it grabs them and never lets go !  And that is the photographer they want to shoot their next campaign, look book, catalog or whatever.  Your passion for what you shoot does show in the photo.  The photo that you produce is in some way an extension of you !  Yes !  It’s true !

So as I leave you with these words of wisdom, don’t make growing up complicated.  Trust your own gut.  I will be 41 Dec. 6th and I can tell you that my guy has NEVER ONCE been wrong, NEVER !

I want to know your thoughts on this.  I want to hear all your voyages of self discovery.

This photo by the way was one of my first photos I ever shot with a real model.  It isn’t really fashion but it is by far the most popular photo I have ever taken.  It is a photo that gets me very much work because you FEEL when you look at it !

Beautiful Ballerina

I recently got the chance to use a Photoflex 5 foot Octabank and am very pleased with the results.  In this photo I attached an egg crate fabric grid on the front ( not visible in this pic) and boy do I love it.  The grid directs light only on to your model and keeps it off the background.  I put a 30 degree grid on the back light aiming it right at the model as well as into the lens so I could get some flair for effect.  Now I wanted to show you this because this is in my condo.  It’s not a huge place.  The shooting space is about 500 square feet. You don’t always need a huge professional studio to create photographs.

Photoflex Octabank

Fashion Photography Workshop

The photo below shows the result.  Notice in the first photo you can see I am using gray background paper.  With the grid attached to the octabank it keeps all the light on your model.  It’s a much more dramatic look.