Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

So this is the lighting diagram I promised to show you for this image of our model laying back on the log.

Photo that demonstrates lighting for photo shoot on the beach

This is a lighting diagram of my lighting

So as I said in a previous post I was right under the soft box and sometimes I was standing with my legs really wide to capture her at the perfect angle.  The soft box was roughly 8 feet up on a C-stand and tilted up so I didn’t blow out the log and also to throw some light on the beach sand in the background.

So as you can see a one light set up is all that was needed.  Pretty friggin easy.

Another successful fashion photography workshop. This time photographer Ken Davie came up from San Diego ! Super nice guy and very eager to learn. I LOVE when I get photographers in here who want to learn ! So with Ken his main issue was that he was intimidated when directing the model, make up artist and wardrobe stylist. Basically he needed to learn how to take charge of his own shoot which is not as easy as one might think.

We started off day one with Ken just observing me. He observed how I handled the photo shoot from start to finish. Started off with the make up process, discussing concepts for wardrobe and lighting.

We shot in studio and outdoors on location. Day two of the workshop I took Ken to an outdoor location. Obviously the best time to shoot outdoors is the last couple hours of the day. Well, when shooting an assignment you don’t have that luxury to only shoot in the last two hours of the day. When you have to shoot a catalog, editorial or advertisement you shoot all day. So I showed Ken how to shoot great photos at anytime of the day including mid day when the sun is at the worst possible position. By using scrims and placing the model in certain areas you can achieve great lighting at any time of the day.

Ken had come from a background of shooting product and he wants to make the switch to shooting people, a MUCH different process. Here are some results of Ken’s workshop. I have video but I am trying to learn how to edit it. If anyone would be willing to offer their service to edit please contact me.

High fashion photography

Beauty photo from my fashion photography workshop

My recent fashion swimsuit photography shoot at the beach was amazing.  I happened to get my hands on some behind the scenes photos taken with a cheap point and shoot but they give you the idea.   Now when I say we had a 100 foot RV I didn’t measure it but as you can see it was damn long !  We had the art directors, model, make up and hair artists, crew etc. all fit in quite nicely.  When shooting on location where you know it will be uncomfortable for the models, your crew and everyone you really need to rent an RV.   A well fed and warm crew is a happy crew !  In one of the photos you see me standing there with a stand in while the model stayed warm in the RV.   Unfortunately no one took any photos of me shooting        LOL  the story of my life.

RV used for our night photo shoot

Art Directors for the photo shoot

fashion model getting her make up applied

When planning a photo shoot the art director and photographer will make a story board of each scene to be shot.  In this story board you see a photo of the location, the swimsuits that the model will wear and the accessories such as jewelry.  Everything is planned out days before the photo shoot so everyone knows exactly what is going to happen.  You end up with a photo shoot that runs smooth with hopefully very little problems.

storyboard for night swimwear photo shoot

Then when it comes time to set up the lighting you need to have a stand in.  A stand in is very helpful because you can get your light set up pretty close to perfect while the model is getting her make up changed and changing clothes.

Stand in used for setting up the lighting

Just remember the more prepared you are the smoother your photo shoot will go.  The end result is a very pleased client that will call you back for another photo shoot.  If you like this post and think other photographers or anyone else associated with the photography business would find this helpful please click on the share buttons

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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Had another great private photography workshop last weekend with a super nice guy who came allllllll the way out from Ottawa Canada !  He also signed up for three days not just the two days !

The first day of the workshop I went over portfolio set up, size of prints, how they should be organized etc.  I say “they” because you should have a portfolio for each one of your specialties.  Dave has only been shooting for 4 months and he is very good.  Aside from being creatively talented you must also know the business and how it works.  I explained contracts and what should be included.  We talked about how to get real models to shoot for your portfolio, how to direct them etc.  I also covered tax write offs and most important I taught him about usage !  USAGE USAGE USAGE !    Dave had no idea he should be charging usage fees.  So I really covered many areas on the business side that will increase his business sales.  I then prepped him for the shoot with the model on the second day.

Most photographers these days when they are just starting out will build an in home photography studio which is a great idea.  But many really don’t know how to go about it to make it practical and useful for everyone on the team, make up artist etc.  So instead of renting a studio we shot in my home studio.  We started the day with showing Dave how to direct a make up artist, what looks good with certain outfits.  My make up artist explained about the different foundations etc.  Dave gained a wealth of information seeing how I have set up my studio and how I have made it work for me.  So I shot the model first.  It was a great way for Dave to observe how I direct the model, what I say to the model, and basically how I conduct a fashion shoot.

So now you can see my in home studio.  Obviously for large commercial shoots I rent a very large photography studio in LA, but for workshops, head shots etc. you’re in home studio will work perfectly !

You can see that we used a two light set up.  That light that is facing Dave is for the flare.  And here is the final shot not retouched btw.  Dave did a great job and absorbed everything I taught him.  Stay tuned for the third day !

➢ The closer your light modifier is to your model, the broader/softer your light will be. The farther away, the more direct/harsher your light will be. An umbrella will yield more contrast than a soft box.

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 

This is a wonderful model with perfect skin.  I lit her from underneath with a medium strip bank from Photoflex.  Then I place a medium softbox above her and a little bit in front of her.   Shot digitally with my Canon 1DS and a 100 mm 2.8 lens.  What makes this shot amazing is the model’s expression.

How does a photographer pull that from a model ?  Ahhhhhhhh the question of all questions.  My answer is simple.  TALK TO YOUR MODEL CONSTANTLY.    Keep telling her how beautiful she is, how amazing she is.  Throw out adjectives like, vulnerable, shy, nervous, sexy, timid, diva-like,  I think you get the idea.  A great model is a great actor as well.

Ok I want to share these shots with you because this is a great example of how one can achieve very nice lighting that looks like it was shot with a very expensive set up like Profoto or the likes thereof. The reality is that I used my Metz 55 mz-4 attached to my Canon off camera shoe cord. So let’s go over how I accomplished this look.

First of all I was alone. Yes I had a make up person but this was an experiment that I wanted to do and I purposely did not get an assistant. Many times we can’t afford an assistant when we are just starting out. So we are left with having to be resourceful, otherwise the shoot cannot happen.

1. Attach your off camera shoe cord to your hot shoe on your camera then attach the other end to your flash unit. The underside of the end that you attach your flash to will have a threaded hole that will screw onto either a light stand or tripod.

2. Now you place the flash where ever you like and adjust your exposure accordingly. With these shots I back lit the model with the sun and used my Metz as my key light. I wanted to achieve a bright crisp look so I over exposed with the flash. I did use my lens hood as I was pretty much shooting straight into the sun. My camera settings were: 250th @ F/11.

Ok so at this point I am going to split this post into two separate lessons. I am still feeling this whole instructional blog thing out. If you would like to learn more about this shoot please say so. Without your feedback I can’t give you what you want or need.