Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

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

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.

So last Sunday at 2pm one of my assistants calls to tell me he just got a tip from a make up artist that a model friend of his from Spain is in town for 3 days and asked if I would like to test her.  As soon as I saw a few photos that he emailed me I jumped on it.  This is one of  the shots that I converted to B&W in post.

Ok so why the title of the post ? Because the ONLY light I used was the natural light coming in from the bedroom window.  I metered with my handheld meter and shot my ass off.  It is a little blurry on purpose. I was hand held  standing above her on a matress.  Lens was my 85mm.  Settings were ISO 800, 1/15th shutter speed, F/2.2.  You guys like ?  *QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS WELCOME*

natural lighting for fashion or beauty

I am showing you guys this shot because I can’t stress enough how important it is to NOT get hung up on “the rules.”   It’s good that you all want to know what lens I used, how many lights, f stop etc., however the TRUTH is that I could light a shot with a friggin flashlight and if the expression, or action is CAPTIVATING, then who gives a rats ass about the technical stuff ?

So here is Britania.  She’s smacking her lips with this bubble gum.  NORMALLY I tell the model to spit that crap out.  But I just had a hunch that SHE would make magic with that gum lol.  So this brings me to another point.  DON’T EVER PUT DOWN THE CAMERA UNTIL YOU YELL WRAP !  Just like an actor never stops acting until the director yells cut !

So Britania is doing her thing and I am snapping away on that shutter.  Then there is this short pause, the one where most guys would rest their arm for a couple seconds.  I kept my camera against my eye and Britania blows this bubble and hits a pose that ended up being f**kin cool !!!!!!!!

No she’s not wearing a $10,000 couture gown or anything amazing for that matter. But look at this !

Don’t put your camera down.  if it gets heavy then hit the gym and build some muscle !

The magic of chance happenings

So I recently shot my actress friend Crystal Allen.  I shot this on the balcony of her apartment which overlooks the beach.  The walls and floor of the balcony are white.  Late in the day the light hitting the balcony is soft and beautiful.  I placed her just a bit out from the door jam so that the light from the white floor hit her face and eyes.  On an 85mm lens my exposure was f/5 80th of a second.  My ISO was 200.  Choosing an f stop of 5 allowed the background to blur out.  She was standing a good 12 feet from the inside living room so that allowed it to go dark thereby focusing all the attention to Crystal.  At this time of day you don’t have very long to get your shots so you need to direct your model very well.  Crystal is an actress so that made my job very easy. I just gave her adjectives to act out.  For example I would say, give me vulnerable, shy, nervous, strong, confident etc.  This image has not been retouched and it really does not need much because I exposed so well.  Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions or comment.

actress crystal allen

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.

Photographed with a Canon 100mm F/2.8 macro lens. Using only one small Photoflex umbrella up high angled down towards the model.

Macro beauty photograph . Shot with one small Photoflex umbrella.

An example of celebrity photography this is Samantha Harris the host of Dancing With the Stars. Shot this at BelleVarado studios. Working with celebrities can be fun and also a challenge. They are not models and the photographer must remember that. Celebrities are not always comfortable in front of a still camera. So it is the celebrity photographer’s job to help them feel confident and calm.