Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

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.

So you all know that I have NEVER used Photoshop to TOTALLY change my photos.  The only reason Photoshop is ever used is to smooth skin and dust spots.  But a recent shoot I did was in a classic car museum and there was no way in hell that we were going to be able to take these cars out to a location.  The solution was to change the background in Photoshop.  If we didn’t change it then the whole shoot would be a total loss.  I lit these with a ring light and some edge lights.  My digital compositor did an amazing job at creating a classy yet edgy look !  I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts !

You may view more of the series on my site.

My private photography workshops are going strong !  Two weeks ago a wonderful woman Sofia, came all the way up from Mexico.  She is more of a portrait photographer but also wanted to learn a little bit of fashion so we shot in studio and outdoors.  I took her to the Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills.  Instead of lugging a bunch of lighting gear out there I wanted to teach her how to use an on camera flash.  When we first start out we don’t always have the resources of getting an assistant.  So for this shot we mounted her flash on a light stand.  I also mounted a 3 foot by 2 foot white board to the stand and bounced the flash into the board. So we ended up with a nice soft light that didn’t look like harsh on camera flash.  The stand was about 4 feet away off camera left and about 4 feet away from the model. This photo has NOT been edited, it is right out of the camera.

This next photo is of Sofia shooting Olga the fashion model.  Sofia was shooting with Nikon gear and her on camera flash with a Stofen cover on the flash head.  We all had a great time and Sofia learned many new techniques that she will implement into her shooting without having to spend a fortune on gear and also Sofia learned that shooting alone without an assistant is VERY possible.

➢    When placing your soft box or umbrella in relation to the model, start at the distance of the circumference of the umbrella or diagonal measurement of your soft box. So if the circumference of your umbrella is 45in. then place it 45in. away from your model.  If the size of your box is 36in. then place it 36in. away from your model.  The angle & height you place it at is dependant upon what type of lighting you choose.  So start with these “rules” and then break them as you wish.

Hey everyone ! Last week I shot gold medelist Shawn Johnson for her sportswear line of gymnastics clothing.  My crew and I only had four hours with her because she needed to go straight to rehearsal for Dancing With the Stars.  The shoot took place at Beachwood Studios in Hollywood.

Celebrity gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson with photographer Jason Christopher

Hey everyone !  I recently shot actor Michael Copon.  He was in Scorpian King 2.  More photos to come !  Ok I added another photo.  I love this shot.   Maybe GQ magazine would like it ?

Photo by Jason Christopher Celebrity Actor Michael Copon

Photo by Jason Christopher, Actor Michael Copon

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.

This is the first photo from a 6 page fashion  editorial I recently shot.  Just got it back from my retoucher. I shot with my Canon 1 DS and an 85 1.8 lens. For this shoot I decided to use a fog machine for a little added effect.  When using a fog machine you must back light it, hence the edge light you see on the bottom part of her arms.  The only other light I used was my key light which was camera left about 6 feet away from the model.  It was an extra large 6 foot Photoflex soft box.  The model is Sarah Bell from Next models in Los Angeles.

Any questions please ask !

Fashion Model Sarah Bell

Just a quick note to let you all know that the workshops have been going great ! Everyone is really gaining some great knowledge and having a great time. Remember the workshop is private one on one. I have a professional model and make up artist at every workshop. The photographers who have taken my workshop all agree that learning one on one is so much better than attending a group workshop. You can ask any amount of questions and you get them all answered without anyone else interrupting.

So whether you are just starting out in photography or have been shooting for awhile and want to brush up on your skills, my private workshop is a great way to learn and focus on EXACTLY what you want to learn and not what 12 other people want to learn all at the same time.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email me with any questions !

Thank you !
– Jason 818-889-9559 jason@jasonchristopher.com