Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

Photography lighting for catalogs is different than lighting for advertising or an editorial.  You rarely get the chance to get creative because the objective is to make the clothes look good and show details in the fabric.  Many fashion designers use some very nice fabrics and the designers goal is to sell their clothes to buyers of department stores and get them seen in magazines.  Therefore the photographer doesn’t really have the freedom to use radical lighting ratios with dramatic shadows.   So what kind of lighting is recommended for shooting catalogs ?  Well I like very nice Rembrandt lighting.  This is where you see the triangle of light under either the left or right eye.  The reason I like to use Rembrandt lighting is because it isn’t flat and it isn’t too dramatic and shows the details of the clothes at the same time.   Now for this shoot you can see I did a little variation of Rembrandt.  It’s not a perfect typical triangle of light under the eye.  You can see the shadow is more opened up so there is a little more light on the model’s face.  I chose to do this variation because when I originally showed the designer the actual Rembrandt set up, she felt it was a little too shadowed.  As you can see in the images that the model’s LEFT side is in a light shadow.  Look at the tighter shot and you see her LEFT cheek looks sculpted and my variation of Rembrandt lighting.

I accomplished this by placing a black V-Flat close to the model about three feet away from her.  This gives you a negative fill.  What’s happening is the large soft box is feathered away from the model a bit and some of the light is actually bouncing into and off of the white wall that is to the left of the soft box.  Then that light hits the model, then hits the black V-Flat which soaks up some of the light giving you the negative fill and a nice shadow.  You control the darkness of the shadow by moving the V-Flat closer into the model or farther away.  Closer in gives you a darker shadow and moving it away lightens the shadow.  So what’s cool is I only used one light for this !  I combined the natural light and one strobe to create a lighting scheme that isn’t that flat ugly typical catalog lighting like you see in JC Penny.   Please ask me questions and comment ! Click the lighting diagram and you will see it larger.

You can learn techniques like this and much more when you take my  two day one on one private fashion photography work shop. Click here for more info.

I love to shoot fashion.   There are so many reasons why.  I love the couture clothing, I love to photograph women and I also love to create a mood.  One of my favorite techniques to create mood in an image is to use a fog machine.  You can pick one up for about $25.  In these photos I used a medium soft box as my main light and placed it camera left.  To light the fog I placed a strobe behind her and off camera.  My assistant ran the fog machine off camera right.  The back light was about 2 stops brighter than my main.   You have to tell your model to be in character all the time and to NOT look back at the machine.  The fog dissipates rather quickly and it’s difficult to get just the right pattern of fog so it doesn’t look like it is being shot out in a stream.   My assistant used a piece of cardboard to blow the fog around and “shape” it so it looks the way it does.                                             

Now if you look at the photo on the left you will notice an edge light on her cheek.  That is coming from the back light that is illuminating the fog.  So in essence you can kill to birds with one stone.  It’s actually a very challenging shoot.  If you get a model in that is inexperienced she will want to always look back at the fog machine because she is so in awe of it, why I have no idea, but I go crazy because the fog will be perfect and the model will decide to make sure it looks perfect and will look back and I miss the shot.  Oy vey !  lol  So reinforce to your model to stay in character and DON’T LOOK BACK at the friggin machine !  Sara, the model in these photos is an experienced model so I didn’t have to remind her to not look back.

Yes these images were retouched.  The model’s skin was smoothed and of course contrast, levels etc., the standard stuff was done.  My lighting however, was just how you see it.   And that’s really all there is to it.  A two light set up and that’s it.  Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, comment whether you like it or don’t.  You won’t hurt my feelings.

You can learn how to shoot like this and much more by taking my private one on one photography work shop.

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Your email will never be shared or sold.  That is a promise from me directly.

Outdoor fashion lighting can be a problem with some photographers.  We have the elements to deal with, the hot sun, the constantly moving sun, wind etc.  Add the fact that if it is a test you can’t afford to hire an assistant to lug heavy lighting gear around for you.  Most of us don’t own a Profoto 7B pack because they cost around $4,000 to $5,000.  So what does one do ?

Outdoor Lighting With a Speed Light

I shot this fashion photo with one Canon 580EXII and that’s it.  No bounce cards or any attachments to the flash and it was attached to the hot shoe, not off camera.  The time of day was 1:25 pm.

As you can see the sun is facing the model.   Many photographers would think you don’t need a flash, the sun is hitting her.  Well that all depends on the look you are going for.  I like to use flash no matter where the sun is.  In this case the flash brings out the details more and gives the image a crisper look.

So I put my flash on the camera.   I was standing about 6 feet away from the model on a wide lens, 44mm so I could capture the entire scene around her.  I set my flash to hi speed sync mode so I could shoot at 500th shutter speed.  Why shoot at such a high shutter speed ?  So I could capture a nice blue sky and not blow out the background.  My  fstop was 6.3 ISO was 160.  Now when you use such a fast shutter speed you obviously need to demand more power from your flash.  Also using an fstop of 6.3 demands more power.  So I set my flash exposure compensation to plus 3 stops !  I also set my zoom head on the flash to 80mm instead of letting it set itself to 44mm automatically.  As you can imagine I was asking my flash to do alot and demanding a ton of power.  So I had a Quantum battery pack attached to it to give the flash the extra power it needed.  And that is really all I did with this shot.  I didn’t haul out the Profoto 7B with a beauty dish and another light for her hair.  I positioned her so that her hair was lit by the sun and my key light was my flash.

This situation is why I cannot stress enough that you MUST  know your fundamentals.  If I had put the camera on auto then this shot would look nothing like you see now.  ** This and many other photography fundamentals are techniques I teach you in my fashion photography workshop. It’s a two day workshop and you come out knowing MUCH more than you did when you first walk in.  Check out the workshop page for more info and please feel free to call or email me with any questions you have concerning  the workshop.**

If you have any comments or questions about this post, ask away ! 

Photographers of all types listen up !  It is time to STOP hoarding all your “secret” information and START to share it !  I am very upset and disappointed in many photographers today because they think they are Gods gift to photography and that the technique and information they have is exclusive to them only.  They think that they are the ones who invented the god dam light bulb and I am TIRED AND FED UP with that kind of thinking.  There is nothing out there that hasn’t been done. The difference is how each photographer adds his or her twist on the concept.  I could light the shot, shoot 10 frames, then you shoot 10 frames and our images will be totally different.

I bring this up because I can’t tell you how many times guys call me or email me asking for advice and I can hear the apprehension in their voice as they must sit there quivering with fright whether or not I am going to be a total dick and bite their head off.   Then when I begin to speak and give them every ounce of energy and information I have they loosen up so much you would think we are best friends.  Then they tell me how many other shooters they have called and all they get are answers like “learn it yourself” or “I’m not your mother” or literally the photographer will just hang up on them !

So the other day a very nice gentleman named Kevin  emailed me with some questions about contracts and business essentials. I emailed him back & told him to call me because there is sooooo much information that I would be sitting at the computer for days.  So anyway he calls me the next day and talked about many things.  I told him how important it is to have a contract, deposit etc.  He asked if I would email him one of my contracts and you know what ? I emailed it to him right away.  He was so happy and thankful.  And I was happy as well  because hopefully it will bring his business standards up to par with mine and my colleagues and the next time I get a call for a project the client will know what to expect.

For example, usage rights, terms, day rates etc. I am embarrassed that MOST of the new guys don’t know to charge for usage and they don’t even bother to find out !!!!

When I started in this business the internet didn’t even exist and I found out all I needed to know WITHOUT even going to school.  Now  that we have the internet please give me ONE reason why ANYONE cannot find out what they need to know about photography or anything for that matter.

So now that Kevin has information about how to write up a contract and how to charge usage fees and day rates do you think that I will be put out of business ?  Hell no !

This bullshit of everyone being so closed minded and protective of  any info like locations, rates, technique etc. is THE reason there will never be a photographers union.  Think about it people.  In the movie industry there are unions and they are a good thing.  Christ there are location resource books and prop resource books and even technique books that DP’s share with each other and there has never been a problem.

So I am here to get tough with you all and say… grab your balls, DROP your egos, study, learn, research, share your talent and make friends.  In the long run you will be better off because you WILL make the rates you are supposed to make like I make and my colleagues make.  But if you keep this behavior up you are only f * * king it up for yourselves for the future because you will never know what it feels like to make VERY good money and be paid very well for what you are good at.

Now go ahead and hit me with all ya got !  I’m ready to take it on !  lol

jerry avenaim and jason christopher fashion photographers

PRIVATE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

• Two day  private workshop one on one with Jason Christopher.
• Learn at your own pace.  I will tailor your workshop to your needs.
• Each day will include a model and make up artist.
• You will learn MY lighting techniques and styles that apply to fashion advertising photography and  editorial photography.
• You will learn how to direct a model and take control of  YOUR shoot.
• One day in studio lighting and one day outdoor location lighting.
• Hands on experience by actually shooting the model and you take home hi res images on a DVD !
• Learn how to get models from agencies, marketing yourself and business tips such as usage for your images, how to use contracts and negotiate.

Book your two day workshop now for $2,000.00 For your convenience you can use Pay Pal to reserve your workshop for $250.00

PH: 818-889-9559 EMAIL: jason@jasonchristopher.com  Please call with any questions or email me direct.

beauty photo lighting set up

Beauty photo from photography workshop

UPDATE: My private photography workshops are going strong !   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 she wanted to learn 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.

fashion model for photography workshops

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.

UPDATE : !   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 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.

Hi everyone.  I can see that you all really appreciate my blog and my advice etc.  I am thinking of putting together a DVD that would actually show from start to finish each technique I have covered.  So you would see a real shoot, you would hear what I say to the model, how I direct them, how I direct and work with my crew, make up , hair, wardrobe, assistants etc. and also how I deal with clients on a shoot.  You would literally get to see how I set up the lights and also get an in depth look of pre production meetings with clients.

Would this be something you all would be interested in. I would price them so they are affordable…$19.99.

I would love to hear your feedback !

Thank you !!