First video promo.
Produced By Anthony Cobos
Archive for March, 2009
Video Promo
Mar 31
We had Jeff Lipsky as a guest speaker in our Entertainment Photo class this evening.
http://jefflipsky.com/
Besides being a great celebrity photographer, he’s an all around nice guy.
He shared his experiences as a photographer, reiterating the common gems that get glossed over far too often here at Art Center. Reliability, adaptability, hard work, perseverance, and just being someone who’s pleasant to work with. All common sense, but it feels as if people expect jobs to be handed to them on a silver platter upon graduation.
His comments also left me with the feeling that I’m too rigid while shooting, too tied into the lighting set up that I don’t tune in to my interaction with the subject as much as I should. I think I need to find a happy balance between my existing setup and a Keep It Simple Stupid workflow that makes things a little more accessible.
Also, what better excuse to post Naomi Watts in something that might as well be underwear.
Photo by Jeff Lipsky
Amazon Justice
Mar 30
Now, I’m not a Halo fanatic, but I do enjoy the game and the world it’s set in. But nothing garnered my attention more than the ad campaign devised by T.A.G. San Francisco.
I order the thing on Amazon and realize a month later that nothing showed up in the mail. I contact the seller, get a rushed excuse and don’t see anything for another week. Finally, the helmet shows up but without any of the actual content.
Thank you amazon.com for your swift judgment in my favor for a full refund of the purchase price. Now I have a trophy of my geekdom and an interesting product shot for the hell of it.
Shoot Details: Because of the large golden reflective surface of the helmet, I had to get a giant 4×8 piece of foam core and cut a hole in it for the lens to pop through. Even then it was a lot of retouching to get all the lines and seams out of the visor. Other than that, it was fairly simple, rim light and a softbox, with a background light for separation.
Entertainment Weekly Shoot
Mar 30
Not too long ago I had the opportunity to accompany Entertainment Weekly Photo Editor Michael Kochman on a photo shoot for the magazine.
He teaches a class called “Entertainment Photo” at Art Center and tries to give us an inside look at what the world of celebrity portraiture is like.
So one week he sent us a last minute email asking if any of us were available to come down and be a fly on the wall for one of his shoots.
No details, no location, nothing. It felt like it was either a clandestine gathering of legendary actors, or a ruse to get people to actually want to come to something that might be somewhat boring.
Luckily for us it was the former. At a very small studio in a sketchy part of Hollywood, we waited, munching on craft services while waiting for the stars to show up.
In walks Anthony Hopkins, followed by Sharon Stone, Malcolm McDowell, and Louise Fletcher. Some of the greatest villains ever on the silver screen.
The group was photographed by Art Streiber who was able to pull everything off without a hitch. Every photo coming up on the monitor was perfect. Of course that’s what you get from years of experience, and subjects that know exactly how to look good in front of a camera.
The spread: (Check Art’s site for better images)
Adrian Van Anz and his Bike
Mar 30
Shots I promised from last week The whole experience was really fun. Adrian is a great guy and he makes a killer looking bike.
Derringer Cycles – Part 2
Mar 29
Remember that post not too long ago about Derringer Cycles?
I spoke with creator Adrian Van Anz and worked out a photo shoot with him.
Just finished that earlier today with some studio shots of the bike, studio portraits of him, and a quick on location environmental portrait.
Photos to follow soon.
Jealous
Mar 16
I would have to say, shooting anything at CERN would be my dream assignment.
So when I stumbled upon this Strobist post, I pretty much went a particular shade of Hulk green with envy.
Image off of Strobist
If you’re not familiar with his site, David at Strobist creates homebrewed professional lighting setups using simple speedlights and modifiers. Reading his post I realized how valuable those little things are, being so caught up in the world of studio lighting and 1200ws power packs has made me forget that tight spaces can’t deal with large lights. His technique definitely works for its compact and easily adaptable style, but I would love to get in there with a full setup and get some great environmental portraits.
For the Record
Mar 15
I bought a set of Snuggies.
Two facts:
They are comfortable and warm.
Moms love them.
AND
The New York Times has indeed justified my purchase.
Nellie Barnett
Mar 10
Just completed a shoot for Entertainment Photo last week. Our goal was to create a flattering portrait of our subject. I found Nellie’s striking features on LA Casting and asked if she’d be intersted in a Mad Men-esque shoot.
Took a trip to 20th Century Props to find some subtle set pieces. Picked up a chair, lamp, and sidetable/lamp. That place is amazing, on my return trip some production company had an entire starship cockpit waiting on the loading dock, complete with Alien WMDs and autopsy bodies.
The set is a simple combination of 2 stained 4×8 Luan panels with a shag rug I picked up from Cost Plus World Market and promptly returned to get my $200 back.
I actually rented an Elinchrome Octabank from Samy’s to test it out. Great fill light, nice and shiny without washing anything out. That was supplemented by a beauty dish as key and a rimlight for hair.
And last but not least the wonderful Samantha Baker provided styling for the shoot with some great pieces.
The Results:
