Last week I taught a two-day photography workshop called The Creative Portrait. I taught my students a range of innovative camera and lighting techniques that allow them to capture subjects in creative ways. Here are a few of my favorite images from the weekend.
Read MoreShoot with Lit for Their New Album, Tastes Like Gold
Back in February I drove down to Nashville to shoot with the 90’s icons, Lit, as they prepared to drop their latest album, Tastes Like Gold. It was super rad to work with a band that broad me so much joy as a teen in the 90s.
Read MorePhoto Shoot with Starset for Horizons
Here’s some recent work I did with the band Starset in promotion of their new album, Horizons. Creative direction by Brandon Rike of Tension Division.
Read MoreUsing a Fungus-Filled Lens with Long Exposure and Prisms to Create Psychedelic In-Camera Effects
Whenever I’m doing a personal shoot I try to make at least one small change to a tried-and-true technique in an effort to see how the resulting images differ from previous sessions. For example, let’s say I’m shooting long exposures in a darkened room while my subject is wrapped in strands of LED lights and moving around the room. Each image is different based on their movement, which creates unique light trails. In the following shoot I might have the subject and camera stationary as I swing the strand of LEDs around the room, thus framing the subject in light. Another session might involve me moving my camera while the subject and lights are unmoving. Each tweak of the formula creates dramatically different results and I frequently discover new techniques through these experiments…
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New Work with Muse
Back in November I flew out to LA to shoot two of the members of Muse. One of the members wasn’t able to attend the shoot, so a week later I met up with him in London where I set up a makeshift studio in a lobby. While I was shooting at the studio in LA I had to be cognizant of the fact that the space I would be shooting in a week later would have to be recreated on a 4-foot wide seamless in a hallway. Thankfully I had the Lindsay Adler X Westcott Optical Spot, which allowed me to control and sculpt light in a small space (historically I would’ve used a projector or flags, which requires working in a dark or large space)…
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Images From My Creative Portrait Workshop
This past weekend I hosted a 2-day Creative Portrait workshop at my studio. In an effort to keep the atmosphere intimate and allow for a lot of hands-on time for students, I capped the workshop at 5 students. We covered a range of techniques such as using flags to shape light; color theory; making and using snoots; long exposure portraits; and lighting with projectors. We packed a lot in, as you can see below…
Read MoreThe Score- Head Up Photo Shoot
Grateful for the chance to create photos and motion for @thescoremusic upcoming album cycle. Super cool to work with @jesseleestout and @grantjamesorchard of @metaform.studio on their vision. Thanks to @baileykobelin for assisting and to everyone on the creative team for a great shoot!
Read MoreRyan Bingham for Easyriders Issue #2
In February of 2020 I shot portraits and a short film about @ryanbingham_official for @easyriders magazine. Then the pandemic hit and the issue was placed on an indefinite hold. For a long time I didn’t expect that the story would ever see get to see the light of day, but the day has finally come…
Read MoreMy Shoot with Beartooth for Revolver Magazine
It was great to reconnect with @beartoothband for @revolvermag. I wanted to honor the album art that @tnsndvsn made for their new album so I decided to work within the same purple color palette. I was happy that @calebshomo was so patient and willing to let me experiment on making the image that ended up running as the newsstand cover. I’d never done that technique before and wasn’t sure I could pull it off (swipe for behind the scenes). It was a deceptively simple setup (just a flash, a sheet of plexi, and a projector) but super technical when it came to angle, distance, focal length, and aperture. Thanks as always to Jimmy and the crew at Revolver for the opportunity.
New Work for Angels and Airwaves Album Lifeforms
Last year I teamed up with Brandon Rike and the crew at Tension Division to shoot art for the upcoming Angels & Airwaves album, Lifeforms. Modeling by Shelby Stephens and hair by Christine Pointdexter.
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Americana / Film Noir with Skrizzly Adams
One day last year (what is time) I worked with @alexhaldi of @pawncreative to create art for the new @skrizzlyadams album cycle. We shot a bunch of smoky images on location at a bar to match the classic Americana aesthetic of the artist. My assistant @sethmosesmiller helped me position a snooted speedlite up near the ceiling for the first setup, which created a shaft of light in the smoke. For the second setup we wanted to imply sunlight coming through the window blinds but since it was in fact a rainy morning we had to fake the light with a projector. Less is more, more or less.
Read MoreEvanescence: The Bitter Truth Photo Shoot
Back in November I drove down to Nashville to photograph @amylee for her upcoming @evanescenceofficial album, The Bitter Truth. I set up a makeshift studio in her dining room and knocked out a broad range of images for the album art, various magazine spreads, and images for streaming platforms…
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Tryzdin Grubbs (American Idol contestant) Photo Shoot
Tryzdin Grubbs is an uber-talented, 15-year old singer from Columbus. He also just happened to get accepted onto the latest season of American Idol. Before the episode had even aired, Tryzdin popped by my studio for a photo shoot. This was our third shoot in as many years and this one was the most dynamic yet. We’ve both grown quite a bit in our respective crafts and so it was cool to see what new things we were bringing to the shoot, from a personal and professional standpoint. Here are just a few of the different looks that we knocked out in the brief but efficient, one-hour shoot.
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From the Archives: Underoath, Erase Me Photoshoot (Behind the Scenes)
In January of 2018 I met up with the fellas from Underoath in Los Angeles to shoot photos for their yet-to-be-released album, Erase Me. My friends at Tension Division were designing the album and merch and basically every facet of the upcoming album cycle. Not only did I need to shoot individual photos of each member using several different in-camera techniques such as multiple exposure, shutter drag, and projector for the album art, but I also needed to shoot promo photos for Spotify and images for an upcoming issue of Alternative Press. The shot list was aggressive for a one-day shoot but I had the added challenge of shooting all this in the living room of an Airbnb while Brandon, the creative director, was remotely directing everything from their home in Ohio. It was a tall order but I was up for it…
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Ryan Bingham X Easyriders Magazine
Back in February I had the opportunity to shoot this video of Ryan Bingham for Easyriders magazine. I’m super proud of this piece, which I also co-wrote, directed, and edited. Big thank you to everyone who made it happen:
Read MoreTechnophobia: Some of Us Are Looking at the Stars Photo Shoot
I listened to more than my share of darkwave and industrial synth back in the day so I was more than a little stoked when the DC-based duo Technophobia reached out to me to shoot press photos for their upcoming album cycle. They left much of the creative direction up to me, inviting me to “do what I do”, which I interpreted as “whatever I’ve been experimenting with lately”…
Read MoreNathan Ward's Winter Triangle
Aside from being a great photographer, Nathan Ward is also a multi-instrumental musician. His first album until the name Winter Triangle is a lush, layered, ambient endeavor in the vein of Daniel Lanois and Harold Budd. Needless to say I was stoked when he asked me to shoot his portrait for the album promo. After listening to the album I knew I wanted to used a projector and smoke machine to create pins of light. The native color temperature of the projector was on the cooler side and I leaned into the blue tones as I colored graded the files in post. I also decided to add a bit of grain to give the images an older feel. The final images look like his music does in my head.
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FaceTime Photo Shoot with Mrs. Piss (Chelsea Wolfe) for Revolver Magazine
Stoked to have photographed @cchelseawwolfe and @jessgowrie’s new project @mrspisss via FaceTime a couple months back. These are in the latest issue of @revolvermag. Design by @toddweinberger. Long live print!
Read MoreDiscovery with Marissa Nadler
A couple weeks ago I drove down to Nashville to photograph @marissa_nadler. I’d been a fan of her music for almost 15 years so I was super excited to work with her. I didn’t have any visual plans for the shoot— no mood board or pre-conceived ideas. In recent years I’ve really embraced improvisation when it comes to shoots. I bring a few key pieces of equipment with me— enough to cover a broad range of techniques— and then I allow the space, the subject, and the moment to dictate what happens within the session. Sometimes it backfires and I come away with nothing. Other times magic happens. Either way, it’s my favorite element of a shoot…
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Making it Happen with Ho99o9
I came across an album United States of Horror by Ho99o9 in 2017 by a band that I not only hadn’t heard before but whose name I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce (it’s horror, by the way). I’m not typically drawn to hardcore music but something about their energy was magnetic. The way they merged crunchy guitars with trap beats had stirred up something deep in me. Their messages carried messages of unification and hope by way of rebellion that I found to be especially important, given the current state of affairs in our country. I probably listened to the album 30 times over the span of a month. I listened to it as I walked home from my studio; as I ran errands; as I edited at my computer. Each time I heard it, images would start to form in my head. I had to figure out a way to shoot with these guys…
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