I’ve shot with Chyna at least a dozen times over the past four years and always come away with stunning imagery. My latest shoot with her last month was no exception.
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Remote Photo Shoots Featured in Better Photography Magazine
Better Photography Magazine (India) recently interviewed me about my Remotrait sessions. I’m still taking bookings if you’re interested in portraits of your own.
Alexander Dreamer: Feel Alive
Jalen, who raps under the name @alexandrdreamr, reached out to me last Sunday about collaborating on a photo shoot. The entire nation was in its fourth day of protesting the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police, which was in-part the inspiration for his new song, Feel Alive. When I first listened to the song, these lines really hit me:
“I risk everything just to feel alive
We don’t go outside, that’s how n****s die”
He showed up at my studio the next day and we got to work. While he mixed ingredients to make fake blood I set up lighting to mimic police lights. After working through a range of poses we settled on this shot. What immediately struck me was the fatigue in his eyes, which sadly made complete sense. This injustice wasn’t anything new; simply par for the course in this country.
Here’s another verse that struck me:
“Feel pain for my brothers, cause those are all of my keepers
Surface is not worth it it’s been urgent to dig deeper”
As Jalen states, now more than ever we have to dig deeper. Question our realities and check our privilege. Think twice before calling the police. Believe minority voices. Be willing to admit when we’re wrong and grow rather than giving in to shame or pride.
In the original version of the song there was the following line:
“Footprints in the sand but I bring the sand to my beaches”
If you’re not familiar with the reference, Footprints in the Sand is a popular poem in the Christian community where a poet describes two sets of footprints walking side by side through life. They lament that during the most difficult period of their life there was only one set of footprints, and ask god why they were left alone. God responds that that was when they were being carried. Jalen’s statement that he’s responsible for bringing his own sand to the beach implies that the comfort of god’s “presence” would be non-existent were it not for Jalen’s efforts. Thoughts and prayers are nothing more than empty consolations. There is an expression “It’s impossible to steer a parked car, so get moving.” It’s time to stop waiting around for god or government to make the world a better place and get to work doing it ourselves.
A Rose by Another Name
As quarantine restrictions are starting to loosen I am slowly resuming shooting with people IRL, which is such a blessing. This was a quick study of soft pastel colors, which I selected based off Rose’s wardrobe. For the final scenario I (subconsciously?) had Rose cover her face in one of her shirts, which gave the image a mysterious, even mournful look. Though we are beginning to go back to work and return to “normal”, the quarantine has left an obvious mark on human interactions.
Read MoreZoom Photo Shoot with Roarie Yum
I first met Roarie Yum three or four years ago at a shoot I was doing with a different model. The two of them had been on the road together, taking modeling gigs one city at a time, and while I was shooting with the other model Roarie hung out on my studio couch and caught up on her email. I wasn’t aware of her work at the time and when I later saw her incredible portfolio I kicked myself for not working with her when I had the chance.
Read MoreBlue and Gold
My friend Dylan is an amazing designer and illustrator and he recently hit me up to update his head shot. He uses a certain hue of cyan for his branding which he wanted to implement into the shoot. I decided to also use yellow-gold (the complementary color) and work within that palette for the entire session, changing only the angle or hardness of the light sources. Here are just a few ways to use two colors:
Read MoreRemotraits Vol. 3
After a month of experimenting with these FaceTime/Zoom photo shoots (which I call Remotraits) I’ve really broadened the range of techniques and materials that I work with, resulting in a big variety of styles. Just in creating the images in the gallery below I worked with mylar, prismatic window film, rubber cement, honey, water, and trash bags. I love the painterly results I’m getting and can’t wait to do more.
Read MoreMarissa Nadler: Remote Shoot
I recently hopped on a FaceTime call with Marissa Nadler to shoot some photos. I’d been a fan of her music since 2006, so I was super stoked to be collaborating with her. I shot through a range of materials, covering five setups in the hour-long session. After I sent over the images she decided to use the above photo for the cover of her new covers EP.
Read MoreMetal Hammer Magazine: Lamb of God
Back in February I had the opportunity to photograph the metal legends Lamb of God in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia. I was told that the theme of the story was revolution so I began to brainstorm ideas for lighting, pose, and technique that would match. We used orange as the color palette, giving a nod to Russian propaganda posters. I also decided to give a nod to the infamous NWA album cover for Straight Outta Compton.
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Remotraits Vol. 2
I’ve been doing remote photo shoots (Remotraits) for a few weeks now and they continue to evolve. I began by projecting the FaceTime or Zoom feed onto a backdrop and shooting through different materials and substances. Then I moved on to projecting the conference directly onto different materials to change the shape and add texture to the projection. After that I started placing different substances on plexiglass over a horizontal computer screen, allowing me to shoot through different liquids. I’ve really been enjoying these experiments.
Read MoreRemote Photo Shoot with Code Orange
This past week I had the pleasure of photographing one of my favorite bands, Code Orange. The band was about to perform their album release show for their latest album, Underneath, right when COVID-19 hit the US. Rather than leave their fans in the dark, they performed in the empty venue and live streamed it for their fans. While I not only appreciated being able to experience their performance myself, I also resonated with their quick thinking and willingness to adapt to current societal conditions.
Read MoreEpisode Two of The Creative Portrait
Episode two of The Creative Portrait is now live. In case you missed my previous post, I am teaching my entire creative process in a multi-episode video series. In this episode I cover the following setups:
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Remotrait Session with Aleksa Palladino
In my last post I described how I’ve begun to do remote photo shoots, via FaceTime. By hooking a projector up to my laptop while I’m on a call with my subjects— who are often not just in a different state but sometimes in a different country— I can project their face onto a backdrop in my studio. Then I shoot through a range of different materials and substances, throwing the subject slightly out of focus, which takes the focus off the poor video connection and puts it on the texture, helping sell the illusion that the subject was actually in my space. I’ve dubbed these portrait sessions “remotraits”…
Read MoreRemotrait Sessions
Because of the quarantines currently sweeping the country and world creatives have had to get especially creative to make collaborative art in spite of distance. I’ve seen photographers shooting portraits of people from the sidewalk and through windows. I’ve also seen photographers shooting via conferencing apps. I, too, recently conducted my own remote portrait sessions, which I’ve decided to call Remotraits. After exploring a range of different techniques I found a sweet spot when I began shooting through different substances and materials (a technique I’ve been exploring in my Strata series this past year). The resulting images look exactly how they would had the subject been standing in my studio.
Read MoreIf I Were to Die Today
I recently collaborated with Larry Robertson and we did a bit of everything in our session. The broad range of visual styles that we brought together was a perfect match for Larry who is a poet, clothing designer, musician, and a tour manager amongst other things. After the shoot was over and he had a chance to look over the images we made he said, “If I were to die today these are the pictures I’d want people to see to remember me.” Turns out the images represented the broad scope of who Larry is even better than I had imagined.
Read MoreWhat I Learned During My Year Off Social Media
Last month, I returned to social media exactly one year to the day after leaving behind 60,000 followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I made my exit for a number of reasons, with anxiety playing the largest role. I didn’t know where the feeling originated, or much less why, but living with it wasn’t worth what social media was offering me in exchange. After I left, many people (myself included) wondered if my photography business could survive the departure. It turns out that not only did I survive, I also learned how to thrive both personally and professionally in the process…
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Beauty and Beast-ish
Even when I’m doing “pretty” shoots I like to have an element of darkness or mystery in my images. After all, things aren’t pretty all the time. This shoot with Rachel is a prime example. I used lace to light through (pretty) as well as shoot through (looks a bit eerie). I shot through different plastic panels, mixing beautiful makeup with jagged shapes and ghostly shadows. I used prismatic window film to light her in pretty pink light, while also using in combination with a slow shutter to create an ethereal haze…
Read MoreAll Things to All Men
This shoot with Dustin had a bit of something for everyone. I used a projector for most of the scenarios, using it in combination with a range of different camera techniques. I made in-camera multiple exposures, using different blending modes. I explored using slow shutter speeds, both by moving my hands as well as zooming my camera lens. Finally, I fired up a fog machine and projected different images through the smoke. There really are endless ways to use such a simple tool…
Read MoreStrata VIII
I’ve shot with rubber cement half a dozen times now, each time slightly changing not only how I apply the material to the plexiglass but also how I light it and process the images in post. Though I’m getting closer to what I’m going for in this series, there are still so many variables to explore with this material. Over the past year I’ve experimented with shooting through a range of substances and materials to get more painterly or sculptural results, titling the series Strata. You can view my other texture explorations here.
Read MoreNew Creative Portrait Video Tutorial
Hey friends. Just a heads up that I have a new, 5-part video series that delves deep into how I execute creative portraits in my studio. My entire creative process is broken down, from A to Z…
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