UCLA Hires California Photographer

An art director at UCLA recently asked me to show a portfolio of my work, but only "the work that you most love and only your personal work. Nothing else."

No one had ever asked me for that before, so I put together the portraits that I most loved, along with my personal work, and presented just those pictures. The art directors who saw it loved the work, and two days later I received a call from one of the art directors telling me they were looking for a Los Angeles, California photographer to shoot a digital assignment, and if I would be interested in the assignment.

The subject was a UCLA alumnus Henry Samuelli, CEO of Orange County based Broadcom Corporation. He contributed $50 million to the school and is a professor of electrical engineering there; hence they wanted to do a profile on him. To tell the truth, I could not figure out why they asked me to shoot a corporate titan because I didn't show them any corporate style work. Nevertheless, I shot the picture in a way I had shot several of my subjects from the portfolio I showed. Lit with sunlight through a diffusion screen, I found that because there was no strobes going off, no film to reload, Polaroid’s to shoot; hence no interruption, he began to relax and I was consequently able to get very un-corporate looking photographs from the Mr. Samuelli.

Both the art director and myself were happy with the pictures because the composition and lighting were unconventional but not too far out of the box. So I considered this assignment a success and hope to be able to use the approach in our digital photography studio and to photograph annual reports.

I find that the simplest approach works best for me, as it helps me to find a connection with my subject I might not otherwise find if I was constantly trying to manage all the production values. Also, shooting digitally allows me the freedom of continuity of connection with my subject, so I am less likely to miss a great moment.

CVS Commissions Digital Photographer in California

This picture was commissioned by an advertising agency for CVS Pharmacy. They were seeking California photographers to consider for a last minute architectural job for a CVS Pharmacy stockholders presentation. After deciding on us, CVS sent comps for reference but added that they wanted to see several people coming and going from the store. This was a problem since we were shooting at night with long exposures.

Given that they needed the picture by the next morning and they wanted an evening shot, there was no way possible to accomplish this photograph by their deadline. I explained that if we were to use conventional film-based methods of photography it would have taken a great deal of production: lights, assistants, models, film processing time, etc. Also a very expensive proposition in Los Angeles, California.

I suggested that I instead shoot the job digitally and, through various in-camera and post-production methods, we could achieve the same look and turn the pictures around by the next morning.

The advertising agency agreed with my solution and consequently was thrilled with the pictures, as was CVS Pharmacy. To see the advantages of using digital photography and using our post-production services, or to see the before and after pictures from the shoot, please click here

Institutional Investor chooses Photographer in California

I received a call from a photo editor at Institutional Investor Magazine seeking an editorial photographer in California. She asked me if I would be interested in photographing Gideon Sasson, CIO of Charles Schwab Investments, but stated she needed it the next day.

Gideon, wanted to be photographed at his home where he worked a great deal, which suited me just fine because I always try and shoot business people a bit out of context so the pictures have more to do with them than their business.

While photographing this assignment, Gideon called attention to his dog sticking his head into the picture. Without the need for Polaroid’s I was able to preview the picture on my screen and finish the shoot because I knew I was not going to get a better picture than this one.

I enjoy shooting editorial photography because it allows me a certain amount of serendipity that commercial work does not. I have shot for many magazines and have always found them a good venue for my most creative notions. I find that a willing and cooperative subject is the most important aspect of a successful shoot because if I have a willing subject, everything else is easy.

Chronicle of Philanthropy calls on California photographer

California photographers have no lack of shooting locations at the drop of a hat. We were called by the Chronicle of Higher Education to photograph Matt MaClain, marketing director of the Surf Rider Foundation, an environmental organization is based in San Clemente, California. It was for a story on the rise in giving to small organizations with big voices.

The day started in Redlands, California at 7:00 AM where I had to make some pictures for a related story, after which, I traveled back to Los Angeles to transmit the pictures and check California tide levels, then it was off to San Clemente to scout a location and set up in time for the Magic hour, which on Southern California beaches is quite beautiful.

With the help of my assistant and intern we set up a large beauty dish powered by a battery pack and were able to make several great portraits of Matt suitable the cover story. I think this shoot would have taken longer had I shot film because I could judge my compositions and exposures as I was shooting, so consequently work more efficiently for having shot digtial. Afterwards it was off to Los Angeles again to transmit the digital photographs to my editor.

The Minority Law Journal was seeking an editorial photographer in Southern California to make a portrait of attorney Radiah Rondon to illustrate a story on minority recruiting amongst top law firms.

Art Director Lee Ryder hired us to create a film based picture that was anything but a traditional business portrait, but when I arrived at the law firm I was told that they had set aside the board room for me, an environment I try to avoid shooting in. In this case there was so much beautiful natural light that I never looked anywhere else.

I liked how the strong geometric lines and the natural light came together to create a natural frame for my subject and since it was the firm's "casual Friday", I asked that bring a few coats to coordinate with the decor and to set off her denims so the picture would not look too casual.

I used one large soft box to light her and tossed the plain of focus on the lens to give the image a slightly dreamy look and focus the image on the subject. After 30 minutes I knew I had a picture I was going to be very happy with. For business magazines I like to light as little as possible and as much as necessary for the job. Most of my favorite photographs use minimal lighting as I try to use California's beautiful light.