A couple of weeks ago i was fortunate enough to be in the latest episode of the ‘Deuce is Wild’ documentary featuring Jason Dussault and Chief Willard of the Semiahmoo Indian Nation.  This was episode 2 of a 13 episode documentary about building the Dussault apparel brand.  Chief Willard sported the latest Warrior ring created out of collaboration between Dussault and Bloodline jewellery.

The sky was not as ominous  as i would have liked that day so i added some clouds from my archives and set them to ‘darken’ with masking around Chief Willard.   I then grabbed a color sample from another photograph i liked (you can even grab the water/sky tone off of this image) and created a layer in photoshop and set it to ‘color’ at 60% opacity which gives an overall muted feel to this image.   Finally the image was duplicated,  ‘filter/other/high  pass’ was applied and set to overlay at 100% which gives the sharp contrast look.

This ended up being one of my more creative location shoots,  especially since after unloading,  i realized my small soft box with the egg crate modifier was missing!!  One of my location tricks is to run strips of electrical tape the length of my light stands. . . if i ever need any in a pinch – Voila!   The tape proved useful in adapting my ‘Gary Fong’ portable flash diffuser over my Hensel flash tube.  I originally had the light set overhead the camera, but after working around my subjects I much preferred shooting from the side… it  gives the effect of them looking at breaking light in the distance.   Below the main light was a 32′ silver disc adding a little fill, and the main light was turned downward spilling more light towards the disc than the subjects.

You can see how average grey the sky was in the next image  which is why i had to add the clouds.

It’s a little challenging being on camera while working. . . When you are behind the camera all you life,  it’s a bit of an adjustment being a ’subject’ for a change.

This was the bonus at the end of the day.  Part of the filming that day included an invitation to Chief Willards sweat lodge.   While I have always wanted to attend an authentic sweat lodge,  the prospect of being on a nationally televised show was little disconcerting after sweating for 1.5 hours in this dark intimate setting.  I recently added a new Thai tattoo that reads ‘never try, never know’,  so with that thought i went for it.  Of course you can witness all this one day on tv.

It’s time for a blog update!  I’ve been on a break from glamour photography traveling through Vietnam and Thailand for the last 40 days (Pics to come).

Shooting groups is always challenge.  I’ve generally do not ever like to shoot groups of 3 or more (un-professionals) as there is always one person with that hyper-blink or someone who just cannot seem to maintain their attention towards the camera without an amazing amount of energy exertion on your part.  To make the grouping more realistic, i shot a few of the girls paired for better visual interactions.

All three of these rough comps were photographed as solo and double shots, close cropped and merged together with shadows and reflections added. . . I was in the process of picking the best composition to work with (we went with the first one – I liked the odd-number grouping best)).

If you’ve ever watched ‘top model’,  whenever a girl is eliminated from the competition,  her image is removed from the group photo at the end.  That is pretty much the same concept of design as this.

This is always fun. . . the transformation!

These before and afters were by Colleen,  my makeup artist.  Here are  some of her excerpts:

“It all starts with a hydrated canvas; be sure to cleans and moisturize your skin with a hydrating lotion or cream preferably one with a low halation factor this means avoid the pearlescent luminous products  these will lead to a much higher shine factor  or a greasy look. Instead think of a drink of water for your skin. Be sure to wait a couple of minutes before starting the makeup application.”

“In the first two images I applied, with a natural/synthetic nylon fiber foundation brush, a small amount of hydration cream mixed with a mineral loose powder foundation. This created a light wash foundation/hydrator which acts as the perfect base for a mineral powder makeup application. To minimize any colouration under the eyes and around the nose or to cover any minor blemished I applied a minimal amount of concealer. Once concealed all I needed to perfect the natural flawless face was to apply a combination of two pressed mineral powders; one that matched their skin tones perfectly and the other two shades darker to act as a contour colour. These two colours work together to enhance and define their beautiful bone structure.”

“The concepts of cosmetic contouring have never been so easily attainable.  With the new advancements in mineral makeup which include colour match technology for an easy blend and practically invisible demarcation lines (the mask effect of a mismatched foundation or of a contour product that shows too dark or dirty in pictures). Trust me, Bryan can always tell if I’ve changed from my normal mineral makeup to save a buck or two on cheaper products. A good mineral foundation is worth every penny. It’s very versatile offering significant halation or glow simply by buffing the product; this process smoothes the look of fine lines and adds a reflective quality because the micronized mineral particles lay flat and bounce light off the contours of the face. A matt finish is easily achieved by using a stippling or tapping/rolling method pressing the minerals onto the surface of the skin. The two colour combo is a charm when enhancing or minimizing features. Use the darker of the two to add depth in the cheekbones or add a bronzed glow. The next step could be simply finish the look by adding mascara and a clear lip-gloss, or if adventure is what you seek now it’s time to set the hair.”

I can’t say enough about having a great make up artist.  Not only do they have to be great, but they also need to have a great personality.   Colleen sets the tone of the photoshoot as she is first contact with  my models.  As great as someone can do makeup,  if they set a negative tone,  have a diva attitude (Found in too many young new artists lately) or are just not very personable,  it always makes my job harder. A good artist will ‘prep’ your model for her shoot;  put her at ease,  develop a look that she is comfortable with (including talking her out of outdated or poor makeup concepts), and reinforce some of my shoot concepts we have discussed in advance.  Being that the models are usually my clients,  the bottom line is that they must be ‘happy’.

If I ever sell the building,  this is probably the one upgrade that will not stay.   The canopy on the back of the building has been reading ‘Oriental Dragon Imports’ since I moved in.   I never thought it prudent to advertise ‘photo studio with lots of goodies’ til i got the security up to date.  The small ‘31′ out front has helped guide my clients to the door,  but It was time to finally give the logo a home.  For too long i’ve been saying ‘look for the silver truck and palm tree out front!’

double click to play!

It’s hard to set this stuff up even when you try!

I was digging through my archives from many years back and came across this image which was in my ‘life is funny’ pile.  I was shooting this model in a phone booth (notice there are no more phone booths round Vancouver) on the corner of 7th and main when this lady started observing from the sidelines.   Normally i like to juxtaposition a beautiful model in a grungy alley or create some form of contrast and compare in my images. . . I think this one does it.   Do you think she was posing for me? . . . maybe it was  product placement  by Coca Cola!

Well it has been some time since my last post… what can i say, it was a fabulous summer!  Topping everything off was a great Vegas wedding with all the 1970 trimmings.

This image was taken in ‘the boneyard’ . . . where all Vegas Signs go to die.  It has just about all the favorite ‘oldies’.  Renting this location for a ‘non-commercial’ photoshoot  is $200/hour. . . and there are lots of rules, so you need to be creative to get your shots since you can’t touch the signs in any way (1 foot rule).

The AC cobra was a nice prop (especially since i got to drive it), but the hot door exhaust was definitely a one touch lesson!  The caterers of the place were telling me that late evening was the best time to shoot there, but i think i would have taken an earlier time as the tall signs started to fall into shade and it was hard finding a perfect ‘light’ spot.  I personally like having more direct sunlight, because it’s easier to control with reflectors and shades.   I adjusted the color/contrast/saturation of these images using ‘overlay’ layers and the aging effect was a scan of an old crumpled dirty piece of paper set to ‘hard light’ on its own layer with some areas masked out around the bridal group and car.

Except for the astounding heat of 40 degrees, and only a couple hours of shoot time,  I was like a kid in a candy store in Vegas,  the questions were just of which fabulous location to set up.  Fortunately the Wynn was just accross the street and  provided a classic background reminiscent of victorian days.

What’s a proper vegas wedding without an Elvis impersonator?  We fondly named him ‘perv Elvis’ as he hit on just about every available and unavailable woman.

And no, I don’t do weddings anymore,  but in this instance the lure of Vegas, Harleys, Elvis lookalikes and a Retro wedding kinda tweaked my interest.

Channa is a very sexy girl i have know for years and she is definitely getting better with age.   Channa has been serious about her training and it shows. . . She’s  probably in the gym as much as I’m on this computer.  All this hard work is going to pay off for her in the WBFF Worlds Bikini Diva Competition in Toronto on September 19.

Here are a couple images from our recent shoot.   The next image is a ‘one lighter’   I try to light ’simply’. . .  but after placing the first light, i am thinking where to put the accents, a hair light and a ‘kicker’ in the eyes,  but i resisted my ‘playboy lighting’ tendencies and went with a single 36″ softbox with a 30 degree grid.  The Background is a stretched piece of metallic fabric mesh.  I gave her a bit of a ‘plastic’ look by using ’smart blur’ in photoshop and then hand smudging some of the transitions.

The following image is more of my traditional style with a main overhead,  subtle flash fill and an accent light to bring out the curves.  I love the lower accent light in the eyes that brings them to life and gives an air of anime innocence (The thought behind the eyes doesn’t look so innocent though).  I love doing the bedroom sets,  with just a few materials you can go from a candy sweet bedroom  to something quite naughty and dark,  I just need to find a new assistant as i hate folding up my fabric messes after the shoot!

Follow up email:

“Thankyou thankyou thankyou!!  Today was by far the best shoot ever, eveything was perfect and the pics look amzing, i cant wait to see them all!!  Im a bwp exclusive model from now on ”

If you want to see more of Channa,  Check out her blog:  http://www.channalovesmma.com

Here’s a video presentation of four makeup transitions as Colleen creates a ‘Pinup’ look.  The 3rd slide is subtle, but one of the interesting techniques i’d like to point out is the use of Talc under they eyes before she applies the mascara.  Specs of Mascara can be the most troublesome to remove and a thin dusting of Talc prevents this.   One caution with pinup is that makeup artists tend to use very Red lips.  I have Colleen lean towards a more magenta or orange shaded red. Careful with pure red as it is very hard to reproduce on press and tends to ‘Block up’ unless you are using specific pantone colors or Printing in Hexachrome.

The Pinup artists that inspired this look  are Art Frahm and J. Frederick Smith.  Both their styles are  a little ‘edgier’ while most of the other artistis of the time painted with softer lines.

Lesley came to me about a year ago with a body cage and a big furry carpet.  Luckily i had a funky space gun ( It’s actually an airbrushed toy gun from ‘Star Wars’) which gave it a ‘Red Sonia’ meets Battlestar Galactica feel.

I was sitting in front of this image for a few days trying to come up with a concept to ’spice’ up the body cage and ‘gun’  . . . Voila!  a southpark episode just played with a parody of the classic cartoon ‘Heavy Metal’ . . . yes some inspiration comes cheap!

Besides a lot of airbrush work,  I gave this image a little more of a ‘cartoon’ feel by using the ’smudge’ tool set to ‘darken’ and brushed through the hair to remove ‘whispies’.  The layer was duplicated, given a small gaussian blur and set to ’soft light’ at about 60% (this raised the contrast, saturation, and smoothed the skin – i did erase around the eyes, gun and some areas that i still wanted to apprear sharp.

Sometimes i wish i was better with Wire frame creation, but for now i’m using some stock images from Istock photo.  Here are the images that went into this file. . . can you spot where all the suit of armour pieces came from?

Follow up email:

I totally love it! The armour looks so cool and I have never looked better! Great ideas, I’m  really excited.  Thanks,  Lesley

I’m pretty excited. . I managed to get about 10 000 minutes on my iphone!!!!   How you ask?

Well Start by going to the app store through itunes and load Skype.  If you are in Canada however it is a little more work as Skype is currently not offered. . . But heres a workaround.

If you are signed in to itunes, sign out.   You will need to create a new profile.  .  . first scroll to the bottom of the page and choose ‘United States’ under ‘my store’.

Now go find a free application to download ( how about skype!). . . with a free app,  you do not need your credit card to verify your address.   Set up an account with a ‘U.S.’ address.    Now simply update your phone and you have Skype running on it.

Set up Skype. . . I went with a package that is $3 a month for unlimited talk anywhere in North America ($12 for the world) .  This also includes setting up call display that will show my Cel number whenever i call. Now you can make unlimited calls anywhere you get a wifi signal on your phone. . that was pretty simple!

It gets better though. . .

Download Quickpwn. . at this time the current version is 2.2.5 Here (mac version). Run the program and attach your phone to the computer.  This is going to update your software and allow you to load programs that are not controlled exclusively by apple.  If you have a broken (unlocked) your phone,  this is going to update your baseband to 2.30.03 which has not yet been broken. . so keep that in mind.  It’s not really an issue if you are using a Rogers phone with Rogers,  Fido with Fido, etc.  I also just ordered a hardware solution to unlocking. . .  A small card that piggy backs your sim card.   Again, there is currently no SOFTWARE solution to breaking the new baseband… if you see it out there, its a scam!!!

The rest of the downloads can be done ON YOUR PHONE through the new App ‘Cyndia’ that was just loaded by ‘Quickpwn’

Download ‘Backgrounder’

It will now show up as an icon – Run the program. . . click  ‘Application specific’  then ‘Always Enabled’ and turn Skype on permanently. . .this allows you to accept incoming calls at all times.

Download Boss Prefs from Cydia

You now have control to turn off the edge, 3G or the wifi network among other things.  This is great to test your connections like turning off wifi and running skype and seeing how it works with the 3g network.  You can also do stuff like turning the battery into a % charge remaining.

Download ‘voipover3g_1.0.1.deb’

This is the best part. . . this program fools Skype into thinking it is on the wifi network when it is actually using your data plan – 3G network.  It runs invisibly . .so you wont see a button with this one.

It seems like alot, but all runs really seamlessly.   The benefit is that you can talk on Skype from the network when you are away from wifi.  On a 1 minute phone call i used about 450 kb of data.  With the 6gb data plan that Rogers is currently offering,  you get conservatively 10,000 minutes.   You can not currenlty get a CDN phone Number through Skype but a U.S. phone number is only a few $.  One advantage  is that if you get a California #,  someone in L.A. could call you free locally and it would ring wherever you are.   I have unlimited incoming minutes, so when i call from Skype (FREE!!!), my current cel number shows up and if they call me back, its Free!!!! (unlimited incoming).

One Additonal note:

Cyndi has a great app called ‘Cycorder’.  Its Free and a much better version of the mac recorder. – It turnes your iphone into a video camera!

Enjoy!