Fashion Photography Homework: Project 1

The first objective for my fashion photography homework was to take two photographs, one has to show clothes or an item of clothing on a person and the next photo has to show the same clothing or item off a person.

After class, I wondered what the hell was I going to do for this project. My first idea was to show a person fully decked out in a suit/dress and then using that same attire and laying it flat on the bed with that person in their underwear looking pretty sullen, sitting next to the bed.
I tossed that idea out. It was pretty shitty and done before.

I then decided to focus on one item, I was going back and forth between a handbag and a scarf. I chose the scarf because it's my favorite accessory.

Now the idea. This was pretty tough, but I eventually came up with something I knew no one had done, at least, not that I have seen.

I spent all day yesterday, calling around to friends whom I thought could pull this shoot off, friends who were naturally stylish and most importantly none that I shot before. I happened upon my friend, Rob Krevolin, a superb writer and a talent manager, who lives in the lower east side. I called him and though he hates being in front of the camera, he consented because he wanted to help in anyway he can. I have many people in my life that support my (photography) habit, he is one of them.

I asked him if he had roof access, he scoped out his apartment building and texted me that he did and that there were fire hydrants around the neighborhood. Essentially he scouted locations for me. He even found a red pump which would contrast/compliment so well with the teal scarf. =0.)

I got to his place, popped off 40 frames between himself and the hydrant and below are the results. Murphy tried to stop this shoot from happening, but I always believe things happen for a reason.

I am still debating which set I should show to my class for homework....thoughts?

Project 2 coming soon... =0.)

Haus of Topper

For the past few weeks, I've been collaborating with the Haus of Topper for an editorial shoot we are hosting in exactly one month. It's been quite the process between holding meetings, getting the right make up artist and hair stylist to getting the perfect model or at the least the one that fits our idea the best.

The Haus of Topper was started by the amazingly ambitious David Topper who has been in the fashion industry for years now and works for a top designer. He created this line for his exquisitely hand-crafted jewelry and plans on expanding to become more of a lifestyle line than only just jewelry.

This Sunday, the Haus of Topper and myself will go location scouting in Brooklyn which will allow me to block my shots and get a sense of what we're working with. Location scouting and blocking is important for the flow of the shoot. It hinders Murphy's Law just a little. =0.)

The shoot is 70's inspired, but will maintain its modernity with my angles and the HoT style. Topper's pieces are a direct reflection of himself. Bold, daring, unique and, dare I say, sexy. And so for these reasons I am excited to be on this project and humbled he has asked me to be the head photographer.

Incidentally, while we are shooting, we will also be filming a commercial directed by Robert Dume of Briefcase Productions. It's bound to be a day of laughs, arguments, hairspray, creativity, lipstick on collars and much, much more.
I cannot wait!

Here are some photographs from our impromptu photo shoot last November with model Ruth Matos, stylized by Jason Zwickl. =0.)

Photo Journal

So we were asked to keep a photo journal by our professor at ICP. I don't normally carry around my camera with my everyday because it gets cumbersome. I do snap photos in my head and so I have been carrying my third-hand EOS Rebel, yes I am a Canon girl, around taking photos of what normally I would take in my head for the past 3 days.

This first photo is my visual planner. I write things that need to get done this week as well as tack up notes, postcards, pictures and letters to inspire me. Keep me going with my goals.

This second photo is my notebook for photography class, my crackberry and the wallet I purchased in London when I was last there. These three items (and the pen too) have become essential the last week.

This photo was taken on 7th Avenue near Times Square. I found this hunched lady so interesting and I love the contrast of the young women walking by scantily dressed and the contrast of young and old.

I am a curious person by nature and curiouser when I see puddles. I love reflections! I feel like Alice peering through the looking glass seeing the world from a different perspective. Even without a camera in tow, I always try to scope out a puddle from all angles. To me, it's like a gaping hole in the ground displaying a world parallel to our own.

I liked the juxtaposition of these signs. All going different ways. And it's Fashion Avenue. Appropriate for my fashion photography class. =0.)

Anyone who lives or has visited New York City can recognize a shot like this because really it's everyday life. Our view coming up from the ground, granted sometimes it's not as delightful as this, but it's a perspective we New Yorkers know well.

Going down.


The 72nd & Broadway subway station by night. A sight I have come to know very well.



Gray's Papaya! The best hot dog in New York City. Inexpensive and grilled to perfection. Mmm....

Capitalism and Warhol in 2011.





So these have been findings for the last few days..... I will take more and keep adding.. =0.D

The Model Scientist/Doctor

Here is model Tim Lau. He is a science major at St. John's University with hopes of becoming a doctor and going to med school at Columbia University.
When no one is looking, Tim sneaks away from lab reports and neutrons to pose for photographers like myself.

Tim is a blank canvas. You can paint him in any direction and he's more than willing to follow if you believe a certain angle or look or pose will make for a great shot.
He is super friendly and easy to work with. I am so glad to call him friend after our first shoot together last year where I had him dressed in a retro suit.

On Monday, we scoured the Meatpacking District in New York City looking for an amazing place to shoot. We found one incredibly amazing location that had rusted pipes, graffiti and a fence, but reeked with such a stench that our nostrils felt seared.
Did I mention Tim is brave? Oh yes! He changed in this location which had substances on the floor which can only be described as pigeon and human shit and piss (those were the noticeable elements). He quickly donned his black suit, with a blue button down and grey tie. I took one look at him and knew that he needed something. Ah! I popped my mustard glasses on him and voila! An amazing color contrast.

Here are a few photographs from our latest shoot together as well as a couple from our first shoot together.

First Day of School...

Yesterday I had my first photography class in the International Center of Photography taught by Andrea Blanche and its title: Fashion and Vision.
I registered for the class because I wanted to explore the facets of fashion photography. When I first went in for a portfolio review, I was told I was overqualified for the class and that I would be taking a step backwards by taking it, but somehow I wasn't convinced. My heart was telling me to take the class because somehow it would be beneficial to me. I felt I could learn a lot. I also wanted to hear from someone in the industry that I am overqualified. After all, this is the first official photography class I have taken besides the black and white film photography class in high school and the one digital course in City Tech as a requirement in Communications Design.

We had two speakers, Jaime Pallot from Conde Nast Digital and Scott Shulman, the Sartorialist. Scott's story was very inspiring because I find myself making a lot of the same decisions as he and realizing, I don't know much about the technical aspects of photography. Like him, I don't think, I just do.

We were asked to brand ourselves and I left the class wondering, just who is LaGata Photography? What am I representing? What am I trying to become? These are serious questions that need answering because once I decide and answer, that's what I will become and that's what I will have to stand by.

Naturally, there is homework to be done. Our first assignment is to take two photos, one of clothes on a person and one of clothes not on a person. I have an idea for it, but I don't want to spoil it until I have actually shot what I have in mind.

The second assignment is to take a photograph that inspires us and make it our own using a theme. I have chosen Sally Mann as my inspiration. She is bold and dares people to look inside themselves. Again, I have an idea and I even have the models and so if you know Sally Mann's work, you will immediately know what I am going for and even who my models will be.

We were also asked to keep a photo journal, taking photos everyday in any and every aspect of our lives. I will post those soon! =0.)

I am still practicing my french in hopes of working abroad as a photographer and hosting photo shoots while there. Both Jaime and Scott agreed that in Europe, there are more opportunities to break into the business and be artistic in approach, but America has more money to give. So for me, this confirmed that my decision to move abroad for a few months and following my heart, is the best thing for me.

Last Sunday, I had a fun shoot with an engaged couple who are getting married in August, Nana & Charles. We shot their engagement photos and had a great time getting to know one another. Though I loved shooting them, I realized that shooting engagement and probably weddings are not for me. I will shoot their wedding because because they're sweethearts and I promised, and also because I was referred by another amazing photographer, Kwaku, but I wholeheartedly believe it's not for me.

On Monday I shot, Tim Lau, a bio-chemist major (sorry Tim if that's incorrect, I warned I am not good with science majors.. lol) at St. John's, who loves to model when he is not busy stuck under a lab report or studying for an intensive test. We had a great time roaming the meat packing district and just picking spots to shoot at.

I will post up some of those pictures from the engagement and Tim's shoot soon.

Stay tuned for my homework assignments because I will post them soon as well. =0.)

Progression

This month for me is the month for portraits. After taking inventory of all the photographs I have taken, I realized candid portraits were one of the things I was lacking besides photos of one of the largest cities in world, New York, my hometown.

Editorials are difficult, sure. Having an idea and executing the idea to perfection is not easy, but neither is taking amazing photographs of people in their natural environment. Cooking dinner, doing laundry, sewing costumes, shaving, creating cards, etc. All things that seem pretty mundane to us all, but in the mediocrity comes familiarity. We can relate and therefore can feel more connected to that person or portrait. Editorials are meant as a selling point and they could be selling anything from a beauty product to a dress to a dream.

Another thing I am focusing on this month is updating my CV for photography and learning french. My CV has greatly changed since I first put it together a year ago (I think it was a year ago, haha).
Naturally after over a year, if you keep at something, you're bound to become more experienced. The same goes for my french.

I recently purchased the Rosetta Stone for French after working with LiveMocha.com after 9 months. My goal is to learn as much of the language as possible and then move to France for a few months to immerse myself in the language.
Not only that, but I will be looking for work there as a photographer. I would work for free if it will give me the experience of working in a field I love internationally. So if any of you know of any opportunities in any French speaking country, please shoot them my way, pretty please. =O.D

Photography as it Stands

So I have been fortunate this year to expand my photography in places I would have never dreamed I would be allowed to shoot, let alone be apart of.
From shooting famous DJ's to shooting high fashion events and showrooms and just shooting the ordinary. I am still trying to figure out which mode of photography is best for me. Sometimes I wonder if any is good for me, but I think I do have a gift for capturing, I just need to figure out what that might be exactly.
I am hoping 2011 brings more opportunities and perhaps steady opportunities, like a full time internship or an actual job photographing for a living, but that all depends on two things: paying all my bills off and the kind of photographs I will have after visiting Paris, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Marseilles & Arles this year. Planning that trip out has been quite a task since I am planning for 9 people, possibly more as well as planning photo shoots in Paris with our fabulous apartment in the 7th arrondisment and a night shoot by the napoleon bridge/quay side.

Here is a recap of 2010, these are almost all my shoots this year or rather my favorite photographs throughout the year.

Photo shoot with model: Ruth Matos for Haus of Topper Jewelry by David Topper with Stylist: Jason Zwickl and Assistant: Robert Dumé. November 2010

This was shot in September 2010 for the Verlaine Spring/Summer 2011 line hosted by the Vianna Media Group.

Me at Space on White for the White Train's Create & Collaborate in August 2010. I have been showcased about four times this year. I never thought that would ever happen, but I secretly hoped it would because I have a lot to say for a person who doesn't say much.

My shoot with Model: Tristann Davis with Assistant: Robert Dumé. We shot in various locations, the first at a friend's apartment in midtown, the second in DUMBO and the third in Long Beach, Long Island in July 2010.

Shoot with Supermodel: Maria Helena Vianna with clothes from Blanc de Chine. Joe Vianna from the Vianna Media Group managed to get these clothes pulled from the 5th Avenue location. This top was one of my favorites to shoot. The color and the tassles that dangled from it begged to be photographed in July 2010.

Shooting ?uestlove was a priviledge. He was amazingly cool and superbly talented. We got to watch as his intelligence and his ability to play the drums/mix videos was put on display. Shot at The Root's studio at NBC in June 2010.

Super you, Super me. This is Laidback Luke as Waldo. Although this night went terribly and without the interviews we needed for the Electro Wars doc, we got amazing footage and photographs in June 2010.

This was shot in Salimento, Colombia in May 2010. The landscape with the mountains were mesmorizing and awe-inspiring. I got to walk in my mother's footsteps in a town she lived in for a while as a teenager. She would have gazed at the same mountains as a young woman.

Moby in May 2010. We were able to shoot and interview Moby right in his own recording studio/home on Mott Street for The Electro Wars. Another intellectual, his collections of goodies from retro stereo equipment to art books on Duchamp to a Simpsons figurine displayed his eclectic self whom we would have loved to spend more time with.

This was taken in Chicago in May 2010 during our 2nd anniversary trip there. Robb and I chose Chicago because of our mutual love of Ferris Bueller. It seemed only right. Not only that, but we both share a love of traveling.

Another interview for The Electro Wars in May 2010. This is Boys Noize. A techno DJ from Germany with a great heart, a sweet disposition and amazing talent. We bombarded his backstage room to get this interview after several denials. Suffice to say, we were very pleased.

An amazing shoot with Model: Ryan Gabriel. We traversed all of New York City to get the shots we did. He was incredibly fearless and easy to work with. We were able to get this shot in DUMBO when the tide was low. We had to climb over a fence and over some decomposing logs, but it was well worth it. Shot in April 2010.

My first retro shoot with Model: Tim Lau with Assistant: Robert Dumé. We had a blast shooting this day and got some great contrasting photographs as well as a new friendship.

This was a random shoot with Model: Jewel Ferreira. I bought this awesome inflatable heart at Urban Outfitters and thought it would be cool to draw a broken hearted line on one side of the heart and this was the result. She dragged her broken heart on a random day in March 2010.

This photograph is called the Glass Ceiling with female Model: Kat Castro and male Models: David Topper, Luis Martes & Jeffrey A. Wisniewski. It's a political piece against the inequality in the workforce against women. Shot in February 2010.

Belly Dancer: Sahazha Dance. Stunning and incredibly talented. I found it difficult to concentrate when she was dancing. I almost forgot to shoot because all I wanted to do was watch her dance. =0.)
Shot in January 2010.