This was another terrific session with Maddy and this time we did it at my studio space in north NJ at Art Factory Studios. I got to play around with my 15mm lens which I normally never use for portrait work, but I wanted to accentuate leg length and have a bit more coming at the viewer. We played with colorful palettes and a strong sun that gave us nice contrast for each setup.
This shoot is from right around the time I started doing headshots in a new way. I typically stay away from flat lighting, but it works well for the modeling portfolio headshots because it shows off features without heavy shadowing and it minimizes skin irregularities. I particularly love the look with the red dress and red lipstick. Raen (hair/makeup) always does a great job of going over the wardrobe choices with me so that we’re on the same page.
McKenna did a great job, nailed all her looks and we made use of some spaces at the studio that hadn’t been used before.
Model: McKenna from Cleri Models
Photographer: Christopher John Sztybel
Hair and Makeup Artist: Araena Sanchez
Assistant: Katie Aklian
Here’s a fun shoot I did with Brianne from Cleri Models in the studio. I’ve been digging the Savage backdrops lately. They really are perfect for giving me the pop needed for modeling work. I like a nice crisp directional light, drop shadow and a vibrant backdrop and their seamless paper fits the bill for that aesthetic. We also employed a little bit of haze for the environment.
Location: The Art Factory
Photographer: Christopher John Sztybel
Model: Brianne M. for Cleri Models
Hair & Makeup: Araena Sanchez
Assistant: Katie Aklian
To view more of my work and to book me please visit my photography web site.
Brooke is one of the latest fresh faces to come through the doors of Cleri Models and I got to photograph her recently at my studio in Paterson, NJ.
We went through several hair and makeup changes throughout the day, but I think the hippie look definitely had the most impact. The natural light throughout the studio was perfection, but we did light some of the scenes artificially with flash. A Lastolite softbox containing one flash is a powerful tool for working quickly and yields nice, flattering, warm light.
Special thanks to Makeup by Wanida for another great job on hair and makeup and LFM for superior assistance start to finish.
To schedule your photography session, contact me through my web site. Enough blabbing and more showing. Below are highlights from the session.
Are you ready to learn some sweet piano moves? Angy found out about my work from fellow musician Veronica Parrales.
Our space for this particular shoot was a bit cramped, but I can make just about anything work to my advantage. Angy needed some straight forward portraits for use on her new web site. The photographs needed to convey warmth and experience.
A portable backdrop was used for headshots. The same backdrop also came in handy for the shots where I wanted to completely isolate Angy and the piano from the plain walls of the practice room.
Looking for a photo session that speaks to your audience? Well head on over here to see my portfolio and let’s get you on the calendar.
Another fantastic shoot at Salt Studios in Asbury Park. Elise and Kelly from The Beauty Bar in downtown Somerville, NJ did a wonderful job producing three distinct looks for this shoot for Cleri Models. Yumin was one of the best models I’ve worked with because she had a lot of poses already on lock. You can tell she’s serious about it. The Beauty Bar helped craft three individual looks. Business casual, casual and a high fashion look to wrap it up. Always impressive work from them.
I used a combination of light sources and modifiers for this shoot including ring flash, soft box and natural sunlight. One of the best parts about shooting at Salt is all the natural light that is available. However, if you want to shoot using only flash they have blackouts for the windows. Really handy to create a more controlled environment. Lighting has to be carefully considered when doing a model shoot with different looks. Calling attention to the great work of the hair and makeup team is paramount in tandem with showcasing the model’s versatility and body type.
Model: Yumin (represented by Cleri Models)
Hair and makeup: The Beauty Bar
Assistant: Lew Monty
This particular post features two recent shoots I did with Aziz in New Brunswick, NJ. He’s an athletic guy and has been hitting the gym to box. As we were passing by a local machine shop, we noticed the letters on the facade spelled “AB SHOP”. So we thought it’d be hilarious to show some abs in front of the ab shop.
The majority of the photographs were taken using my Mamiya 645 PRO medium format camera loaded with Kodak TMAX400 black and white film. The others were shot using a Canon 6D body and 85mm f/1.8 lens.
I should also mention that I am hosting a photography workshop on January 30th in Asbury Park, NJ at Salt Studios. It’s called “THAT WERKSHOP” and will feature an in depth look into my workflow, lighting choices, composition and post-processing. The second half of the day will feature a live model that attendees will photograph on a one-on-one basis. You can learn more and REGISTER HERE.
If one lesson was learned during this shoot, it’s that the rain clouds had our number. Each time I set up for a shot involving more than one light…RAIN! You have to know we kept trying though and came away with some great running shots. We photographed around Spring Lake, New Jersey swapping outfits and getting excellent lifestyle shots for Andrea’s agent.
Model: Andrea Hoch
Equipment used:
To see more of my photography work, please visit http://www.thatwerksphotography.com
Simple yet effective headshots for young actor Josh. One softbox, one bounce card and one rim light. Josh was awesome at changing up expression with every shutter click. That’s key when shooting portraits. Unless you ask the model to hold a look, they should be expressing themselves. You’re looking for the real person to emerge so let them emerge.
I wish him the best of luck with his upcoming auditions.
I added a facet to this lifestyle modeling session that I haven’t tried before. Bubbles. The idea came to me as summer slowly slips through our fingers. Soon everyone in New Jersey will be wearing snowboots and wool. Before that happens I wanted to do something with a fun nod to summer. Armed with $4.00 worth of bubbles from the dollar store we went to the train bridge at Johnson Park in Piscataway, New Jersey. The graffiti on the walls always brings a nice texture to things and I thought it complimented the theme nicely.
The final bubble blowing image is actually a composite of many photos of the bubbles being blown in front of the camera. Here’s what that looked like while I was working on it:
Before I forget to mention it, let’s rewind to the part of the day before I arrived to the shoot location. A great blue heron was spotted in the little creek that flows through Johnson Park and under River Road:
…And now, without further interruption, select photos from the bubble blowing bonanza…
