Beauty with Shannon

On 02.22.10, In beauty, black and white, color, model portfolios, photography, portrait, By Kristina

OK, so I am catching up on some of those “lost” photo shoots from a few weeks ago. Lost only because things got a little busy around here; slowly but surely I will give every shoot its fair share of love.

This is Shannon. I am persuaded your eyes will actually start hurting if you stare at her long enough, her beauty is truly breathtaking. So nature gave her the foundation, that’s fabulous, but she also knows how to model. A win-win and a very very happy photographer. Can’t wait to have Shannon back with us in a few weeks actually, so be on the lookout for more from her.

Shannon’s beautiful face and hair were carefully enhanced by our own resident magician-slash-make up artist, Holly Corsano. As you may notice, we played with a more natural look and then a bright red lip and a stronger eyeliner.

Just when I thought Shannon is the perfect-est model ever, she showed us two more reasons to absolutely love her ( as if we needed them) — she reads W and she brought us cheesecake….no, wait, she brought us cheesecake and she reads W.…or she reads W and brought us cheesecake…Can’t quite figure out which one is more important, but I’m sure you got the general idea. And now here are some pics..

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Did you notice the dominant bottom lighting in the image below? Strange, right? Yes, not too many faces can handle that, actually, but guess what — Shannon’s can!

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Cheesecake + W = a very good day

Tagged with: model portfolio • portfolio

Portfolio pieces

On 02.21.10, In photographer portfolio, photography, By Kristina

I like to consider yesterday a mini meeting of the titans, the titans of our own reality that is. Holly is my own personal creative titan… and so am I, in sorts, which should simply be read as saying I believe in my own skills. No overinflated egos here, trust me, just hard work and immense love for what we do.

I often say that in the line of work that we do, you are only as strong as your weakest link ( which is so incredibly true, it hurts sometimes…but that’s a ginormous topic that I plan to cover another day), and there were no weak links yesterday. Holly Corsano–acting as MUA as well as model this time around –and I got together, played a little with simplicity and impact, drank some grapefruit juice and ate some cookies, laughed a little and shot some pictures.

The rest is, as I often say, pictures…

By the way, nobody can twist and stretch their upper body as much as Holly can, while still making it look totally natural. If you’re a model, pls start taking notes here!

This is my devil child — doesn’t it look like she’s struggling with an invisible strait jacket? Words cannot describe the feeling you get when you see your vision being executed so effortlessly and so perfectly by your model.

Lastly, this was planned as a Lady Gaga-esk shot, and it very well may be…but to me it just represents what Holly is to me professionally — a superhero. I’m almost tempted to draw in a cape with a large, shiny S on it.

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Tagged with: portfolio

Itty Bitty, frame 2, and a word on retouching.

On 02.19.10, In beauty, catalog, color, commercial photography, model portfolios, photographer portfolio, photography, post processing, retouching, By Kristina

Frame number 2 of the Itty Bitty Bag Company photo shoot is now ready. After 4 hours of careful retouching, we have a close up look that is alive with color. I dare you to click on the small image below and take a look at the 40% proof.

Click to enlarge

And here’s a comparison of the before and after shots. Please note that commercial retouching is a very delicate process; one that usually comes at the expense of my eyes! Seriously, though, please note that Sarah is just as gorgeous in the left frame as she is in the right (or “After”) frame, the only difference — she has been um, commercialized in the latter. Nothing about Sarah’s stunning facial features has been altered, I have just used what’s already there to turn a human being into a commercial standard image. Naturally I can’t take all the credit for the polished look on the right –without the correct foundation of Holly’s work on Sarah’s face, which includes airbrushing, cheek, forehead and nose contouring, blush, eye shadow highlighting and lowlighting, etc, etc, my efforts would’ve been useless.

Click on the image to enlarge

By the way, what you are looking at is realistically about 35% of the real picture. The real difference between the raw shot and the finished product comes out in the print. A good quality print at a decent size is the medium that will truly show off a job well done.

As for the retouching method used, no rocket science here– just the industry standard “dodging and burning,” using the healing brush and some cloning here and there. All that and a large dose of patience and hour after hour of staring at the pictures that you care about. Hair is definitely one of the peskiest elements to deal with when retouching and one that requires a lot of attention in the typical headshot. See those iiitty biiiity strands of baby hair on the left side of Sarah’s forehead (camera right)? — those put up a fight for sure but I prevailed in the end!

More soon…. I have also been reminded that I need to catch up on a couple of January-February photo shoots that never made it onto the blog. Will do!

Tagged with: commercial photography • retouching

We’re Bringin’ PREPPY back…

On 02.17.10, In business, color, commercial photography, model portfolios, photography, By Kristina

That’s right, we have a very special shoot scheduled for tomorrow. All my shoots are special to me; if you know me, you probably know that very well, you’ve seen my eyes get bigger from excitement and have heard me spit out 1,000 words per minute explaining my concept and plan of execution ( if this sounds familiar, you can go ahead and raise your hand, it’s OK ), but anyway, my point was what we have tomorrow is an extra, ultra, mega special shoot!

We have done retro, why not go preppy now? Actually I can’t seem to find anything in this style in my recent portfolio, which is probably partially why I am so extremely excited about this. And while I am on the subject, other reasons for my excitement — umm, let’s say Sarah Hartshorne and let’s say I am throwing a curve ball at her tomorrow that she doesn’t know about ( Sarah, if you are reading this, well…expect the unexpected tomorrow! ), um also, we have Holly bringing out a brand new look for Sarah with a hairdo to match the clothing style. Let’s just call the planned makeup/hair style just “polished” for now. You’ll know what I mean when you see the images. And last, but certainly not least, we have a talented and skillful accessory artist that we were lucky enough to cross paths with. I am not going to give away this mystery figure yet, as not to steal my own thunder, but her fun and bright creations are what inspired the whole theme of the shoot.

We shall have some humor in this shoot too. Some of that tongue-in-cheek humor that I am sure you will enjoy seeing. It’ll be subtle, but you will see it.

And lastly, well we shall have COLOR! Lots of it and it will be bold..and beautiful! Not something I do everyday for sure (see, here’s another reason for this shoot being extra special!). I’m finishing up with a snapshot of our style table for tomorrow. Look at those bright colors! FUN! Haven’t heard of a style table, but you’ve heard of s style rack, huh? Well, they are very similar, but the table adds a personal touch to our work flow. Just kidding, I am just feeling too lazy to go fetch the clothing rack and I do have a lighting setup to build!

Stay tuned for more soon.

Our preppy "style table." Fun colors galore!

Tagged with: commercial photography

A Retro Look for Sarah H.

On 02.16.10, In beauty, fashion, model portfolios, photographer portfolio, photography, portrait, By Kristina

Here are the photos we recently did with Sarah Hartshorne in a vintage 30s-40s style and a dramatic red lip. I knew that if anybody could pull that look to my satisfaction, that would be Sarah. Sarah is just such a gem and a true inspiration to any photographer. Her facial features are truly stunning and I find it hard to find a bad angle of her any time I go through her frames. Not one! Now that’s impressive. Her shots go from good to better, to best, really.

What is even more amazing about Sarah, though, is her intelligence and personality. There’s an aura of unapologetic confidence about her that any photographer can find motivating. Sarah models intelligently; I can literally see her drawing on references from movies,music and history in her head. Where I usually have to push a model to get into character and try to channel a certain famous figure or style, Sarah does so all by herself without me ever having to start painting pictures for her. Simply put, working with her on set is energizing.

A word on the hairdo, courtesy of the one and only Holly Corsano – I started emailing Holly images of the hairstyle I wanted a week or so before the photo shoot. I think she took a quick look at them and just picked the hardest one and that was the look she did. What a showoff! But in all seriousness, this exquisite creation took a total of 3 hours to do, including the ever-so-perfect makeup. Sometimes, when I am not off planning my shots and setting up my lights, I like to sit with Holly and our model and watch her work – Holly is a perfectionist just like me, which is probably why we get along so well. Watching her fiddle with a strand of hair until it does exactly what she wants it do, curls exactly as she wants it to, and shines exactly as she wants it to, is mesmerizing.

And the rest is pictures. I am starting with my absolutely favorite in a bunch of great photos. Please click on the smaller images to enlarge.

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Tagged with: portrait • retro portrait

Meredith @ Bella Agency

On 02.14.10, In fashion, model portfolios, photographer portfolio, photography, portrait, By Kristina

Just noticed two of the shots we took with Meredith in her online portfolio with Bella Agency in New York. Meredith is such a charismatic girl and a true natural beauty. Ah, we can’t wait to have her visit us again real soon.

MUA for this shoot was who else but Holly Corsano @ www.hollycorsano.com .

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Tagged with: fashion • portfolio

Supah’ Shine or Why Holly Rocks

On 02.07.10, In beauty, commercial photography, fashion, model portfolios, photographer portfolio, photography, By Kristina

This is the beautiful Kenda. Kenda is a truly amazing girl, obviously, but the real star at this shoot was our own MUA extraordinaire — Holly Corsano. Yep, Holly was definitely the driving force behind this entire shoot — from styling, to make up, to hair to general direction, it was all her. After working with somebody for years, you just kind of learn when you can take a back seat and let them hold the reins– Holly did it flawlessly.

A couple of days before the shoot I showed Holly who we have coming our way and she just had a vision. Kenda’s flawless skin tone needed that extra special touch to make it pop. Some extra fancy airbrushing and cucumber based clear body lotion later and we have shine Perfection. It’s “reflective,” to quote Holly herself!

We also wanted to keep the eyes clean and muted and contrast this with the dramatic black lipstick.

The result is clear as day — sheer genius!

Kenda also did an incredible job of taking my direction and interpreting our vision. The look in her eyes is so deep and …..soulful! As I said while shooting, “I can see right into your soul!!” And look!! Pretty hands. Pretty, pretty hands. Well done, Kenda.

The perfect shoot– a great end to a busy week!

(Here’s a link to the large format image for a closer look at all the shimmery, glittery details.)

Tagged with: portfolio • portrait • portrait photography

New Orleans and Mallory

On 01.26.10, In Behind the Scenes, color, photographer portfolio, photography, portrait, testing, By Kristina

It’s been so busy that it’s been hard to keep up with the blog. I just returned from New Orleans where I shot with a couple of other photographers and good friends of mine and a couple of girls. The model I worked with is Mallory and I swear I could have sworn she is Alessandra Ambrosio’s long lost twin sister. Take a look for yourself…

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click to enlarge

And our setting — the gorgeous New Orleans. The buildings are so unique and such a great resource as backdrops! Fellow photographers Reny Ramos, Dave Contreras and Arthur Alikhanian (from left to right) and Mallory.

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Tagged with: model • modeling • photography • photography portfolio • portrait photography

Pick up the new issue of Stamford Magazine…

On 01.05.10, In photography, By Kristina

…to see us!

Here’s the mention of our January giveaway in Stamford Magazine. If you haven’t done so already, go to the Inspiring Style blog and leave a comment for Amber and you could be the lucky winner. It’s that easy!

Tagged with: clip • giveaway • Inspiring Style Blog • magazine • Moffly Media • Stamford Magazine

Photo Shoot Giveaway in Collab with Stamford Magazine and Inspiring Style Blog

On 01.04.10, In fashion, photography, portrait, By Kristina

Want to shoot with us? — Here’s the perfect opportunity to win a free fashion photo session in out new Stamford studio.

We would like to thank Amber Schievi, the writer of a fabulous style blog called Inspiring Style and Stamford Magazine for helping us make this fun giveaway possible. Please feel free to check out the blog for further details. All you have to do to be entered to win is post a comment on Inspiring Style some time in the month of January — but we’d say the sooner, the better. Amber will then pick a winner at the end of the giveaway at random so everybody has an equal chance of spending a few style-filled hours with us!

We’ve already seen some amazing feedback and interest — we are absolutely flattered and look forward to meeting our winner in a few weeks!

GOOD LUCK!

Tagged with: fashion • giveaway • Inspiring Style • photo shoot • Stamford Magazine • Stamford photo studio • style

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