My Shooting Process
My personal shooting style is very organic, yet fairly routine in how it tends to flow. If we were to shoot, you can expect a warm-up period of pretty standard shooting poses and traditional portraiture. During this time, I'm trying to get a feel for the subject (and I hope the subject is also trying to get a feel for me). The goal of this exercise is to [hopefully] sync the creative headspaces and push the shoot towards a perfectly cooperative event. The longer this goes, the more fluid the shoot should become and creativity should evolve naturally here. That is always my goal during a shoot. But, sometimes creative personalities just don't mesh and the shoot becomes a very mental activity. That isn't the end of the shoot, it just means that I need to communicate more verbosely with the model. I would hope to receive constructive feedback as well if the model isn't feeling a creative connection.
I want to work together with models to create something unique. I want to hear your input, your ideas, your goals and discover the results together. Like everything in life, honesty is the best policy. If you propose an idea to me I don't feel confident I can accomplish, I will tell you. If our visions of an idea don't align, it simply doesn't make sense to force it. No one will be happy and there's nothing exciting or wonderful about that.
Lightroom & Photoshop Post Production
I was brought up in the film days and as such I tend to contain my post-productions to mostly what can be done in a darkroom. Of course, I do take advantage of what technology offers in the current age, but still try to restrain myself to reasonable manipulations. I don't often replace entire backdrops or do fantasy-set design drops, etc. The standards of color grading, skin retouching, dodging/burning and the like are all part of my regular workflow.
Creative Spawn My Studio
I currently work out of a co-op shared space called Utopia Studios, located in the city near Highway 44 and Grand Ave. They only have evening hours, and that works with my day-job schedule pretty well. Their location is monitored and always staffed. It's a unique environment, one that appeals to my own style and comfort - and I hope yours as well.