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Beauty and Fashion Q&A

Ask your questions. Absolutely. Uh, quick couple of folks have asked something similar from tammy. Haven't er as well uh uh losing the name here but do you ever stray from the sketch once you start the shoot good question do I ever stray from the sketch once I shoot? Yes, all the time all the time. This is a guide. Uh it's just my guide. I don't have to stay with it, but I try to get that covered first and if I stray it's fine, as long as I get that covered by what have I want to show? I get this first before I stray away and the strange stuff is fine too, but I'll make sure I get that and I can play after that great question fun with the camera would like to know if you have any suggestions for people you cannot draw to save their lives that's me that's me I can't draw to save my life, but I do stick figures. Uh is always you get your idea on paper that's the important part not whether you and artist or not I'm blessed that my girl from control it very well so I could take my stick fi...

gures and show her she's like, what is this now describe it to her and then she'll make it make sense um but I can't draw to save my life and I'm too embarrassed even show you guys my sketches I practically put them in here you can see what they looked like before she gets to them but I don't want you guys to be thrown off by my horrible sketch is uh is that I can put it to pin the paper and get it out of your head and put it on paper that's the idea that's the idea and then also you can go back into the book of all your ideas over the years and go back like, oh wow, look at these sketches it's a great wave seeyou concepts grow and your work change and evolve because we're all evolving you're not the same uh festival quick story about our digress for a second years ago there's this big exhibit in new york it was picasso's work and matisse's work altogether at one time is the biggest showing ever at the time of their work and I went to go see this show it took me four times to get in the first three times it was so packed they cut off the line it's the fourth time I finally get in and I'm seeing all this work lifetime work from matisse and picasso all in one place together it was the first time it hit me that as an artist as an artist your work evolves I could see picasso matisse from their twenties thirties forties up until like no matisse was in his life you know ninety's he's when he's in his nineties is on his bid doing these stick figures these cut outs and they were incredible so you're always evolving as an artist you're always evolving everything around us is nothing stays the same it's not supposed to your work is not able to stay they say it's an evolution you're growing you having more experiences and you've been the experience in your work everything changes it's supposed to wear a lot of fun doing this a lot of fun so this is the foundation this is now the foundation for what we're going to doing the next two days this is the foundation why don't for questions right now uh one of the questions would be how how is the process to put together the concept uh with all the technical lining which in this picture is kind of really strong I like that question what's the process was what's the art and commerce basically okay so we have the concept the idea and then everybody it's corporal on the technical part if I want to know about f stops and lenses and shutters and all that stuff and yes that's important but it's not recent point you think the f stops the cameras that's the tools you guys are the important part the concept is way more important than the tools yes I want the right tools I want the best camera best lens you need to know lighting for sure but once you learn how the uh apply all the rules then you can break them as a as a photo assistant in new york I learned all the rules I learned about lighting learned the nuances of light and I'm a big lighting guy I'm a really big lighting guy um back as assistant always testing light testing light uh it was much harder than shooting film digital now is when you shoot all your information is in the camera what lends you use what f stop with shutter speed that's all in the metadata data in your camera before I had to write everything down but you made a mistake you off so now it's easy but for me starting off I had to shoot pictures and test pictures were testing the emotional film back in the film days testing the emotional film testing the distance of light is in the height of light but all that testing taught me everything I know about the technical part of photography but it's not about that having a technically perfect picture does not make a perfect picture the concept that makes a great picture your ideas putting your thumbprint on all your work put your thumbprint on all your work makes it stand out from everybody else it's the idea that's the real important part new concepts and ideas questions and perfected an old idea absolutely that's a great question have ever going back and perfected an idea? Absolutely because you see it differently now, right? You're better now hopefully getting better and better now what is your tear sheets include? Uh my tearsheets tearsheets is a published shot in a magazine so one of my patients that are inspiration or my my personal petition your personal ones like before you start what you put together to take that ideal for to give and I'm just making an assumption here like, you know what your hair looks like, what you want your hair to look like? You know what the makeup is going to look like if it's fashion you know what the items were going to look like? Are all of those part of your tear sheet so that when you're looking up well, like my concept, you're yes, it's not it's, not what I'm doing the sketches those things are not in because normally the sketches come way before the other stuff, okay, I have an idea, so I'd get my idea together and sometimes I'll have the fashion incorporate into it or feeling for the makeup guy put no notes well, maybe should be this, but my teams have perfect that because I'm the photographer and professional photography makeup is that's their thing the hair that's their thing simple their input end and tell me oh well right now this is in and this is out so we should do it this way so I get their input on those sketches that's what's important to have those sketches on set so your team together each achieves mohr helps you make it come to life your team helps bring to life as a great question way take you to go from idea to sketch to getting the team together to finally executing a chute and have one final question that's a great question I believe when you get the idea it is a very important to act right away you say that oh I do this next month or down the road why does later later never comes it's when you are excited about it when you first got the idea you must act right away that's a great question you must act right away if you put it off it never comes it never happens you lose that passion you lose the energy is very important to act right away so later I want to go through a chute and how it happened the inspiration the moment it happened and how had act right away if you don't you lose it or you talk yourself out of it how many times have you done that we've all done that you get this idea for me it happens early in the morning I don't act on it and like oh by the way you like maybe I should name it's not it was not a great idea you talk yourself out of it it's very important to write it down act on it right away however crazy it seems at first act on it once upon a time it was crazy to even think about going to the moon once upon a time it's common now raises that practically earlier on in your career before you had your team of makeup artists and models that you worked with him so how would we execute practically and that's a very beginning good question very beginning for me I didn't have access to the best hair makeup models I had nothing uh starting off fresh and it's much easier now that was before because it was no model mayhem and things like that there's no internet back then uh I had to go and find these people and be diligent about finding great talent so for making bars when I'm looking for makeup artists I'm looking for somebody who hang sketch who could draw because in my experience the best makeup ours are people who can paint so I always look for that first they have a different I understand color in the face and had a paste face together all my favorite favorite make boris they can all paint and I finds a big difference and how they see things together the guy who did the butterfly amazing artist so he's painting from my sketches on her face take it off and painting again that's not retouched on he did that there I want the best around me his name is daniel paul sandra paul is an amazing make it borders thank you san you paul um incredible he has a gift I look for the best hair the best makeup because their part my family and we do everything together my personal projects my job's I keep it the same family and we grow together tyra back in the day we used to get together and shoot my ideas and her ideas for fun. The first time I met tyra I was a photo assistant says eons ago and I was working full time being a full assistant she was being a model star career but on the day we were both working so don't tell me to do to shoot was at night so for some we shot we shot in the evening we shut to two in the morning that's all we had was just the night to shoot we shot to two in the morning it was so much fun and I start that relationship that last this day calling like questions I just want to give you a comment from us ese who says team is now in my sole it's so simple and true love that question from sam coxes concept sketches yes, but do you ever produced technical sketches for, say, the lighting the camera position and oh that's a great question thank you for that one as going back to my assisting days because that was my foundation I used to work for this guy named neil bar and neil bar uh worked for irving pin if you don't know irving penn is look him up only two minutes. Ok? All right. Irving pin is a legend a master at lighting and one of the godfathers of fashion photography irving pin we shoot all suffer for of oh, he had a certain look is crisp and nearby that saying feeling for different spin to it. So I assisted neil bar and he was a technical master I learned a lot from that school that irving penn school of lighting that was my background and we had to keep notes sketches of the lighting diagrams and as an assistant I used to hate it right down everything and take measurements but that made me who I am today we measure the light the distance, the wish car we use which black card which white card which knit everything was written down. I learned from assisting all of that information and the advantage of that you can go back and see what you did five years ago ten years ago to do this shot what you used that's a great way to do thank you for that question that's a great one and took me right back to my assisting days other questions have a question from box of frogs who would like to know during the pitch to the client how many ideas do you have ready in case pitch is rejected oh, I love that question so I'd only have one idea that picture at a time I don't do multiple ideas but what that question brings out for me is pitching the idea to a client I don't believe in sitting back and waiting for work to come to you you gotta go out and get it if you have your goals written down and see them every day it's up to you to make your dreams and goals come true ciao right now ideas sketches and submit them to my clients say hey I had this great idea about going to jamaica and shoot this fashion story you never know what happens I'm going to treat it and we can have to shoot a fashion story you put it out there you put it out there you put it out there your ideas how many people go to a client say, hey, I have an idea for this pitch your ideas that's how you get work, pitch your ideas I mean, you already have these clients, right? I didn't beginning though I'm no that's always gonna ask how did you start pitching those ideas to potential clients in the beginning for me as as a ah young photographer I had no idea about pitching I had no idea you could do that and then a photographer I used to work for pulled to the side said matthew he has his ideas, your shooting skills, the clients like I could do that it's like yeah like oh, I didn't know that so the beginning I didn't do it because I didn't know and then as I learned that I could do that is great. So if you and brandon photographer just starting off you get these great ideas you goto a first meeting for potential client for a magazine or advertising primal magazine editorial go in there with an idea don't get show your work shown idea concept and talk about how you excite about shooting this idea and how you shoot it how you like it the malls you pick given the of the mental picture oh view idea every editor wants to see that we'll hear that from you yes, they wants in great work they want to see what you're like what's inside your head what's your point of view remember that they want to find out what your point of view my first job excuse me, it's my second job for magazine was a travel job some on the plane with the editor in chief of the magazine and it's got like a two hour trip and during that time she's interviewing me what do I want to do? What my goals entire flight was about her funny out what I want to do as photographer where I see myself in five years all those things she was asking me I still think shoot for them twenty five years later I still shoot for that magazine kind of cool, huh? One more question absolutely ask away this is just for me personally, but, uh do you do you get nervous or scared or you ever intimidated to ask for something or put something out there say that's a great question that's a great question do you ever get scared wanted me to ask a question or say hi, fiel in the very beginning of my career, I wass the first time I photographed oprah the very first time miss oprah in chicago shooting at harpal and I'm sure a cover of a magazine that's oprah and they have people coming in security coming with diamonds they have guards there and it's a big shoot and she comes out and I didn't like the hair I didn't like the hair but because it was oprah I don't say anything because in fashion beauty I'm always saying how I feel about the hair and makeup but I don't like this I don't like that but that is part of my look as well that control in detail to hair and makeup is part of my fingerprint so when she came out I didn't like the hair we did the shoot as bugging me the entire time so do you think a break for the next shot and she comes over me like oh I like this shot like I like it she's like I don't like the hair I'm like I don't like it either so why don't you tell me from that point on I've learned to say I feel those booking me the entire time I was like it's over I can't say that she taught me that see how you feel period you're the director's your vision as photographer it's your vision you learn all the time that was a great question thank you very much sir one more question do we have time for the question one more question way have way have time alright anyone anyone in there I'm just curious how old were you when ever you started landing these bigger jobs with magazines and larger chutes things like that huh how was I? Whites are assisting at twenty to uh get my first job my first job lasted for three years wow twenty six when I did my first job job job shooting job leo but which had started earlier e which I started when I was like, you know fifteen you know, learning stuff aside, kid you know when my father gave me kim I was twelve my dad gave me a camera my parents always had cameras around now that is going to sneak my father's camera away and take pictures or play with the camera the lenses and the knobs everything try to print back when his desperate when I was playing with it and then one day years later he said, you know what it's time I give you can't leave my camera alone so he gave me a camera twelve and they also taught me how to now they take pictures how to process the pictures so my first pictures that I ever took we turned the bathroom a second bathroom into a makeshift darkroom and I processed my first pitches right there I felt loved right there photography right there and then I felt photography had been over there ever since there's a hobby banked it also just a hobby at twelve to like, you know, twenty one he was a hobby and then I feel I could make a living okay interesting question that has come from two people um see brown floyd when you're pitching your ideas do you have your perspective? Clients signed a non disclosure agreement or is there already a level of trust? And then mama mama mia has asked, has an anyone ever run with your pitch ideas? That is a very, very, very good question very good question no, I've never had a client side of india nondisclosure agreement uh for my concepts and ideas you are putting them out there though, and there are I've heard stories of people taking ideas and running with it hasn't happened to me personally, but I've heard stories of the happening with my project now my big project now I'm scared to talk about it because I don't want it out there and two people signed india's now so yes for my project my team we had will sign india is because it's a it's a huge project I'm glad I didn't ask you about internet consign andy one is one is your big present hopefully soon it's a big party suggest had been done in the world of photography it's huge so uh it's also very costly so we're trying to raise tens of millions for it. Okay it's a big project oh my god don't take another question absolutely question from marlon perez who would like to know have you ever pitched any ideas that you weren't sure of how to accomplish and how did you end agenda pulling it off then? Oh that's cool I have not pitching idea wasn't sure how to accomplish because that can backfire and bite you in them, but I will make sure anything that pitching I know how to do. You can't experiment on a client, you cannot experiment one client. You do that on your own, experiment the ideas and work out the glitch shoes. Make sure when you get the assignment, you keep that client coming back. You can't experiment with the client you, that you're testing. I believe in testing ideas. I'm always shooting my personal work, my ideas. I do that on my own time, and then that turns into work. But I worked out all the glitches ideas first because you had the idea in your mind how it might work. You do the reality first there's, nothing like experience. Something always goes wrong with every big job. You must be prepared for that that's the reality on every big jobs, something always goes wrong. He was prepared to handle everything. The more you do it, the more you prepared you are and you learn to use real punches. Punches, that's. What happens? So we're now ready for a little small break and, uh, one question before you go on break question, I thought we're going to do the fashion style section. Okay, good for that. We're having our before sells good or break this goto fashion style. So strong ones. Let me just ask one more question before we go. Okay? Cool. Keepsake lady would like to know you speak of wishing you had started earlier. I only started trying my hand at photography in two thousand four when I became disabled. I find myself to be quite passionate and un relentless in this if I remain diligent, do you suppose at my age fifty that I could find success? Absolutely there's there's, no age limit on it. Think about picasso and doing his his cut outs from a band in his nineties. You could do anything you can do anything at any time. There's a very good start for now, who had a full career as a dentist as a dentist and then became a photographer and he's like things late forties or fifties he's very, very good. You saw a point and make your dreams come true. I just want to add a comment to that of and I'm wish I'm remembering his name right now. But a couple weeks ago in new york at p n fashion photo plus I met a guy who was a is a creative life student who is a dentist and he has is his his patients are watching creative, live wait