Category Archives: Uncategorized

Poses help introduce new elements to a composition when you’re shooting. It’s important to understand the body and how it can be positioned on a backdrop — not just where the arms and legs go, but what that positioning is actually saying. For me, a body is a way to show character. An emotion. AContinue reading “Pose for me”

“Motion blur isn’t a filter setting. It’s a decision you make with your shutter speed before you ever press the trigger.” Everyone’s seen the “pixel stitch” style filters that photoshop this look after the fact. This isn’t that. This is the actual in-camera technique — three practical pieces that have to work together, or theContinue reading “Pixel Stitch Is a Filter. This Is a Shutter Speed.”

Some shoots start with a mood board. This one started with a door. A weathered, oxidized wood panel — streaked with rust-browns, faded grays, the occasional warm gold where light hit the grain just right. No plan yet for wardrobe, no styling pulled. Just a wall with a color story already built into it, waitingContinue reading “Color Theory on a Rust Door: Building a Palette from the Location”

The Long Way to Splendor: Hiking to Colombia’s Cave Waterfall Some destinations reward you the moment you arrive. Others make the journey part of the story. Cueva del Esplendor — the Cave of Splendor — is firmly the second kind. Tucked into the cloud forest near Jardín, in Colombia’s Antioquia region, this hike starts longContinue reading “Cueva del Esplendor (Cave of Splendor)”

“Three characters, one afternoon, one person underneath it all.” Same Model, Three Women: The Power of a Wig Change There’s a trick every experienced photographer and stylist knows but rarely gets talked about: you don’t need three models to tell three stories. Sometimes all you need is one model, three wigs, and the right locationsContinue reading “Same Face, New Person: A Study in Wigs”

“The best shot of the day was the one we almost didn’t have time for.” Some shoots are planned down to the minute. This one was planned down to the only thirty minutes we had before security caught on. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites is one of LA’s most photographed buildings for a reason — thatContinue reading “30 Minutes at the Bonaventure: Shooting Fast in LA’s Most Cinematic Hotel”

“The backdrop never moved. Everything else did.” There’s a trick photographers love and audiences rarely notice: the simplest set can hold the most variety, if you know how to change what’s around it instead of in it. For this shoot, the backdrop never moved — a clean white seamless, lit consistently from start to finish. What changed was everythingContinue reading “One Backdrop, Four Worlds: How Color Grading and Glass Change Everything”

You don’t have to move to say something. Sometimes the stillest moment on a porch says more than a strut ever could. On a hot LA afternoon, we shot Asaali’s embroidered denim on a porch that’s seen decades of sun — direct light, a 6×6 scrim for bounce, and a stoic subject who barely moved.Continue reading “How to Tell a Story With Pants”

Some of my favorite images come from the simplest setups. For this shoot, we transformed the exterior of a local beauty salon into a vibrant editorial set inspired by culture, community, and the energy surrounding international football. Looking at the final images, you’d think we had a large crew and a truck full of gear.Continue reading “Behind the Shot: Turning a Neighborhood Beauty Salon into a World Cup Editorial”