One Of The Boys

It is now the end of winter (well, almost), but an editorial that I shot at the start of the season has just been released. I’m proud to announce that I’ve been published in The Model Magazine, from the US. My most recent editorial, One Of The Boys can be found in both the print and online magazine, and you can even buy it! (Check out the August 2017 edition.) Here is the online teaser featuring my work.

I was working with models from GTR Global, who were amazing as per usual. Keegan I had worked with before, but Lorenzo was a new face. It was really different working with two models at the same time, but I really enjoyed it. Having two people to pose opened up more possibilities for composition and variation. I think Keegan and Lorenzo looked really good together.

I wanted to shoot at an athletics track, as I’d recently stumbled across one by accident and liked the graphic lines and bold red colour of the track. With that in mind, I got a bunch of ‘sporty’ casual wear from Myer and H&M to dress the boys in.

It was, as per usual, a really cold day in the middle of winter, so I was glad that I wasn’t having to get changed every few minutes, and got to stay snug inside my coat (sorry boys.) I had hoped to catch some golden winter light, but the clouds had other ideas. But one of the skills of a photographer is being able to adapt and “make it work” in any scenario, so that’s what I tried to do.

One thing that I noticed whilst shooting was the change in the way that Keegan worked in front of the camera. Having shot with him before, I couldn’t help but compare his current on-camera presence with that of our last shoot. I noticed that he had improved a lot since the time before, and seemed a lot more comfortable in front of the lens. That was really nice to observe. It really like working with talent on multiple occasions, so see how they progress, but also because it’s just nice to work with good people again.

Thank you Keegan and Lorenzo for being great models.

MODELS: Keegan Venturato @ GTR and Scene // Lorenzo Sandy @ GTR and Chadwick

Keegan Arrives In Melbourne

Last week I got back into testing in Melbourne, working with some new talent. The face in question was Keegan; a young model who had only recently arrived in the city, having come from northern Australia. As he had only been down here a few days, he hadn’t yet acclimatised, and was feeling the chill! But this didn’t stop his enthusiasm for the shoot.

I had two huge bags of garments from H&M, with a few wild patterns thrown in for good measure. I continue to be amazed at the photogenic nature of some of the more ‘out there’ garments. Things you would question if seen in public, but that look great for shoots (the shirt in the first photo on this post, for example.)

Keegan was really easy to work with, he had a very calm nature and took direction well. He was also really good as posing with hands- which sounds a bit odd to notice- but hands are one of the toughest things to get right, in my opinion. It is easy to make them look awkward or stiff, so this is a real skill.

Luckily I am really nice and had a lot of long sleeve garments and winter gear. It was one of those shoots where the talent didn’t mind being layered up. I was also lucky to find an old dock shed which had been converted into a carpark. It had really interesting light in there- a combination of strong down lights and natural light from the large entrances. There were hardly any cars in there, so we pretty much had free reign of the area.

Thanks Keegan for being a champ, and good luck with your career in Melbourne!

Keegan is signed with GTR Melbourne.

XY: Blake

Last week, Blake from the newly founded XY Management visited my studio for a test shoot. XY, despite being quite small, have a great range of talent on their books, so I was excited to begin working with some of the boys. As the name may suggest, they only represent males.

As this was my first test with the agency, I thought I would do a range of lighting setups in the studio, as well as a few natural light shots outside, to give diversity to Blake’s book.

Blake was very serious, but could definitely do the ‘smouldering model look’ well. He mentioned that he was always asked to do a serious expression in front of the camera, so it came naturally. Getting a few lighter, more ‘smiley’ expressions out of him was a challenge, but we managed a few.

It was one of those horribly hot, still Melbourne days, but we did go outside for a few moments to snap some shots in the sunshine. Full marks to Blake who even wore long sleeves for the shots. What a trooper. Thanks Marta from XY for organising the shoot, and Blake for making it down to the studio.

 

 

 

Finally Getting To Work With Jimmy

I’ve been meaning to work with James Ford for a while now, but our schedules have never aligned and he is often out of the country. But last week I had the pleasure of having him come into the studio for a test shoot. I’ve worked with Jimmy’s sister Peggy a few times, and we had spoken via social media, but it was great to finally be able to meet in the flesh.

I could tell right from the beginning that Jimmy was a seasoned professional. He knew his poses, had great expressions, and got straight into it without needing to warm up at all. The frame above on the right was literally the second frame I took all day.

I got all of my garments from H&M this time, so we had a few different outfits to work with. I find it hard to source quirky, interesting pieces for males, as there seems to be a lot less available (on the mainstream market) than for females. Luckily Jimmy’s strong expressions and great posing easily carried the frames. Because of this, the shoot was over really quickly. Thanks Jimmy for finally getting in front of my camera, and good luck in Asia!

Mini Road Trip With Jeremy

I’m really enjoying doing a lot more testing lately, especially on location. Here are a few snaps from a last minute shoot with Jeremy Anderson from GTR. I initially wanted to drive down to Werribee for this, but we only got as far as Altona before I wanted to stop and shoot. Sometimes I just like to drive around and jump out when a spot catches my eye.

I took the Profoto kit out with me, but I actually just ended up using completely natural light. When shooting tests without an assistnat, I find it faster, and this keeps the pace of the session nice and snappy.

This shot of Jeremy under the bridge was my favourite of the shoot. I love capturing interesting pockets of light and this one was a great find! Thanks Jeremy for being a great model, and MYER for the clothing.