So I’ve been really busy lately. For one, we’ve been planning the seminar that’s taking place this up-coming weekend, November 7th and 8th. We’re almost sold out, which is exciting and I want to thank all of you who have purchased tickets and are planning on attending! It’s going to be really fun, the models are GREAT and the studio we’re using is just A+ professional, as are the people who run Smashbox. Secondly, I have been spending ALOT of time SHOOTING SHOOTING and SHOOTING some more! Here are some new pictures along with a Lighting Diagram on a test I did with just 1 Big Beautiful Light!

Read More »

(4.72 stars, 32 ratings)

 Loading ...

65 Comments

All Images © 2009 Melissa Rodwell Photography

When asked to shoot an editorial for Genlux Magazine, Stephen Kamifuji, the creative director, gave me two choices: I could shoot a beauty story based on a man and woman kissing or a fashion story based on the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet. I chose the fashion story. The theme for Genlux’s fall fashion magazine is Love, so obviously kissing and Romeo and Juliet are story ideas that depict the theme. Honestly I would have liked to have shot a beauty story for Genlux because it’s been a few years since I’ve done one for them but when Stephen presented both ideas to me, for some reason I felt more inclined to do the fashion story. I worked with stylist George Blodwell again because I like his work and I like working with him. Whether George’s website showcases more celebrity dressing/red carpet styling rather than editorial, one has to remember we are based here in Los Angeles and our market is celebrity driven. Many talented stylists ( wardrobe, hair and make up included ) market themselves towards the celebrity market when they are based out of Los Angeles. If you click on the artists name that has a hyper link and actually check out the agency site and more importantly, the artist’s link, you will see that most agencies have a celebrity section along with the editorial and advertising sections on their artists.

Read More »

(4.83 stars, 23 ratings)

 Loading ...

54 Comments

When the Handbag is the Star!

I received a call about a job from Jennifer Disotell from Public Persona, a high-end advertising, PR and marketing agency which exclusively handles only fashion design clients. Jennifer and I go back a few years;  we’ve worked together on everything from designing her website to working together on look books and line sheets. I like Jennifer’s integrity and honesty. She shoots straight from the hip! She runs her agency with two other women, her sister Nicole Disotell and their creative director, Melissa Castro. Together they are like the Charlie’s Angels of fashion advertising and promotion. Seriously, these girls are hot, talented, intelligent and on top of their game! Okay, so the assignment was to update the MeChar Handbags website and take photographs for ads to be placed in Elle Accessories and WWD. If you don’t know what WWD is by now, stop reading this post, click on that link and go educate thyself. It is the absolute authority of ALL things fashion industry! As well as web presence and editorial advertising, some of the shots were also going to be made into posters for trade shows and showrooms. The first step after her initial phone call was to set up a 3 way call with the client, Charmaine Ho, owner and designer of MeChar. We needed to all get on the same page as far as what Charmaine wanted to see in the final images. Charmaine had a great idea: a story about a girl getting made up and dressed to go out and meet a hot chick and bring her back to her hotel for some fun! Yeah! Pretty far out idea and I was all over it like an old suit! Right up my alley, as they say! When we got off the conference call, I got to work and put together a “mood board”. It’s like a story board. It’s a series of images that depict the kind of look and feel I think the shoot should have. From styling to lighting to location to type of model, it’s the theme and the look that I think the client would like to see. It’s like a visual articulation of what we talked about. Does that make sense?

Read More »

(4.93 stars, 15 ratings)

 Loading ...

28 Comments

Helpful Steps to Capture that Great Fashion Moment!

Today I want to talk about some tips that will help you give your photos that WOW factor!

The point in any image making process is to engage your viewer. Keeping these 10 Steps in mind when you’re on your next fashion photo shoot will help you do just that: Engage Your Viewer! In the comment section below, why don’t you add a tip for the other readers! And I would like to know too, what tip do you have under your sleeve to make more powerful fashion photographs?

1. Engage the model: Use eye contact. Eye contact directly into the camera is powerfully engaging. It strongly connects the model with the viewer of the image.

Read More »

(4.71 stars, 17 ratings)

 Loading ...

61 Comments

Suburban Occult, Elinchrom, and Steven Meisel

David and I recently celebrated the 1 year anniversary of The Fashion Photography Blog! We both want to extend a very warm thank you to all of our readers and subscribers!! I think we’re both a little more than suprised that the blog has done as well as it has in such a short time and continues to grow and gain popularity. But it’s you, the reader, that has made this possible and we’re very grateful to all of you who have been so loyal and enthusiastic towards this blog. We have more things planned for the blog in the coming year including a store where I’ll list books and DVD’s that I recommend and tutorials we offer, plus the seminars that we’re planning on doing every other month in 2010! We’re looking forward to an exciting year ahead of us, so stay tuned!

Read More »

(4.9 stars, 21 ratings)

 Loading ...

24 Comments