Learning that you just have to let go and FEEL the shot

I’m going to go ahead and admit it: I was very sad about Michael Jackson’s early departure from this realm. No, I didn’t own any of his albums nor did I go to any of his concerts. I lean more towards rock n’ roll, baby. But I grew up with Michael, in a sense. We are roughly the same age and I grew up listening to the Jackson 5. And I witnessed the Motown 25 year Anniversary special on TV the night Michael did his legendary moonwalk and the music industry changed, over night! I remember that night clearly, in 1983. Michael took the world by storm! He became a legend!

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A couple of my favorite websites and
why I watch them religiously.

I’m back in the middle of pre-production again this week, prepping two editorials for Fall Fashion issues for two different magazines. Stay tuned for details. The more I find out, the more I’ll let you in on the shoots!  But in the meantime,  I really want to share with you some amazing websites that are chocked full of very useful information. These are websites that I either follow every day, that I’m subscribed to or that I visit frequently. The people that run these sites aren’t friends of mine, I don’t know them, most sites I’m not linked to so this isn’t some shameless promotional post with all my “blog buddies” getting a shout out. These are websites that I use to help my own photography career. So let’s get started, shall we? I’ve listed the link and why I favor it so much. And do me and your other fellow readers a favor: list your favorite link or two in the comment section. I think it’s very important to share knowledge and information. Thanks!

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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?

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So here it is…what you’ve all been waiting for; no hoax, no blurring, no quick, easy, fast, one-action techniques from your friends at ThePhotoshopGuru .com. Just you sitting in your chair, or on your couch, or in your bed, (the way I like to do it) with your eyes. Let me introduce myself… My name is David Skyler, and if you haven’t heard by now I’m the full time in-house retouch artist/graphic designer/all around tech-geek for Melissa Rodwell and of course her loving husband and business partner. Here are some retouching tips that might lead you in the right direction and help you make your fashion photographs much stronger.

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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.

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(4.71 stars, 17 ratings)

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