The Comfort Zone

 

The minute I walked into her home yesterday, I knew the look... Dorothy was not looking forward to our photo session. The first thing that I needed to do was to find her comfort zone. I pulled out my iPod, small Altec Lansing speaker and cued up Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66.

We started the session with Dorothy standing... then sitting on an apple box... then sitting on the floor... The images looked better with each posing change, but we weren't there yet.

Then I asked her to lie on the sofa... BINGO! Now to set the lights. In the background... The 5th Dimension's One Less Bell To Answer is playing.

• First bounce one Dynalite head off the white ceiling.
  
• Next place another Dynalite head w/a grid to the left rear of Dorothy to create a hair light.
  
• Place a reflector below the subject for fill.
  
• Used the shutter speed to control the outdoor light tones.
  

Behind the lens info:

• Nikon D300 w/80-200 f2.8
  
• 1/80 f/8 @ 200 iso
  

Thank you Dorothy for the opportunity to create images for your new book!

Now... meet Dorothy.

About my book, and a bit of my bio:

American Fanatics is my fourth full-length book of poems, forthcoming this fall from the University of Pittsburgh Press. My poems are always illuminated darkly! This particular book, my first collection since 9/11, investigates faith and fanaticism and the fine, sometimes indiscernible line separating the two--and not just religious faith, but "secular" faith, too--the beliefs that drive our choices every day in the postmodern world in general, and in America in particular. There's a lot of gallows humor in these poems, a lot of pop culture be-bop, portraits of some of "America's lesser gods," like Aimee Semple McPherson, Joseph Smith, John Brown, and a Victorian psychic "fasting girl" named Mollie Fancher, but also dark believers like Timothy McVeigh. The title poem, "American Fanatics," was written during the second Bush administration. Here's a few stanzas:

Reading the newspaper lately,

you'd think America had been educated

in a single ray of handsome and murderous light by which we see individual belief is everything, being free.

If not now, when?

the fanatic asks.

If not me, the president says, then who?

("American Fanatics")

As I said, this is my fourth book of poems. My first book, All of the Above (1991) won the Barnard College New Women Poets Prize, and my second, The Post-Rapture Diner (1996), won an American Book Award. My most recent book, Rouge Pulp, was published in 2002. In addition to poems I write essays on contemporary poetry; this fall my article, "Baby Boom Poets and the New Zeitgeist," appeared in the literary magazine Prairie Schooner. I've won Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Other Honors include two Pushcart Prizes, the Emily Clark Balch Prize, and the Grand Prize from the Los Angeles Poetry Festival, and I've been asked to read my poetry at the Library of Congress as well as at universities and arts centers across the country. I live in Los Angeles with my husband Phil Matero and my two sons Andrew and Dante. I'm a Professor of English and Creative Writing in the English Department at California State University, Northridge and live in Los Angeles.

Dragging the Shutter

I remember this session well! Jane Wurwand, the Founder of Dermalogica and The International Dermal Institution, was getting an honor from NAWBO-LA. I wanted to create an image to show the power of women in business. A simple headshot would not do. I wanted to capture this great woman inside her workspace @ the headquarters in Carson.

Here's what I did to create the image.

-I scouted the location the day before to get an idea... see the possibilities.

-Brought a tripod to the shoot.

-Lit Jane by bouncing a dynalite off the ceiling above her head... Sekonic reading for that light was f/5.6, just a little under the ambient light reading.

-I used 2-SB 800 speedlights in the far background, triggered by Pocket Wizards to accent the area.

-Placed the camera on a sturdy tripod & clicked the slow shutter of 1/20 second.

A small reflector below the subject always helps.

In & Out - The 10 Minute Executive Portrait Session

Executive portrait sessions are a real challenge. For one, they need to be quick. Yeah, it would be nice to have time to nurse the lighting to perfection. But most executives don't ever give you much time. Logistics can be an additional problem when you have to navigate through a busy metro area, like downtown LA, to reach the client.
This image is from a ten minute session in downtown Los Angeles with Jane Pak, CEO of the National Association of Women Business Owners, Los Angeles Chapter (NAWBO-LA). Navigating from my parked car to her high rise office took longer than the actual photo shoot.
Everything that I used for the shoot was inside my ThinkTank Airport International Rolling Camera Case, with the exception of a Manfrotto light stand & 32" umbrella that I carried in my hand.

Photo info:
Nikon D300 w/80-200 2.8 lens
exposure - 1/250 f/5 @ 400iso
3-SB800 speedlights
background - SB800/on floor 1/4 power pointed at back wall
fill - SB800/ceiling bounce @ 1/2 power
main - SB800/light stand mount directed into 32" umbrella @ 1/2 power
Small Westcott silver reflector on floor in foreground as kicker.

I could probably do a little in Photoshop to refine the image, but this is what came out of the camera.

Eye of the Tygress – Cherrelle Elan

This blog entry started out as a look at the professional headshot. Actress Cherrelle Robinson was coming by for a session, so I asked her to write a few words about headshots and the acting life. When I got her thoughts later via email, it confirmed something that I've always felt… prepare for opportunity… see green lights where others only see red… stay on point/stay focused… never quit… and a nice headshot is a plus.

I had planned to include lighting diagrams and talk camera talk. But, I decided to use this post to talk about dreams instead. In a city like LA, I see actors giving up the dream every day. But so many people other than actors have passion, have dreams, but they don't have Cherrelle's courage. I wanted to use this post to focus on her journey and unwavering commitment to the acting craft. Hopefully, this will inspire someone... who's trying to figure out the next move... someone on the bubble... to pursue their dreams.

Cherelle Elan – My Journey to Hollywood

As with any goal I set in my life, there's always one lesson I tend to keep in mind.  I believe that luck comes when preparation meets opportunity.  From the age of 14, this idea has always been constant with my every success.  I can remember the first time I took note of the process.  When I was 14 years old, I used to watch the Miss Teen USA pageant and thought one day I wanted to compete and represent my hometown Washington, DC.  However, growing up in the inner city where resources for this type of competition were not available, it was less likely this would happen for me.  Nevertheless, I have a huge imagination and would prance around the house 24/7 as if I were going to compete someday. 

Four years went by and over the course of those years, I was in High School.  There were these long stairs in front of the school, and I would gracefully master walking down those stairs as if I had a crown on my head.  I studied communications and improved my interviewing skills in high school....all along thinking I was preparing for a career in front of the camera as on air talent in entertainment news or something, but sub-consciously polishing my skills for something I had no idea would come along in my life.  Graduation night came and my plan was to prepare for college coming in the fall... that meant getting a summer job to pay for books.  Though I had given up on the idea of competing in the actual Miss Teen USA Pageant, to me the graduation cap on my head was my crown...so I walked across the stage waving as if I was a pageant contestant that had won (We have pictures of me waving).   Low and behold that night one of the teachers who had taken me under her wing pulled me to the side after the graduation and said you should compete in this pageant tomorrow morning, you would do very well.  At the time I didn't think anything about it.  The next day I casually asked my mother if we should go...I could wear my prom dress.  She said sure...is there a fee.  There was no fee so we went...not knowing it was the actual Miss Teen DC USA pageant.  It was funny because I hadn't a care in the world whether or not I would win.  Strutting down that runway and answering the questions were natural to me.  Usually young girls get formal training and pay lots of money to win these types of pageants.  I believe all those years of my imagination and desire to compete in a pageant plus the constant practice in my mind of one day competing was my formal training.  I ended up winning the Miss Teen DC USA title and represented my hometown on national television.  
 
Things like this have happened in my history before, but it was this time that I remember very well in my entertainment career.  There was the time my mom and I had looked at my grades and imagined what if I would graduate Valedictorian of my class.  My peers used to tease me because I would carry all of my books home from school every day, but I absolutely loved school because school was the one place I could win.  Low and behold our vision came true.  I was Valedictorian of my Junior High school class.  These two instances are key examples of preparation meeting opportunity in my life.  I continue to believe in these examples today as I pursue acting and writing.  Everyday, I work on my crafts preparing for the opportunity that will come!  It's just a matter of timing.  Things will line up and I will be ready!  
 
One more thing...I've also learned it also takes courage to jump into the unknown.  I can remember getting accepted into Graduate School but not having a dime to pay tuition.  I had made up my mind I was going to go regardless and the money would somehow appear.  My mother had already contributed to my undergrad career and said I was on my own with this one.  So I trusted myself...took out a small loan to cover my first semester...arrived on a campus I had never visited...met with the Graduate Adviser...sharing with her my situation of not having any money to cover the rest of my time there but I will graduate.  She offered me a job in the Dean's office paying $25 a week with the possibility of the position turning into a grant to cover the rest of my tuition.  The first semester went by; I applied and was awarded the grant, and graduated with a Masters Degree focusing on Television/Film Management from one of the top schools in communications in the world.  For me it took courage and trust in my own personal history to achieve this goal.  I am truly grateful for the experience, the knowledge, the talent and strong faith.  Today I have reflected on these experiences and use them as I pursue my acting and writing career.  Underneath the entertainment, this is all really business.  And all the exposure, commitment and preparation will eventually carry me to the opportunity that will deliver me to the next phase of this big picture--Increasing courage and strengthening faith.

NAWBO – Spotlight on Patty DeDominic

Women business owners from around the globe gathered in Chicago last week for the NAWBO Women's Business Conference. One of the faces in the crowd… Patty DeDominic. She has had a long relationship with NAWBO. I have photographed her many times over the years at civic events and I have found her to be a wonderful person.

I still remember the day when I heard about her Million Dollar challenge grant to NAWBO-LA; at the time, it was the largest gift ever given to NAWBO on any level by a single business owner. I remember thinking at the time… women are doing incredible things in business... you must be doing big business to afford to donate a cool Million... Patty truly must believe in the mission of NAWBO and the potential for women in the marketplace. These are great times for my daughter and other young women visionaries. NAWBO is a great place to connect with visionaries like Patty.

My daughter attended the Chicago conference and left the city excited about the possibilities. I was truly a proud papa when I saw my baby among the ranks of greatness in Chicago.

"NAWBO has, for decades, been close to my heart and helped me in my own business success. There are many alternatives when it comes to giving, but I wanted to ensure that NAWBO's valuable work would continue and that other entrepreneurs would be similarly inspired to contribute." ~ Patty DeDominic