July 27th, 2010
Do you believe in shoot karma? I hate to admit it but there is a bit of truth to that statement. Case in point, my shoot with pop phenom Avery.
I know whatever I type this is going to seem ridiculous. I’m already cringing inside my head because no, I don’t make it a point to buy my pug clothes. No, I don’t make it a point to dress her up on a regular basis. For the record I did dress her up for 1 full day making some photos for fun. That was it. End of story. Buffy the pug is more into eating, sleeping and running (yes, she runs like a greyhound, weird but she digs it) than being one of those fancy dogs that wear clothing. Honest to goodness, don’t you just feel like rescuing chihuahuas from their owners when you see them all dolled up. Give the poor pup some dignity, please.
Back to the shoot. Karma, luck, fate, call it what you want but there was definitely something else at play here. Normally my pug goes to the groomer on shoot days, but not this time. When the stylist pulled out all the dress options we had, courtesy of Betsey Johnson my jaw hit the floor. Quick chat with Avery and her management, an emphatic YES, lets put Buffy and Avery in MATCHING DRESSES! The rest is history.
Avery’s behind the scenes video is a part of a 6 shoot master-mix. She’s towards the end, stick it out, its so adorable.
July 20th, 2010
Want to see more Nancy, check out my website for the whole kit and caboodle. I have to say, this was a difficult shoot to edit, in a good way that is. Thank you Nancy Harmon, you are a rockstar!
In regards to editing I’ve been working with a photo editor on my own work. Again, take a look at my website, you’ll see what I mean immediately. The point of this reshuffling was to showcase a consistent vision that speaks to who I am as an artist and what I’m passionate about creating. I have to say the ax was out and boy did it feel refreshing! Similar to spring cleaning crossed with popping in a fresh pair of contacts. Or new underwear if you don’t wear contacts.
brookpifer.com
July 13th, 2010
Dam do I love portraits! What can seem on the surface as something simple is really quite layered when you start to look deeper. Celebrities, Supermodels, Regular Joes, doesn’t matter. Goal is the same. Create and document a glimpse into who they are as a person, be it contentment, confidence, vision, brilliance, swagger and even goofiness. Part of my process involves taking the time to connect with them. Yes, sometimes with the big fancy people we don’t have much time to become BFFs, but the effort is there just the same. You need to read people quickly. Be observant of hints that can lead you down a path of creative excellence, but most importantly, doesn’t matter who you’re shooting, you need to be yourself. For me that involves taking an internal moment to figure out what I love, yes love, about who I’m shooting. It helps me approach the assignment and/or personal work from a place of excitement and discovery. Think about the Mona Lisa. What does the world find so fascinating about that painting? Some say her smile holds a secret, some say she knows how many licks it will take to get to the center of a tootsie pop. The world may never know but come on, how fun is it to be curious about something?! For me a successful portrait leaves you wanting to be curious and discover more about a person or in this case, a rad agency called Monkeyfoot.
July 7th, 2010
I can only imagine how many times bands are asked for the meaning behind their name/album title/song title. This question provided the platform from which to base our shoot concept around. Can you tell we had mega-fun with Maybe If You Hit It? And it begs the question, what do they want to hit? Blackjack? Booty? You decide.
June 30th, 2010
Pop tart Alex Amor in the house. Or is the correct terminology DA HOUSE? Her behind the scenes video footage is a part of a master mix of six other shoots. Enjoy!
June 23rd, 2010
Delicious new images coming soon. Here’s something to keep you at bay. Addis, featuring Lionezz and Viper.
Speaking of delicious, I had a chocolate catastrophe last night. Ever try Godiva Chocolate Truffles? Don’t. Awful to say the least. While at the mall, hitting up the Apple store, the husband and I made a pit stop at Barnes & Noble. I left without books (big surprise) but picked up a bag of what I hoped would be a delicious treat. Our cashier even confirmed that they were indeed worth the purchase price. This chocoholic disagrees, emphatically. After dinner, I gave one a try, hmmm, this sucks. I try one more, hmmm, still sucks. You know its bad when I don’t even want to finish. I’m sticking with Lindt.
June 14th, 2010
I love photographing humans! The interaction between us when we connect, laugh, tell stories…nothing but bliss! When I edit an assignment like this its almost a surreal trip down memory lane. Recalling the vibe that particular image happened, the magic, how my subject started to let go (or pull back). Little moments of pure, honest, beauty. Thanks to the peeps that participated!
May 17th, 2010
Allison Hagendorf is the gorgeous host on Fuse TVs top 20 video countdown, interviewing the most buzz worthy celebrities and delivering mega hits from today’s biggest music stars. Seriously, this woman is Photogenic with a “Capital P” and I could have shot her all day, but as is the case with most celebrity shoots, time is in short supply. Allison had a radio interview right before out shoot, then immediately had hosting duties following, making it impossible for us to run over. Situations like this are VERY common, you always have to be prepared for worst case scenario and my ADD forces me to have a plan B, C, D, E, F…you get the picture (pun intended).
Unfortunately her radio interview ran over and that meant our abbreviated shoot just got downsized from a Grande to a Tall. The skyscraper we used for our base of operations gave us permission for two shooting setups. One cozy (aka small) office was used as a staging area/studio. Then we had access to the rooftop. My only issue was by the time we had Allison in our grasps that beautiful early light was harsh afternoon light and sunset was never option due to her schedule. Solution, find some shade, use your own lighting and create magic! The biggest thing that made this entire shoot turn out so dam beautiful, in addition to Allison being a stunner, was the ability to be flexible in my approach. The focus of the day was not the location we were shooting at, but Allison. Keeping it simple, elegant, flattering equals magic.
Want more Allison, you can check out additional shots and outtakes on my website.
And since I have your attention take a moment to become a Facebook fan. You can get exclusive content, learn about job and internship opportunities, interact, get inspired and quite possibly fall in love with our studio mascot, Buffy the Pug.
May 6th, 2010
As promised, some tasty behind the scenes action from 6 different photo shoots. Our starting line-up includes Shut Up And Dance, Alex Amor, Addis (aka Raptile), Monstablokaz, Go Radio and Avery. Watching this video I observed many exciting moments but also it brought to light a few things:
- Popping open a bottle of Veuve Clicquot is best done outside.
- I rock a boring pony tail more than I care to admit, despite the fact that I usually start the day with a bangin’ hair-do.
- My pug is more photogenic than I am. But I’m ok with that.
- When we hand the video camera to clients it results in very scandalous footage involving all sorts of debauchery.
- I’m just kidding about the last part…or am in (plays dramatic squirrel look music in head).
