Want more Allison, you can check out additional shots and outtakes on my website.

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Prior to Kait’s shoot I had a walk-thu at MTV for pre-pro regarding locations, logistics, shoot day scheduling, etc. This really played to our advantage because Viacom takes up the entire building, MTV’s offices take up multiple floors, all of which translates to moving from one setup to the next can eat into valuable shoot time. Keep in mind we have not just my crew and gear to think about but also hair, makeup, wardrobe, Kait’s peeps, MTV peeps….pretty big production. Then top it off with part of Broadway in Times Square is closed to traffic therefore load-in can be hectic too.

No worries though. All the legwork put in before the actual shoot day paid off tremendously. Actually we were ahead of schedule at one point in the day to where we could, dare I say, take our time with a couple of the setups. The entire crew’s synergy was so A-game it helped fuel the day’s creative juices. The Clients kept saying over and over how smooth everything was going and how great everything was looking. Mission Accomplished!

Not only was Kait a bad ass but a total doll to work with. You can check out her music in the upcoming MTV movie Turn the Beat Around. She has a ton of other fancy stuff going on in her life but I’m going to let you discover that. Enjoy the behind the scenes!

Last week I get a text message from someone on the inside at Wind-Up Records: Flipping through my Billboard at work and BAM, there was your photo! You are fancy Brook Pifer!!

How about that, I’m fancy. You can check out all the winners in Billboard Magazine, on news stands now.

In other news, 2010 has proved to be pretty rad so far. New website in the works, music video projects galore, the shoot I did for MTV will be posted soon. Speaking of, gotta run, conference call in 5…

Our shoot with platinum recording artist Sean Kingston took place in Miami/South Beach at the very stunning Hotel Victor. The crew and I got there the day before the shoot to finalize pre-pro. Initially we were limited on where we could shoot, what areas we could shut public access down, etc. That quickly changed when I got a call from MTV saying they were coming to the shoot to film it for an episode of My Super Sweet 16. Hotel Victor bent over backwards to give us what we needed and what we needed was the Penthouse. It took up the entire top floor but darn, it was booked the day of the shoot. Again, another stroke of luck it was booked by an NBA team who wouldn’t be there until the evening. SCORE, literally.

Come shoot day we were ready for action. At 7am we had six different lighting setups pre-lit and ready for Sean WAY ahead of time. Wardrobe, hair and makeup people were ready to go and as with all celeb shoots, there is a bit of a waiting game. Kinda like Christmas, you wait to wake up bright and early only to have everything unwrapped in a matter of minutes. Around noon Sean arrived with his own crew in tow, his hair was trimmed up, makeup check, wardrobe was predetermined based on the coloring of each room/setup we established, time to bang out the photos and send him on his way. Rumor has it he was going car shopping for his birthday after the shoot so I didn’t want to keep the big fella any longer than he wanted to be kept. We had an hour with Sean and for celebrity shoots that much time is a luxury.

The well oiled machine working on this shoot killed it. From lighting to styling everything ran super smooth. The best part, shooting tethered and Mr. Kingston expressing his approval. In my humble opinion, that’s better than a Christmas gift any day.

It’s cool to shoot someone as successful and talented as Akon. It’s even better when they are a classy guy and thank every member of your crew personally at the end of a fast paced shoot. We didn’t have much time to get the shot and his people had some major multi-tasking going. Akon was being interviewed for Jamrock Magazine, his tour manager was in the middle of securing a venue for a big show and the designs for his clothing line (Konvict Clothing) needed to be approved. The jacket you see here is part of the Konvict line. Here’s the kicker, after the shoot he was so stoked with the results that he hooked me up with this exact jacket (only mine is in bright green). Very P.I.M.P. Thank you Akon.

The judges dubbed her as the one to beat, you can check out my client and friend on MTV’s P. Diddy Starmaker. Congrats Monet!

Hard working kids, talented performers, great songs, end of story.

I get a lot of enjoyment working with people in the entertainment industry. Be it celebs, bands or even the people behind the scenes, the energy is awesome. When a label calls I welcome the challenge of producing something that will fit that particular performers style. One thing to keep in the back of your mind, especially when you deal with music makers, they aren’t as easy to shoot as say an actor/actress. Pulling out a performance from them is all about developing chemistry and making sure they trust you enough to let their guard down. Music can tell such a story so my approach to music photography is to do the same. I think the best way to honor an artists musical vision is to give them a cohesive story all their own.