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!

I recently decided to start working with Maria Bianco at Blur Production. Maria has a long resume of working with photographers and ad agencies as both an agent and a producer. Maria approached me to work with me and after our first phone conversation, I was convinced! We met briefly before she took off to Chicago, in the meantime, I had an ad agency in Europe ask me to put together an estimate on an image and I immediately called Maria to help me with it. We bonded through the experience and I was eager to start working with her when she got back in August.

The one thing Maria wanted a hand in was the organizing of my portfolio, the most important selling object a photographer has. I brought my book over to her office and she immediately grabbed the post-its and started tagging the pictures that she wanted out of my book. Honestly, I love that! I need a seasoned voice, someone who is emotionally removed from the images and who knows what art buyers and editors are looking for. Often times, as photographers, we are too attached to a photograph and it isn’t representing us in the best light or in the direction we are heading in. I can handle a harsh critique of my work, I welcome it! And while she wasn’t mean about it, she did point out some things that I hadn’t realized until her critique. One thing she said to me was that my work had this very “dark” almost Gothic feel to it and it was overpowering my book.

I believe that art imitates life, in other words, we tend to create art that mimics what is going on in our own lives. My father passed away almost 2 years ago and the experience of being with him in his last 6 months was very powerful. I literally put all things aside to be with my dad as he prepared to die. It isn’t something I really want to go into here, but the experience was incredibly cathartic. I have written before how my father was the one who convinced me to become a fashion photographer and was incredibly supportive of my career choice. It’s the one thing I am so grateful for as I know there are people when starting out who’s peers or parents are strongly against them going into such a competive and financially unpredictable field. At any rate, back to the portfolio, the sadness and grief I experience of losing my father translated itself on to my work and my work did have this “heavy”, “dark” feel to it. And it was consistent. However, in my personal life, I am fairly happy. I love to laugh, I’m surrounded by great people and friends who really love me. My own world is not so dark. And my old work was beginning to feel contradictory to how I really see things. Maria suggested shooting a fashion editorial test for my book in the way that was much brighter and more approachable and this shoot here with Sarah Deanna is the first of many tests that are keeping me busy these days but also really inspiring me as an artist!

(Lighting Diagram)

I used one light. The Elinchrom Rotalux 39-Inch Deep Throat Octagonal Softbox on a Profoto Head. That’s it! I placed it above the models head, about 6 feet away from her. She stood near the background so we had a nice short shadow. Again, I cannot empathize it enough how important my crew is. Having the best model, hair stylist, make up artist and wardrobe stylist is tantamount to having a successful fashion shoot. I worked with Sarah Deanna again, from LA Models. You remember Sarah from the Mechar Handbag shoot? After we worked together that day, we have wanted to shoot a test together and we finally were able to pull it off 4 months later! I worked with Steve David from Artists by Next who did Sarah Deanna’s hair and Heather Kubly-Pepe who did the make up. Both Heather and Steve are just geniuses when it comes to their craft. George Blodwell was kind of enough to lend his styling wizardry for my test. The whole team pulled together and we produced a stellar test for my book. I had 10 shots retouched, only 4 will go in my portfolio, 8 will go on my website. My website, incidentally, is being updated and moved over to Viewbook! I love the guys at Viewbook, they are so helpful and nice. But I what I really love is the ability to manage my own site from now on!!! No more having to beg David to upload images  or take down images that are updated. It’s so nice to have that freedom now!

All images from this shoot were shot on my Nikon D2x with my 85mm/1.4 lens. I shot at f10 at 1/250 of a second. The studio was a daylight studio when we entered it, I had them black it out. I think that’s it, as far as technical information. I think the most important information here is to always use the best talent you can get!

(ALL IMAGES ©2009 Melissa Rodwell Photography)

Over the summer, Douglas Little hired me to shoot a campaign to launch one of his new extravagant products. If you can remember Mr. Little from this previous post, he creates curious but gorgeous goods. He’s mainly famous for his decadent candles, and this new product was surely going to top the list of all things sinful and delightful. Douglas’s new candle was a Swarovski crystal layered candle that retails for a cool $420 bucks! Since the name of the candle is Poison Apple, he wanted to play with the Snow White theme. He sent me one comp, that’s it. He wanted one single image to promote the product with, but the image was well thought out and planned. He wanted to use his girlfriend, the illustrious burlesque dream girl Leila as our model since she naturally has a Snow White essence to her. With her jet black hair and snow white skin, she really was the perfect choice for our model.

The interesting thing about this shoot is that I was able to test out the PhaseOne P40+ camera. While I was picking up some gear at Samy’s for the shoot, Jim up in the pro department offered to let me take the PhaseOne  P40+ out and give it a whirl. Normally I won’t “test” equipment out on a job, but my plan was to use my Nikon for most of the shoot and test out the PhaseOne once I knew I had the shot in the can with the Nikon. I am in the market for a medium format camera but I’m really leaning towards going back to film cameras and using  digital backs with them. If you recall, I used a Hasselblad on the beach shoot and was fairly impressed with it but not impressed enough to shell out the kind of money it costs to buy one. I’ve always veered towards Mamiyas for fashion any way and my inclination is to go back to them. At any rate, I happily took the PhaseOne home and did my research on it the night before the shoot!

Taken with a Phase One P40+
(Click here to Enlarge)

I did use both cameras on the shoot and ended up shooting about the same amount of images on both cameras. To be totally honest, I have to say I didn’t see much difference in image quality.  And in fact, the client chose the shot that was taken with my Nikon. Second place was a shot taken with the PhaseOne. There was definitely  more detail on the PhaseOne shots, with 28 more pixels there should be! Perhaps it’s hard to tell a huge difference because of the retouching, but honestly, the raw files on the PhaseOne didn’t blow my mind. And I have to also say that I preferred the way the Hasselblad felt in my hands while shooting with it over the PhaseOne. To each their own, I always say.

Taken with a Nikon D2x
(Click here to Enlarge)

We created a snowy bank on the floor of the studio, piling blankets on top of one another to add a plush soft ground and then poured fake snow on top of the pile. We had our model lying on top of our “snow” and I used one light with a medium chimera soft box as my key light. I then had my assistant hold a light parallel to the models head. Since she was lying on the floor, the light was low. I used a 20 degree grid with his fingers spread over the grid to create a pattern of light to hit areas of her face and the apple. I needed to pick up the highlights on the Swarovski crystals since the apple was really the “Star” of the shoot! I decided that the light my assistant held needed to be undiffused so it could pick up the dazzling little sparkles that the crystals on the apple create when light hits them.

I’m not going to break off any mind bending tech information here on the camera that you can’t easily find on the internet, but I’ll point you in the right direction. The PhaseOne site has all the info you need to understand the camera a little better. Their site is pretty cool because it has plenty of pdf’s you can download and get all the tech information you could ever need! I can say that it was pretty easy to figure out, I mean, I’ve worked with all types of cameras in the past and the PhaseOne was fairly simple to work with. It was fast on the capture rate: 1.8 fps, which was nice. Although I didn’t take full advantage of that because the model was lying on the floor, so there wasn’t much movement to capture. But I do appreciate a fast camera! You can choose between 10 and 40 megapixels depending on your needs. I chose 40 megapixels because I wanted the detail and image quality.

On the PhaseOne P40+ image:

• Lens: 80mm
• F14 at 1/80 of a second
• ISO:  100

On the Nikon D2x image:

• Lens: 24mm (shot close to the model.)
• F14 at 1/80 of a second
• ISO: 100

Overall, the PhaseOne P40+ is a decent camera and the day was a success because Douglas Little loved the images I produced. That to me is a successful shoot, when the client is happy. What are your thoughts on the difference between the image taken with the Nikon and the image taken with the PhaseOne P40+? I’d love to hear your input.

It’s not very often that I will run out and attend a photography seminar anymore. It’s not that I feel I don’t need them, it’s just that over the years I’ve been to so many that most of them don’t really grab my attention to want to attend. But when I heard Debra Weiss was speaking last April on the business of photography, I sure as hell went. And I took notes on every thing she had to say. I’ve known about Debra for years. She is probably one of the most important figures in the photography business because she is actually out there insisting on fair treatment and payment to us photographers. She is knowledgeable in all areas of our business and is passionate about protecting photographers’ rights. I can easily say that she is part of the backbone of the photography business and it is people like her that keep our industry running fairly and competently.  I asked Debra if I could write about her on my blog because I believe she is someone my readers should know about. She very kindly agreed and sent me her bio. Read on….

Debra was fourteen years old when she stood mesmerized in front of an Edward Steichen print of Greta Garbo at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Steichen had just berated Garbo for showing up at his studio looking a mess. Garbo looked up pulling her hair back off her forehead. Steichen snapped. She didn’t know the story behind that moment in the picture yet, but she knew it was something special. Ever since that day, Debra has had a passion for photographic images that capture essence. She has relentlessly acquired a vast knowledge of photographers and their works and is now a widely recognized consultant working with photographers across the United States and far off places.

Debra has been an agent for some of the top names in the business, a consultant for Black Book and did a stint as CEO of APA (Advertising Photographers of America) National. Besides lecturing, seminars and moderating panels, she now primarily works with photographers one-on-one, helping to guide a photographer’s career as an artist and a business by creating an artistic marketable identity that will improve their opportunities for success

Debra presents seminars annually at PhotoPlus Expo, is a core speaker with PDN On The Road and is a frequent guest speaker at Art Center College of Design and Brooks Institute. She has served as curator for an internationally traveled exhibit of the Best of The International Photography Awards and HARAMBEE! (Come Together) at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles and most recently, an exhibit of images created for DO 1 THING  http://www.do1thing.org/ which will be seen at PhotoPlus Expo 2009 in NYC. She also serves as curator for the PLUS (Picture Licensing Universal System) Coalition Web site and additionally, is the PLUS Industry Committee Coordinator. She has contributed articles to PDN, SparK!, editorialphoto.com and her opinions and perspectives can be read frequently on the EP and APAnet forums. Debra also sits on the Advisory Council of PLUS and the Advisory Boards of JPG Images and the Art Institute of California.

This week Debra is in NYC speaking at PDN’s PhotoPlus Expo. You can find more information here on the PDN site. I love their tag line:  Arrive Curious…..Leave Inspired! I can tell you, after listening to Debra, you will definitely feel inspired. PhotoPlus Expo is offering some great events this year. A floor full of the latest technology in equipment, highly educational seminars and a big “bash” they’re throwing on one of the nights. Debra will be speaking at two of the seminars: On October 22, 2009 from 8:45 AM to 11:45 AM: How to Get Work from Ad Agencies. She will speak along with an art buyer, a creative director and an agent on what you need to make it as an advertising photographer. Learn how to get the attention of the art buyers and art directors and how they choose photographers. The next seminar she will be speaking at is:  Inside the White House: The Role of the President’s Official Photographer. If your dream job is become Chief White House photographer, then you should attend this seminar! In general, if you are serious about your career in fashion photography, or even photography in general, and live in the New York City area or near it, I really urge you to go and listen to Debra speak. She is mesmerizing! I, personally, was so motivated after hearing her that she really lit a fire in me to up my game and get more serious about the business side of my career.

Debra Weiss mainly does consulting work with photographers now and I am going to blog about that aspect of her work in a few weeks. Debra is based in LA but while she is in NYC, she is available for consultations. You can reach her at either 323.650.4300 or dw@debraweiss.com

Since I enjoyed the last seminar I held in July, I decided to do another one! The opportunity to meet such great people from all over the world was an amazing experience for me! And all that talent in one room was humbling!! Come to find out, I have some very talented and accomplished photographers reading my blog and it was such a blast to meet some of them!

As all things we do in life, we learn from the past and so there will be a few minor changes to the format. For one, I’m limiting the space to 10 photographers. I’m doing this mainly to give people more time to shoot with the models and to be available to people for questions as we’re setting up and shooting. I’ve recently signed on with Maria Bianco with BLUR Production and since Blur is located in the Smashbox Studios, we decided to “keep it in the family” by holding the seminar at Smashbox. It is an amazing studio! I know you’ll love the space. On Saturday we’ll start immediately with a beauty shoot. Ford has agreed to work with me on talent so we’ll have a model come in the morning of the 7th and do a beauty shoot with her, and in the afternoon we’ll have another model come in to do a fashion shoot. I’ll take you through both processes, of working with the make up and hair team to follow instructions on hair and make up. And in the afternoon when we shoot our fashion shoot, I’ll take you through working with the stylist in identifying our different looks. We’ll do several lighting set ups for both beauty and fashion. It is going to be a heavy work day, shooting most of the day with our two models.

Melissa Rodwell Seminar Summer 2009 Recap from Melissa Rodwell on Vimeo.

On Sunday, David Skyler will teach a post-production class. David is an accomplished retouch artist who has worked on such campaigns as Barneys NY, Biotherm, and Philosophy. And his magazine work has ranged from Vogue to Interview Magazine. He’ll take your images from camera raw and show you how to enhance your work but retain the integrity of the image!

Here are 2 examples of David’s Retouching work (Rollover to view before):

After David’s finished teaching his post-production phase, I will step back in and finish the day by talking about the business of fashion photography, the ins and outs and some good tips to help promote yourself in the industry!

Smashbox is located in the heart of Hollywood with plenty of hotels and restaurants near by. We can help you find a place if you decide to book a ticket. Since I posted the link for it on this blog about a month ago, we’ve started to sell tickets so space is filling up! For more information, please click here! And hope to see you in Los Angeles November 7th and 8th!

I have had the great fortune of becoming friends with fashion photographer David Leslie Anthony. I have to say, during the journey of my career as a professional fashion photographer, making friends with other photographers in this business hasn’t been easy. Last year, David and I signed with the same agent and he made contact with me, which kind of surprised me, to be honest. From our first phone conversation, though, we hit it off. His honesty and integrity really impressed me and I’ve sort of been “hooked” on him since that first call. I have known of David and his work since the early ’90’s when we both emerged as working fashion photographers and I’ve always admired David’s eye. I truly believe his work is evidence of his incredible vision. But as I’ve gotten to know David over the past year, I have discovered that our friendship has been a gift. He is a top-notch businessman. He’s also very funny and has great stories! Aside from being amused by his sense of humour, I always learn something that helps me understand the business side of the industry. A few weeks ago, during one of our marathon phone conversations, we talked about me interviewing him for my blog and he kindly agreed. I think it’s important for my readers to learn about other photographers and how they got started and how they stay on top of the ever-competitive and quickly becoming overly-saturated market of Fashion Photography. I put together 20 questions and emailed them to him, also asking for him to submit some of his work. He replied with his answers and images and I quickly opened the zip file to dive in and read his replies. I have a feeling you’ll get why I am so taken with him. He’s the Real Deal. He’s been doing this a long time, he is a master at his craft and he thoroughly understands the business side as well. I am a huge fan of his work, a deep admirer of his work ethics and I’m grateful to call him my friend. So without further ado, let me introduce you to David Leslie Anthony!

1.    Can you talk a little about what sparked your interest in becoming a fashion photographer and what the progression was in the early days of your career. Ie; did you go to college or have any formal training?

I had always loved fashion and photographs growing up, because I’d sit with my Mother and pore over fashion magazines with her as a child growing up.  Later, when I began college, I was getting my hair cut, and I noticed all these great looking women getting their hair done.  So I began attending Beauty School in Los Angeles during the day, and college at night (because I figured it was a great way to get laid).  Making a long story short, I ended up quitting college, finished Beauty School and found I was actually good at the creation of design and imagery.  I soon became a sought-after platform artist, creating hair designs for product companies.  This was quickly followed with becoming the International Artistic Director for some of the leading Advanced Hairdressing Academies in the industry, and performing on stage in major shows around the world.  Around this same time, I was creating hair design work for hairdressing magazines, and this opened me to a new world of creativity:  Photography.   I bought some books on understanding exposure and how a camera works, and began reading them.  The first camera I bought and began working with was a Canon AE1.  And I started to shoot photographs.  I shot all the time, and every chance I got.  I kept notebooks (which I still do today), and would record everything I did, along with clips of the contact sheet or transparency.  I would record my “mistakes” as well and learned from them.  I made friends with the people at the lab I went to, and they would teach me more about “why” certain things happened, and what it created.  To me, “mistakes” were simply wonderful opportunities to make better photos.  Later, I bought another Canon and would shoot with one camera, and hock the other so I could pay for film and processing.  I began photographing my own work for the magazines, and feeling that I had accomplished all I wanted in the beauty industry, decided I wanted to embark on a whole new career.  I would buy magazines and study various photographers work who inspired me, and made me “see new things”.

In the fall of 1989, I discovered what happened when you “cross-processed” film, by accident.  The lab told me what I did “wrong”, and I was so fascinated by what I was getting, I bought and experimented with every type of film and filters I could get my hands on.  I learned how to control the colours and the skin tones, how to “bend” the look to my way of thinking through understanding and knowledge of light AND the quality of light.  At this time, only a handful of photographers were doing this kind of work.  One such person was Javier Vallhonrat, a Spanish fashion photographer who was just doing amazing work in cross-processing!  I studied all the work I could on this person.  I studied the black & white work of Peter Lindbergh, the energy of Arthur Elgort, the clean lines of Herb Ritts, etc.  By this time I had “retired” from hairdressing and became a “photographer”.  Friends I had met began teaching me more things and model agencies gave me people to “test shoot” to build my viewpoint and “style”.  In 1990, I got hired to shoot the national Z. Cavaricci campaign shooting it in my “cross-processed style”.  This was followed by Kad Clothing Company, Khaki & Whites, and a handful of various denim companies shooting their ad campaigns.  I traveled to New Orleans where I shot a few jobs down there, and up to Vancouver, Canada shooting some work there.  In 1994, I returned to Los Angeles, and sat down and began thinking about all that had happened thus far in my new career.  Unlike MANY of the young “photographers” today (who have huge ego’s and “legend in their own mind” attitudes), I realized I had JUST been lucky and that I really didn’t know a damn thing.  I realized that IF I really wanted to earn the right to call myself a photographer, I had to relocate to Europe and train and assist under some of the best photographers I could find.  I packed some clothes, packed my two cameras, and took what monies I had saved and moved to Paris.  I needed to be in the heart of fashion and photography IF I truly wanted to be where I wanted to be in the profession.  I sacrificed a lot at the beginnings of my career.  I got a job assisting one of the top photographers in the business, but I had nowhere to stay.  I learned another valuable lesson once in Paris.  Before you travel somewhere, make sure you know what the true value of your money IS in the country you are going to.  I “discovered” that due to the exchange rate, my money was now worth half of what I had brought.  So….I lived in a hedge grove in a park, bathed in the park restroom, and worked until I had enough to get a small cheap room in the 14th Arrondissement in Paris.  I lived and worked in Paris and Madrid for just over 5 years.  It was the best education I could get, and provided the foundation for where I am today in my career.  I learned about the technical aspects of photography, the business side and how to work with budgets, how to work with clients, and how to make a photograph “feel”, to say what I wanted to say.  FINALLY, I felt I could call myself a photographer.

2.    In your opinion, what makes for a successful shoot?

I guess this really depends on what it is for.  If it’s for yourself and you achieve what it is YOU want to achieve; then it IS successful.  If it’s a commercial shoot and the client is happy with the results, then THAT is successful.   Then IF the client or magazine picks the right photos to run, then THAT  shoot is successful.  In the 20 years I’ve been a photographer now, I’ve NEVER had a shoot occur without something not “go wrong”.  You could book a Make-up artist that you have worked with many times before, and on THIS particular shoot she/he “just does not get the concept”.  You could be working with a model you have worked with prior, and today she get’s her period and she does not feel “into it”.  You could have an assistant fail to pack certain equipment, and they didn’t tell you, and you suddenly need it…..and it’s 1500 miles away from your location.  It could be a bright sunny day, and suddenly become overcast.  It’s HOW you deal with these situations that makes a true professional, and is part of what I learned by being an assistant.

3.    Are you ever 100% satisfied with what you just shot or do you think about the things you would differently “next time”.

I don’t think an artist and/or photographer is ever truly “satisfied” with their work.  For me, I’ll look at my work afterwards and think “what could I have done more?  What could I have done better”.   That is the “growing process” that true professionals continue to deal with, and what keeps them on top of their own careers.  It’s what makes them who they are.  Anyone can learn the technical aspects of photography from books.  Anyone can buy a digital camera.  “Style and feeling” NO one can teach you.  You either have it or you don’t.  When I read comments from young photographers about how they consider “their own work amazing”, 10 out of 10 times…it’s utter crap!  WHEN you become “self-satisfied” with your own work, you have stopped growing!  Since I am under contract with Conde Nast, I have been fortunate to meet photographers like Craig McDean, Mario Testino, Albert Watson, etc. and I’ve NEVER heard or read about them saying “how wonderful they think their work is” or “how amazing their shoot was”.  These are some of the MOST humble people I’ve ever met.  As I’ll always say it’s the “run-of-the-mills” who have the biggest egos.

4.    What do you love the most about this career?

The ability to do what I love, and get paid for doing it.  The fact that I’ve been to so many countries around the world, met so many wonderful people, and again…got paid for it.  The ability to then take the money I’ve been paid, pay my bills, THEN shoot whatever I feel like shooting and not giving a damn whether anyone likes it or not.


5.    What do you dislike?

The way the industry is today.  Back when I started, you had to KNOW photography before you could ever call yourself a photographer, and before anyone took you seriously as one.  Today the photo schools are turning out nothing more than “digital technicians”.  I’ve had some of these people contact me wanting to be assistants, and they don’t know how to work a light meter, have never shot film, never been in a darkroom, don’t know any other camera formats other than Hasselblad.  Today everyone “calls themselves a photographer”.  They buy a digital camera, do a 5 minute photo, then do everything in the computer.  That is NOT being a photographer.  That is being a technician.  Why spend 5-10 hours on a computer doing something that in a few minutes you can do on set???  I shoot both digital and film, and I do 95% of my image on set, at the time of shooting.  That includes lighting, metering, creating any special effects, etc. so all I have to do in post is clean up the skin of the model.  In New York (the market I work in), they now have “two schools” of thought.  They say there are the Photographers and there are “digital illustrators” who ONLY know digital and photoshop.  Do these people even realize that the SAME plugins and filters THEY buy and use are the SAME ones the person down the street can buy??  The argument of “oh but I do it different” does NOT hold water.  Why?  Because all the plugins work the same way, giving the same results, at the same angles…for, and to everyone.  The people AT the top of this profession are NOT some 20 somethings, but are photographers who CAME from a film background and are in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and older.  THEY are the creators, the innovators, the true avant garde!  They are the one’s creating the looks and visual styles that the young are trying to copy.  They are the one’s you always see in the major magazines such as French and Italian Vogue, W, and others.  These magazines also are (in my opinion) the true avant garde publications.  Magazines such as Surface and Zink are nothing but poor clones of mediocre digital work.  In fact you often have to look for the name to see if the “photographer” has even changed from one editorial to the next.  Where as, with Paolo Roversi, Steven Meisel, Mario Sorrenti, David Sims, Steven Klein, and more..you know their style.  It’s unmistakable.  I always tell my assistants “You MUST know the past, BEFORE you can create the future”.  Because the future is made up FROM the past.

6.    Besides photography, can you talk about the things that inspire you, that feed your art and your eye?

The street.  Often times I will go out at night and just “watch” what is happening on the street.  I’ll see people in situations that might find its way into one of my photographs.  Music plays an important part in my photographs and my films.  I’ll make special “playlists” for each shoot I am doing.

7.    Who are some of your “heroes”?

I don’t know if you would call them heroes, but I LOVE the work of Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Steven Klein, Paolo Roversi, Mario Sorrenti, David Sims, Michael Thompson, Satoshi Saikusa, Ruven Afanador, Albert Watson, and many others.

8.    Do you have a “secret wish job” if you hadn’t become a fashion photographer, what else would you be interested in to do?

A multimillionaire.

9.    If you had it over to do again, would you have become a fashion photographer?

Absolutely.

10.    What makes you laugh?

Interviews and the questions they ask.  Giving “shit” to people and having them whip it right back.  It shows they have a sense of humor and they are not intimidated.

11.    Does your life imitate your art or does your art imitate your life?

I think my “art” imitates my life.  So much of what is in my photographs comes from experiences and people I’ve encountered in my life.  Of places I’ve been to, of places I’ve lived.  Of women I’ve loved, and the periods of life I’ve lived through.  Of what I’ve seen and felt.  These emotions are put into and come through in my photographs.  A great photograph MUST have emotion and “feel”.  And for us to become great…we must feel.

12.    Was that a stupid question? People always ask me the same thing, so I though I’d ask you.

Only you can decide that.

13.    Choose one favorite picture you’ve taken over the years and tell us why it’s your favorite. ( I know, I know, just take one that you really love)

I actually have a few.  Two of them work together and were shot for Harper’s Bazaar.  Unfortunately, they did not run because the Editor’s thought they were “too edgy”.  It’s the woman in the pig’s mask wearing an Oleg Cassini dress and flashing her breasts (shot in 2001) and the photo of the two girls sitting on the streets of New Orleans spitting beer (1998) shot for German Vogue.

14.    What are your feelings about digital. And what are your feelings about the extra work in post-production?

As I said prior, there are Photographers, and there are “digital technicians”.  I do shoot digital and I still shoot film.  I came from a film background where you HAD to know photography before you called yourself a photographer.  I do 95% of my work AT the time of shooting and use the computer like I did when I was in a darkroom.  Whenever I see work that has been SO retouched, my first question is “I want to see the raw files”.  THAT will tell you whether someone knows what they are doing or not, and whether they are just another “guy/girl with digital camera”.  There is one duo in the business that have SO much digital work done such as arms, heads, legs exchanged, etc. and so much post work, that I do not regard them as photographers at all…just as digital illustrators.  How do I know this?  I was privy to seeing their raw files and I was ALSO shown the 157 layers it took to “make” one photograph.  Lastly, I do all my own post work.  No one touches my photos but me.  IF you have someone else do your post work, and all you did was snap the shutter…who then is the REAL creator of the work?  In NYC, there are many retouchers demanding the same fees as the “photographer” AND demanding photo credit.  What does that tell you?  Now don’t get me wrong.  In the hands of real photographers, computers and digital are wonderful additions.  In the hands of “technicians”…simply the usual crap.

15.    The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?

The Rolling Stones, hands down!!  Keith Richards forever!!

16.    During your career, how many fashion photographers can you count that were your good friends?

Many aquaintences but very few real friends.  I find that the photographers at the top, are the nicest, most supportive people, and the one’s at the bottom have the biggest egos and have that “legend in their own mind” attitude.  They are the one’s who think their own work is “amazing”.  Very few people are actually truly happy you’ve  accomplished what you have, or who you have shot for.  I’m the type of person who wants to see success come to people I regard as friends in the profession.   For example, if I am considering signing with a new agent or agency, I want to be with an agency that represents better photographers than me.  Why?  Because the better the talent, the better we ALL look in the agency.  Quality breeds quality, and I want to be proud of the other talent I’m associated with, and hopefully they will be proud to be associated with me.  My agent in Canada for example represents four(4) photographers:  Bruce Weber, Nigel Barker, Richard Warren, and me.  I consider myself a “hack” compared to these guys, BUT because I’m with the same agency, clients consider me in the same league.  I am NOT afraid to tell another photographer that I like their work!  If you remember Melissa, I sent you an email telling you how much I enjoyed YOUR work.  I am a professional and feel VERY SECURE in telling a fellow professional that their work is good!

17.    In your opinion, why do you think the fashion photography industry is so catty and competitive? I mean, it certainly isn’t as high paying as say, commercial advertising or car photography or even lifestyle when you get down to it.

I stated it prior…the photographers at the top are the nicest people.  Why?  Because they are very secure in who they are and what they have achieved.  They have their own way of seeing the world and they have their own style.  I find this “cattiness” comes from the many that have never done anything, yet they all think they are doing “something new” that “no one has seen before”.  IF they got off their trite ego’s and started looking at photography from the 40’s and 50’s, they just might find that everything you see today was done back then AND much better.  Most of these ego’s stem from the one’s on these “wannabe photo/model sites” who have absolutely no talent other than stroking each other, and talking about “how terrible” Terry Richardson’s work is.  Do they actually think Terry gives a shit WHAT they think??  These “people” do bullshit work, trying to attract a bullshit audience, and consider themselves “innovative”.  I mean WHO made them the judge of my work or ANYONE’S work???  I shoot what I shoot and do what I do.  The ONLY judge is the person paying me.  THAT is the only opinion that matters.  And if we want to jump on the “commercial fashion photography” bandwagon, let’s NOT forget that the esteemed work of people like Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton was ALL shot for commercial assignments.   It’s the same with knowledge.  You and I can buy the same film and the ONLY thing we do the same is put it in the camera.  After that, it’s how “we see”, it’s how we expose the film, how we rate it, how we develop it, and how we print it.  People who are afraid of “giving out knowledge” have no knowledge to give.

18.    How do you handle a shoot that is running astray? Are you a screamer or do you have someone scream for you? Or do you hold hands and meditate with your crew?

Yeah, we all sit around and hold hands singing “kumbaya”.  The photographer is the Director of the shoot.  Period.  He/she is the one that has to answer to the client or ad agency.  When a client hires me, they are hiring me with the knowledge that it is me who books the model(s), the hair and make-up people, and the wardrobe stylist.  I decide the look and “feel” of the assignment which I’ve discussed with the client,  and I direct my crew to this end.  Everything rests on “my shoulders”.  If the model is a flop, it’s my fault.  If the make-up artist does a bad job, it’s my fault.  If it rains that day, it’s my fault.  Why?  Because I’m the one who hired the crew.  It’s MY job to have the best people ready and prepared.  I’m the one who should have checked the weather and had “plan B & C” ready.  Lastly, there is NO democracy on my shoots.  It’s a dictatorship.  I tell my crews that WHEN the day comes that they tell me AND the client that “hey, this is what I want to do, and if it does not work, I’ll pay for the cost of an entire reshoot”, THEN it will be a democracy.  I often times work with ad campaign production budgets of $500,000 and more.  It is ME who is responsible for that shoot budget, so trust me when I say “it is MY way”.  I am NOT there to be anyone’s “best friend” on a shoot.  I have a job to do.  You and I could share a meal together the night before, tell jokes, and have a grand old time.  The next day, if you are not giving me your best, I’ll be all over your ass.  Friends are friends, business is business.  Regardless of how long we have worked together.  Shoots where the make-up artist does what they want to do, a stylist that shows up “with anything”, a model who “just goes through the motions” and/or “pose A and pose B”, and “photographer” who does not know what they are doing and/or does not know how to direct…well the shoot can be summed up in one word…clusterfuck.  I’ve also been asked before and I never allow people to “watch” a shoot take place.  I don’t need a bunch of JAFOS on my shoots.  What does JAFO mean??  Just Another Fucking Observer.

19.    What advice would you give to the kids starting out in today’s market?

1st:  Learn the past.  Study the photographers who are at the top and WHY they are at the top meaning their work.

2nd  Realize, and I DO mean realize that A LOT was accomplished by many long BEFORE you were born.  That you are dealing with numerous people in this business who know MUCH MORE than you, have SEEN much more than you, have EXPERIENCED much more than you, and did so when you were simply “just another sperm  cell”.

3rd  Don’t mistake “a photographer’s style” as how a photograph looks.  The visual imagery will change every season just like fashion AND life changes.  A “photographer’s style” is how they see things, how they view the world, how they view music, life, sex, the people they love and have loved, etc.  THIS all goes into creating a “style”.  “Style” is a viewpoint.  If you look at my work, see the kind of models I book, the strength in how I have them move, what I get out of the shoot.  THAT is my “style”.  The physical look is simply that.  The look I chose for that particular shoot.

20.    I love you. What can I say?

Does that mean you’ll clean my house?

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.

Check out the Behind the Scenes Video! A HUGE thanks to Matt Stone, for filming and editing the video ~

After speaking with Stephen on the phone, I wrote out a shot list and put together a mood board for him. We ended up bouncing ideas back and forth and finally came up with the final concept. I wanted to shoot the story in a studio rather than on location because I wanted the story to have a “stage play” feel. Since Romeo and Juliet is a Shakespearean play with a lot of emotional twists and turns that ultimately ends in tragedy, I thought the studio, lit like a stage, would be a great way to tell the story. One of the ways I worked out the shot list was by going back and reading the play again. It helped me to develop a beginning, a middle and an end to the 8 pages I was given. Once we decided on the shoot date I reached out to Frank Moore at Celestine, who referred me to Patrick Tumey. I’ve worked with Patrick a bunch of times and he’s not only a talented make up artist, he’s great to have on set! Johnny Stuntz did the hair. Johnny is repped by Photogenics here in LA and he’s just the coolest.

Of course, casting began right after we settled on the concept and shoot date. I wanted to work with Peter Ursich again, as I had just shot him for another editorial and I really love how he photographs. I sent Stephen the link to his pictures on the LA Models site and Stephen agreed he was perfect as Romeo. Now I had to find a girl that would work well with Peter. I contacted Phira, a booker at  Photogenics, to help me on this one and after seeing a few girls decided on a gorgeous new face. Joanie Del Santo was our Juliet. Both models were so great to work with. Joanie did a great job especially for being new to modeling. And I thought Peter and her worked great together. They had a nice chemistry between the two of them!

I shot the editorial at Smashbox in West Hollywood. Great studio, great team of people there! And they make a damn good cappuccino! I used my Nikon D2x, switching back and forth between the  35mm 2.0 and a 85mm 1.4 lens to capture the shoot. My f-stop averaged around F8. I was at a 100 ISO. I never went below 1/125 with my shutter speed.  Since I wanted to shoot the editorial to look like a stage production, I lit the set accordingly. In other words, I created stage lighting with two profoto heads with beauty dishes angled high above the models and a small chimera softbox on a third head, placed to the side of the models to create a fill light. I used some back lighting at times to create a “spotlight” effect as if it were on an actual theater stage and we were viewing a play. Alex Vazquez was my first assistant, Carmen Chan was second assistant and Matt Stone came out again, this time to capture it on video. David was there to upload the images after they were shot. My team has always been important to me and I like to give credit to all who put in their best to help me accomplish a shoot.

The day was pleasant and the shoot went very smoothly. We shot all 8 pages under the 6 PM wrap time. The creative director and editor  were on set the day of the shoot as is the norm. Again, the team of people involved in a shoot are so important. The end results from all of my shoots are the sum total of the whole team’s effort. Sure, I’ve worked with people who I haven’t clicked with or I have felt were not putting in that great of an effort. I’ve worked with people that I didn’t work twice with. However, even if the chemistry wasn’t there the day we worked together but they still did a great job, I’m going to give them the credit they deserve. It’s about acknowledging talent and effort. It’s a competitive business, if you haven’t gotten that already from my blog. If I can do one thing positive for my team, it would be to always be grateful for their work and give them as much credit as I humanly can. Here are the end results from a team of people that continually come together to create!

The reason I started this blog was to do something I’d always wished someone in my industry would do: pull back the veil of mystery shrouding professional fashion photography. I wanted to write about things that could be useful to other photographers, whether they were just getting started or already established. I wanted to present an honest, no-holds-barred account of what it’s like to work as a photographer in the hyper-competitive world of fashion. And I wanted to include it all: The good. The bad. The ugly.

Not long after I published my first post, however, I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to write quite as freely and openly about everything as I’d first imagined. In other words, while I can be brutally honest and truthful about  most of the facets of my job, there are certain subjects I need to stay away from for the sake of professionalism. I’m a working photographer, and I need to maintain good relationships in the industry I work in. It quickly became obvious that not only students and other photographers were reading my blog. The Industry was reading it. Clients, potential clients, agents, colleagues, contacts, etc. were on here reading my words. So I’ve been careful about what I’ve presented here, and I’ve censored myself to maintain a certain level of decorum.

Until now.

Today is the day I’ve decided to let out some truths about the uglier side of this business. In the past when I’ve wanted to speak frankly about an unpleasant truth about something or someone, I’ve been told, “You can’t say that, Melissa.” Today, no one gets that opportunity.  Here’s one truth that no one likes to talk about: Sometimes shitty things happen to good photographers. Promises are broken, politics are played, back-stabbing takes place, and all kinds of ruthless shenanigans go on in this industry. It has always been this way, and I suppose it always will be. There have been times that the politics in this industry have almost completely worn me out, and I’ve wanted to quit. But as I said in my video: I feel blessed and grateful that I have this career. I make a living doing what I want to do, and I wake up happy most days because of it. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to not love your work, but I know it must really suck. So I thank my lucky stars every day that I am living authentically and living my purpose here on Earth. And I treat that gift with the respect and dignity that it deserves. Sadly, there are many others in this industry who do not have the same amount of respect or gratitude.

So here’s what happened to me, a good photographer that got, well, screwed! The following story is a perfect example of how you can put a ton of work and resources into a project that seems as solid as they come, do excellent work, and still have it all come to nothing due to circumstances beyond your control.

A few months ago art director Douglas Little approached me to shoot a 16-page editorial (Shown Below) for Flaunt magazine. Douglas had this great idea about shooting a twisted gothic love story on the beach for Flaunt’s “pre-fall fashion issue”–pre-fall meaning the clothes still had a “summer vibe” but with a sneak preview of fall fashions.  I immediately said yes.  The idea was great, and I was really inspired to shoot it.

All Images ©2009 Melissa Rodwell Photography

So I set about casting the perfect models for this shoot. I e-mailed about five LA model agencies asking for submissions. I chose about 20 to see in person. Douglas and I settled on the idea of using two boys and one girl, a sort of “Jules and Jim” twisted love tryst. I knew I wanted to work with Ridge Redmond from Ford Models, because I had worked with him recently and he has such a great look and very cool presence. I found the other boy through an LA Models e-mail submission. I asked to see Peter Ursich in person, and once I met him, I knew he’d be perfect. The girl, however, was a bit more difficult to cast. I poured over hundreds of girls from e-mail submissions, met 10 in person, but still couldn’t find “her.” I asked the agencies for  more submissions, and finally, through a Next Models submission, Scarlett Kapella screamed through on the sheet of thumbnails. All in all, casting took about two weeks.

Next I wrote to the editor at Flaunt and asked him which of their advertisers they wanted us to pull some of the clothes and products from. Once I got that information, it was time to choose a stylist. From the beginning of prepping this shoot, I had a particular stylist in mind. I even waited two weeks for him to return from Singapore so he could meet with Douglas and me. At the last minute, though, he pulled out. I suppose he’d decided that the shoot was too complicated for him to jump in on. (And he was right. Looking back, I want his psychic reader, thanks!) Still, we had a shoot date scheduled, holds on models that took weeks to cast, and a magazine waiting for the images. The show must go on, as we often say in Hollywood. So I put in a frantic late-night call to my dear friend, uber-talented stylist George Blodwell. George agreed to style the shoot, and all was saved. I forwarded him the list of advertisers and then went about working out the shot lists and making lists of gear and props that would be needed to shoot our concept. I did my best to cover all the bases, though nothing could have prepared me for the incredibly stressful shoot that finally arrived on June 5!

Click On Image to Enlarge

With a crew of 14, half of which were  up to 2 hours late to the Malibu location due to a fatal car accident on PCH, and storm clouds threatening to rain us out on the beach where we were shooting, the day was already proving that it was going to be more difficult than most. In fact, during the second shot, with six more to go, we did get rained on. When it started to downpour, assistants and crew members had to scramble up to the parking lot to rescue a million dollars worth of couture clothing while I finished getting the shots in the can!

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Did I mention I had a crew of 14? You read that right. Along with my trusted intern Carmen Chan, I had two male assistants, Matt Stone and Zack DeZon. David, of course, was there taking care of the digi-teching. And my raw nerves! I had a makeup artist, Drew Krake, who I had never worked with before, but thankfully, he turned out to be wonderful! I worked with another person for the first time as well, hair stylist Anthony Cristiano from Artists by Timothy Priano.  He also was just great!  As I mentioned, the stylist was George Blodwell, who came with two assistants. Douglas Little was the art director, and he had two assistants. And then our three models.

Click On Image to Enlarge

We shot at El Matador beach, an easily accessible beach in Los Angeles, favored  because of its moody and timeless feel, yet there it is plunked down in the middle of celebrity-cheesy Malibu! We had a honeywagon/trailer stationed in the parking lot to do the hair and makeup. To get down to the beach, and to our shooting location, you had to make your way down about 100 steps. I stayed down on the beach in between takes, but my assistants were running up and down those stairs all day.

Even though the images turned out beautifully, it was definitely a hellish shoot. There were personality conflicts of major proportions, newbies who were nervous, there was the threat of rain, then there was torrential downpour. There was enormous sexual chemistry being flung around in all directions by more than one member on-set. There was a lack of patience among some key players. There was bitchiness, drama, a $30,000 rented Hasselblad, and a million dollars worth of clothes and antique props being subjected to sand, wind, and salt air. The only thing missing was animals. We should’ve had animals with their neurotic trainers to complete the fiasco! Wait a minute, we did have one dead octopus. Does that count?

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Ironically–or maybe I mean hilariously–this hell shoot to end all hell shoots was recorded on video for posterity. Dimitrios Papagiannis and Tim Glass from The Eye Lab came out and shot this magnificent short film. They came to my house the night before the shoot to interview me about the preparation that went into doing this editorial project. They then came down to the location to document my shoot.  I think the results are amazing, and I’m incredibly grateful to Dimitrios and Tim for their efforts and their talent. They really captured the essence of this shoot perfectly. I have to admit, I was particularly keen to work with Dimitrios because we both graduated from our beloved Art Center College of Design here in LA. We alumni from Art Center seem to stick together. Plus, he just bowled me over with his charm and humour!

So where’s the bad news? Read on.

When the issue was finally published, nothing had prepared me for the shock of seeing my “16-page editorial” reduced down to two pages with only six images spread across them. I was given no indication that my editorial was going to be hacked to shreds. Also, I was given no indication that no one besides myself would be credited, not even Douglas Little or George Blodwell, the Art Director and THE STYLIST!! I mean, that’s almost criminal. In the 23 years I’ve been shooting editorials, this has never happened to one of my shoots before. Never. It’s such a huge slap in the face to everyone that took part in this shoot. The models weren’t even credited. Neither was hair and makeup. And everyone did this shoot for fee-waived.

Look, I’ve done editorial that had a few pages shaved off of it. I’ve shot for 10 pages and only had eight run. I’ve shot for eight pages and ended up with six. I’ve shot cover tries that never made it. And I’ve had times where the magazine has done something to the color or the layout that I’m not over the moon about. Still, I got at least four to six full-page tear sheets from those projects. So this experience with Flaunt is just ridiculous. I have always had good communication with every magazine I’ve shot for and expected similar professionalism from Flaunt. So the fact that I wasn’t given a heads-up that the editorial was cut to a two-page spread and that nobody else who worked on the shoot was going to be credited, well, I’m more than a little disappointed.

Rest assured, I will never let this happen again. I’m embarrassed for my crew and I’m the one who will bear the repercussions, from the modeling agencies down to the hair and makeup people and the stylist. They will all call/write/picket my house asking WHY? And I don’t have an answer for them. I didn’t even know the magazine was out until a friend told me she saw it earlier that day on the newsstand. No one even called or e-mailed me to let me know the issue was out, as is customary.

But back to WHY? 
Politics? Perhaps. Maybe something transpired between someone who worked on the shoot and the magazine head honchos. I will never know. Does someone inside the magazine hate my guts and wants to slight me? Perhaps. Again, I will never know. Did someone ON the actual shoot who has more weight than I do at Flaunt get so frustrated over something I am clueless about that happened on set that they decided to sabotage the whole project? Perhaps. Did someone at the magazine dislike the photos because there were no bare breasts and nobody on set looked like they just did a hit of smack? Maybe. These things can–and do–happen all the time. High-profile projects are killed all the time for reasons like these. Personally, I think my pictures are fantastic.  And I am my harshest critic. Truth is, it’s like a ghost town over here–we’re all scratching our heads while we can hear the whistling of the rusted old storefronts with no one inside. No one has a clue as to what exactly transpired that caused a 16-page editorial of full-page photographs to shrink to a two-page spread with six thumbnail-sized photos laid out like cartoon panels.

Here’s some good news, at least for me. This sort of thing happens to good photographers all the time, so I needn’t take it personally. But how do we usually save face when this sort of thing happens? By saying, “Oh well, shit happens,” or “It doesn’t matter, I don’t like that magazine anyway.” We pretend that we’re “bigger than that” and try to take it in stride, because no one wants to come off like a cry-baby. We don’t complain when we encounter unprofessionalism in someone we’ve worked with, either, because we don’t want to be associated with anything negative. We do this because photography is a freelance field. We’re always looking for work, and jobs most often come through people you’ve worked with before. We want to have a good reputation.

Still, there’s a negative side to that kind of white-washing. I started this blog to talk openly and honestly about issues that are important to working in this field. And not all of them are pleasant. Politics are ugly. But they’re there.

I don’t think that any professional photographer, myself included, ever gets used to being stepped on. Sure, we’ve developed tough skins over the years, but I don’t think we ever deep-down feel like it “doesn’t matter” when we think our work is devalued. It’s especially trying when the work is done for free–for exposure, or as a favor to someone, or done on spec. I really think it’s time that magazines become more responsible in their treatment of photographers and their crew. The days of being bitchy little fashionistas and throwing their power around like the days of the Tudors are finished. Give me a break. You’re just another magazine. And there are plenty that keep popping up that are prettier, shinier and newer than you. Lemon, for example. Great magazine. So is Wonderland. Check them both out when you have a chance! My only hope is that the newer mags treat the people that supply them with their content, that keep the magazine looking the way it looks, better than Flaunt does. A magazine is only as good as its content. Talented photographers supply the content that makes the magazine popular.  Why step on the photographers, then? Did nobody teach them how this works?

So enjoy the video. Dimitrios and Tim did an amazing job and we all did it with you guys in mind, knowing how much you love my BTS videos. And the only way I know how to end this post is by saying this: it won’t be last time I will be disappointed. But we can all demand better treatment and change if we start insisting on it. When we stop taking shit and start demanding respect, we’ll start to change the industry. I was nervous to open my mouth here and say something but I know that the time has come that we need to start calling people out on their poor and unprofessional behavior!

Photo by Lori Hawkins - The September Issue

Everyone has their heroes, people you look up to and draw inspiration from, and Anna Wintour is definitely one of mine. I’m sure it’s obvious why. Anyone who knows anything about the fashion industry knows Anna Wintour. Over 20 years ago she rescued American Vogue from the brink of obscurity and restored it to its Diana Vreeland-era glory days, and she’s remained one of the most important figures in the fashion industry ever since. Her eye for style is unsurpassed, her taste is impeccable, and her power and influence in this industry cannot be overstated.

Yet she remains a controversial figure within it—mostly because of her “tough” reputation. (You’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada, haven’t you? The inhumanly demanding fashion editor the title refers to is purported to have been based on Wintour.) A fiercely private person, for decades Anna let her work speak for itself. Her reticence, imperious demeanor and steely professionalism fueled her reputation as an icon who was equal parts couture genius and bitch goddess. But Anna herself remained inscrutable, above the critics and the sychophants and the imitators. Until now.

In the new documentary The September Issue, Wintour lifts the veil of mystique, not only taking us behind the scenes at Vogue but also giving us a glimpse of her entire her life as she takes us through the grueling process of putting together Vogue’s September issue—easily the most important annual published piece of work in the fashion industry, thus its nickname: The Bible.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp8iIyKDOtk[/youtube]

The documentary gives us an unprecedented personal look at Wintour, and she doesn’t hold back. She doesn’t put on a happy face for the cameras, she openly shows her intimidating presence for all the world to see, pretty much confirming those rumors that she’s, well, “tough.” Being a woman myself, I know that you get labeled that in the process that it takes to make it to the top and stay there. I’m sorry, does that disappoint? Well, guess what: Powerful women who are in leadership positions are not normally meek, submissive, or pushovers. So I apologize to all out there who think you can be sweet and demure and still be strong and successful in the business world. You can’t. And you can’t worry about what people think. One of the things I love about Anna is that she never has—and never will—apologize for it. Now she’s letting the world see it, and I love her for that even more.

Of course, there is speculation about why she’s choosing to “out” herself and Vogue now, after so many years of secrecy and silence. The New York Post wrote: “That the most powerful and protected woman in fashion does so now—in this film, on 60 Minutes earlier this spring, on Letterman tonight—is a mystery. Except that after 20 years, with fashion in economic crisis, management consultants turning Condé Nast inside out, vulture critics circling and speculating about her own exit strategy, she must be thinking in terms of legacy.”

Well, yes—and she damn well should be. Anna is already a legend. She worked her way up from retail shopkeeper (at age 15) to Editor in Chief of American Vogue. She turns 60 this November, and her involvement in fashion—and, more importantly fashion editorial—has spanned nearly 35 years. I won’t list her resume here, you can check out her history on Wikipedia, but after reading it, you too will be amazed! She has endured heartbreaks, one-week affairs with rock stars, and a domineering father. And though she’s always had a natural affinity for style and aesthetics (her newspaper-editor father relied on her input for info on current trends amongst the younger generation), she paid her dues in the fashion trenches, working for magazines such as New York and House and Garden as well as the pornographically influenced Viva (whose publisher, Kathy Keeton, was the wife of Bob Guccione, publisher of Penthouse). In other words, Anna knows what sells, and that there IS a “dress for success”. Literally.  As she aptly told her father, after quitting fashion design school at 17, “You either know fashion, or you don’t.” I couldn’t agree more. I felt the same way at 17 myself.

Maybe I paint a more sympathetic picture of Anna than most. But perhaps that’s because I know how difficult it is to maintain equilibrium in an industry that is fickle, temperamental and operates under standards unrealistic for most people. I relate to Anna in many ways: She spent 16 years working to get the job she wanted: to be editor of Vogue. I can relate to that kind of “paying dues and developing your game.” I too am highly influenced by my father, who actually wanted me around him when he designed massive homes for the rich and famous here in Los Angeles. I started out working in retail at a young age, working in the garment industry on one level or another until I began photography school at 21. My father encouraged me to go into fashion, saying it was “my calling.” To everyone else, though, I am the black sheep of my family, the one who went into a “flaky business” as my mother used to call it. But you either know fashion or you don’t. And I’ve always known it. It’s a part of me the same way that my arm is attached to my body.

Photo from The September Issue

Fashion is a tough business. All of it. You have to develop a thick skin to work in it. Anna certainly has, and it’s shielded her from inside adversaries. I admire that and I work my ass off for the same staying power as I watch my own career (and personal life, for that matter) take its turns and dips along the bumpy road of what I cannot escape because it’s in my blood: fashion. I’ll be honest: I haven’t seen The September Issue yet. I wasn’t able to catch an advance screening before its release (August 28 in NYC and September 11 nationwide). But I’ve seen a few clips and researched the hell out of it, and it looks good. It looks good because it looks honest. Anna doesn’t come out looking like she wore a mask to appeal to middle America. She’s herself to a T. All sunglass-donning, Chanel-wearing, serious-face self.

Honesty is something I think the world is sorely missing these days. With personas being developed overnight for Facebook and Myspace pages, we as a society can hide behind our own sunglasses: the computer. I feel sorry for the younger generation, who thinks that starting a Facebook page with photos they took with their point-and-shoot cameras is adequate education for their up and coming fashion photography careers. Anna is the way she is because she is a product of her environment. As am I. As are most fashion industry successes.

So take a breath and keep an open mind. You’ll never hear me bash the woman who put Vogue back on the map. That’s NOT an easy task, folks. Vogue is our bible. Vogue is what we ALL want to shoot for. Have sympathy for the Devil in Prada.

Kevin Pohl Says:

Ok so, I seem to have a trump card opportunity with this weeks blog request. And I’m sure you are tired of me nagging you with this question, but you did say that you were gonna blog about this, and you still haven’t written me your thoughts on this so here it goes. I would like you to blog about: “How does a photographer go about defining his/her creative vision? Is it something that you just have or do you need to develop it? And, if a photographer struggles with finding his/her own voice as an artist with a vision, can that photographer take certain steps to develop and define that creative vision? ” Hope you’ll blog about this soon, as it’s an important question on everyone’s lips. Everybody says, create your vision!, build your portfolio!, and market like crazy! But nobody tells us HOW to create that VISION part of the equation. Love your work, and this Blog! It’s Awesome!

Poor Kevin! He’s right…….he’s written to me personally a few times with his question. And I kept writing back to him promising I will blog about it soon. I don’t know why I keep putting it off…it sort of hits a nerve, I guess. He asks, “How does a photographer go about defining his/her creative vision?” Is he asking, how do you define your vision or your Photography STYLE? Your style is the look and feel of your work as a definitive and continuing stream. Is your work moody and surreal? Is it bright happy? Is it colorful and smiley? Or is it dark and thoughtful? These are words that would be used to describe the look or STYLE of your work. And yes, as a photographer that wants to compete in the market, a style is something that art directors and editors look for when they look at your work.

First of all, before you start defining your style, you need to figure out what facet of fashion photography you like shooting the most. Do you like “Lifestyle”? Happy, shiny teenage girls playing frisbee on the beach with maybe a dog; golden retriever or dalamation is perfect for this! No pitbulls, please. Throw in a couple of jock looking teenage boys and a picnic blanket (bright pink, ok?). I personally disdain this kind of work. Therefore, you don’t see it in my book, or anywhere near my name. I’ve nothing against it but if I was forced to shoot this kind of work in order to call myself a fashion photographer, well, I’d rather go into something else, like criminal profiling (yep, secret fantasy job). But Lifestyle work pays and pays WELL. I absolutely hate showing you an example of a fashion lifestyle shot, but here you go: ( I didn’t shoot this! )

Images by Larry Bartholomew

Another facet is Beauty. Big, huge cosmetic campaigns. Read: $$! Do you like faces, tight shots, beautiful lips. Fabulous make up work? Beauty is another facet of our industry that you can focus on and become known for that work. Or, does Haute Couture make you faint? It makes me faint and that’s where I wanted to place myself in the spectrum of fashion photography. I’m a glutton for talented fashion designers and I go weak over exquisite fashion design. Pleats really do it for me. Tulle? Gets me going! But it’s not for everyone.

Once you’ve figured out what type of fashion photography you like doing, you then set out to shoot work in that vein. Big dramatic, sweeping gowns in a studio with beautiful light! That would be the kind of shoots you would focus on to build a portfolio geared toward high fashion. If you want to be a lifestyle shooter, then gather the teens up and head to the wheat fields, the lakes, the beach, whatever fab nature is near you and shoot in that late afternoon sun! Make sure everyone is smiling and happy!

I suppose it’s a regional thing too. I’ve always been based out of big city where defining your style is a must. However, if you live in areas where there’s not a TON of fashion work, then you’ll probably want to cross into other areas so you can get work in all facets. I personally feel that this confuses potential clients. You think you’re showing them work that conveys that ” you can shoot it ALL”. But art directors don’t look for that. They look for the books that come in that are defining the ad campaign they are working on. If an art director is working on a big perfume campaign, he’s not going to call in books from photographers who shoot lifestyle or catalogue. And vice versa, of course. My book doesn’t get called in to lifestyle. Unless it’s a friend and she knows I can very well shoot it and I’ll do it for the money but I am not going to start putting that kind of work in my book because I don’t want to be “known” as a lifestyle shooter.

Now, if Kevin is asking me how do I define my vision, then that’s a completely different answer. My vision is what makes me move throughout the day as an artist. And it’s hard to describe in words. I was talking to my assistant, Carmen, about it because I was a little confused by the question. Carmen helped me break down the thought process behind a concept for a shoot by asking me what inspires me initially and then where do I go from there, step by step. So let me give you an example of just how that goes down:

I recently went to an open call that an agency here in LA set up for me to come in and see their new faces. I met a model there named Lulu. A tall Chinese girl with a beautiful face!

Image by Rodney Ray

I knew immediately I wanted to shoot Lulu but didn’t have the concept for it. I told her agent just that! “I want to shoot Lulu, let me figure out how and what and where and I’ll get back to you.” I then walked out and I let it go. A couple of days later, with Lulu’s card sitting on my work bench to remind me that I want to shoot this particular model, I start thinking of what I want to do with Lulu. Studio? Location? Lighting? Clothes? I show her card to a few stylists to see their reaction, maybe it will get the juices going and we can start throwing ideas back and forth. But nope, nothing earth shattering came out of the stylists mouths even though every one agreed she’s got something unique and they’re happy to style it so let them know when I have the concept! A few more days went by and I am not sure how I got to this point but I remembered a shoot I did with another Asian girl where I shot her in a studio against a green screen and then went down to Chinatown on my own and shot long shutter exposed background shots.

I learned a lot from that shoot. I learned it looked too “shopped” and I should’ve just taken the girl down to the actual location and shot her there. It looked to “posed”. Plus the girl then was way too young, like 14 and she looked uncomfortable in the shots. She was too shy for the sexy, dark, steamy atmosphere that I was trying to convey. I always wanted to re-shoot the idea because I have this fascination with Asia ever since I read Maguerite Duras’ “The Lover” when I was 19. Her descriptions of the room where the lovers met and the scenery of Vietnam in that particular era are just a exquisite.

Voila’!! There’s the concept. Take Lulu down to Chinatown and take the original concept I had from years ago and shoot it the way it SHOULD be shot. I will learn from my past mistakes and do it right this time. At least that’s the goal! What do I do next? I will head down to Chinatown with David one night with my little point and shoot which will probably not have the battery charged, so then I’ll attempt to shoot it with my Blackberry which takes pretty mediocre snapshots, eat an overpriced Chinese meal and walk around looking for backgrounds to shoot the model.

I want to shoot at least 6 shots. Why 6? Well, even though it’s just a “test”, there’s a possibility of submitting it to a magazine somewhere at some point. But more importantly, I shoot tests with the goal of it landing in my book and I’m “DEFINING” (there’s that word again) my fashion photography towards fashion editorial. So the shoot should have a theme with continuity. Okay, so let’s say I’ve found a few backgrounds that will work, what do I do next? I come home and start knocking out a shot list. I actually pull up Word on the computer or if I’m not at home, I’ll use a paper napkin, any damn thing, and start numbering the “pages”. Shot 1. Shot 2. Shot 3. Sometimes it pours out of me and I fill in all 6 pages in one sitting. Sometimes I stop at 4. I don’t push myself. Maybe we’ll let it grow organically on the shoot and let spontaneity be our driver. I mean, it’s test! No client is breathing down my neck. And it’s for my book so I can get as creative as I want. Okay, what’s the next step?? What have I blogged about over and over again?? Who’s the most important person a fashion photographer aligns themselves with? Your STYLIST! I will call a couple of stylists and run the concept by them. We will talk about logistics: No budget since it’s a test so no honey wagon because I’m not forking out hundreds of dollars for a trailer. Which means the model will have to change in the car or public restrooms, which means we have to be careful with the clothes. We talk about location permits, which again I won’t fork out the moola for so we’ll have to shoot it guerilla style. Hair and make up needs to be started out at someone’s house before the shoot. We’ll figure that out closer to the shoot date.

Right now, I haven’t shot it yet. I haven’t even gone down to Chinatown yet with David. But that’s sort of how a shoot begins at birth and takes on the evolutionary process on “defining a vision”.

Now Kevin, I hope I’ve answered it all here for you! I hope it was worth the wait!!   ; )   Okay, I’m going to go jump in my friends pool and not think about work for the rest of the day! A much needed break away from phones and computers! My brain won’t stop thinking, though. A Creative Vision is something that never leaves you. It’s part of your soul! And to quote one of my favorite rappers, Nas, from One Mic: ” if you need some soul searchin’, the time is now”.

David Hemmings and Veruschka in “Blow-Up”, 1966. Image by Everett Collection

Lisa Wexton Says:

Hello, I realize this question is going to seem like it’s coming completely out of left field, but I really do mean it as a serious question, so I hope you answer. I’m familiar with your work and seen you in action, and you really have a way with models. You really know how to bring out the best in them and use it to create these incredibly iconic images that just seethe with raw sexual energy. Is that something you are aware of? Do you consciously create that or does it just happen spontaneously? And, as long as I’m being plain-spoken, let’s face it: You’re incredibly hot, LOL. Does that ever interfere with professionalism on a shoot, and/or your artistic relationship with the model?

We’ve all seen the movie Blowup by Michelangelo Antonioni. (And if you haven’t, go out and get it right away. It’s on the must-see list for every aspiring fashion photographer.) For those of you who have seen it, we all know the famous scene: It’s a photo session, and hot London fashion photographer David Hemmings is shooting his muse, the gorgeous Veruschka. The shutter whirs as Hemmings feverishly takes shot after shot of Veruschka writhing on the floor. It’s an intensely sexy scene, and the erotic implications are obvious. It’s almost like watching a porn, except the actors are completely clothed and there’s no actual sex at all. But it’s very hot, like sizzling-hot. Of course, it makes us as fashion photographers look like we get laid every other day by young, eager, sex-kitten models. And maybe some of us do. However, that’s never been my story.

To get to Lisa’s question, though: The short answer is, yes, I have certainly had incredible chemistry with many models. I try to find a connection with every model I work with, and one of my strengths as a photographer is that I am (almost always) able to find and tap into that connection, thus forming a chemistry between us. But no, it has never interfered with my professionalism on a shoot or with my integrity as an artist.

Yes, there certainly is some pretty raw sexual energy buzzing around on my shoots. I should fucking hope so—that’s one of the qualities that make my photographs interesting. It’s what I hope for in every shoot, because when that kind of energy is unleashed before my camera in a sexually charged artistic context, the results are epic. I’ve spent years learning how to connect with and direct models. When I’m casting I look for models who have raw sexual energy, and I also look for people I have a genuine and natural spark with. Because it’s really tough to pull out a sexual quality in a model who doesn’t have at least a little of it to begin with, and it’s even more difficult to get a good creative groove going if there isn’t a mutual, electric, and very real connection between photographer and model. A good photographer knows how to use sexual tension to enhance the image.

It’s a fine line to walk, though, that’s for sure. As Lisa hinted at in her question, the temptation to cross the line between personal and professional is ever-present and annoyingly strong. Lord knows I’ve felt it from time to time. Part of what makes a creative dynamic successful is a genuine attraction, a mutual fascination that can’t be forced or faked. But at the end of the day, you have to choose whether to master your desires or be mastered by them—meaning, are you serious about your art? Are you serious about your work? How dedicated are you to your career? In my case, the answers are yes, yes, and very.

The truth is, it’s not necessary for me to sleep with models in order to get good photos, and to be honest, I’m not interested in taking that route anyway. Not to sound cold—because hell, I enjoy sex as much as anyone else—but when I find a model I have really good chemistry with, the last thing I want to do is waste it on a petty sexual fling. I guess it doesn’t hurt that I’m married to a gorgeous 22-year-old who happens to be my soul mate, ha ha. But seriously, I would much rather use the erotic chemistry I have with a model to create a compelling, memorable image. It’s all about the art for me.

Sexuality is part of my visual aesthetic. I like sexy things. I like beautiful things. Hey, I ought to—I’m a visual artist. Sexy, vibrant, provocative people, places, things, and experiences are what capture my eye and inform my work. I have an eye for sexy and gorgeous, I’m able to read people really well, and I know how to bring out their sexiest qualities. It isn’t a talent I acquired overnight, though. It took years of experience being behind a camera to hone that particular skill.