Irish hairdressers in LA

[andrewdoeshair]

Ryan Cullen and Conor Taaffe are hairdressers from Ireland who I've followed and respected for a few years. They made a trip to Los Angeles, where some friends of mine put together a private "hair jam" to just eat pizza, drink beer, and trade lessons. We basically got drunk and did each other's hair. I tried my best to capture it, but like I said, beers. The room had a lot of different types of light all mixing together so I ended up going with black and white a lot when I was having trouble getting a good white balance. I'm a total n00b, I'm sure someone with more experience could have used color for these.

I met everyone in these pictures through Instagram. They're very good friends of mine now. All hairdressers and barbers, most of them from around LA (two from Ireland) brought together by our freaking phones.

Charlie works as Reina's assistant. He handled all the prep work, sweeping, and shampooing for the evening. Sounds like boring grunt work, but he's excited to learn and enjoys the process. Of everyone there he seemed the most "in the zone" with his work. We were having fun, he was soaking everything up like a sponge.

How many hairdressers does it take to do a haircut? Four. One to do the haircut, and three to put it on Snap Chat! Ryan had lenses on him all night, and I like how intrusive they look in this picture. There is a huge chunk of the hair industry that rolls their eyes at "social media famous" hairdressers, but the happenings in this image have given guys like me opportunities I never would have gotten otherwise.

Hair spray. No story here. Just thought it could look cool.

Every time I meet a guy like Ryan, someone from across the planet who I talk to regularly online, it feels like meeting someone I've known for years. As soon as Ryan finished cutting Carlos's hair, Carlos jumped up and gave him the most solid hug I've seen between two acquaintances. They met an hour before this, but the mutual respect and the appreciation runs deep.

I cut and styled Conor after Reina and Charlie colored his hair. The goal with the style was to exaggerate certain things that most people try to avoid in their hairstyle, like the cowlick jutting out on the front corner. If anyone has any specific tips for shooting in a hallway like this, I'm all ears (C&C for all my photos are appreciated). I didn't know if I wanted him covering the blackening depth of this hallway, with lights coming out of his head (as seen). I thought it might be too distracting if he were next to it, framed in white, but then I also thought that may be the answer. I got a few shots both ways. Went with this one because I was happier with the way his hair looked. The watermark is because my haircut images are intended to advertise my brand, and they end up all over pinterest and tumblr.

 

[FITBMX]

social media is a very smart move, and will definitely pay off in the end!

Great set!

 

[Designer]

Your watermark is not showing up.

Mixed lighting is awful to try to get the WB correct.

The corridor is what it is, unfortunately. Was there someplace else you could have posed him?