February Favorites (so far)

[DanOstergren]

I've been working a lot this month. Rather than making separate threads for each shot, I figured I would share some of my favorites from each shoot in one thread.

Kwazee is my best friend and roommate, and is someone I can say with absolute confidence that he is going to be a huge star. When I first moved to Hollywood it was fairly difficult to keep friends. People here are pinpoint focused on their careers, myself included, but when you just "click" with someone on a close friend level and artistic connection here, it's important you keep them close before they're swept away by Hollywood in an instant. Residents in the artist collective that I live in are curated by talent and drive, so everyone in my house is on an upwards trajectory in their respective industry. Kwazee is an actor and we just get each other, and we get each other's visions. It's comforting to be so close to someone here after leaving all of my closest friends behind in Portland a year ago, and to also be able to collaborate with someone who is so talented and so willing to get in front of my camera without even questioning my vision, but also brings his own unique talent to the table.
Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro usm lens attached, set to f/5, 1/160th sec, ISO 1000. Lighting was from two LED panels and the modeling lamp from a Neewer C300, and a silver reflector for fill.

Elsie is another one of my housemates, who is a musician, illustrator, poet and photographer.
Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro usm lens attached, set to f/11, 1/160th sec, ISO 100. Lit with a single Neewer C300 flash and softbox, with a silver reflector for fill.

Jarquale is also a housemate of mine, who is an actor, but is also a very skilled hair stylist. When he and I first met, we clashed often and it was very difficult for us to live with each other. Things got really petty between us for a minute, but eventually he and I became good friends and really love living with each other. It's so funny how people can be at each other's necks one minute but then be perfectly happy to be around each other the next. People sure are amazing.
Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens attached, set to f/5, 1/500th sec, ISO 500. Shot in natural light in Downtown Los Angeles.

Shmuli is yet another one of my housemates. He is currently going to school to become a composer, and is incredibly smart, like genius level smart. This was a spontaneous portrait that I asked him to sit for because I thought he looked like a Hogwarts student that day.
Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro usm lens attached, set to f/11, 1/160th sec, ISO 100. Lit with two Neewer C300 flash units with soft boxes attached, and a silver reflector for fill.

Mark doesn't live with me, but he did live in the collective I live in before I had moved in. He hired me through word of mouth for various promotional photos.
Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro usm lens attached, set to f/11, 1/160th sec, ISO 100. Lit with a single Neewer C300 flash and softbox, with a silver reflector for fill.

These photos of Kevin aren't something that I shot in February, but he recently paid me for a few more edits from his session, which included these two. Kevin is currently cast as a dancer in the touring Broadway production of The Lion King. Kevin isn't one of my housemates, but he only lives two streets down and found me through word of mouth.
Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens attached, set to f/10, 1/160th sec, ISO 100. Lit with a single Neewer C300 and softbox with a silver reflector for fill.

Nathan is a music producer who hired me to take photos of him for various streaming platforms and social media. He doesn't live in the same house that I live in, but he lives in another collective owned by the same company that owns the house I live in. Shot with the original Canon 5D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens attached, set to f/11, 1/160th sec, ISO 100. Lit with a single Neewer C300 and softbox with a silver reflector for fill.

 

[Jeff15]

Very good set......

 

[DanOstergren]

Very good set......

Thanks Jeff.

 

[Tropicalmemories]

Wow. With such a range of brilliant images it's difficult to give any specific commentary, but I think the two color shots of Kevin are my favourites as the light and poses really suits the athletic dancer's physique.

And normally I like a nice bit of lens flare, but I think there's a bit too much in the outdoor shot of Jarquale? The backlit flare can kill contrast, and I think it caused too much loss in what looks to be a characterful image.

 

[DanOstergren]

Wow. With such a range of brilliant images it's difficult to give any specific commentary, but I think the two color shots of Kevin are my favourites as the light and poses really suits the athletic dancer's physique.

And normally I like a nice bit of lens flare, but I think there's a bit too much in the outdoor shot of Jarquale? The backlit flare can kill contrast, and I think it cause d too much loss in what looks to be a characterful image.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[CherylL]

I'd say you are off to an excellent February. #3 I like this one because usually you see the light flare in country field settings and not urban. Helps with any distractions. #5 did you place him facing close to the left side of the frame for tension? I read a recent Fuji blog about tension in photos and your example is much better than the ones in the blog.

 

[Derrel]

Good shooting for less than 2 weeks gone in the shortest month of the year.

 

[zombiesniper]

An excellent set.

Your images always look like the subject is in a very relaxed comfortable space.

 

[DanOstergren]

I'd say you are off to an excellent February. #3 I like this one because usually you see the light flare in country field settings and not urban. Helps with any distractions. #5 did you place him facing close to the left side of the frame for tension? I read a recent Fuji blog about tension in photos and your example is much better than the ones in the blog.

Thank you! The flare is something I tend to avoid in most portraits, and I took many shots where I blocked the sun but none of them quite had the feel of this shot, so I picked it even with the flare. I like the way it looks in an urban setting as well.
I didn't place him there to create tension, no. I pick a lot of the final shots based on the feeling I get from it, based on many factors including composition. It wasn't picked specifically for tension, but could definitely have been one of the factors in how the shot made the artist and I feel while reviewing the photos.

 

[DanOstergren]

Good shooting for less than 2 weeks gone in the shortest month of the year.

Thank you, and much more to come this month still. I've been busier lately than I ever have been before in my life.

 

[DanOstergren]

An excellent set.

Your images always look like the subject is in a very relaxed comfortable space.

Thank you!
Photo shoots should be fun in my opinion, and I think I do a good job of making sure my subjects are comfortable and enjoying themselves, which in turn helps ensure that we get better portraits too.

 

[zulu42]

Brilliant.

 

[DanOstergren]

Brilliant.

Thank you!