This campaign, in the January issue of Plus Model Magazine, has stirred up plenty of controversy. With the year just beginning, this may be one of the most controversial campaigns we’ve seen. Check out the full post to see what the fuss is about including the full spread and story. We’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
Mike Schreiber is not your average photographer. The renowned hip hop photog shoots natural light, has never assisted, and doesn’t give a crap about your fancy digital camera. This badass photographer has shot for Vibe, Spin, Atlantic Records, The Source, XXL, and URB, and his portfolio is filled with incredible images of Erkyah Badu, John Legend, Mos Def, Diddy, MIA, and Nas. Not enough? Schreiber recently released his first book, True Hip Hop.
I knew it was going to be a good interview when hip hop photographer Mike Schreiber’s e-mail signed off with the words “Find food. Mate. Don’t get eaten.” Check out our interview, where Schreiber talks about getting the shot, getting to the top, and keeping it real in the digital age.
Last time, photographer Jay P Morgan gave us tips on the best way to use a reflector. This time he shows us how he combined a Hensel 1200w Porty Pack with a beauty dish attached and the photoflex 5 in 1 reflectors. Click the full post to see the behind the scenes video.
Ok, maybe this didn’t happen in real life but this is how editorial Photographer Tyler Shields recreated the image taken of the Occupy U.C Davis protesters. His photo project, titled “Occupied,” features two models in their skivvies, giving a bunch of police officers a mouth full of pepper spray. What do you think? Is this a good interpretation of what’s going on or is the fact that he used two hot blondes to get his message across clouding your judgement? Click the full post to see the rest of the photographs from his latest project.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Annie Leibovitz’s work. I hear she’s one of the hardest photographers to work for – as it probably should be. She can make even Lady Gaga, Queen of Eccentric, look elegant for Vanity Fair’s January 2012 issue. While this video doesn’t explain much about her lighting technique or how she achieved each photograph, watching Annie behind the scenes is always a treat. Most of her lighting situations in this video are very simple using only a Photek Umbrella and a diffusion cloth attached to it. [more]
Now this is an interesting story. Lately there has been a ton of controversy and debate about the role of photoshop in today’s advertising market. FHM (For Him Magazine) just published their December issue with Pakistani cover model Veena Malik wearing what appears to be nothing. But that’s not the full story; also pictured on the cover is Veena baring the tattoo “ISI” which refers to the rather polarizing Pakistani intelligence group. Pakistani’s are outraged both because of the ISI reference and also because of Venna’s lack of modesty displayed on the US men’s magazine. It is quite common for photographers to shoot “implied nude” images with models actually wearing clothing (and the visible piece photoshopped out), but Veena claims the magazine maliciously manipulated her cover shoot without her permission. As for the ISI reference, well apparently both FHM and Veena were in agreement on the controversial art work with Veena making recommendations on how it should be drawn on her arm. Stories like this happen all the time but it’s rare to see such a story with world wide appeal. What do you guys think? Read more about the full story on the BBC News page.
Jaren Wilkey is the manager of Brigham Young University’s photography department (perhaps he helped on this shoot?). His Behind The Scenes Contest submission idea was to create a photoshoot that played off a news story there at the university. Jaren and his students set out to produce an editorial type image featuring computer hackers. These hackers weren’t the malicious type you typically think of but rather the winners of a large computer science hacking competition. Check out what Jaren and his students came up with and they even used the Eye-fi to ipad tethering tip we exposed here. Congrats guys and good luck with the contest!
This striking image (pun intended) was shot by Blair Bunting for a Deadliest Catch ad for Discovery Channel. Curious to know how he did it? Well, luckily for us, his assistant Paul Morton filmed the whole thing, and Mike Maez was kind enough to edit it down into a digestible and inspiring video. Do not worry, it did not take any knocked out teeth or injured sailors to get the job done, but rather a couple of Pro-7a units and 3 high powered leaf blowers. Have a look and see for yourself!
via the ProFoto Blog
We’ve featured tons and tons of extreme videos shot on GoPro Cameras. Usually what makes them exciting is experiencing first hand views of activities you probably won’t participate in yourself. This video has gone viral since it was released yesterday and for good reason. Mountain biker Evan Van Der Spuy probably didn’t see this huge Red Hartebees (an Antelope from southern Africa) charging him as he raced the Albert Falls Dam. Luckily his friend Travis Walker had his GoPro camera rolling and captured this remarkable footage.
We have all read how biased different news organizations can be when it comes to the cold hard facts. We’ve also pretty much come to expect that a photograph tells a story better than anything else. Documentary film maker Ruben Salvadori recently exposed how some of the most epic images from war torn areas of the world are actually staged…and it’s pretty surprising. Ruben recognized how photographers can drastically change the mood of a scene just by being present, so he decided to turn the cameras on the photographers themselves and show just how “dangerous” many of events we see on tv and in print really are. Next time you see an image that appears to be in the thick of the action, step back and ask the question “but how many photographers are standing right off camera?” You can read more here about this video project and let us know what you think in the comments below. [more]
Since the start of Fstoppers, I have had a dream list of photographers that I think would make for a great FS Original. At the top of that list has been ESPN and fight photographer Ed Mulholland. Unfortunately getting clearance from HBO and UFC have been tougher than going backstage with Bon Jovi (who would have thought). Fortunately, Grover at Photoshelter recently caught up with Ed to talk boxing, UFC, and what makes a compelling sports photograph. If you don’t already know, The Ultimate Fighting Championship is one of the fastest growing sports in the US, and tonight’s card is pretty star studded if you want to check it out. While very few photographers are lucky enough to shoot for clients like ESPN and Sports Illustrated, hopefully Ed’s insight can inspire you to take better sports photographs regardless of who is in front of your lens.
Photojournalists have always struggled with balancing subject sensitivity with truthful documentation after horrible moments in history. Almost six years ago to the day, the United States was hit by Hurricane Katrina resulting in the most costly natural disaster the country had ever witnessed. Photographer Richard Misrach went down to New Orleans to capture the devastation and the human response from the terrible event. This documentary gives an interesting perspective into the eyes of a photojournalist in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It’s pretty amazing to see both the reoccurring responses from those affected within the community as well as humorous responses after such a life changing event. As a photographer it was also interesting to see how a 4 megapixel point and shoot camera came to be the main storytelling tool throughout Richard’s documentary.
Recently Petapixel featured a rather amusing video of photographer Fabio Pires out of London. Fabio is a street photographer who shoots spontaneous photos off the cuff. Unlike the video we featured of Clay Enos’s street setup, Fabio’s approach is more in your face, candid, and potentially more risky. In Fabio’s opinion, the best shots come from strange and interesting people who aren’t expecting to have their photo taken. I dunno, maybe in England this isn’t frowned upon as much as it is in the United States?
Douglas Sonders has always created some pretty interesting behind the scenes videos of his photo projects. Recently he shot the band Blink 182 for the cover of Alt Press Magazine. The behind the scenes video below doesn’t show much mainly because Douglas only had about 30 minutes with the band and had to shoot 3 separate covers with each band member individually as well as 1 complete band photo. The lighting is pretty straight forward though with a few rim lights, a soft over head key light, and a ring flash. Check out the full post to see a detailed video on how Douglas photoshopped the final images for print and how he uses the Nik Software Viveza in his workflow.
A few weeks ago Reese Moore interviewed Jimmy Chin for her column the Fstoppers Spotlight. Her Fstoppers interview revealed a lot about what makes Mr. Chin put himself in harms way as he climbs, rappels, and base jumps from assignment to assignment. In this behind the scenes video, Jimmy talks about the changing culture taking place within the sport of extreme rock climbing. He and his fellow climbers explore Yosemite National Park as he captures images for National Geographic. I dabble in climbing and think base jumping would be a huge thrill but I’m not sure I would ever have the guts to even hang with Jimmy for one day if this is his typical photoshoot. Check out 2:40 for some interesting off camera lighting while climbing!
On Assignment from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.
