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Douglas Sonders
New York, NY
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Articles written by Douglas Sonders

Why We Photographers / Creatives Should Look Out For Each Other
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Let's be honest, writing for a photography website, you notice that a lot of us photographers like to gripe at each other. Hey, you're more than welcome to express yourself as you wish since this is the internet and all. Although, I wanted to do a short positive post about how and why we should be a little nicer to each other. Sometimes it equals more resources and more money. Reason enough for you?

Career Tips For New And Emerging Photographers
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I did this post for my personal photography blog, but I figured this is an important subject that I hope the Fstoppers community will benefit from. By all means add to this list in the comments below if you have any suggestions!

I get this email all the time: "I’m a new/aspiring/struggling/young photographer and I want to know what advice you have for me?" I literally get this email or tweet or facebook message daily.

Photographing And Driving The Real Speed Racer Mach 5
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I was recently hired by the team over at TheRealMach5.com to shoot new marketing images of the "the only officially licensed Mach 5 in the world that was built to the Speed Racer cartoon Mach 5 specifications". As you can see from the video, it was a hot hot day. I was probably suffering from heat stroke and a wicked farmer's tan by the end of the day, but I got to tear around in the Mach 5 on Florida back roads after the shoot (thankfully she's street legal if you don't drive with the spinning saw blades on it haha), so it was completely worth it.

Ferrari, Bugatti, An Air Strip, And Heat Stroke - Crazy Fun Photoshoot
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I had the pleasure to be hired to shoot an amazing car collection last year, which included 2 ultra-rare special Bugatti Veyrons. For example, the silver Bugatti, as you will watch, is a one-of-a-kind 100th anniversary Bugatti called the Sang Bleu… literally 1 of 1. We also had a decent-sized portion of a private airport at our disposal to use for the shoot. Pretty incredible experience. Read on to learn more about the shoot itself and my lighting.

Create The James Bond Gun Barrel Photo In Photoshop And Other Great Tutorials
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I first met Glyn Dewis while we were both teaching at a Photoshop World conference in Las Vegas. He's a pretty nice guy and talented photographer/retoucher if you can get past the whole being British thing (kidding kidding). I figured this post would be very fitting since the new James Bond film is opening here in the United States this week. Learn how one can make the iconic James Bond gun barrel shot!

Here Come The Halloween Zombies - Photoshoot With Lighting Diagram
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I love zombies and wanted to commemorate them in a holiday e-card I created to send to my client mailing list. I did this a couple of years back, but never really promoted on other sites until now. I called on some friends for props, extras, zombie makeup, and styling. My total expense was probably around $150-200 to pay for zombie clothing and rent a big industrial fog machine. I used 4 lights, including one behind the fog machine to create that great glow.

Photographing Supercars In Miami With Phase One Medium Format And Intel
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There's this "man rule" that every red-blooded male should drive at least one 12-cylinder vehicle before they die. This is one of those jobs where I got to assert that rule with a golden fist. A gold-plated Lamborghini Aventador and a 1965 Shelby Cobra replica with a BMW Alpina suspension and late model Mustang 5.0 engine... both incredible vehicles created by the team over at Prestige Imports and both sets of keys left in my care alone. One of those jobs where you pinch yourself and ask, "how did I get here again?"

The Challenge of Producing My First Acura TV Ad Using A Process Trailer
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The past summer we were hired by the ad agency Tier 10 Marketing (same one as my Honda Accord campaign), under the creative direction of Scott Rodgers, to produce and film a new tv ad for Acura via the New York Acura Dealers Association. I've been an advertising photographer for years, but I co-founded a video production company, 8112 Studios, a few years back along with my friend Nicholas Cambata. We have been very busy with a variety of crazy challenging and fun projects this past year and this ad job was no exception.

How To Shoot A Car Ad In NYC With No Permits And No Notice
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Recently, I was approached by my Creative Director, Scott Rodgers, over at the ad agency Tier 10 Marketing to shoot some ads with the newly redesigned 2013 Honda Accord. The problem? The shoot had to take place in less than 48 hours, we were shooting with 2 of the first cars in the United States, and there was literally NO time to permit for a shoot that had to take place in New York City. Why the rush? US Honda dealers needed these images right away for some new ad campaigns as the first new Accords hit our shores.

My First Post As An Fstoppers Contributor - Douglas Sonders
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First of all, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Douglas Sonders and I am a photographer and filmmaker. I'm excited to share this first post as an official member of the Fstoppers team with you. I have loved this site as a reader since its inception and am honored by the opportunity to share with you loads of new original content, much of which will come from behind the scenes of my own crazy shoots.