In today’s super competitive photography market you gotta step up!  Photographic retouching can be a great way to get your clients the images they need.  This is not to say that you don’t need to start with great photography because you absolutely do.  Even the best photo retoucher can’t output their art without solid, creative, technically accurate photography.

This assignment was a generally simple one:  Grab 4 time X Games gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler and create a straight up, smiley girl, cover portrait.  The client, Aspen Magazine, wanted an iconic mountain back drop.  Sounds easy enough.  Well, the weather never quite cooperated.  Here’s a short “how to” on the creation of this cover.

First, the subject, my assistant and I boarded the chair at Aspen Highlands at 7:00am (on the originally scheduled shoot day).  If the light had been nice this would have been the perfect time to create the perfect cover portrait.  I’d done the scouting earlier in the week.  However, a weak storm was hanging in the air and although the weather wasn’t horrid it wasn’t great either.  I had two hours with Gretchen and so the shot had to go off on that morning.  Okay so there was bad light for the shoot time and what did I do?  I switched into retouching mode using the a strobe to create the light on the subject that the sun would have created if it had shown up for its call time  (see photo 1).

Second, having noted the location of the portrait shot, I returned to the location to shoot the back drop with the iconic mountains that the client was hoping for. Once again the weather wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great.  There was fresh snow and beautiful cloud patterns on the peaks but the sky was grey with another approaching storm (see photo 2)

Finally, on the third trip to the location the sky was exactly what I was looking for.  I chose a piece of sky just 4 degrees to the Northwest of the original location because I liked what the clouds were doing (see photo 3).

It’s really important when you shoot with post-production in mind that you use special care to matching (if that’s your intention) the natural feel of the sun with your artificial light and staying consistent with your lens choice and aperture selection.  If you want the final product to look “real” all of your pieces need to fit together.  Each of these photos was shot between 7:30am and 8am on each occasion.

Need  Class A  Retoucher:  Mando-Matic is your guy!  See the final product (photo 4)

photo 1

photo 2

photo 3

Cover

Every now and then the universe (or perhaps the master of the skiing universe) treats you to something really special. In late February my great friend and professional ski mountaineer Chris Davenport called me with the question, “do you want to drive Bentleys and go heli skiing?”  If it took me 3 seconds to answer I would be surprised.  I of course answered yes and at noon, the next day, two 2012 Bentley Continental GTCs drove into Chris’s driveway where he and I stood, grinning like kids in a candy shop.  We were both handed the keys to our cars and off we went.  The project was to be part of a Bentley promotional video that would feature Chris and I racing these incredible automobiles to Dunton Hot Springs near Rico colorado some 6 hours to our southwest and then heli skiing with Telluride Helitrax.  The cars were outfitted with all sorts of POV cameras and I’ll have to admit that I felt like some kind of rock star.  Or maybe just a little bit like (long pause) Jeremy Clarkson.

Bentley Motors, Inc. Head of Public Relations and Communications, Graeme Russell was in charge of the crew which included Austin Reza of Reza & Company and Foo Fighters: Back and Forth Cinematographer Harris Done.

Check out the video by Reza and Company and a few stills that I grabbed along the way.

Bentley: In Search of Snow

Chris in the Bentley

Chris skiing in the San Juan Mountains

The Bentley Continental GTC at the Dunton Hot Springs

Check it out!  I busted out the seamless (yup, I do that too) and shot some product for local entrepreneurs at Strafe Outerwear  http://strafeouterwear.com/  Check them out, they make great, waterproof, breathable, snowsports clothing.

Product shot

I’m lucky enough to be one of less than ten ESPN staff photographers.  I shoot thousands of images, these are my favorites.  Torin Yater-Wallace, Russ Henshaw, Chas Guldemond and the family of Sarah Burke  during a tribute to the fallen skier.

Torin Yater-Wallace takes home the bronze. ©Tomas Zuccareno

Russ Henshaw at the Winter X Games 2012 ©Tomas Zuccareno

The Burke family. ©Tomas Zuccareno

Chas Guldemond ,Winter X Games 2012, Aspen, Colorado. ©Tomas Zuccareno

Selections from the taco bar at Su Casa Aspen

I live in the Aspen, CO economy.  When it doesn’t snow (which it hasn’t this year) our little economic bubble can really tighten up.  One of the smartest things that I’ve done to stay busy in a shitty economy is, stay open to all things photography. This week its food.

Selections from the taco bar at Su Casa Aspen

Photographing food can be fun and eating it tends to be one of the perks!

The Plate de Carne Asada at Su Casa Aspen

I’ve been busy!  Check out some of my new projects, they all represent a new working relationship with www.Mando-matic.com:  The first is a series of ad shots I did for a small boutique in Aspen, CO.  The second is a shot of local phenom Torin Yater-Wallace that I shot for an Aspen Skiing Company’s ad on the back cover of Freeskier Magazine.  The third is a portrait of Lance Armstrong that I shot for the Cover of Aspen Magazine.  Thanks for looking.

High fashion produced in Aspen!

High fashion produced in Aspen.

High fashion produced in Aspen.

Torin Yater-Wallace

Lance Armstrong

Wow, I’ve been gone for a while!

Check it out, I produced a music video.  From start to finish, I formulated a budget, found the location, built the sets and acquired the props. I directed the talent, shot the footage, worked with the editor and the color guy. It’s finally done.  I stayed under a very modest budget and completed it on reasonably tight schedule.  I took on the project to teach myself (about) the process of producing a moving image.  My favorite parts:  Set building and cinematography.  My least favorite parts:  Post-production and post-production.  I dig it!  I hope you do too.

I’m growing a little tired of posts about the photography I get paid to do in a weak economy.  But since that is what I’m currently doing with my camera, that is what is creating the ammo for my blog posts.  I guess I’ll be grateful to have any work at all.

Luckily for me I have a great client and friend(s) in the folks at Kissaneviola www.kissaneviola.com.  Kissaneviola is a regionally based and nationally recognized website design firm.  They use me for just about anything they need a photographer for.  Thanks guys!  My last assignment for them was to shoot a restaurant.  WAIT! food photography, ambiance, the chef?  Really?

Now, I use artificial light from time to time, generally to add a little extra something to a natural light scene, but this particular restaurant is in a below ground location and this would be an ALL artificial light scenario.  Well, someone has to pay the bills, and I approached this shoot as  a particular challenge, that I could learn from.  A challenge that would push me as a photographer.  Sure, I studied photography in school and yes I learned all sorts of artificial lighting techniques but I’m in my 40s and that was 20+ years ago.

What a blast, once again I was using my camera, to make a living (how cool is that) and loving every minute of it.  Food photographers get to eat everything.  Here are a few samples of the work.  How’d I do?

Dessert

Sommelier

Dining Room

I really dig shooting for a layout.  Show me an add comp and I’ll create the perfect image to fill it.  A layout along with a good relationship with the art director(s) just makes it plain easy to do my job.  But in these days of tiny budgets and granny’s garbage stock there are just not as many opportunities to shoot FOR a specific project.  It seems clients, in my realm, these days would rather build an add around an existing image rather than have an original image created.

So with budgets dropping and the opportunities dwindling I, and I’m guessing many other photographers, are left with the more frustrating assignment of creating images for clients who aren’t quite sure what they want or where they’re going to run them.  Not that much fun really, and it’s all about having fun.

My remedy for these mild headaches again points to my personal work.  When I go out and shoot something without an assignment, I create one for myself.  Sometimes I’ll even sketch out a layout.  This gives me the opportunity to shoot for a layout….in a way.  I consider it good practice, I continue to enjoy my profession and most importantly I continue to grow as a photographer.

My latest (job) was for my friend’s ski clothing accessories company.  I chose to shoot for a web banner format.

A personal photo created for a web banner format layout.

I have many friends in the photography business who have spent years establishing themselves as “specialists” in a specific field of photography, a niche if you would.  I’ve had photography consultants tell me to do the same, ADs who have been skeptical of my potential (but hired me anyway) because they didn’t know what my speciality was and I have many times tried to focus my energies on a specific segment.  It all makes great sense, be the best at one thing and you’ll get all the work, right?

a shot for a bike racing team

I think what it really comes down to is “why is a photographer a photographer?”  and the answer is different for every photographer.  Consider why you want to be a photog, the passion, the money, the fame.  I chose photography because from a very early age I found cameras and lenses and printing (remember that?) fascinating.  It turns out that my brain and heart were well suited for the art part as well.  I’ve chosen photography as a lifestyle choice, fewer days at work and more time to play.  With this decision made I chose to be as diversified in the subject matter I shoot (and get paid to shoot) as possible.  That’s not to say that I don’t consider myself mildly niched as a adventure lifestyle shooter but rather to say that I love to create great photos for cool clients and the fact that I get paid to do it amazes me everyday.  It’s a great feeling to do what you love and get paid for it too.  So I went with “the passion” and I just shoot and shoot and shoot.  I’m never New York’s flavor of the day but I pay the bills with my camera and I enjoy it.  I shoot corporate, editorial and add work, portraits, action and food and music and….

a shot for a pool hall

Many of my less diversified colleagues have now found themselves left out to dry with the flat economy. Let’s face it if you’re a niche guy it’s like having all of your eggs in one basket.  If “your” segment shuts its doors, even temporarily, your gonna go hungry.  Diversity has kept me busy in these super hard times.

Let’s also consider the creative benefits to being diversified.  In my book, keeping your camera in your hands is more valuable than any other aspects of the creative process.  When you’re used to shooting XGames crazies doing unimaginable tricks on a snowboard or a skateboard, shifting gears to creating

art out of a plate of food presents a formidable challenge throw a portrait of a corporate executive in the mix and you are, at that point using, all the regions of your creative process to get the JOB done.  Practice makes perfect!

a shot for a corporate client