So there I was, with my legs dangling off the rooftop of a downtown Santa Monica parking deck.
“Yup, just like that. One more time!” I shouted to model, actress, former 800m stud Krista Jasper (@kjasper89) below. Because she’s a pro, she knew I really meant 6 more times.
I was sitting off the edge of the top deck, looking down at the concrete below at this marvelous slice of light. I remember thinking it would be epic if I could get her in full stride with the low sunset light to project her shadow on the ground.
THE BACKSTORY
It started three weeks earlier. Every year, I force myself to spend a weekend creating work and fly to LA. The creating part isn’t the tough part, it’s the taking a break from my daily responsibilities. I can’t tell you how important it is as a creative to give yourself time and space to only create that you think should exist. I believe it was Maya Angelou who rented a room in a hotel where she would go everyday to write. It was her dedicated space to create. We all need that.
Some of my best work has come from this annual trip (which I’ll highlight in upcoming emails). This time, I wanted to put something in my portfolio that looked a bit cleaner than my previous documentary “fly on the wall“ type work I was doing.
I dreamt up a scene with model moving on concrete with sunlight and shadows.
Ingredients I wanted for the shoot:
- Parking deck (downtown Santa Monica)
- Model (preferably with a great stride and athletic)
- Near sunset with shadows and light
- Nice, clean athletic, slightly commercial looking outfit
- Light makeup
There is only so much you can do in pre production. It’s so important to get on set and get the juices are flowing while actually doing. Each time we get out and do we are closing the creative gap.
What’s the creative gap you might ask? Well it’s the gap between what exists in your head and what you can actually pull off.
What helps close the creative gap? Reps on reps. Feeling the self imposed pressure of flying across the country, scheduling a model, buying clothes and seeing if you can pull it off.
This is the single biggest ingredient to any success I’ve had as a photographer.
It’s in those moments when you push pass what you’ve done in the past and challenge yourself to do something new.
The beauty with personal projects is you get to play and explore. The pressure from the client isn’t there but you still have to be disciplined enough to focus, be professional while working with professional, and set the bar high for yourself.
Benefits after doing a personal project:
Taking that confidence into the next shoot
Learning what is possible within a certain timeframes
How to interact with a model
Feeling confident knowing you’ve done the thing
Reading a model’s energy and mood to keep everything positive and them excited
These are the things that make personal projects worth their investment of time and money and why it’s worth, as a client, hiring someone who consistently does personal projects. Theres only so much you learn executing someone else’s vision.
PRO TIP
Wardrobe:
We went into the Macy’s across the street and shopped for a bunch of clothes with the intent of keeping the tags on, of course, and returning them. (Before you swipe at meet with judgment, this is pretty standard in the industry. Keep it clean, makeup free and you can usually get your money back.) The running tights and sports bra in the photos below were def a rental from one of those stores. On another shoot with Holland Smith I must’ve purchased $600 of clothing to be on brand in a huge leap to try and get to work with Puma. More on that next week.
Model arrangement:
Since there is an investment in time from both parties, model and photog, it’s important to listen to what the model may want as well. In this case, we ended up going to the Santa Monica beach at sunset off the Pacific Coast Highway and shooting her in swimwear. Krista wanted to get a few frames in her portfolio of her in swimwear because that was the type of work she was pursuing at the time.
Also, its not unusual for me to have a female make up artist on set or for the model to request to bring someone else. Theres some wild stuff that goes down out there and the last thing you want is for the model to be uncomfortable or feel some kinda way on set that doesn’t allow him/her to perform how they would like. Be encouraging, be supportive and keep the energy positive. I’ve heard some horror stories. Do your best to not say or comment in a way that can be viewed as inappropriate.
Having a mutual connection helps. The fact that my friend had worked with her and she could reach out of needed and have him vouch for me was huge. She could also scroll through my feed and see I’ve worked with athletes and get an idea for my style.
Securing a higher end model might be difficult while you are coming up. Start out with local models, keep evolving and elevating the level of production however you can. You can always build in the future but it’s important to just start.
Quick Links:
What I’m listening to writing this: Lorde Homeade Dynamite
Someone you should follow on IG: alfredwashere
Book I’m reading: Skip The Line by James Altucher
Recent Purchase: Linq NFC Business Card
About David:
Puerto Rican born, Pennsylvania based bilingual photographer/ director has worked with some of the larger sports brands including adidas, Nike, New Balance, Puma, Brooks and several editorial outlets. He is available for projects in the US.
Latest work on Instagram.