*Side note – January has been FILLED with a concentration on quality regarding my work – a lot of shoots with individuals I plan to collaborate with in the upcoming wedding season.  I’ve been busy trying out new lenses, poses, locations, and talking over business ideas with a few people I strongly believe have the same kind of ambition & potential as I do.  A few months ago, I bought a beauty dish reflector for my strobes, but I had still yet to use it.  Rather than just practice on my roommate, why not get paid for it?

While Justin isn’t involved in the industry, I offered a discount if he could do the shoot the very next day at the time I requested.  I mentioned to him I’d be trying this new set-up, and while I promised to get him the shots he needed – I wanted to try out several arrangements, poses, and lighting positions.  I also mentioned I’d be writing this blog post about it, and he agreed.

Win-win-win.

Here’s an example of what kind of difference a grid will have on the beauty dish:  (grid on right)

Tried arranging the light in different ways & working with the shadows in relation to his stance towards the dish

Some seated poses

Played around with composition a bit

Some clean black & white shirts work great to accent facial features and bone structure

Found my favorite light arrangement on these next two

Here’s an example of my before & after editing.  As you can see, took out a few bumps, lines on forehead, razor burn on the neck – standard guy stuff.  To help touch these up, I just use a combination of the clone tool at a low opacity (below 30) and low flow rate (below 25) to make them consistent with the rest of the skin tones.  I’ll also use the paintbrush with a color-sampled brush, at a low opacity & flow rate if there’s not enough area to create a good clone to work from.  I love KPD magic sharp for web stuff, but I wouldn’t recommend their pro-retouch.  It never works the way I want it to, and I feel it ends up creating a plastic-looking appearance on the skin.

Hope this helps some of you guys!  If it did, let me know below!  And if you have any quesions, I’ll answer them in the comments as well.

Russia?  Me?

Not anytime soon.  (Or so I thought.)  I’ve always had Russia on my bucketlist, but for some reason I’ve always considered it to be something I would do a few years down the line.  I don’t know when or what it was this year, but my mindset changed to start to REALLY begin taking advantage of all life has to offer – and when I thought about it…it sounded like there would be NO BETTER TIME THAN THE PRESENT to take this trip.

I’ve heard that you should go to Russia with someone that speaks the language (SO TRUE.)  I’ve thought that I should go with someone that’s down to go out and party til the sun comes up (IE no relatives/parents).  And someone that appreciates & understands the importance of photography…and that it takes time to get the right shot.

I can’t tell you how valuable of an experience it was to travel along with Maria (aka Masha).  Not only did she give me a tour of her country and show me the culture (more on that in a second), but it was SO instrumental in having someone with the same passion for photography as myself.  To cut to the point, I’m going to give you some concrete points on why it’s important to have someone like this in your inner-circle:

1.  Feedback – As a photographer, you should always be striving to continuously improve the quality of your work.  While everyone & their mom can give critiques on photography (& how you should get that HUGE MOON in the background) – it takes someone with the right eye & understanding to help you REALLY break down where you can improve.  Feedback is a tricky thing – because it’s easy to take personally…but the important thing is to take a step back, look at things with an objective perspective, and have someone WHO KNOWS WHAT THE HELL THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT.  Make sure they’re on yo’ level.  (PS – not only the quality of your images, but the quality of your direction as a photographer – as in, how well you convey a pose, how you make the subject feel, etc.)

2.  Practice – Having someone who’s comfortable with posing & being in front of the camera is SO KEY.  This opens up so many possibilities to stretch the full extent of your abilities to shoot a  portrait.  Have them do fun, cool, dorky, and outrageous poses – and it’s no sweat to them.  When your workflow is uninhibited while shooting – it let’s the creative process flow THAT much more smoothly.  And it’s OH-SO-WORTH IT.

3.  New perspective & a shared enjoyment of the experience – when you’re both having fun, doing what “you do” as photographers – with no confused looks or lack of understanding from people who -aren’t- photographers, it relieves so much extra stress on the process.  Like I mentioned above, the creative process happens so much more smoothly when you’re having fun with another photographer – and often times this uninhibited & free motivation to just “shoot” leads to new discoveries in shooting style.  You might figure out a certain crop, angle, lighting technique that you never noticed before.  And while you may see these style shots on pinterest or model-mayhem or whatever, it’s never the same thing as capturing it yourself & in the moment.

So I’ll tell you the story (along with the photos) of my trip out to the “Big Red”.

First day in Moscow.  We cruise around the Kremlin.

Hit the mall.

Note – this photo below is the inspiration for a blog post I’ll be posting around this time next month.  Keep an eye out for it!

M is for…metro?  Moscow?  Masha?

Table set up at the restaurant where I had the strongest shot of vodka I’ve ever taken.  Pepper vodka – hits you like the kick of a shotgun.

Photos in the metro stations – this lighting was really tricky to get right!  Changed really quick.

Helped Masha out with a shoot she had booked.

Driving was insane in Russia.  You hit the ground running, no pedestrian friendly crosswalks – they will hit you!  (pictured later)

Me being me.

Masha being Masha.

Breakfast & trying out a new cultural item on the menu – bread beer!

I wonder if people outside the US think *we* dress weird?

Portraits in the park!

I didn’t notice it until I went to post, but how awesome do these colors tie in with her outfit?

Everyone drove black cars in Moscow.  It’s the “thing” there.  This is me almost getting hit by one, my view on left, masha’s on the right.

Trying to master the sun-flare.  It’s one tough beast.

Remember the restaurant with the beads from yesterday?  Well here’s the menu from it!

Masha & Julia – best friends.

We hit up this hookah-lounge-den that made you wear these cool genie slippers when you were inside.  They said “no photos” – but you know me  ; )

Cool Metro hallway on the way back home.

Ice cream!

Don’t mind us…just a bunch of guys in speedos playing volleyball in the park.

Go-kart racing.  This was my first time.  SO MUCH FUN.  If you haven’t done it, do it.  Still trying to recover a video of when I rammed straight into Masha while driving.  Thought I was going to knock her out for a minute.

Girl has hops.

Handstand lessons with Tate.  He was couch-surfing at Masha’s friend Julia’s place while we were in town.  Cool dude that’s been traveling the world for about a year now while operating his own web-development business.  Not a bad lifestyle, huh?

Contests in the street.  Catch the brow on the dude on the left?

More portraits in the park.  Maria asked if she could work on her “male” portrait direction for a few, was happy to help  : )

Practicing motion blur with the metro in background.

If you’re a photographer, I think it’s impossible to resist taking photos in a cornfield.

Gettin’ a little “Fresh Air.”

Atop the ferris wheel in Minsk on my last day of my trip.  Was a pretty awesome view, and a nice capstone to the holiday.

My drive back to Moscow.  Awesome sunset on our way out of town.

Like I said earlier, driving in Russia is crazy.  I thought my driver was going to kill us by how fast we were going, but I figured hey – if it’s meant to happen, it will happen.  So I took a little nap.  Woke up a couple times to him speeding at about 180km/hr – not the easiest thing to wake up to.

This photo is of the front windshield.  While it may suck from a critique stand-point, I’ll always remember the FEELING that I had at this moment.  One of the most nerve-racking moments of my life.  If you know me in person, email me at tim@timkingblog.com & I’ll fill you in on the inside-scoop.  (Not something I want to share with everyone)

One final stop at red square.

I feel this last image tells a lot.  It’s not what you can see in the image, but what you would be able to see if you were standing in a certain spot.  The Moscow military had sectioned off this area in front of St Basil’s (the most well-known spot in Russia), and it just so happened to be the best angle for the shot.  [To the left of the photo is the basilica, pictured above].  I asked the guard if I could just step in for 10 seconds to snap a quick photo – while he watches – but he adamantly said no.

My intitial instinct is rebellious in nature, and I wanted to just walk by and grab the photo.  I reluctantly swallowed my pride, and we walked back to the car without getting the shot.  (The next best angle was the shot above.)

I later found out from my driver that the guard had told him that if anyone were to cross the barricade (like I was planning to) – his instructions were to give one warning, and then to gun-down any trespassers.  On top of that, if he kills a trespasser – he gets a medal of honor for preventing terrorism!  Pretty glad I picked *that* battle right.

In terms of my over-all opinion of Russian society – I’ll admit, I experienced a bit of a culture shock.  I didn’t expect people to be so blunt, and at times the differences were a little frustrating.  Mainly, (hmmm, how shall I put this delicately?) they emphasized an importance on the freedom of expression on the job.  The structure of ‘customer service’ is pretty different out there…as in…non-existent.  And while at times I was caught off guard when someone was rude or pushy, I also took a step back and realized that there’s no restriction for employees to say what’s on their mind.

Have you ever worked a job waiting tables or a customer service job where you would hear complaints all day long?  Do you remember that feeling of wanting to say EXACTLY what was on your mind at that moment?  Well, in that regard – these guys are livin’ the dream.  And it was (somewhat) cool to see that kind of difference in culture.  You’d think that there would be tremendous opportunity for business when it came to customer service, but when I brought up the idea to Maria – she told me that if you brought the customer service standard in a business in Russia, people would think that you’re playing some kind of trick on them!

Aside from the straight-forwardness, Russia had some pretty awesome things going for it.  St Petersburg was amazing in terms of architecture and the Neva river.  We took a midnight boat tour (pictured in yesterday’s post) and checked out the oligarch’s manors all along the waterfront.  Moscow has some amazing nightlife & we were out partying until 7 am.  (Believe me, the next day was brutal).

And women – let me make this point!  I’ve heard DOZENS of times – “Oh dude – you gotta go to Spain, the women are amazing there.”  ”Man you have to check out such and such a place, the women are drop-dead gorgeous everywhere you go.”

Russia held true.  I was REALLY impressed with how many top-notch women there were in Russia.  They dressed to the T & in high heels even when just going to the grocery store.  Coming back to California and seeing girls in UGGs made me instantly miss that standard of style.  (Sigh)

A few sayings that I took from the trip that will forever stick with me are as follows:

“Happy people never look at their watch.”  Outside of work & while on vacation…couldn’t agree more.  Don’t stress.

“A shot (of vodka) in the morning and the rest of the day is free.”  Wow, had one of the best breakfasts ever in Belarus.  At Maria’s parents home, I had a shot of vodka at breakfast along with a feast of food, and I’ve never felt so relaxed and eager to eat delicious food at the same time.  I like the way they think.

Just recently I had a full-day shoot at the surf & sand resort in Laguna Beach – had about 8 or so items to knock out during the time we had.

Rather than bore you with an elongated story about the day, let’s go along for the ride, shall we?

Started out around 7 AM to grab some morning yoga action to promote as a new activity the hotel offers their guests:

(First shot wanted to get the morning light cast over the beach, so shot from the side)

Next wanted to get an angle with the waves in the back, showing what an awesome background the guests would see doing their morning session here.

A little bit of both on this next shot, and composed the shot so the photo could be utilized with some text in the negative space on the left.

Finished off with more of an abstract shot of the subjects, going vertical to give them options.  The idea I’m trying to convey here is to provide the clients with a few options.  Figure out the posing/setup, then get multiple angles, shots, and compositions.  While I did the same for the following shots, I thought I would demonstrate this important idea to consider with these first few as I feel the difference in the shots represents the variation in ‘looks’ the best.

While I prefer the vertical shot above for the ‘wrap’ promo, the client preferred the horizontal one below next to the pool.  The concept was to have the lunch while lounging at the pool.  Another thing to keep in mind – what you prefer might not be what the client prefers, so yeah – options, options, options.

Next shot=hungry Tim.

Happy hour promo.

Specialty cocktail promo.  For the shot on the left, I used the fountain of the welcome sign for the hotel as the background.  Got nice and tight, you can barely tell what the background is – but it looks like a cool mixture of patterns doesn’t it?  On the right – stone table slab.

I’m betting the question you’ll have after seeing the next couple shots is, “Tim – do you get to eat/try this stuff after you’re done taking photos?!?!”

Yes.  Yes I do.  And these were delicious.

The money shot.  This was the shot of the day – had to make it the best.  New package includes a tent & smores ingredients for kids to enjoy in the same hotel room as their parents are staying.

For this shot, had my assistant hold a 580EX above the tent, aiming down to give it that “up late at night snacking on smores” look.  Wanted it to appear as if there was a small light on in her tent such as a flashlight shining down from above.  Light worked well, client was happy.  Clients happy, Tim happy, enjoyed glasses of sangria together post-shoot to celebrate a successful workday!

To name a few, Nick Ivory (Magician), Beacher’s Madhouse (Entertainment group), and Rico de Largo (trumpet player) have all stood out amongst the usual nightlife acts.  These kind of people are the little bit of ‘extra’ that makes the difference between ordinary & extraordinary.

Rico recently flew me out to Las Vegas to do some shots for a new campaign he’ll be launching this upcoming year.  While he’s already established a solid reputation within the United States, his ambitions are now aiming towards an INTERNATIONAL level.  With that – new, exotic, and STRONG imagery is needed to make that kind of impression.

When a client gives you trust in what you’re doing, I always feel like it brings the best results.  Communicating clear, concise, and descriptive ideas will definitely help achieve the result the client wants – and combining that with the trust in the skill of the photographer results in a win-win for everyone.

Aside from the shooting time, it was really cool to hang out on a one-to-one level.  I’ve now ended up with a new ‘must-hit’ spot in Vegas where they serve ‘Arepas’ – an amazing South American pancake-taco type combination that can be lethal if you’re not careful.  I’m not going to recommend trying it, because when you do – you’ll become addicted.  Ignorance is bliss.

Aside from eating Arepas, I had the chance to talk to Rico about long-term ideas, philosophy, and life in general.  To be frank, these kind of conversations aren’t common in the nightlife industry and it was relieving to be able to connect with someone on such a level.  And what was REALLY A TRIP was hearing him talk about the trumpet – similar to how I understand & know my camera – he is familiar with his trumpet.  It was a cool idea to think about how we both have similar clients and our business revolves around a creative outlet – yet his is an entirely different sensory element.

Anyways – the shoot!  We hit up a new venue in town called “Insert Coins” which hosts nearly every kind of gaming console you can think of, along with bottle service to help you enjoy a good time with friends.  Stacked with old arcade games like Tron, Double Dragon, and Galactica – it was a bit distracting at times.  For the second part of the shoot we hit up a dried up lake bed – at different times of day to get a variety of looks.

If you’re in San Diego for NYE, stop on over at Fluxx nightclub & you can see him live.

That’s all for now – stay tuned for tomorrow’s post – “New York Fashion week & my trip out east”

And what would a post be without a little “behind the scenes” action?

While I’d LOVE to do a full post on all of these, I don’t think I’d really have the time/spread in days to display all this content unless I did it in a jam-packed post like this.

So here we go! (If you have any questions about any of these, feel free to holler below!

Wall St. Journal – “how we built it”

Shot an interesting event for the WSJ downtown a few weeks ago, and it was actually a pretty interesting event! The morning hosted a dialogue between 6 multi-millionare entrepreneurs on how they intially broke the barriers into getting their business of the ground & rolling.

Susan G Komen Race for the Cure

Wow. This event hit me on a personal side. While I have to admit, – I’m usually a very philanthropic person, but during this event…I was thinking of it as *exactly* that. “Another event.” However, later in the day…it really hit me – there are SO many people fighting their own personal battle with cancer, illness, or some sort of life deficit. When you think of the big picture, all our problems seem pretty small! It was a blast to hang out with these guys, not to mention go and walk the field at a major ballpark!

SOLO Sunglasses Shoot

Craig Stern is one of the owners of a new company called SOLO Sunglasses, which is geared towards helping those in need of medical services. Specifically, those affected by a corrupt or disadvantaged economy that prevents them from getting the eye-care they need to manage to see. Not only are these for a great cause, but they’re actually really cool too! They’re made out of wooden frames…really gives off that “SD” vibe if you know what I mean.

Hotel Amenities

I’ve actually done this same thing for a few hotels now, which is to provide them with imagery to use internally & assure standards are met for preparing a special room order for guests staying at the location. Basically, a guest or a friend orders up a special plate of cheese, or old vintage sodas, or cocktails, or random assortments of food/gifts that can be waiting for them to arrive.

Studio Booth Round 2!

Did another photobooth for the Ivy Hotel’s Saturday campaigns. On certain weeks, the hotel and promotion teams decide to bring special recording artists that will help make a name for “Ivy Saturdays”. The DJs produce live mixes in the club and offer free mixtapes for any guests present that night.

Intervention Photo booth

It’s back! We’ll be doing it every couple weeks or so, make sure to come by and check out SoCal’s best pool party.

Cocktails!

‘Nuff said.

Photobooth for private party.

Was a huge hit, great company, this guy did his bday right!

Old Globe Theater Open House Performances

DJ Promo Shots

PR shots for Chefs preparing food for “canning”.

Photowalk with Maria Maltseva!

Harney Sushi 10 Year Anniversary Party

If you’re ever in San Diego – this place is a must. Best sushi you’ll ever had – forget Nobu. Go Harney!

Cinco de Mayo Photobooth

Andaz hosted an awesome Cinco de Mayo party, and the crowd had a blast (and I did too). I find myself wearing the mexican wrestler masks while skyping these days.

PR Photoshoots for online marketing

Bianca Jaime of SoDiego Tours got in touch to get her branding images done for her company. Lower in the blue, Jordanne strikin’ a pose for her team’s press shots.

Art in Fashion

The San Diego Fine Art Society hosted a night of wine & appetizers while guests enjoyed viewing these works of art based off 1950′s hollywood glamour. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS a good time at these events. Ooooh the people you meet!

Hope your Tuesday’s going great! If you have any questions at all, hit me up in the comments below!

The two stayed the weekend, while popping bottles in 207 nightclub at the Hard Rock and partying until the early hours of the morning.

Whenever any of my work has something to do with celebs & PR, it’s always important to feature some element of the venue that shows its signature style. I chose the wall in the lobby next to Mary Jane’s restaurant because, hey – what’s better to represent the hard rock than a huge mural of musicians with the slogan, “Life is Music.”

Here’s one of the photos they actually *didn’t* end up using. (Usage is a bit tricky with the promoted photo)

I had the chance to talk to him a few minutes before the shoot, and he’s actually a pretty interesting guy! He boasts a wine collection in his private home consisting of over 3,000 bottles of wine. Yeah – three THOUSAND.

On top of that, he made his down-payment for his house with a SINGLE case of wine. I’m guessing it must have had some amazing legs & savor…or it was a really small house…but I’m guessing it was the “former”.

I shot the Bloom’s wedding back in October of this year – and seeing these two together is always a breath of fresh air. They just welcomed a pup named Patrick into their lives, and he made this shoot a blast. (Quite the ankle biter though – for a minute we thought he was going to take down a little 5 year old girl)

To add a little flare to the gondola rides the hotel hosts, the staff is offering a couple’s package complete with a Santa chauffer and champagne – awesome gift for any girl out there. (Guys, this one will score you some major originality points)

For the families, the hotel also has an option to ride around in one of the larger gondola’s complete with hot chocolate and cookies.

Tiffani Chynel accompanied us to style the shoot & help with any wardrobe ideas. Can’t tell you how much it made the difference – thanks Tiffani!