Steve Reganato Photographer

Chainmail?

2012-01-23T16:31:00.001-05:00

Strange as it may seem. A few months back I did a shoot with stylist/model scout/coach Mike Stallings who had with him the most unusual wardrobe... chain mail! Now I know we're about 1000 years behind the times on this one but, but we'll just call it retro. Anyway when he mentioned that he had it I was fascinated with the opportunity to shoot it. Apparently a designer he knows makes it and somehow incorporates it into his designs. So Mike got his hands on some samples and wanted to use it as part of an image launch for his 2012 mens models line up (http://umodelsmanagement.wordpress.com/). Since he only had one shirt and hood we would do individual portraits. We decided to do something outdoors and settled on Central Park, which offered both an easy to find location and a natural backdrop. I decided on an area known as "The Ramble" with it's deeply wooded paths, rock formations and stone bridges really hides the fact that you're in the middle of the city very nicely.

Hitting the ground running

2012-01-12T19:12:00.000-05:00

It's always good to kick off the new year with some new work.In this case it was make up artist Angela Wang who did the kicking! Angela and I collaborate frequently and over the holidays she contacted me looking to start the new year off with some new work. We kept it simple, very clean, classic looks. For talent Angela found model and actress Maggie Geha and model Althea Stanzione. For this entry we're gonna focus on Maggie. Maggie has a real elegance to her as well as a strong sense of character (after all, she's an actress) which gives her modeling a nice level of depth. As the pictures below clearly demonstrate!

Mack Sam

2011-10-25T16:44:00.002-04:00

I have to thank model Anthony Priolo for making this happen. Anthony and I have done a few shoots together over the years and he recently contacted me about shooting again. Anthony is one of my favorite models to work with, he knows what it is to perform and just gives and gives, always great stuff from him. He mentioned that he knew this designer, Mack Sam (Mackenzie Sam) who was amazing and that he'd be willing to let Anthony use some of his fall collection for a shoot. So, Anthony contacted me.
I checked out Macks website (and you can too): http://www.mack-sam.com/www.mack-sam.com/home.html and I was really impressed. Anthony really brought it home this time, Macks work is incredible! Very conceptual but realistic to wear I really liked his sense of textures, working them together in layers that have a very ad-hoc feel but deliberate in their combination. Mack also works largely from a grey scale palette preferring blacks, greys and earth tones, which lend themselves quite nicely to black and white photography and thus that shaped my vision for the shoot.
In speaking with Mack, we seemed to see the shoot the same way, very clean and open space and just let Anthony and Macks designs carry the shoot. We wanted things really simple in terms of lighting and I lit the shoot in a very open way which gives a very contrasty feel to the pictures, strong bright areas off of deep shadow areas, very much like daylight.
If bringing Mack in wasn't enough, Anthony also provided a make up artist, DarDra Coaxum, who did a wonderful job of keeping Anthony looking, well, like Anthony. When shooting men, for a make up artist, the mission is the opposite of that for women. With men, unless the concept calls for something different, you want them to look natural and the use of the make up the be as undetectable as possible. You want to reinforce features and try to hide distractions but the end result should be un-made up looking. DarDra did this perfectly.
Mack is an exciting new talent and I'm really looking forward to what he does in the future.

Mollie Conlee

2011-05-23T21:31:00.002-04:00

Some images from a recent shoot with model Mollee Conlee (Major Model Management NY). Working with stylist David Hayden, make up artist Christian and hair stylist Antwan Jackson I decided to continue with working outdoors and just with the local environment. The day started out nice enough, sunny skies, nice temperature, seemed like a good day for the wardrobe that Hayden had brought, which was very... translucent. Now Brooklyn isn't the most romantic of environments in some ways, and East Bushwick is not known for it's beaches and Hayden's wardrobe was based on swimsuits layered under these sheer coverings. So I had to be creative and work with the environment and just turn it into this placeless urban thing. Hair and make up and take quite a while and by the time Mollie was ready the weather had changed completely. Gone were the clear blue skies, now turned grey, and the temps were dropping and the winds kicking up. This was not in the weather report for the day! It just chilled down too much and I decided to take it indoors. The building we were working out of had an empty floor and we continued the shoot up there which ended up giving us some of the most striking images of the shoot. Mollee as a talent was great to work with, creative and engaged she the kind of model as a photographer I dream of working with, my only instruction to her was simple to not model, and she understood completely what I was after and models with an intuition that gives her work the kind of natural feel that perfectly suited the kind of work we were doing. Very smart and alert Mollee is very creative in using what's around, leaning on cars or making her figure work in the window, Mollee's imagination and easy going nature make her a great collaborator on a shoot.

Justin Passmore

2011-05-03T21:32:00.005-04:00

Every so often I get these bulletins from model agencies announcing someone new that they have signed and it was through one of these that I saw Justin Passmore. Justin's look is very distinctive and immediately brings to mind Patrick Petitjean. Like Petitjean with the long hair and full beard Justin is the opposite of either the boyish or muscled look that seems to be the current "in" look with male models. And it was this difference that I found inspiring about Justin, so I called Dave Fothergill at Red Model Management and arranged a test. Dave is incredibly supportive of my work and is always willing to provide talent for my testing. Without his help my work would not be what it is. Justin is a new find, Dave found him working in a store in New York City and a few weeks later signed him with Red. So when I saw him he had no pictures yet. By the time we did our shoot last Friday (April 30, 2011), he'd already been photographed for Esquire and a few other publications as well as being up for a few retail campaigns, his career seems to be developing rapidly!
I knew with Justin I wanted to revisit the idea of working in a place rather than in a white or black space and also something more raw feeling. Studio F at 3rd Ward, an artists facility in Brooklyn where I do much of my work offered the solution. One thing that I wanted to do was to work with daylight only and no lighting other than reflectors and studio F is perfect for this. It has these huge old windows with these panes that are either so old and weather beaten or frosted that the light that comes through is nicely diffuse. The room also faces a direction where that side of the building doesn't get a lot of direct sunlight, which further enhances the diffuse quality of the light.
Next was to get the right styling and this is where David Hayden comes in, I collaborate with Hayden frequently and I knew intuitively that he would be the right choice for this. For hair and make up I brought in Veronika Rebova, who I worked with one time before and liked very much, she has a good eye and make up sense and I thought this would be a good shoot for her. Even in a shoot like this, where the look and feel is to be very natural you still need make up, skin blemishes need to be toned down or hidden or features may need a little emphasizing yet it all needs to look real, and a good make up artist is essential. Of course good skin on the part of the model makes things a whole lot easier and Justin luckily has excellent skin.

Dave at Red had told me that he'd been getting good reports about Justin as a talent to work with and he is excellent. Justin is a natural, that's the only way I can really describe him. For someone who has not been modeling that long, he seems to just "get it" and he required no coaching from me. An extremely pleasant personality the whole shoot had a really nice, relaxed vibe to it and it just flowed along, Justin doing a great job of relating to the surroundings, the wardrobe and creating the right feel through his expression and body language. All in all we came away with a great shoot that we all are very excited with and here are a few samples.

Yamano Lira

2011-03-30T21:34:00.001-04:00

Some images from a shoot with Japanese model Yamano Lira. Yamano was visiting the area for fashion week and it was make up artist Angela Wang who found Yamano and approached me about testing with her. Angela was very excited about working with this model and she did everything, make up, hair and styling. Yamano was an excellent performer, very natural in her modeling style she does a great job of not being conscious of the camera. The good thing about that is that you, the viewer become less conscious of the fact that you're looking at a photograph and a connection, however momentary and fleeting is established between you and the subject. I can light something pretty, and we can make it up and dress it up real nice but it takes the model to make it come alive. Like any good performance, the performer needs to sell it to us, take us out of our current reality and capture us on an emotional level, and Yamano has this kind of command.
The top image, is actually inspired by Valazquez, I wanted the formality and classic feel but also to break with that, turn it on it's head by creating an abstract image but still stay rooted in that formalism.
The bottom one we were looking to capture the energy and emotion of movement and Yamano gives this to us with an added sensuality that only she can deliver.
Many thanks to Angela for putting this together!

Making Lemonade out of the lemons

2011-03-20T21:05:00.002-04:00

About a month ago, maybe a little more, make up artist and frequent collaborator Maria Yeye contacted me with an idea. Her idea was to produce a beauty editorial with a very early 70's feel. I liked the idea and the idea of working to a period for a beauty shoot. The early 70's hadn't yet morphed into the much maligned later 70's and at that point was still in the setting light of the 60's. What were after was the feel of the period, making a connection to it, but still being contemporary. Maria basically put the whole shoot together, she found the models and a wardrobe stylist. That last element, styling,is essential in a themed or narrative shoot like this, it really helps give the shoot a nice sense of being "finished". For hair we had another frequent collaborator and friend, Takisha Mack. So all the good things were in place, great concept, great models, great team. So I was quite excited to do this. Come shoot day everyone arrives and we start setting up, the models, Gabrielle (Emmanuel Models NYC) and Rachel (Mc2 NY) arrive and go into the hands of Maria and Takisha, and I'm setting up lighting. Only one element is missing... where's our wardrobe? Now people being late is not unusual so that doesn't totally phase me, but we're at about a half hour and have not heard a word from out stylist. Maria got on the case. Turns out the stylist hurt herself in a volleyball game at some point that day and would not be making it.

Nice to know.

This is a perfect example of the unexpected coming to visit. Our whole concept was now essentially sunk. I can't emphasize enough the importance of having a serious, dedicated team. None the less, we decided to go ahead with the shoot anyway and do your classic "beauty" test. At first, I wasn't excited about the prospect, but once the models got under the lights, we started taking pictures and seeing what we were getting, we all became very excited. The shoot is clean and simple and nicely shows Maria and Takisha's work, so it's still great for their books. Rachel and Gabrielle were real pros, stuck with us even after the original concept got killed and delivered beautiful performances for us, (with enthusiasm, I might add) really bringing it to all to life. I'm glad we went ahead with it.

Gabrielle (Emmanuelle Models NY)

Rachel (Mc2 Models NY)

Fashiontecture

2011-02-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

Shifted shapes and broken lines, frames and translucent screens, welcome to the modernistic fashion of Mikel Bennett and Shel Weinzerl. Mikel and Shel are an informal design team who together have a certain fashion aesthetic that breaks with conventional notions of line and shape. Their work has a strong architectural quality, which should come as no surprise being that Mikel's background is in architecture: "I feel that architecture and fashion are similar. In both fields it is design that has to function in some way" For Mikel, it's about process, regardless of the medium that seems to fascinate her the most "I used to do a lot of construction of buildings, so I find that while I am designing, I think about the details and the process of putting the garment together. In fact I find the process of figuring out the garment as fun as designing it." Along with collaborating with Mikel on fashion, Shel produces jewelry "conversation pieces" as she describes them. They are highly sculptural, intricate, meticulously crafted pieces made of mixed metals and precious stones. Her most recent collection is Pearls b4SWNZ, and one of those pieces appears in the image below.

For hair and make up we had Angela Wang. Angela brings a talent for reading the fashion and then letting her imagination take it from there "There is usually a story, an imaginary character in every look I create". For this shoot Angela created two looks "For the natural look. I was thinking something earthy, elegant, like a goddess. And the second look I imagine her as a worrior from the future".
And for our character, we had model Sheila Johnson. It was Sheila actually who initiated the whole shoot. Sheila and I had worked on another shoot together and she asked if I would be willing to shoot a test with her. I was impressed with Sheila's performance in the video, she has a real elegant and classic quality to her and she's great to work with. I told her I'd be happy to work with her, however she would have to pull her team together.
And what a team it was!

To see more images, go to my on line book: www.stevereganato.com and check out the beauty and womens portfolios.

Robot & Brucling

2011-01-21T11:45:00.002-05:00

Brucling, model Melissa Chu and Robot.

Designers Robot & Brucling are on a mission - to make bow ties cool. Usually we tend to associate bow ties with either formal affairs or librarians. But Robot & Brucling see something different, they see something that can be redefined, reworked and emboldened into a strong fashion statement. Working with un-bowtie like materials such as fur, leather and stressed denim and integrating the ties with jewelry and necklaces R&B ties are really more unique pieces of fashion-art than just a neck ornament. And they are finding their way onto some interesting necks, with personalities such as Rhiana sporting Robot and Brucling creations.
Originally from Boston but now Brooklyn based the design duo have more things in store for this year, expanding their concepts to other accessories, so it should be an interesting year for Robot & Brucling and their growing number of fans.

Robot

For me, the opportunity to work with R&B was big. I really like working with up and coming talents, the energy that they bring and sense of adventure in what they do effects me as well and makes working with such people a lot of fun. Photographically, I wanted to keep things really simple and just let them be themselves. To me this is the most important thing in a portraiture like this. For R&B, most of this expression came out in some of their wardrobe choices as they both like vintage uniform pieces, with their own twist of course!

Brucling

For hair, make up and styling we had the talented duo Neonfix. Neonfix is Paul Rabell and Jhenelle Hill who really work magic! And it's thanks to them that I got the shoot, and I definitely appreciate the opportunity.
For more of the Robot and Brucling experience, check out their website at www.robotandbrucling.com
For more on Neonfix, you can visit them at
www.neonfix.com

Paul Rabell, Jhenelle Hill, Robot, Melissa and Brucling

Sachikaworld!

2011-01-14T14:58:00.002-05:00

14 January, 2011.
Last fall I had the opportunity, no, the privilege, to photograph the Sachika Twins. Who?
The Sachika Twins.
Now if you've not heard of them yet, you will before long! The Sachika's are a design duo whose star is definitely on the ascendant with a ever growing celebrity client list, a Soho boutique as well as being featured in a movie and have their own reality TV show! For the Sachika Twins, the world is definitely an open book with no limits. The energy and dynamism between the two of them is enough to power a small city and any room they enter is filled with their infectious positivism. Last fall they launched their Spring collection which gained them a lot of notoriety and set the spotlight right on them as talents to watch. For our shoot, they wore some selections from that collection, which taps into their Vietnamese roots, very detailed and elegant the Sachikas work is very fashion forward and imaginative yet with a sense of tradition which makes their work very special and unique.
For make up and hair the Sachika Twins brought in the talented make up and hair styling team Neonfix. Neonfinx is Jhenelle Hill and Paul Rabell and together they To-Tam and Ton-ya, coming up with a brilliant series of looks to accompany the Sachika looks. The Sachika twins and their choice of Neonfix for the hair and make up also shows that the Sachika's know talent when they see it and appreciate the fact that a strong team always ensures success.
And be sure to look for more excitement from the Sachikas next fashion week!
To get the full Sachika experience, visit their website:
http://www.sachika.com

Delete the Facts-Zev Eisenberg takes charge

2010-12-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

Delete the Facts is a must read story about Zev Eistenberg. A guy who, by turning his back on "the conventional wisdom" and taking matters into his own hands completely changed the course of his health and in the process of doing so saved his own life. 3rd Ward asked me to do the photography for the interview, which for me was a real privilege. One of the best things about being a photographer is the opportunity to come into contact with very interesting people. Zev is definitely an interesting guy with some very interesting perspectives. To me the main story about Zev is self empowerment. And also how readily we often surrender our own personal power to others entirely based on the fact that we've been conditioned to do so. Or that we have no other alternatives other than what we're told by these authorities. In Zevs case it's his doctors. With a little bit of self education, Zev decided to turn his back on the conventional wisdom and methods and take charge for himself. Liz Birch talks with Zev and does a really wonderful job of relaying Zev's amazing story.

You can read the interview here: http://www.3rdward.com/winter2011/2010/12/9/delete-the-facts-how-zev-eisenberg-rejected-nys-top-oncologi.html

Persistence of Vision

2010-12-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

Sample from an Autumn themed shoot we did back in September. Stylist D. Hayden provided a very textural wardrobe of cable knits, woolens and silks in very earthen tones of greens, beiges, rusts and purples. Now one doesn't generally associate purple as an "earth" tone but in the blouse (seen in the top photo) it's quite muted and works very nicely in the Hayden's overall scheme.
For hair we had Takisha Mack. Takisha is a very skilled stylist who specializes in wigs and extensions. For our shoot she created a stunning mane of reds and blonde highlights mixed together in a wig which when placed on to the model, Nastya (courtesy of Fusion Model Management NY) completely transformed her. The difference is quite striking. Working with wigs and extensions is really quite an art and very difficult to make look convincing but Takisha does a great job with this, creating something that is both outrageous yet looks quite real and natural.
For make up we Had Maria Yeye. Maria is a frequent collaborator of mine with a great eye for color detail and combination. Working off the colors found in the wardrobe and Taksiha's hair creation, Maria put together a palette that completely ties everything together, completely complimenting the looks and helping to bring all the elements together into a complete look.
For my part I wanted to take a more abstract approach, and work with some contradictions. Like hard soft light and stilled movement. I'd worked with this concept before and I wanted to take this opportunity to build on that but work with it in a way that doesn't call too much attention to itself or that it overpowers everything else. I wanted to the technique to compliment rather than call attention to itself.
When the pictures are seen, I want them to be viewed as a whole work, something that is greater than each individual part yet at the same time showcasing each talents input.
I think we succeeded!
To see the full story drop by my website: www.stevereganato.com. It's in the womens section.

Alex Torres

2010-12-02T12:32:00.005-05:00

From a recent test with model Alex Torres. Alex came to us courtesy of designer Manuel de la Cruz, who is a friend of his. Alex is a model back in Guatemala and one of the best I've worked with. Dynamic and a strong sense of performance and creative Alex delivered shot after shot! He's very good at giving his performance a natural, from the heart feel, never played, always real.
Manuel provided the styling and Alex is a perfect choice to showcase Manuels work! Manuel is an excellent designer who is really starting to come into his own.
For make up and hair had Maria Yeye. Maria has a very acute understanding for working with men, which requires a very different approach since you really don't make up men as much as enhance them. If it doesn't look like he's made up, it's thanks to Maria's ability to both prepare him for camera yet keeping it natural.

For more images from this shoot stop by my website: http://www.stevereganato.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=3&p=1 in the mens section.

Gene Federonko

2010-11-22T20:54:00.005-05:00

From a series of images featuring Gene Federonko of Red Models NY. With Gene we wanted to do something a little different, more physical and Gene had the imagination and the physique to do some interesting and dynamic things.

To see more visit my website, http://www.stevereganato.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=1

It's in the mens section.

Styling, Hayden.

Hair, Takisha Mack.

Sometimes when the lights don't pop...

2010-11-02T17:58:00.001-04:00

Sometimes the most interesting images are the ones you don't plan on, the ones that happen when the lights don't go off like they should or just popping off the camera to test something. My first reaction was to throw them away but sometimes you get some really interesting things that way, a kind accidental art. In these accidents there's something different and genuine, the image is true to itself because the intent is gone. I've posted here a few of those unintentional snaps from my latest editorial Ebon Leatherette, which just published at Dimension Magazine. You can see the editorial here: http://www.dimensionmag.com/#/EBON_LEATHERENETTE

Pormi Gran Culpa - the unseen images

2010-09-09T11:16:00.000-04:00

A few additional images from the "Pormi Gran Culpa" editoral that came out last week in "Fantasicsmag".

You can see the editorial here: http://fantasticsmag.com/node/3418

Pormi Gran Culpa is the second part of a collaboration with designer Manuel de la Cruz. For those of you who may not know Manuel's work, Manuel is a great up and coming talent and definitely someone to watch. Manuel's work is more that just wrapping paper, he brings a strong personal narrative to his designs and his work is unique in that he is able to fuse this into his fashion, creating pieces that are very striking. Definitely keep an eye out for more great work form this designer!

Faith, it is divine!

2010-08-03T20:38:00.002-04:00

Recently I had the pleasure of having an editorial published! It's my first published editorial and it was published in Fantasitcsmag. Fantastics is a high quality publication that is available both in print and on line. We appeared in the on line edition. It's a great feeling and it really give you a sense of achievement when that happens.For most photographers this is pretty routine but it was a first for me so it's very exciting. And certainly I'll be producing more editorials!

This editorial, "Faith", showcases the spring '010 mens collection by Manuel De La Cruz. Manuel's work is more than just fashion, I think he works through fashion as a way of expressing a narrative, like an artist would use a canvas, to tell his story. There's an autobiographical element in Manuel's work and his choices of themes aren't arbitrary, they're symbolic of the things that have shaped Manuel's experience, and thus his vision and expression. For those of you who follow fashion Manuel is a very talented up and coming designer and is definitely someone to watch!
See the entire editorial at: http://www.fantasticsmag.com/node/3363

The eyes really are the gateway to the soul.

2010-07-28T10:10:00.001-04:00

One of the biggest challenges I face when working with models, particularly new models with little experience is getting the right performance from them. The way I see it, modeling is a performance art just like acting, singing or anything else one does in front of an audience. In order for what you're doing to work you have to sell the performance, even if its mugging for still pictures. Viewers have a sense of authenticity in a performance and that it what draws them in, what sells the image to them. If that sense of authenticity is not there, they pick up on that and what's worse, if its an advertisement or an editorial where conveying that sense of place and being are essential to the success of the piece. If you can't perform, no one can use you and you'll find yourself out of a career or doing very dull work very quickly. As a photographer part of my job is to elicit this performance from the talent. There's different strategies that I try, depending on the person, and not everything will work for everyone. Sometimes I try to get the model to run through a range of emotions, like method acting and I'll call out something, like "fury" or "melancholy" or "ecstasy", usually extreme emotion that require one to go a little over the top. If the model is more experienced we'll work with more subtle ideas like "sultry" which require less of a full on response physically, such as a strong facial expression, but still require a strong sense of connection. I'll also have the models look at examples of good modeling, this helps quite a lot as it serves not only as an example but also as an inspiration. Tests are a form of training for them, the last thing anyone wants to deal with, especially a client and a photographer on a real shoot where time is money, is OJT'ing a model. For me, each test session teaches me more about how to work with them, how to reach them for the best performance. Thus if the model can't find their performance, I have to, and on a job, So when working with new models on test be prepared to be patient but the end results can be very gratifying.

Medium Cool

2009-12-21T22:44:00.027-05:00

Sometimes the best things happen when you don't plan them. Setting up a shoot, any shoot is always a tight rope walk of coordination and sometimes things just happen. The unexplainable comes to visit. In the case of this shoot, it was the wardrobe that didn't show up! The original plan for this shoot was to be fashion. I'd been talking to the wardrobe stylist for about two weeks prior, going over looks and other details. Come day of the shoot, I have a model, hair stylist and make up artist... but no wardrobe stylist! This was, disappointing. I'm pretty understanding about things, I understand that accidents, mishaps, relatives and other acts of the divine can occur and keep someone from being on time. But at least let me know! After about an hour and numerous calls I figured that my stylist was going to be MIA today. Mr Murphy strikes! My usual fall back in these cases is to just shoot open head and shoulders beauty shot. It's pretty basic, standard stuff. But really I wanted this shoot the be something more. Not knowing what to do and having a having Danielle and Nicole staring at me looking for a stroke of genius... I had one! An inspiration came to me to call the person who I should have called in the first place... Butch Johnson! I'd worked with Butch Johnson once before. Well, actually twice. Except the first time we were to shoot, the model didn't show up. So no shoot. Not an auspicious start. But something just said "call him" so I did figuring that the way my luck was going, he wouldn't be around. Well, if luck taketh away, it also giveth and Butch was there, and then it seemed, he was here. With two large trunks full of stuff! It was Santa Claus in blue jeans! It was Christmas as far as I was concerned and Santa was delivering. Now, you might think, okay, so he got his wardrobe guy, what's the big deal? Well, in this case, a lot. Butch showing up like he did transformed our shoot. I had a wonderful make up artist and hair stylist in Danielle Sampieri, a fantastic model, Nicole Erber (Wilhelmina) but one thing I've learned is that styling, especially good styling really makes a huge difference in the pictures. It lends a completeness and narrative that adds an enormous amount of interest, and also raises the level of the work for all of us, Danielle, Nicole and myself. To me this is some of the best work I've ever done and I could not have done this with any other group other than Danielle, Nicole and Butch. Maybe this was the shoot we were meant to have after all. Funny how Mr Murphy works sometimes.
Happy Holidays.

Afternoon at the Improv

2009-12-13T16:50:00.000-05:00

14 November 2009. Sometimes you have to roll with the unexpected. For a while I've been looking to do something different, try something new. I shoot in the studio a lot and I really like work in that environment, but after a while you start looking to ways to change things up a bit. Shooting on location was certainly something that was on my mind but by this time of the year the weather was getting less accommodating so I decided to using the studio in a new and different way. I decided to make a small set. When I was an assistant I'd worked on a number of large set job and was always fascinated by it. I like the idea of creating environments in controlled situations. However, doing set work is extremely expensive and time consuming and because of that difficult to do for tests, where everything from financial resources to time are limited. Still, I felt that something simple could certainly be done so why not give it a shot?
I also wanted to use the opportunity to work with some a new team.
Enter Butch Johnson. Butch is a wardrobe stylist who works quite a lot with a good friend of mine, Dallas Logan. Dallas is an outstanding photographer and upcoming talent and his work has a great sense of detail and completeness and Butch with his great eye for styling and detail brought this to Dallas work. Butch and I had been talking for a while about putting something together and finally the circumstance allowed for us to do a shoot together. I only had a very loose concept in mind, really more a collection of elements, the "grass" and the "sky" and certain types of textures that I had in mind, satins, silks but light, not heavy looks. But Butch could see it. And he took it from there.

For make up and hair I called in Mann Nance. I'd worked with Mann one time before and he's an outstanding talent, both with hair (his specialty) and make up, which he's trying to build up more. Mann is a craftsman, an artisan who really understands the language of color, and skin and how they work together and how they relate to the larger whole, particularly the wardrobe. He does a great job of relating and pulling the entire thing together from the make up look to the hair styling.

For modeling talent I called an agency, picked a model and went on pulling things together.
Day of the shoot, we all start coming in, Mann dragging in his cases and Butch lugging in wardrobe bags and me. 10 o'clock was the call time and we were all there save for the model. Now usually I understand that people are late, especially if they are from out of town and don't know their way around. That's why I always ask the bookers to give the model my contact info, so I know what's going on.
Time starts going by and after a half an hour, still no sign of the model. Now I'm concerned. I've already had a no show from an agency model just the previous weekend. Now one thing that I expect from agency talent is a higher level of professionalism, and now I'm looking at two consecutive no shows from agency models! I couldn't believe this! Even though it's the model not showing up I still feel that if reflects very badly on me, so I found this upsetting. Finally I called the booker and eventually got him on the phone. After a bit of back and fourth and calling about he told me that he'd arranged another model for me. Relief!
But much valuable time had been wasted, 3 hours as it was. I only have the studio for a certain amount of time, 8 hours. And while it's nice we finally got someone there's now thing pressure hanging over the whole shoot that none of us needs.
Enter Ivory. The booker told me he was sending his best girl. Ivory came over as fast as she could, but now we were 4 hours into our shoot day and time was moving fast. She walked in and I pretty much handed her right over to Mann and before she had any idea of what was going on Mann already had her hair up and was apply his base layer. Fast forward an hour and Butch presents Ivory, all set to go, with one small problem. None of the shoes fit. Ivory's two sizes larger and there was just no way to fit Ivory into shoes that were pulled for the other model (this is one of the reasons why no-shows are such a big deal). Luckily Ivory had the presence of mind to bring a pair of her own. But they wouldn't work with everything and that changed the dynamic of the shoot. Where I originally was looking to do a lot of full length I now could hardly do any. So we had to improvise. I changed my shot selection entirely opting for more half figure and close ups, and in different ways such as laying down and sitting and so fourth.
Ivory was a great model to work with. Very pleasant and smart she has good instincts and picks up on just what the shot needs to happen and takes it from there. Thanks to Ivory's talent as a model we were able to move through the shooting very efficiently. I didn't have to take a lot of pictures to get the shot and in the end we came away with a good shoot. Different, which is what I was looking for but not what I was expecting. The shoot took a life of it's own in a way and having to think around the conditions I think we ended up where we were supposed to be anyway. That's working with the unexpected or you, sometimes you end up where you're supposed to be but have no idea how you got there.

On Models

2009-12-12T09:37:00.011-05:00

Over the past year I've been looking to work more with talent from modeling agencies as a way of getting better performers in front of the camera. A model isn't just some mannequin that you hang the clothes (or no clothes) on but rather they are the face, the energy, the embodiment of the shoot. What I've learned is that you can have the best make up artist, hippest styling, coolest concept and best camera gear money can buy none of it means anything if it can't be brought to life. And this is where good talent comes in. To me the agencies are the best place to have better odds (but, as I've also learned no guarantees) that you'll get this. In the fashion and beauty world there are certain standards of height, weight and general shape a model must conform to. But contrary to what one might think the model need not be the most "beautiful" by conventional standards. However they definitely need to have a gravity to them, something that makes you stop and look. The best models are ones who bring a sense of performance to what they do, they treat it like method acting. They don't merely throw you a series of stock poses they seem to embody the shoot, they take the concept and it's elements, the make up and hair styling, the wardrobe, the environment and breathe life into it, give it emotion and attitude, a bearing that completes the picture. This is what makes the picture "alive", beyond a document of what's in front of the camera but a statement. And that is what makes you stop at a given image and not just look but absorb it. The connection. Yes, everything else plays a part and no one element is greater than the whole. But a great model rewards the efforts of everyone else and together we create a wonderful work.

Some great performers I've worked with over the past year are Dre Davis, Melissa Purvis (both discussed here in previous posts), Amanda Tice, Catherine Long, Ashley Walker, Nazri, Yasmina, Ivory, Nicole Erber, Garret Lopez and Edwin.

Messing with Romaniticism

2009-07-02T09:49:00.003-04:00

A lot of times I look to painters of the past to help provide an inspiration for my ideas. For a while I'd been looking at the work of Romanticist painters like Ingres and David, whose sensual yet classical portraits have a clean, natural and idealized quality about them. With this in mind I set out to do a series of beauty pictures that draw on that tradition but also sit in the modern realm. So I began to visualize the look and feel of this whole thing from the model to the make up and wardrobe. For the face of the project I wanted a youthful beauty, strong, energetic and looking forward to life. I found this in model Melissa Purvis. Melissa is a new model yet very dedicated to her craft and one of the most professional talents I've worked with yet. Melissa is not someone who is going to go out there and "strike a pose", she is far, far more than that. Melissa is a performer and understands this crucial difference. You can give her a concept and like a good actress, she will give that concept life and dimension and a voice all in the silence of a photograph. And what's more, there's also the practical aspects of being a good professional, like being on time, having a good attitude and so fourth and I can't praise Melissa enough about this crucial yet underrated quality.

Next, comes the people who make it happen. For the make up artistry I was fortunate to have the highly experienced and talented Kirsten Sylvester. Kirsten has an art history background and had a wonderful sense for just what the right look would be and created the perfect palette for it. Another highly critical element is the hair. It's easy to overlook this but proper hair styling, especially for conceptual shoots like is critical to pulling the look together. For this I brought in Jawara Wauchope, an excellent hair stylist who created a look for Melissa that really embodies the Romanticist style that we were going for. For the wardrobe I turned to Leon Greene, who I collaborate with frequently. Leon, as always was able to touch the essence of the concept and still be fashion forward with it. So what he came up with was a set of brilliant looks that had the essence and feel of the romanticist look yet still modern. Pulling all these elements together we created a wonderful series of images I called "Ingres Muse" and it's some of my best work. But there'd be no work with out the talents and efforts of these artists and if this is considered a successful shoot, it's thanks to their ability to realize the concept and theme, bring it to life and put it in front of me. All I had to do was take the pictures.

You can see "Ingres Muse, Romanticist Beauty" on my website: www.stevereganato.com

Gauguin's muse

2009-03-22T20:33:00.008-04:00

20 March 2009. Sometimes you find someone who just has something about them, a certain quality that seems to defy descripion. Bobbie Genus is just such a model, Dre Davis (from my first posting) is another. Bobbie is just starting out and it was my make up artist, Maria Yeye who found her. Maria, aside from being a very talented artist seems to have an good eye for models and found some fantastic faces for a test shoot we were doing jointly with another model. We really liked Bobbie's look and felt she'd be a great second for our shoot.

Bobbie as a person is very quiet and reserved but and when she came out of make up I noticed right away she was going to be interesting to work with. Bobbie has an inspirational quality about her, she makes you think, for example she reminded me of the Tahitian beauties that Gauguin painted during his South Pacific days. These kinds of inspirations are wonderful, they help give a reference to work from and will effect everything from how I might work with the model to the lens, angle and lighting choices. One of the nice things about Bobbie is you can give her these references and and she relates to them, and has the imagination to build on those concepts and embody them, giving these ideas dimension and life. To me this is one of the qualities of a great model and working with Bobbie was a joy.

Dutch Master Jam

2009-03-08T21:01:00.010-04:00

22 Febraury, 2009.

And now for something completely different! His name is Shroom Psychadelic. I'm sure he has a given name but Shroom is what he likes to go by, and hey, who am I to question what one likes to be called? Anyway, I came across a posting he put up looking to be photographed and just couldn't pass him up. He was far too interesting. Editorial portraiture is something I've been looking to explore but you need the right kind of subject so here was a good opportunity.

I got to meet with Shroom prior to the shoot, which is rare. These days the whole shoot discussion process takes place over e-mails, which to me is a bit impersonal and really doesn't give you an opportunity to gauge someone and get an idea of how they are. So to meet personally allowed me to get a feel for who he is and what he's like a bit more. As we talked about ideas for the shoot Shroom mentioned that he was interested in something rock and roll. We decided on a kinda late 60's early 70's approach. I thought this was great and had lots of possibilities. I contacted Leon Greene as I felt he would be able to grasp this effectively from a styling point of view. Normally Leon is about high fashion and I wasn't sure how he would react to this but he was very interested in the idea. I asked him to tap into his inner Jimmy Hendrix/ Syd Barrett /Bob Dylan while keeping a foot in todays world.

With males make up is not as critical but I think it's still necessary and for that I turned to long time collaborator, Aina Lee. I've worked with Aina several times and she's always a great partner to work with and I knew she would get the idea and know just how to handle it. She had expressed an interest in adding some males to her portfolio and I thought this would be a good opportunity.

So with my key players in place all that was left now was to shoot.

Come shoot day I learned from Shroom that due to some scheduling issues he would not be able to give me more than a couple of hours. I also learned that he was coming out of an all night studio session. And when he walked into the studio, he looked like it. Eyes half closed and red and I could tell he was running on his reserve battery. But he got right into it.

We had very little time so I worked fast and as best I could to make each shot more of a "hit". Shroom was a true pro, I think he reached down inside and found the energy to hang in there and stay awake. And we came away with some very good shots! Leon came up with a wardrobe that captured the spirit of the rock scene we were looking to invoke and Aina's make up really helped freshen up his look and skin. This pays real dividends later in re-touching. In the end we had a short, rushed but very good shoot. Shroom was happy with the results as was the whole team.

The Bearable Lightness of Being

2009-02-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

31 January 2009, Brooklyn, New York.

I had an inspiration of doing a series of fashion images that were to be light and soft. Everything was to be light, the wardrobe, the lighting, all would all have a softer, more diffuse quality. For the model I contacted the very beautiful, very French Sita Margeaux. Sita has a very interesting look and I thought she would make a good choice for this concept. For the wardrobe I once again I turned to Leon Greene and his sense of fashion and design for a styling solution. We talked about the concept, Sita and her particular look and what some wardrobe possibilities might be. We decided on a more ambitious styling approach than we had with Dre and with that Leon went to work. For make up and hair I called on Evelyn Rodriguez. Evelyn does both and I thought she would be great for this shoot. Evelyn has a great eye for color and a nice sense of application. She's also as good a professional as they come, very attentive on set and efficient with make up and hair changes. Evelyn, working with lighter colors and tones created some very beautiful schemes that really worked wonderfully with the look we were after. Leon came up with a wardrobe based on soft, light, delicate textures and colors that when combined with Evelyn's make up artistry and the softer lighting scheme gave the images a very smooth, creamy feel. Then Sita came in and took it all over! She brings a great deal of energy with her and really likes to move and swing and dance and all this gave the shoot a very lively and engaging feel that really came out in the pictures. Sita emotes very well and we did quite a bit of work with different expressions. All these elements together combined to create a shoot that was radiant, lively and a great deal of fun.

To see more images from the shoot, visit my website at: www.stevereganato.com

Chiaroscuro

2009-02-25T22:27:00.000-05:00

18 January 2009, Brooklyn, New York.

Started the year off with a test of model Adriane Davis. Adriane with her fair complexion and short, light blonde hair has a very unique look and I wanted to do something a bit different with her. I turned to wardrobe stylist and designer Leon Greene. Leon and I decided to set Adriane's fair look against a dark, contrasty environment for her to emerge out of. Leon created a beautiful wardrobe based on blacks and indigos, using both very sleek close fitting looks and ones with more shape. Leon incorporated some amazing textures that added a further level of detail without which I think the images would not be nearly as interesting.

For make up and hair I brought in Jean Marie-Tucker. Jean Marie and I have worked one time before and while I know she doesn't have much experience I knew this would be a great shoot for her to really show what she can do. Jean is a recent graduate of the Make Up Designatory program and I have worked with a number or their graduates. All of them are excellent professionals and artisans and I felt very good that Jean Marie would do a wonderful job. Sure enough, Jean Marie came through, we discussed the basic look and feel of the shoot and she created a beautiful palette for Dre. Jean Marie's choices of colors, tones and application really worked well with Dre's look and work perfectly with Leon's styling. Jean really did a top notch job! Together they gave Dre a very, dramatic, intense look.

Dre brought it all to life. Dre is an excellent model, a true professional in every sense she models with great energy and imagination. A real performer she took the whole concept and gave it dimension and depth and the pictures have a real power to them as a result.

For me, this shoot was truly an experience of the sum being greater than the parts. All of us are really thrilled with the result!

To see more images from the shoot, visit my website at www.stevereganato.com.