Fashion editorial: Gwen Albers

2 or so years ago, I met the lovely actress/model Gwen Albers at an Indieworks screening (if you love short films, it's the perfect place, trust me - and there's one happening tonight!) and she has come to be one of my favorite kindred spirits in the city. She so thoroughly impressed me when I saw her fantastic performance in a short film there that I immediately sought her out after, and the rest is history. Fast forward to now, and I'm excited to share some photos from our first official collaboration (hopefully one of many to come!), which I'm happy to say is also some of my favorite new work!

We spent the day working our way through Brooklyn, taking advantage of its fantastic street art, beautiful parks, and impressive architecture - a perfect hyper-saturated representation of New York City's creative culture. We roamed from the Williamsburg Bridge to Dumbo to Red Hook and everywhere in between, and had the most gorgeous sunset glow to work with during the golden hour (a photographer's dream!). Gwen was a natural in front of the camera, and her beautiful spirit inside and out definitely came through, which was wonderful to work with. Add in the beautiful clothing and pieces provided by Dutchess clothing, and I couldn't have asked for a better shoot that day, or better weather. Here are some of my favorites, and can't wait to shoot with Miss Gwen again!

My Fashion Photography Challenge!

A few months ago, I had a fun but unusual writing assignment for a photography blog. They gave me the challenge of creating a fashion shoot on a $200 budget, the goal being to emphasize the ability to produce quality imagery on any price point. While it was definitely a tricky assignment, it also proved to be both engaging and entertaining in unexpected ways, and was a nice way to shake up my typical photographic approach. 

Selecting all the equipment you would need (including lighting) with only $200 to spend is a near impossible task, but I eventually elected on a metal backdrop setup, a muslin backdrop, and a continuous light source. While not ideal, it fit the parameters of the assignment well, especially given the high price tags associated with strobes or speedlights. The continuous light was not as bright as I'd hoped, but given the brand I had to use and the price point I was restrained by, I could only set expectation so high. 

Several of my wonderful actor friends were more than happy to be my test models, and I am pretty impressed with what a solid job all of them did; it certainly made my job easier! While it was supposed to be a challenge, it certainly allowed me to focus on making the setup work rather than purely focusing on posing, which was a welcome change of pace. We of course treated the shoot with the utmost level of professionalism, but that doesn't mean somem fun outtakes with stuffed animals and balloons weren't to be had as well. A big thank you to all of my friends who helped me out with their fantastic modeling skills (Lauren A. Kennedy, Rob Ceriello, Shannon Terrel, and Neil Brown) and can't wait to see what the next assignment brings!

Delicious Dishes: Tiny's & The Bar Upstairs

Back in October, I had the pleasure of trying my hand at food photography for Tiny’s & The Bar Upstairs, a chic upscale restaurant located in the heart of Tribeca. They  needed some imagery of the fall additions to their menu, and I couldn’t have been more excited to work with them, as their food is as beautiful as it is delicious.. From scrumptious scallops to their homemade kit kat bar, it was easily my most delectable shoot to date, and who can deny the best part; getting to enjoy all the dishes once we finished taking the photos!

Below are some of my favorites from the shoot, and looking forward to their next menu revamp!