Fun morning shooting some new headshots for Ian Alden, an actor from Toronto. We started the morning shooting on location then settled nicely at the home studio with some natural light (and reflector) shots. This was the final image we chose.

Soundtrack in the studio for this morning shoot was Coldplay’s new album Mylo Xyloto.

Thanks to Colette for her assistance.

A couple of months ago I was contacted by designer Kirill to discuss shooting a lookbook for Inna Clothing’s latest designs. Previously, when I had shot a lookbook for their design company, Kirill was in Australia. So it was great to meet him, connect with Inna again and collaborate with them both on their latest lookbook. Leading up to the shoot Kirill and I discussed lighting, possible locations and models that might best suit their designs. The studio shoot was easy to figure out but we had some challenges regarding the location shoot. We were shooting studio and location on the same day thus rendering time our biggest challenge while taking into account budget and weather. Kirill had done a model search and narrowed it down to three possibilities and we eventually chose Ksenia M from Elite Model Management. She’s stunningly beautiful and she suited the image of Inna Clothing.

We started in the studio and I pretty much had my lighting set up before everyone arrived. I used my four light set up with the Elinchrom Rotalux soft box for key. We were charged up and excited as we went over the designs and preferred sequence for shooting. Kirill is not only a very interesting person with a great passion for what he does but his overall creative and enthusiastic vibe is contagious. Both he and Inna were on the ball and had a sharp eye for every detail. After hair and make up were done we got straight down to shooting and the shoot went fairly quickly. Actually, I could have done the required shots in less time but I shot extra frames because I loved the designs and our fabulous model.  All good.

We decided to shoot the black coat outside for a more editorial feel. For our location we had found an alley way within walking distance of the studio. I had to work fast because it was cold and we had limited time with Ksenia. I had my one Elinchrom Ranger head with a beauty dish for my lighting and in spite of the challenges of the location and time restraints, we got the shots we needed.

An overall great time once again shooting designs for Inna Clothing Company. Inna and Kirill are fabulous designers and two really great people. Always a pleasure to work with them and thanks for selecting me to help bring your vision to light.

Special thanks to Lindsay Angela Martin for the awesome job for hair and make up.

Big thanks to Colette for her assistance, muscle (power packs get very heavy after walking a couple of blocks) and for some excellent behind the scenes shots.

Soundtrack for this day was Garbage’s self titled album and the Version 2.0 album.

Visit www.innacc.com for more information on Inna Clothing Company.

Second night of this great event featured Jean-Pierre Braganza and my favourite designer from both nights, Todd Lynn.  These are some of my favourites from the evening.  Btw, I love the shoes, all by Anastasia Radevich.

Overall a great two days and an awesome job by show producer Paola Fullerton.

Thanks to Desia from Brill Communications.

Special thanks to Steve Alkok (house photographer) for adjusting the lighting before the show.

All images from the Jean-Pierre Braganza runway show can be viewed here.

All images from the Todd Lynn runway show can be viewed here.

To the people that attended, can you really smoke that thing?

One of the exciting events during Rogue Fashion Week in Toronto was The shOws which was held at The Ritz Carlton in downtown Toronto. Hosted by Coco Rocha, it was a two day event featuring four canadian designers for an intimate, invitation only runway show featuring their new Spring/Summer 2012 designs. Day one featured Thomas Tait and Calla Haynes and these images are of some of my favourite designs from the runway show.
It was great to see some familiar faces in the pit (Ron, Raymond and Dickson) from past runway shows in Toronto and also great to meet new photographers as well. My spot in the pit was just right of the runway on top of the platform and I found my D700/70-200 2.8 VRII combo a bit short of what I thought would be the sweet spot in shooting with the lighting and my position in relation to the runway.  I had my D300 and probably should have used it for the extra reach and at ISO 500, with which I was shooting, I wouldn’t have a problem with noise. Regardless, I was able to get some great images.

All images from the Thomas Tait runway show can be viewed here.

All images from the Calla Haynes show can be viewed here.

I love this shot! Not only was I able to capture that little something in her eyes but I was trying to emulate some great black and white images from some old Vanity Fair magazines I was looking through. I was trying to keep the set up simple and I feel like this photo has that film like quality. Okay, Colette is beautiful and I really can’t miss a great shot of her, but still…

Soundtrack to the shoot was Roxy Music’s album Siren.

Quick shot of Colette just before attending a wedding. The massive soft box (7 feet by 5 feet window x 5) from our loft has that amazing light and I have been trying of late to utilize it for portrait and fashion work. Now only if we could eat in the kitchen without the 9 foot seamless hanging…

Music for the quickest photo shoot ever was Tony Bennett’s new album Duets II.