montana photo blog
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on the beach with Kat Sand
With a great day of weather, a fantastic model and a crew that knows the ropes my job is a piece of cake. We shot the most recent campaign for Kat Sand on the beach at singer island then headed back to the studio to shoot the look book which is a series of images to show prospective buyers the entire line of clothing. Our model Jessica from Elite Miami was fantastic and made the transition from 20 mph winds on the beach to the white seamless in the studio perfectly. Mish, our make up artist with CA Palm Beach knocked the ball out of the park and Kat was the perfect stylist (of course). Keep your eyes peeled for the print work that is to come!
TECH NOTE:
For those tech peeps out there the beach shots were lighted using a Dyna Light battery pack to plug in a 1000w power pack. I shot with a bare head (frosted dome) and 9″ reflector exposing for the models face. we shot at about 11am in order to be able to blow out the background making it a bit more surreal. We placed the model in the shade of a palm tree to kill the highlights on her hair making the light appear very soft. The sand did the rest of the work for us reflecting the sun right back up at the model.
2,000 feet to the deck and no door
the key is to shoot your self portrait and act like you don't know its being taken
20 below zero is way to cold to shoot out of the window!
no flip flops here
I’m hired quite a bit to shoot aerial images for everything from lifestyle in the Turks and Caicos to a golf course in Bermuda. All of these shoots have one thing in common. Preparation. If you climb into that helicopter unprepared you will not return with the images your client has paid you to produce. here is a brief look at the things i do before and during an aerial shoot.
1. talk to your pilot- go over all your needs before the shoot date, discuss weather delays and postponement costs. These vary from service to service. Remember, almost every pilot that you fly with has been on hundreds of photo shoots, some of them will know the light better then you! There should be no surprises on shoot day.
2. be prepared to give the pilot the gps to your shoot location and your pickup location if your not leaving from the airport with the pilot. be early to your pick-up, the clock is ticking and you are paying for every minute. If you are flying for quite a distance before you arrive at the shoot area discuss with the pilot where you will be taking off the doors. You don’t want to fly for an hour sans doors, it slows you down (costs you cash) and is LOUD.
3. take ONLY what you need, this is no 747 with overhead carry on space. depending on the bird, your space will vary from none to nothing. For most shoots i carry two D3 bodies with dual 8 Gig cards in each. Most of the time i use a 70-200mm and a 24-70mm. These cover most of what i need. i gaffer tape my lens shades to my lenses. Remember, the door is off and you are hanging out of copter inside of a wind tunnel. the worst thing next to you taking a dive to the deck 2000 feet below is your lens shade blasting back into the rear rotor. Empty your pockets of anything you dont need, you will be sliding back and forth in the back seat and your wallet sliding out and into the sea below is neither cool nor environmentally friendly. Cell phones, sunglasses, eyeglasses, pens, shot lists…keep everything in a safe place. I use a Zing bag that has a drawstring closure and a clip on the side.
4. Flash cards- Take more then enough cards, there are no quick runs to the car to grab more cards. Make sure all of your cards are formatted, you will be changing your cards on the go so cut a step out of the process by having the cards ready to go.
5. if only one door can come off, when given the choice, i always have the door on the pilots side taken off. Its easier when you are discussing landmarks to be on the same side.
6. this is going to sound odd but hear me out. i gaffer tape my seat belt, i wrap it a couple times around the clasp. Why you ask?My second or third flight i was shooting a couple walking down the beach at sunrise. It was chilly so i had on a jacket which was a bit bulky. Leaning my body out of the helicopter and resting my feet on the skid i shot for about an hour until the sun was too high. i called on my radio to the producer that we would make a flight path change and moved back inside to move over to the other side of the back seat. When i reached down to open my seat belt it was gone, not connected. There beside me, un-lifesaving, the belt had come undone and i didnt realize it as i rested on the skids my life unknowingly in my own hands. so, one small strip of tape wrapped around my belt is an insurance policy that i’m willing to take an extra 30 secs to prepare.my last piece of advice, watch that liquid intake before the flight!
no panic at this disco
stylist extraordinaire sloane sapan steps into the set
giuseppe stikes the traditional test pose
perfect lips and eyelashes
nikki, montana and sloane
michelle, nikki, sloane and giuseppe
Shoot day at 251 Palm Beach is one of our favorite locations and today was extra special because we were tasked with shooting a portrait of one of our favorite ladies in the world, the one and fabulous Nikki Oden of Eleven Spa Vegas and Eleven Spa Delray
You are going to have to wait to see the final images in use when you get your invite to the Studio 54 party on 11.11.09. Not on the guest list? no problem, just throw out my name and you be just fine:) Or, just in case, click here and sign up
from missed flights to miss scotland
models Mhairi Cairnduff (left) and Miss Scotland 2007, Nieve Jennings (right) wearing the Fall line of Tartan Spirit
having arrived in glasgow, scotland after 36 hours of travel, 5 missed connections, lost baggage and stolen equipment things were looking a bit flat…but wait there is a bright side. A simple shoot of the “ladies” boat ride and luncheon turned into a great opportunity to photograph two models during a post-luncheon, boutique fashion show that showcased the fabulous fashion designs of Scottish designer Joyce Young.
Joyce, creator of Tartan Spirit, was on hand to emcee the fashion show which was lead by no other than Nieve Jennings, Miss Scotland 2007. These images were shot while the models walked in between the ladies lunch tables. I asked each girl to pause in a spot where i was able to utilize the bright side light coming in through a window. By using the soft daylight as a main light i was able to utilize the warm tungsten light to complete the mood of the room. Oh, and by the way…i had less then 10 secs to shoot 2 frames of each shot
raw and uncompromised
i have had many assistants ask why i shoot jpg+raw for everything i shoot from Visa ads to test shoots. i have always answered the same way, “you never know” here are a couple of those you never knows in action. The Tiger Woods shot and the Padraig Harrington trophy shots were a no brainer to shoot raw but the shot of the hands wasn’t so much. That shot came during another shoot for American Express. What you are looking at is a cropped version of the original which was a full body vertical image. (You have to love the Nikon D3’s) So when you are shooting, shoot raw. Don’t take a chance on missing out on potential large scale usage and larger usage fees! With digital storage so cheap you have no excuses to not shoot raw.
the traveling dream…or not
wow, you get to travel 200+ days a year and get paid for it! This is the most common reaction when chatting with someone about my business. It’s true, we do get to travel to a ton of killer locations all over the world and after 10 years and over 2 million miles on delta i still enjoy the locations, but it isn’t always as glamorous as it seems.
Take this trip for instance, i am in Cincinnatti shooting 150 portraits of the nations best junior golfers for the PGA of America. Seems easy enough on paper…that is until the thunderstorms hit west palm last night as we were on the tarmac. ok, so we are delayed a couple hours but not to worry, amazingly enough i am actually on a direct flight. I’m prepared with book in hand and a rented movie on my iphone so i am not concerned. When i wake up, the hot coffee my seatmate spilled has just reached skin…this coffee is almost Mcdonalds hot! She apologizes and we get the spill contained just as the pilot announces our detour around what looks to me like a wise decision. The thunderhead is approximately the size of iowa and looks like a scene straight out of the movie Twister. So, with this in flight delay we land 3 hours late. Now to the baggage claim…ahhh, yes the odds are against me on this one. We flew on a overbooked commuter so odds are at least one of my four 70 lb pelican cases made a circuitous trip to atlanta on it’s way to the Queen City.
I wait until it’s just me and the baggage guy eying my incomplete stack of gear. I begin the walk of shame bagless to the baggage room hoping that there is one more late flight in with one last pelican case and a stand bag. 30 min later with the dreaded lost bag report in hand i wander near the number 1 bag area and there before my eyes is one pelican case and one stand case sitting all alone! Are you kidding me? it came in the oversize bag area…i did not see that coming. i consider going back into the delta room and have a chat but, it’s now after 9pm and i still have to set up for a 7am first shot. So off i head to the rental car shuttle pick-up. This is always fun alone, oh did i mention that i am sans assistants on this one? Just me, 5 bags and 150 high schoolers over two days. The rental car shuttle bus comes and inevitably i have a crowd behind me muttering as i fill the entire luggage space up with my gear. My reserved SUV has interestingly morphed into a toyota matrix, not so SUV.
After a 45 min drive to the location i walk into a dining room with a note that says i can set up my gear in the corner between the breakfast buffet and the desert table, interesting to say the least. I set up as far out of the way as i can and hope for the best when morning comes, oh, its already here. It’s midnight and i still have to check in my hotel which is named… wait for it…THE GREAT WOLF LODGE. Yes indeed, a giant faux log cabin hotel with a huge indoor waterpark. If there is one thing i do love it is a theme hotel, things are looking up!
6am comes early and i head to the breakfast buffet, i mean my shooting space. The kids start pouring in at 7 and now at 10:30 i am 41 portraits into the day. All things considered its been a smooth trip so far and lets face it, any day you get work where you can reach over and grab breakfast without standing up is a good day. more coffee please…
my eat in studio...note the chef restocking for the lunch rush
foodART9 Happy Hour Friday July 23 5-9pm!!
here is a quickie video of some of the preproduction for FoodART9 at 251 Palm Beach. Join us tomorrow to see more of the behind the scenes as well as the final images. We will be at Hot Pie Pizza in downtown west palm beach. 123 south olive ave wpn fl 5-9 happy hour drink specials including $55 veuve-clicquot bottles!!
the art of shooting artwork with a tennis ball
how to shoot artwork with a tennis ball
ok, so we aren’t really using a tennis ball to shoot, but it’s an easy way to remind students about light and reflection on shiny artwork. A perfect example of how to shoot large, difficult paintings presented itself when artist and good friend, Paul Aho www.paul-aho.com completed a new commission. Paul’s artwork presents many challenges due to multiple layers of glazes and paint . Since I have photographed hundreds of Paul Aho paintings, I am not shocked by odd exposures or reflections. Each of his paintings reacts differently to light so the exposure is always in question, especially with 8-foot paintings.
Here are the 5-steps that i take to shoot artwork with a couple pics thrown-in along with a bonus installation pic to give you an idea of the scale of the paintings.
1. EQUIPMENT – I use a minimum of 2 strobes and umbrellas for each side. As a rule i always want my umbrellas to cover, at the very least, the entire length of the artwork. For this shoot I used two, four-foot umbrellas. ALWAYS shoot on a tripod. You cannot stay square to the painting without one.
2. CAMERA – i shoot raw and jpeg for all my jobs, but especially for artwork. The artist may want to use this image for giclee editions so you want the quality to be the highest you can produce. I measure from the floor to the center of the painting and then i square my camera to the artwork and raise the center of the lens to this number. This will give you a square shot and a fighting chance at having a clean undistorted shot of the artwork. Without this step you might as well just figure on way too much time in photoshop. Remember, you get paid to shoot the image, not for unnecessary post production.
3. LIGHTS – set up your lights about 45 degrees to the face of the artwork and about 8 feet from the center of the artwork. You will need to raise one light so that the bottom of the umbrella is at the height of the center of the painting. Set the other light below this one as close to directly underneath as you can so that the top of this umbrella butts right up against the bottom of the top light. When shooting artwork, always try to shoot at F16 or higher to avoid any focus issues.
3. THE TENNIS BALL TEST – I don’t actually throw one, but you can if you want. Stand facing the artwork next to the umbrella on the right. Imagine throwing a tennis ball from the middle of the umbrella toward the artwork. Would it hit the camera? Think so? then you will need to move the lights away from the camera/artwork center line. Glare, unlike the tennis ball, isnt always very obvious. Since we no longer shoot test polaroids, make sure you look VERY close on your monitor.
4. WHITE BALANCE – When shooting strobes I NEVER shoot on the “flash” setting. While this may be close, close is not good enough for a commercial photographer. I always preset white balance when the exposure is determined to ensure a neutral image for the client. Once the white balance is set we shoot an image of the greycard and pull it up in photoshop to verify the numbers as neutral.
5. SHOOT – Now its time to shoot, every painting will react differently to the strobes so continually verify your exposure through your histograms. The less you are messing around in post the better the quality of your image and just as importantly, time saved is money earned.
Finished image of painting from the "Rio de Ais" body of work
Samantha holds the grey card (note the glare above her head because my lights were to close to the center line)
we like to call him MR. Neutral...
Paul Aho installing the final painting in "Rio de Ais"
new to our blog?
don’t just skim the surface of this fancy dan blog, look to your right…seriously go to the top right of this post and you will see the archived posts by month. So dig in deep and see what we have been up to this year!
summer intern fun in the sun with samantha
Samantha and Alicia time the throw perfectly
My name is Samantha and I’ve been interning with Montana this summer. When I’m not editing photos or struggling to carry heavy equipment I have been assisting on photo shoots. On this particular shoot my job was splashing water on the model, Alicia. It sounds easy but having to time it perfectly and actually swing the heavy water bucket with good aim at a jumping model proved to be quite difficult. Between soaking myself a few times and accidentally getting splashed by Michele it was definitely an experience. I felt bad having to soak Alicia but after being splashed myself I realized how good it felt in the heat. I guess now I can consider myself experienced in the “art” of throwing water.
Check out this behind the scenes video to see the shoot in action:
FoodART9 LIVE at 251 Palm Beach
FoodART9 LIVE in the VIP at 251 Palm Beach
WOW…a huge thanks to the 400+ that attended FoodART9 LIVE last Friday night at 251 Palm Beach. For those of you that missed it or didn’t get there early enough to get a front row view here are a few images of the behind the scenes of Chef Jeremy Hanlon working his magic on the food. Also pictured are the fabulous hair stylist (lower center-kerrie urban) and makeup artists (top left- Michele poletti front and kristin brown back) from Contributing Artists ( www.ca-palmbeach.com). Coming soon are more images which will include the amazing styling sisters of HOT PINK STYLE and perhaps an image of yours truly. enjoy!
FoodART9 is here and it’s LIVE baby!!
Montana Pritchard and Jeremy Hanlon, the creators of FoodART
invite you to join the models and be a part of this voyeuristic view behind the scenes
of their latest collaboration of taste, texture and desire.
Watch as Montana and Jeremy create the imagery during a LIVE photo shoot for this year’s FoodART exhibition.SPECIAL to this year’s exhibition
is the opportunity for 5 groups to be a part of the FoodART experience
by purchasing the option of joining the FoodART9 models in the VIP and being photographed in the scene.
Each group will receive a limited edition signed print
and a bottle of champagne to help celebrate the evening.The 3rd annual FoodART event will take place
July 17, 9-11pm
251 Palm Beach
251 Sunrise Ave, Palm Beach Florida 33480
there is no cover for this eventTo be placed on the guest list and for more information visit:
www.foodart9.com
For club information and for table reservations:
www.251pb.com
or call 561.818.2944au naturale…well, almost
Amy holds the hard side to fill the front for me
Don't try this at home...amy has actually patented this tilting feathered light move
sometimes you travel a long way ( 2,000 miles) with a lot of equipment (6 cases) and all you really need is a bit of bounce from my favorite reflector, the California Sun Bounce. This is not your father’s oval, how in the hell can you get this light on the subject reflector. This thing is TIGHT and simple to set up. Enough about the bounce, the light was killer for our PGA Magazine golf instruction set ups. We shot 6 different instructors, which will hold them over for 6 more months before we tackle the next ones.
oh, a special shout out to the iphone photographer/writer don jozwiak for the stellar imagery he has provided to us. the check is in the mail don…
where the deer and the antelope play
indian paintbrush fill the foreground with pikes peak in the background full of snow
a mule deer buck browses the fresh greens on hole number 11
it’s 5:30am, 40 degrees and my breath is fogging up the viewfinder. just another beautiful day on the front range of the rocky mountains in colorado. i’m shooting at the Colorado Golf Club for the PGA of America’s Senior Championships advertising campaign.
the course is in perfect shape which certainly makes the job much easier!
puppy love
We have a new little fella at the studio! Amy adopted Piper from the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm & now she’s lucky enough to call the studio her new home away from home
30,000 feet plugged in and wireless…
as i sit in 2c on Delta flight 1907 to Denver for a 7 day golf course location shoot i am plugged into power with my regular power cord and posting this via my Gogo wireless connection. its official, i will now feel guilty kicking back and reading a book while flying. Well, maybe not
sunny afternoon in florida for Mastercard shoot…priceless
who needs the sun with HMI's like these at your disposal
1st assistant Simon sporting his kilt look alike shorts with montana on the big glass in the background
the sound of silence...the photo blimp at work
Always a class act, Gary Player thanks the crew for all of the hard work.
amazingly enough the weather held all day long for our Mastercard Priceless shoot for McCann Erickson and Octagon. here are a few bts glimpses into the day.
behind the scenes with horses and celebrities
take a look at some footage shot by our behind the scenes video ninja Brock during a recent shoot of Rodrigo Pessoa and Alexia Weeks for Vicomte-Arthur
mannequins and milano
renzo preps Cali's hair for the finished looks
creative briefs and the long arm of the law
creative director Giuseppe and renzo prepping for a night out on the town
montana explains to the mannequin her role in the shoot
cali and mary the mannequin working hard
yesterday was shoot day in the studio for Enzo Milano. we had a great shoot of which i cannot show you any final images yet, you have to wait for the campaign to hit print. we can show you a few behind the scenes images for now. We were very fortunate to be able to book Cali, a model based in Paris. She was fantastic and made us all miss the city of lights!
we have lift off…
ok, so you have to take my word for it. that speck of light is the space shuttle. my 600mm did its best but from 150 miles away from the launch site it didnt have a chance. after a weekend of location work we decided to take a break and go watch the launch from the beach. it was a perfect beach day and if we weren’t shooting tomorrow im not sure we would have come back to the office!
