Mar 09

Deconstruct This Photo 2.0

Deconstructing the work of others has been--and continues to be--one of the most influential things in my technical development as an artist. I’ll always bring my own vision, but I’m constantly asking myself, how in the hell was this, that, or the other photo made?That said, we’ve dug into this before on a similar post that proved to be quite popular and--according to feedback--fun and helpful. As such, I’m interested to hear how YOU think... read more ›
Mar 04

The Best Photo + Video Locations in the World

In the era before blogs really hit the mainstream, it was very unpopular in photography circles to share thoughts, techniques and insights about the craft as well as the industry/trade. It was taboo. Well, the monopoly on information has obviously crumbled and, while it upset a handful of ivory-towered folks in the photo, film and video industries, we've broken out of that paradigm to a new era of more democratized creativity. Let's consider doing the... read more ›
Mar 02

Making Old Spice Sausage with Wieden + Kennedy

Ok, I promised a follow up to Friday's funny video post about making sausage. If you missed it, my point was largely that shooting ads and making commercials is much like making sausage--you love the taste of it, but you'd probably risk losing your appetite if you watched it being made.That last part of that statement is of course tongue-in-cheek, since learning more about how we make this sort of stuff--as it relates to... read more ›
Feb 26

Building Sets, Making Sausage and Making Fake Snow

http://www.facebook.com/v/357096821404There's the fancy part of photoshoots that, frankly, gets too much press. Because real photoshoots and films are made in the trenches. Might be an epic and cinematic image looking through the camera, but more often than not you're standing next to a freeway composing the shot with snot running outta your face, the models is standing on platform painted to look like the background because they're too short for the set, and the PA... read more ›
Feb 24

R.I.P. CR Johnson

Just got off the phone with some good friends at Freeskier and Snowboard Magazines and learned some painful news. The news of the sudden death of a friend and one of the great skiers of our generation, CR Johnson. I feel compelled to share this here, in large part because we connected through photography. According to eyewitnesses, CR got caught up on rocks going off a cliff on Light Towers at his local Squaw Valley,... read more ›
Feb 24

Another Chase Jarvis LIVE Event Tomorrow (Thursday)

If you happened to tune in on January 29th, we broadcast an all-day, 100% LIVE feed of a commercial photoshoot from our studio in Seattle. (Original post here.) We had a great time with it and got a nice bunch of feedback from y'all. So, as a followup, based on your request, we're bringing the next installment of Chase Jarvis LIVE back at you again Thursday, February 25th from 10am to 12:30pm (PST, which is... read more ›
Feb 23

Creative Advice from Carl Jung

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." -Carl JungI read this quote right about the same time I stumbled on Aaron Gustafson's work. Aaron, a recent MFA graduate from Parson's, it seems has a love for skydiving. Aaron is creatively compelled to shoot with a 4x5. Aaron is letting his mind play with... read more ›
Feb 19

Who Says You’re A Great Lover?

In any business, some people are better at getting their name out there than others. Artists are no exception. Advertising, Marketing, Public Relations, or Branding? Don't know the difference? These cartoons should help.Are you strong where you want to be? Are people talking about your work, your creativity, your vision? This is laced with some humor, but we artists have a good bit to be learned from this, actually. The rest of the options after... read more ›
Feb 16

To Shoot or Not To Shoot

I heard a revving engine. Then a screech. Then a crash. And then I saw a man get hit by a car. Just moments ago. Actually, he wasn't simply hit: I caught view of him milliseconds after he'd been struck by one car, while slammed momentarily between it and another car, this one parked. They were smashed--bumper to bumper--and as the two cars recoiled off one another, he crumpled to the ground. I was the... read more ›
Feb 15

Which Photo is Better: A or B?

I was just recently commissioned for a campaign and shot about 1000 images to capture final image for this well known sports company. In the end, it came down to the two images above. As is usually the case, the final image is tough to choose, with lots of factors under consideration, lots of stakeholders picking their favorite. There was much debate. I’ve posted stuff like this before and was really excited by the resulting... read more ›