Mar 13

Chasing Photographs (and Adventure) On Location In New Zealand

One thing that never gets old for me is the adventure of location photography. I thrive on the travel and escaping from one’s day-to-day, the challenges that Mother Nature conjures up and deploys on you at a whim, and the camaraderie of a crew – be it large or small – united on a mission in search of a stunning photo or two. Now combine that "one thing that never gets old" with another -... read more ›
Dec 20

How To Prepare for Your Commercial Photo or Video Shoot — 10 Things Clients Expect In Your Production Notebook

One golden rule to a great photoshoot is to start with great production. A smooth production puts everyone and everything in the right place for the shoot to succeed long before the shutter button gets pressed. That said, I have some of the best producers in the biz on staff. And here, Megan outlines one essential to every commercial production - the production notebook. Use this info to help make your next production run smooth... read more ›
May 07

Best Photo Locations: Abandoned Six Flags In New Orleans

If you're primarily an on-location photographer or filmmaker, then you know how much value a great location can add to the shoot. So today I'm introducing another Series (ala the 'Emerging Talent' and others...) where I feature supercool locations around the world. Stuff I discover, stuff that other send me, places I'd love to shoot. Of course feel free to chime in, share, link, or otherwise contribute in... read more ›
Mar 15

10 Essentials to Go the Extra Mile (for Your Clients + Crew)

extra mile 1
Hello, readers! Megan here, Producer at Chase Jarvis Inc. We’ve just returned from an amazing 6-day shoot in Aspen, CO. You perhaps read about it here, here, or here. It got me thinking about client/crew relationships and customer service. One of the ways you can set yourself apart as a creative professional is to really go the extra mile for both your client(s) and your crew. This applies to YOU, whether you’re a photographer or... read more ›
Jan 25

No, But I Can Learn

i can learn
Do you know how to load a roll of film? Work a light meter? Edit slides on a light table? Scan film? Color correct scans? Track a photo inventory? Submit photos to clients? Work with a stock agency? Make prints? Pack a camera bag? Ship equipment? Set up lights? Scout a location? Drive on the left side of the road? Order food in French? Clean a digital sensor? Work in Photoshop? Create a workflow? Edit... read more ›
Apr 19

That DAM Travel Gear for Photo & Video

Our Travel Laptop
Howdy Y'all, Dartanyon again responding to an important gear question we get asked all the time. We spend a great deal of time out on location, and as Chase's last series of blog posts clearly shows that it's not all hotel rooms and poolside locations. Sometimes we’re at 12,000 feet above sea level snowshoeing to location, and carrying "extra" stuff is not practical. Over the last 4 years I have refined my traveling gear considerably,... read more ›
Mar 24

Diary of a Shoot, Day 5 — Epic Turn for the Better

Hallelujah, what a turn of fate. Awoke this morning at 6:30am to a sky chock-full of gently falling flakes and 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and trees. What earlier this week looked like a burned out ski town in late May, now looks like mid February again. Mother nature has hit the full... read more ›
Mar 23

Diary of a Shoot, Day 4 — Weather Is An Issue

It's now day 4 of this project. But it's the first shooting day. And shooting day 1 of any campaign, film, or project is always full of excitement, anticipation, butterflies. Doesn’t matter if you’ve done it 1000 times or only 10. Our shoot day 1 had another rather friendly call time of 8am. Breakfast... read more ›
Mar 21

Diary of a Shoot, Day 2 — Mother Nature is Boss.

In case you're dropping in on this post out of context, you should read yesterday's post and things will all make sense. In short, I'm doing daily 'diary' entries while working on a campaign for REI in lovely Telluride, Colorado in hopes of shedding some light on what photographers and directors types like me actually do on a... read more ›
Feb 17

How to Scout Locations for Photo & Video: Part 3 – Gear & Planning

[Howdy, Scott here again.  This is the third of a three part series on the steps I take when location scouting as Chase's lead assistant.  In the first two posts we discussed virtual scouting and weather. Now we've done everything that we can do from a desk and it's time to put the rubber to the road.  Good old fashioned Location Scouting.] Let's assume we have decided on a region we think will have the... read more ›