THE HONEYMOON. Time to hit the tropics, or maybe some powder skiing in the Alps? Wherever you go, for heaven’s sake, TAKE PICTURES!! Recently a bride approached me for some basic honeymoon photo tips. Here they are:

1. Have your camera with you all the time

If you don’t have your camera you won’t get the shot. This is why small point and shoot cameras tend to be a honeymooner’s best friend. Chances are, if it’s not small and light weight, you’ll leave it in the room. If you want to bring a full size DSLR with you, I say definitely do! But make sure you also have something portable. If you’re going to an island destination, consider a waterproof model with a good wrist strap. And make sure to back up your images at the end of each day. That way, if you loose the camera all is not lost.

2. Photograph one another

Don’t let a day go by where you don’t at least take a fem minutes to photograph one another. Laying under an umbrella poolside, playing cards in the shade of a thatched roof, hiking along the beach at sunset. And when it’s your turn to be the subject, don’t ask to see the pictures during the shoot. Submit to the process and allow your partner to adore you with the camera. There will be time to edit later. You’ll be amazed by how gorgeous and spontaneous the photos are when you’re not obsessing about how you look. In acting they call that, “getting out of your head.”

3. Have Fun

When photographing hotel staff, new friends, or your spouse, don’t be afraid to direct them a bit. Just asking someone to move over a few inches, or asking a couple to hold hands can make a big difference in a photograph. One little tip…if you smile a lot while you’re directing, the person you’re photographing will probably be smiling too. So have fun…it’s infectious.

4. Shoot in the open shade for mid day portraits

Direct mid-day sun is not the most flattering light for portraits. One way to shoot beautiful portraits in the mid day is to shoot in open shade. Open shade describes a shaded area with soft bright light coming in from the side(s), not from above. This is always out of the direct sun. Look at the light on your subject and if possible, move them around until the lighting looks the most appealing…and snap away. It takes practice, but you’ll know beautiful light when you see it.

5. Sweat the small stuff

I love to focus on details. Whether it’s the texture of a stone, a crab in a glass, an old faded poster, a squirrel in a tree, the hotel cat napping in the shade, or an antique Moorish lamp. It’s the smallest details that weave together the most beautiful stories, so keep your eyes open for interesting details.

One of my favorite editorials to date has to be the fashion/travel story I shot for Wallpaper Magazine in Rio. This was my first trip to Brasil and I just loved it! Rio is truly my kind of place. I adore the layed back charm of the people, the climate, the nature, the food, and the underlying electricity that makes Rio such a magnetic destination.

We wanted to show the city from the POV of the locals, so instead of hiring models, we scouted people on the beaches, in the bars, and out and about. We decked them out in designer labels and photographed them at some of the most interesting spots around the city. One of the people we scouted  and photographed was Carlos DeSouza, the head of P.R. for Valentino. We “discovered” him on the beach at Ipanema, the very same beach where he first met the designer Valentino 3 decades earlier, a chance meeting that would change his life forever. At the time I had no idea how my own chance meeting with Carlos would later change my life in so many wonderful ways, but that’s another story.

Thanks to Daniel and Lainya at Argot & Ochre for such a nice recap of the evening’s events! Argot & Ochre is an art advocacy blog that makes a difference. If you support the arts you will love this blog!

http://argotandochre.com/2011/12/art-event-face-off-photos-smashbox-studios/

Smashbox Studios hosted the 2011 FACE OFF competition, in which photographers from all over the country entered to win top prize of free studio time, camera schwag, an exhibition, and a whole heap of other goodies. The top 50 submissions were on display for a select group of attendees to view – since the 15 judges, who ranged from creative magazines to world class photographers and studio owners, had already cast their votes before the show opened. And amongst all the excitement of seeing everyone’s fabulous photographs, Hasselblad was giving a demo of it’s latest camera that was just out of this world phenomenal. I mean it better have been, seeing as it starts at a $15,000 price point just for the body alone!!! The winners were announced towards the early end of the evening and after a gusto of celebration, the DJ’s kept the records spinning while models, artists, and personalities danced the night away.

Smashbox Cosmetics gave demonstrations

Grand Prize Winner JOSHUA KOGAN’S “Watercolors 5″

Thanks to everyone who came out to the SMASHBOX FACE OFF COMPETITION on Thursday night…and those who were rooting for me from the wings!!! From thousands of images submitted, and 50 finalists in the competition, my image “Watercolors 5″ was the grand prize winner! I couldn’t be more thrilled! Thanks again everybody!

“WATERCOLORS” is a series that celebrates water, beauty, color, jewelry, emotion and the female form. I plan to continue in the coming months, culminating with a book and exhibition.

Check out the press:

http://www.smashboxstudios.com/yello/

FACE/OFF 2011 Winners Announced!

Posted by Renee George on Friday, December 9, 2011

FACE/OFF 2011 1st Place Winner — “Watercolors 5” by Joshua Kogan.

OMG. We are still recovering from our fantastical opening night bash. The evening was the premiere culmination of The 2011 Smashbox FACE/OFF Competition — and man-oh-man did everyone come out to celebrate the exhibited work of our rising star creatives. This competition just keeps getting better, indeed.

We’ll say this again & again: A very SPECIAL note of gratitude to our profound judges…who had a whole lot of gorgeous images and videos to judge, not to mention the insightful knowledge they shared with everyone in our Q&A judges panel. Our sponsors were amazing, of course — Rock Paper Photo gifted limited edition Madonna, Bowie and Gaga captures. Camera prizes thanks to Lomography. Hasselblad held down the photo sessions and Samy’s Camera along with Profoto alotted some impeccable gift certs. Amazing right? OK, now for the rest of the winners…congratulations to our first place rock star photographer, JOSHUA KOGAN!

Guy Oseary’s agency “Rock Paper Photo” gave me this wonderful original print of Madonna…and I love it!

With Smashbox Studios owner Davis Factor and one of my favorite stylists Avo Yermagyan

The print is 24″ x 36″, on Fuji Super Glossy photographic paper

Ok, I admit it, I love to take pictures of people kissing. And sometimes, a kiss seems to last forever. Let’s hear it for love, passion, and emotion…may they rule the day!

I was on a road trip through the American Southwest when I came across these horses in Arizona. They were so beautiful…I just had to take their portrait.

I was in Mumbai to shoot press photos for a well known French R&B singer. After the shoot, I began a 3 week backpacking tour of Mumbai and Rajistan. On the first day of my trek, the first stop was to the Babulnath Temple, located just off the cicle-shaped coastline of Chowpatty Beach (knows as the Queen’s Necklace.) Inside the temple/ashram I came across a couple and their newborn baby. I noticed the way the father was looking at his child. I can only describe it as a beautiful blend of compassion, love, fascination, and curiosity. He was pensive, but not apprehensive. He was present, yet was lost in a dream. Click.