Hollwood Studios Portraits

Sunset Gower Studio is truly a Hollywood production staple. They have a massive 6-acre creative media production campus, right in the heart of Hollywood. The studio celebrates Hollywood’s history and is home to many of television’s most successful shows and award-winning movies.

Today, Sunset Gower bring together a diverse and unique mix of innovative creative companies. They also bring in content creators to use their independent, boutique studio environment.

My task was to photograph the employees of Sunset Gower Studios. The staff is made up of a welcoming crew who are nice and extremely funny. I got to explore the 12 sound stage facilities as well as 368,000 square feet of production space to find the perfect locations. The place is massive!

For this type of shoot, it was important to capture the staff in a natural state. Relaxed and not aware of the camera. They are not professional models so instead I wanted to get to know the employees to capture their personality through the lense.

It was a really fun days, a rare historical studios of Hollywood! Such a privilege.

See more images: http://www.sunsetgowerstudios.com/about-sunset-gower-studios

Coachella Lifestyle in Palm Springs

The desert always brings so much inspiration to fashion around the spring music festival, Coachella. My long time client, alifornia Moonris, had a beautiful Spring/Summer collection inspired by Santa Fe prints. We decided to shoot at the rainbow-hued Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs to capture the desert colors.

The mountains can be seen from the pool and the neon colors that pop from the hotel are beautiful. It makes you get caught in the wanderlust vibe and get comfortable with the traveling lifestyle of California Moonrise.

The neon and brightly colored hotel offered a lot of amazing locations to shoot at. Additionally, there was a great deal of foliage and the natural light. This made taking photos on location much more creative and the day flowed nicely. We added editorial photos to give the lookbook context. The purple hues of the hotel mixed with the palm desert brought out California Moonrise full story behind their lookbook.

I worked with the same wonderful team, friend Ali Levine styled the shoot, makeup was done by Anthony Pazos team and Cristina Fabian styled the model’s hair.

Fashion Designer: Sylvie Huber
Videographer: Jason Gonzalez
Assistants: Mat Dunstan, Marco Paonessa
Producer: Rose Cefalu
Styling: Ali Levine
 

American Ninja Warrior for Emmy Magazine

A few weeks back  I was thrown into an action packed job! It was incredible to get to work with the staff and team on American Ninja Warrior. The athletes featured on the show have the strength, determination and ability to lay it all on the line - while on NBC in front of millions! To me, that takes massive courage and absolute strength. American Ninja Warrior hopes to capture the personal growth and development of individuals who are motivated to change their life!

Emmy Magazine Article

Emmy Magazine Article

Jessie Graff

Jessie Graff

Ninja Stunts

Ninja Stunts

For me as a photographer, I got to take photos of people when they feel their absolute best. The level of confidence the warriors had during the shoot translates into the photos. Power and determination is in their eyes. I love capturing this raw emotion in my work.

I have found memories of the project. I particularly loved working with the hosts Matt Iseman, Kristine Leahy and Akbar Gbajajiamila who act more as coaches than host on the show.

Kacy Catanzaro

Kacy Catanzaro

Flip Rodriguez

The Charles, Buckhead | Luxury Lifestyle in Atlanta

Back in August I flew to Georgia to work with The Charles in Buckhead, an upscale community in Atlanta. My goal was to get great, high end images that captured the luxury real estate lifestyle of Atlanta.

I had one full day of scouting with the client when I first arrived. We shot additional B-Roll that may be used for other marketing material. I love doing this because it gives the client options and additional content to use in a few months.

The Charles had many beautiful areas around the grounds, so we had a lot of location to use. My personal favorite was outside and around the building - I thought those images showcases The Charles beautifully.

The next day, we had several local talent and I really wanted to capture a group living their life in this exclusive community. There was a lot of greenery and the lush summer in Georgia helped the images come to life. The humidity gave everyone a nice glow on their skin and I felt the Southern sweetness in the air.

Italian Epiphany Tradition

Pignarul (or Fogolar) is popular tradition from Northern Italy during the epiphany time. It consist in a big fire where on the top sometimes it's placed a made-up witch with old clothes and wood. It cleans up the past and negativity and represents the end of the holidays.

Supermoon in Hollywood

I'm sure I will find thousand of amazing photos of the super moon on line today. I just wanted to capture something different and more storytelling. The location was perfect, just above the Hollywood hills, on Mulholland Drive. A lot of tourists, photographers, curious people hanging out waiting for the moon to raise from the horizon. 
I wasn't equipped with a long telephoto but I wanted to photograph this moment in the place where I live.

From Mulholland Drive Vista Point

From Mulholland Drive Vista Point

California Moonrise Fall 2016

To celebrate the changing seasons and the beautiful colors autumn brings, I shot the Fall campaign for California Moonrise. The goal was to showcase the painted yet vivid colors of the season so we shot at the Malibu Creek State Park and Paramount Ranch. Both of these locations have lovely fields of tall yellow grass, bushes and nice tall oak trees. Truly a beautiful California fall. It was important for me to catch the soft sunlight and warm, rich tones of the two locations. Paramount Ranch adds a bit of the Southwest and equestrian character that California Moonrise wanted in their photos.

It has been an ongoing collaboration with the clothing company and I love to shoot each season’s collection for them. As always I have a wonderful team and crew to work with on set. The models were Faith Picozzi, Candy Waltrip and Sydnie Miller. My friend Ali Levine styled the shoot, makeup was done by Anthony Pazos’ team and Cristina Fabian styled the model’s hair.

Love and Sunflower 2016 | at the Arboretum

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to shoot with Love & Sunflowers for the third time. The boho, vintage fashion company is always a source of inspiration for me. The youthful spirit of the brand pushes me to capture candid and light images.

At this shoot we decided Arboretum Gardens in Arcadia, California was the perfect location. The 127 acres garden, is an arboretum, botanical garden, and historical site nestled into hills near the San Gabriel Mountains. It is absolutely beautiful place to shoot and has peacocks all around the property. Our models were Khia Lopez and Samantha Beining and they both had a natural friendship on camera.

To see some of my past work for Love & Sunflowers, click here.

Scott Free Production Portrait in West Hollywood

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I would like to share my latest portrait work for Emmy Magazine. I had the opportunity to photograph the iconic director Ridley Scott and his production team (David Zucker, Clayton Krueger and Jordan Sheehan) at Scott Free Productions in West Hollywood. Mr. Scott directed iconic movies such as Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and last year, the Martian. I'm really honored. Thank you Emmy Magazine.

Betsy Beers for Emmy Magazine

Recently I got to shoot the very talented Betsy Beers for the April issue of Emmy Magazine. She is the executive producer of some of the top shows on television right now. Her roster includes Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and currently The Catch. She’s a force to be reckoned with and a powerhouse behind television’s most prolific production companies.

As a very powerful woman in the industry, I wanted to capture her professionalism but keep the shot soft and inviting. I loved talking with Beers about her career, her creativity and drive. “I don’t make anything I wouldn’t want to watch.” Beers states. This statement resonated a lot with me because I never want to take photos that no one wants to see. It’s important to be a tough critic of your work and make sure it’s as high quality as possible.