With all the rage of behind-the-scenes shoots these days, the Canon 5D Mark II with HD video is in high demand. With pro shooters already using the Canon 1Ds III, it’s easy to see why – you can share the lens, they have the same sensor and the 5D Mark II doubles up as a more-than-competent backup camera.
“Canon’s update to the wildly popular full frame EOS 5D is here, and it’s better than ever. The EOS 5D Mark II has a stunning 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor, a vast ISO Range of 100-6400 (expandable to ISO L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600), plus EOS technologies like Auto Lighting Optimizer and Peripheral Illumination Correction. It supports Live View shooting, Live View HD videos, and more. It can shoot up to 3.9 fps, has 9 AF points plus 6 AF assist points, a new 98% coverage viewfinder, a 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) and a rugged build. Full-frame shooters rejoice!” Canon USA
Since September 2007, alongside their main ad campaigns, Louis Vuitton have been running a series of images under their ‘Core Values‘ campaign. Featuring such luminaries as Mikhail Gorbachev, Catherine Deneuve, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Sean Connery, Francis Ford Coppola together with his daughter Sofia and most recently, with Sally Ride, Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell to highlight Louis Vuitton’s environmental commitments:-
“Louis Vuitton…has a long-standing commitment to environmental responsibility. The core-values campaign is therefore a perfect opportunity to promote this cause, and Al Gore’s Climate Project [which they will also support with donations] is a natural match, a truly worldwide initiative to fight global warming.”
Louis Vuitton.
The ads have been shot beautifully and atmospherically by Annie Liebovitz.
Annie Liebovitz’s ‘At Work’ book, describing her many experiences, including the last portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono before his tragic murder and the infamous shot of John Cleese hanging like a bat, is a must for any photography book collection and is available in the Focus Hub Shop.
It is en vogue these days for editorial, and even advertising, shoots to be more risqué, by showing some nudity. An ordinary shoot suddenly becomes more edgy, even more arty. It’s a quite blasé attitude to fashion, where clothes are less important and it’s more about the mood and strength of the image. But how do you get the model to relax? One slightly unorthodox approach may be to get naked with your model, as shown below by the actions of established photographers Jurgen Teller, Mario Sorrenti and Terry Richardson (Kate Moss featuring in two of the images).
Of the Jurgen shoot, Charlotte Rampling says:
“The way he works is very free and easy, he puts you at ease really quickly…you have to trust someone to get to that stage. It’s important to feel released, and you can only do that when the photographer’s relaxed. It’s a lot of fun and it’s edgy.” The Guardian
Be aware though, that only very established photographers can get away with this!
Dutch photographers, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, have been partners in every sense, since meeting in 1986. They mixed their separate fashion design and art backgrounds to create a new wave in fashion/art photography and pushed boundaries using image manipulation, quirky compositions and humour to produce images which have changed the perception of typical fashion photography.
YSL Manifestos
And they are now working, amongst other advertising, on the unique YSL Manifesto seasonal campaigns. These are great ad campaigns with the image book, behind-the-scenes video and free gift, all released simultaneously in major cities on the streets, and on the YSL website. Campaigns have featured some of fashion’s most iconic models such as Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer.
The Contax G2, is a perfect accessory for the on-the-go photographer. Easy to use, light and compact, with an accurate meter and delivering superb quality due to its inter-changeable Carl Zeiss lenses; which are comparable to pro lenses. So comparable, that they are actually used professionally, as evidenced by the images of Jurgen Teller and his fashion shoot for W Magazine, featuring Lara Stone (below).
Lara Stone for W Magazine July 07. Photographed by Jurgen Teller, using a Contax G2
Image of Jurgen via Proza.
I have one of these and have always loved its versatility and image quality. They are unavailable to purchase new, but you can quite readily pick one up on Ebay for around £550, including a few lenses.
I know these have been around for a while now, but no good photography blog would be complete without this. Gucci has invested in renowned director, Chris Cunningham, to create a beautiful ad for their new fragrance, Flora. The ad’s cool simplicity and retake on Donna Summer’s classic ‘I Feel Love’ (Chris also did the music) makes this pure inspiration. The tv ad was also supported by a print campaign, shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. I’ll be featuring them in a soon-to-come ‘creative collaborations’ post. For your viewing pleasure, I’ve also included the Behind the Scenes film of the ad.
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Quirky ‘fashion’ editorial shoot.
