A Suburban Australian, Mens Streetwear Fashion Shoot in Sydney

 This photoshoot was a fashion portrait slash male modelling portfolio shoot (yes you can just book me for these). I have an outdoor location that is very versatile that I use for these photoshoots that provides everything I need.  The process goes like this. Someone just like you contacts me by phone or email about doing a shoot. We have a talk about what sort of pictures are required and if we are a good match, we organise a time and the place. Then, a few days before the shoot we talk again and go over the outfits the sitter, that's the model, has put together so we can be sure we have the looks we need to get the shots we are after.

This process has been working well for me and my sitters/models/clients for years. Discussion on the phone, good weather, versatile location, great shots - perfect! Everyone happy, smiley face emoji, excellent. On the pre-shoot call, with guys, I talk quite a bit about pants. That's trousers, jeans, even shorts. I'm not joking, this is all part of the photoshoot process. The reason I do this is as I wrote above, it is to be sure we have a good mix of clothing for the shoot to get the shots we want. And... once upon a time, one of the guys I was shooting a portfolio for turned up with only one pair of pants. We still got the shots, but my day at the office was a little more difficult. So now I do tend to double down on that information before the shoot.

Now in my mind a fashion portrait, model portfolio has to be fashionable to some extent, but it's not a fashion shoot. And it's not a portrait shoot either. Especially if we are thinking model portfolios. A portfolio shoot is more of a product shoot with you, yes you as the product (because that is how fashion photography works). The new model is you.This is serious and it is important. You are important. So I shoot for fashion but I'm not shooting the fashion, it's about photographing your attributes as a fashion model, I'm photographing what makes you you in a fashion photography sense of what makes you, you.

Photographing guys is usually quite different from photographing women. There is definitely a different dynamic, different concerns, though the desired outcome is the same - a great set of pictures. On this shoot with Gary I was a little caught out by his choices of clothing - which had not been apparent during the phone discussion. He has a great sense of personal style and brought some really distinctive fashion items to the shoot like the shirt above with it's unique bamboo leaf appliqué on the shoulder. This was anything but a generic shirt for a fashion portrait slash portfolio shoot, this shirt would not be a background item. Blue jeans and a white tee-shirt are still, a perfect modelling portfolio choice, a kind of industry standard - neutral and well known, and in that outfit, your uniqueness will shine. 

So for the first time in quite a long while I was a little flummoxed, this gear was more nightclubbing than garden party that was for sure. And here we were in a big Gardenesque park beside Sydney Harbour. What was I going to do?

As I said at the start of the story, one of the things I like about this location is that it is so, very, versatile. Not just for palm tree hat shots - first time for me actually. It is in a very nice part of Sydney suburbia and and I had been eyeing off some street locations (basically forever) with a view to doing some shots there on the streets. Suddenly today was that day so we went for it. Busted out of the park and did some street style Vaucluse, to round out our shoot, and knocked over some portraits in heavy shade on the path back out to suburbia.

And then we were on the streets of Vaucluse.

You can click the individual shots to view larger.  These pictures are all from one photoshoot, 3 looks for $390 (portfolio package details here) and you can see we shot some variations of the 3 looks too, to make sure we have got the shots we needed.  Like what you see? Please call me, lets shoot!

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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With The Band - Groovy Rock Chicks, Wolfmother & Phil Colins 'Easy Lover' - Inspiration for a Fashion Lingerie Photoshoot

 Where does inspiration come from? It's always going to be a combination of different things working together, hopefully at the right time and in the right place. The inspiration for these images hit me on shot three of our hotel room fashion photoshoot. I'd done shot one with Micaela sitting on the bed, then standing at the corner of the bed. Shot two in the window with the sheer drapes and some hints of neon outside. The location is a hip, 'Retro' hotel in Sydney. I had been shooting with a soft room-light feel on looks one and two but then I wanted something different. I wanted to turn up the energy level too. Make a little noise, start a little party. I began with our model Micaela lying on the bed, arms out so we could get the circles of the vast beautiful bell sleeves, me standing on, the very soft and unstable bed looking down, which made things tricky for balance. I had also changed to on-camera flash. Photography at it's most basic, really. I was thinking reportage, paparazzi photography, pictures that are immediate. and then I decided to get our model who as it happens is first and foremost a dancer, standing up on the bed, against the bedhead and the wall and to dance.

Click pictures to view large.

The idea for the dance springs from my obsession with a Wolfmother video clip, a 2011 heavy rock cover version of the light rock, Phil Colins song Easy Lover from the early1980s. A hit duet for Philip Bailey, & Phil Collins. But it's not just the song, it's the Wolfmother video clip, filmed in gritty black and white in (my old stomping ground) Brisbane of all places! It's part set in a home music studio and partly driving around Brisbane at night, through the night club and red light district, working hard at looking edgy and succeeding. Mostly its a homage to Phil Colins and to the idea of rock superstardom. At the two minute mark there's a girlfriends of the rock stars scene in the home studio, one of the girlfriends doing a 'sexy' dance with one of the band members, then a clip of two of the girls dancing in a provocative manner, and it's this dance, this with the band, girlfriend, groupie, whatever, that emerged for me as the inspiration for this shot. Though it's not exactly a new idea, this rock and roll theme. RUSH Magazine have been trading on the idea of the Rolling Stones, their girlfriend's and the Rock & Roll life, the 1970s hedonism of Exile On Main Street for decades now!

One more person for some inspiration. Stevie Nicks. The 1970s Fleetwood Mack, Rumours, Stevie Nicks. Of whom I could see a little of in Micaela's swept back golden blonde hair and these flowing sleeves, which are just so Stevie Nicks - which I then made the most of with her dancing in place on the bed. So that's it. That's how the inspiration arrived and these pictures are where the inspiration took me. What I've done with this selection is to bring the pictures completely in line with the 1970s rock narrative by editing them, as if they were shot with a basic camera, maybe by one of the guys in the band, in the hotel after a gig. Basic equipment, the pictures developed at a mini lab, then discovered in a draw many years later. Check out the Wolfmother clip after the shots. As always, need pictures, just let me know.

Designer - Gemma Pope, the range - Viena

Model-Dancer - Micaela Sacco-Tranter

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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A Fitness Achievement Photoshoot

 A fitness goals reached, photoshoot, in the style of a male modelling portfolio, or perhaps, a fitness lifestyle photoshoot. Or, yes I do go on - a celebration of achieving your fitness goals photoshoot. Any one of those descriptions pretty much sums up what this shoot was all about. How did it happen? Well from my end it was simply answering an email and then there was a phone call, dates were set, styling - what Kris was going to bring to the shoot to wear, that was gone over on the phone too in the lead up to our shoot. On Kris's end it was about 10 years of gym work, so well worth celebrating and, important - documenting with some cracking good photos. Of course I've put in over a decade working on my photography, so when we do a photoshoot YOU get what you booked me for.

Kris left this review on my Google Business Page 

"The shoot with Kent was awesome, he's very professional and knows what he's doing. It was my first experience in a proper shoot but he made me feel extremely comfortable and relaxed so I could get the most out of the shoot. Would highly recommend to anyone looking to get a professional portfolio done." 

This is very important  'he made me feel extremely comfortable'. It's important so we can get the best result, the best pictures of you from your photoshoot. If you read the other reviews there or on my Facebook Page you will read similar things about shooting with me. Here are more shots from Kris's photoshoot.

Yes, that's the view from the location. This photoshoot was also very affordable - it's my entry level portfolio package - at $390! For that you get a photoshoot of about two hours, but not capped, I work to get the best shots, thats the goal - and the package includes four fully edited Hi-Res photos. Kris decided he wanted more than four. That's no problem, 'extras' are only $75 each and are fully edited too. There are no surprises about how much the shoot is or the editing when you shoot with me, you are in complete financial control.

My next blog post will be a studio male modelling portfolio. Bookmark the page, and check out my Men's Fashion & Modelling page on my web site here. PS click these shots to see them larger! Same goes for my website too.

After your shoot I watermark 'PROOF' and Dropbox about 100 shots, best of the best for you to go through and make your selection from. You may also download and keep these pictures. 

Unedited 'Proofs' from making a final selection uploaded to Dropbox

After you make your selection (I'm happy to help) I edit them and upload them to another Dropbox folder, Hi-Res A3 size and WEB size so the pictures are easy to email agencies or prospective clients. I also include B&W and Colour shots when I have made them too. There are no watermarks on these edited files.

Final selection, edited and uploaded to Dropbox

Ready to shoot? Call or email me and lets get started.

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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