child model comp card for african american model in chicago

Meet Deanna…an up and coming child model who I photographed for her photo portfolio and comp cards for upcoming auditions. Good Luck Deanna!

I had the honor of taking Gillian Flynn’s author photos for her new book GONE GIRL which comes out JUNE 5th, 2012. You can learn a little about her by reading a snippet from her website.  And here is a bit about the new book….

New York Times bestselling author Gillian Flynn (SHARP OBJECTS, DARK
PLACES) will leave you breathless with this terrifying masterpiece of
a marriage gone wrong. On the morning of their fifth wedding
anniversary, Nick Dunne’s clever and beautiful wife Amy disappears
from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi. Under pressure from
the police and the media-as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents-the
town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and
inappropriate behavior. But even though Nick might be weak and Nick
might be bitter–is he really a killer? With her trademark razor-sharp
writing and virtuoso psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a
fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously-plotted thriller that
proves she is not only at the peak of her powers but also one of the
hottest writers around.

1) Allowing preconceived notions to come in the way of organically getting to know someone–don’t you just hate to be stereotyped?

2) Leaving your personal lives to pure chance alone instead of being proactive–would you do this with your career?

3) Limiting yourselves to inflexible criteria and/or a fantasized ideal of who your significant other might be–your significant other may come in an unexpected package

Jasbina Ahluwalia, a former attorney turned Entrepreneur, Relationship Expert and Radio Show Host is the Founder of Intersections Match (www.IntersectionsMatch.com), the only National Elite Personalized Matchmaking and Dating Coaching Service for Singles of South Asian Descent Nationwide. Her coaching service is growing fast and as she finds herself in more demand, she really needed updated photos for various marketing materials.  I shot her head shots for the next stage of her company’s growth. It was important  for me as the photographer to bring out a few qualities that were inherent in her…warmth, trustworthiness, strength, and approachability.

I love to show the before and after of photo shoots to give real examples and applications.  In this case I was photographing a doctor who has ONE really quick opportunity to win over new patients with her online physican profile.  If her photo does not represent her well and gives off a less than stellar vibe in the potential patient,  there is a big chance that patient is going to skip by her. She has about a 3 second window for someone to decide (by looking at her photo) if they want her to be their doctor.  This is a big deal if you ask me. We all know we probably shouldn’t use photos to pick our doctor but how many of us do just that?

Below is the photo she was using before doing the photo shoot with me and after it are two new possibilites. This is the actual physician finder page….

BEFORE

I think its an awesome example of the power of photography to accentuate your true  self.  The first BEFORE photo was a bit generic and cold feeling for me. The results after our shoot are really warm and inviting. Your start to get a sense of how dynamic, warm and generous she is. Here are a few more shots from our session:

The Chicago Aldermanic election season is coming up in February and I shot the photos for 1st ward Alderman Proco Joe Moreno. You can see my photos on his website and on a new billboard on North Avenue near the 6 corners of Bucktown and Wicker Park.  Moreno was appointed Alderman by Mayor Daley in March of 2010 and enters his first election in February. Good luck Joe!

billboard on North Avenue Bucktown/Wicker park neighborhood

headshot featured on billboard

Screen shot of Joe Moreno's website

helping his daughter ride her bike

Want to know who your Alderman is? Find out here:

http://www.chicityclerk.com/citycouncil/alderman/find.html

I had the honor of recently shooting the photographs for Susana Mendoza’s Chicago City Clerk campaign. We did two different shoots (studio and location) and the photos will be used on her website, billboards, and print media.  Some of the studio shots are already live on the website (below) http://www.susanamendoza.com

We worked with Nika Vaughan who did a fantastic job with Susana’s makeup and really accentuated all of Susana’s feautures. Nika is fantastic to work with!

The second shoot took place just a few days ago where we braved the cold weather and toured around Chicago to get some city shots….

Susana has an energy level unmatched by most! It was hard to get her to stand still long enough to get the skyline in the background! I think she much prefers meeting and talking to new people than standing solo against the skyline!…

We met some people fishing near Navy Pier and we stopped to chat…It was cold but everyone was friendly. It could be that Susana’s energy warmed them up…

Susana got a few fishing tips while we were out…

From Navy Pier we went into the loop and got on the L platform for some quintessiential track shots…

People everywhere really opened to Susana and were overwhemlingly friendly….

Susana is an energized, magnetic and powerful woman… I would not want to be running against her for the City Clerk position! Good luck to her competitors!

I shot new photos for Salon Sanjoy’s new L platform ads…we were going for a staight on, no frills, serious look to accentuate the awesome haircut! http://www.salonsanjoy.com/

I photographed and retouched a series of photos to be used for work, conferences, brochures, websites, facebook,  social media, etc. Officially it was a headshot photo session but I think they are much more than that because of the unusual, creative and colorful backgrounds. We did 5 clothes changes, inside and outside locations, and various backgrounds. I think the photographs really capture the essence of her personality. I love the colors, the light and colorful approach, the versatility of the photographs,  and the general vibe…