March Issue // Metro Magazine // Men's Fashion

The March Issue of Metro Magazine is FINALLY on news stands and I've been super excited to see the final product of a fashion piece I photographed for the magazine a couple of months ago! For this spread, we collaborated with an illustrator to bring in a little artistic flare to the project, which is the first time I have ever done this! It was so hard to hand over images, not knowing what they would turn out like! Our goal was to create a fashion editorial that showed great style, yet was light hearted and a TON of fun! Think well-dressed-men-being-boys. Lets face it, every single guy I have ever met has a boyhood dream of playing with guns! Shooting this spread was so much fun! Our models really got an incredible workout that day and our entire crew was phenomenal to work with! Make sure to pick up an issue to see this fun-ness on the glossy pages!

CREDIT//

Photographer: Eliesa Johnson

Styling: Erick DeLeon

Hair/Makeup: Fatima Olive

Talent: Thomas Sellwood, Wehmann Models & Talent and Orlando, Vision Management Group

Post Production: Liz Hardt

Assistants: Brandon Werth, Louisa Podlich

Behind the Scenes // The March Issue!

Last week I photographed a super-cool fashion shoot for the March issue of Metro Magazine! The concept is SO much fun, I can't wait for you all to see the final product this spring!

We shot a Orbit Studios, which is an oh-so-lovely studio space! I fell in love with the giant sweep there and just HAD to use it for this shoot!

Special thanks to Louisa for taking these behind-the-scene photos from our day! If you want to see more, head on over to Fashion Editor, Mary O'Regan's blog!

As always, I couldn't have pulled off this magic if it wasn't for the help of one AMAZING crew:

Styling // Erick DeLeon of Modern Day Dapper

Makeup // Fatima Olive

Talent // Tom Sellwood, Wehmann & Orlando, Vision

Assistants // Louisa Podlich, Brandon Werth, Collin Hughes

Publication // Metro Magazine

Location // Orbit Studios

And we couldn't help but have a little fun on the side....

Unpredictable

Half of the fun of shooting a wedding is getting to hang out with my crew! We never know what the weather is going to be like here in Minnesota, so a big part of our job - and a quality I pride myself on the most - is doing an amazing job of working-on-the-fly. Not only does it make creating more enjoyable for me, but I simply have SO much fun with my team on the day of a shoot! Honestly, we are really funny and we seriously...do need a reality show! ;0)

A couple weeks ago, we photographed the McCullough's amazing wedding and here are just a handful of the awesome adventures we had:

1) Melissa surprised us with New Moon candy...I've never read any of the Twilight series, but she is a big fan! Regardless, the sugar was quite nice!

2) It was 9 degrees that day, which meant two things...One, I was wearing Under Armour beneath my clothes and two, we killed the brides flowers by being outside for 20 minutes! (Side note...we absolutely LOVE our clients, because they sacrifice a lot to create amazing images...:0)

3) We forgot our stand, so Brandon was the "Human Light Stand"

4) My crew shows tons of passion during the day...and a little bit of camaraderie as well! This collaboration between artists takes our creativity up 10 notches and I looooove it!

5) Since it's so cold here, I decided to have a glamour-shots moment with a heater...I was nice and toasty!

The point of this post is to show you all that crazy things will always happen on a wedding day and encourage photographers not to get stressed while shooting. Remember to have confidence in your craft...the best photographers can make magic out of the most blah of situations, rock it out and create some amazing images!

Here's to shooting in the Midwest and to my kick-ass-crew!

LOVEe

Thoughts on my AMAZING Team!

Our philosophy is to have as much fun as possible!

For the last few years, team Photogen Inc has been a core of Brandon, Cadence and myself! As the company grows, we have DOUBLED in size! (Crazy, I know!) I am super happy and excited about all of the fabulous new photographers we have joining the crew for the 2010 season and on!

Each wedding we photograph is a true collaboration between artists. Yes, I'm the boss lady, yes I am the leader, but SO many cool images come from my 2nd shooters. I am so proud of everything everyone has brought to the table and the elements they contribute to the team as a whole.

Many people ask me, " How do you find people to work for you? How do you handle people leaving and going off on their own?"

The answers are simple. Find people who you jive with. People who lift you up and inspire you and you see passion in. Personally, I choose to spend a lot of time and effort into training my team, critique, etc. so we are all on the same page when it comes to shooting. We hang out a lot outside of the studio and are truly great friends. These are also people who I can be brutally honest with. Sometimes being 'the boss' is very hard. Lines are crossed between business and friendships sometimes, but everyone has the understanding that the two are separate, which makes it a whole lot easier! 

I also think that it is a very natural progression for assistants to grow and go out on their own and that we should embrace these changes and not be scared of them. Every artist has come to the point in their career where they know they are ready for another step. I've been there and you have been there. In the last year, Brandon has launched his own company, Rivets and Roses and Cadence just launched her new website and blog today! As my assistants are moving on, I brought in the new kids, Melissa, Tom and Ryan to take their roll as assistants, so B and C can focus on being leaders.

At the end of this last wedding, Cadence said, " Awe, guys! This might be the LAST time we all ever shoot together! We are all going to be so busy next year!"  The statement is true in that we are all going to be very busy. However, we will most definitely shoot together and collaborate in the future! We are a team...the DREAM TEAM...and we are unstoppable!

I am truly very blessed to be surrounded by such awesome people! They are my best friends and we are truly a family. I mean, shit, I get to WORK with these people EVERY DAY!!! How lucky am I?!?!?!

Special thanks to our friends at The Traveling Photo Booth for these photos!

Enjoy!

LOVEe