For The Pro's

Women as Photographer: Documenting Life as a Woman // Exhibition!!!

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So, I have some super sweet news! I'm super happy to announce that one of my photographs will be a part of an amazing exhibition, called Women as Photographer, here in Minneapolis! The show is all about women photographers, documenting women! This was an International call, so photographers from all over the world were able to submit! I'm excited to be one of the women chosen - we are from 14 countries and 25 US States, which, I personally think is super cool!

The image of mine that was chosen is very near and dear to my heart! I took the photograph with my Holga camera, in Bend, Oregon, during my annual 'girls trip' with my Marfa Ladies. All of these women are absolutely incredible and our trips are meant to be a true relaxing adventure for us all! Our group of ladies are from all around the country, so these trips are one of the only times during the year that we really get to hang out with each other in person! I absolutely love this image, because it was late at night and we were ALL piled up on a bed, just talking about nothing. It was a moment when we truly all let our hair down. It was warm and cozy and everything you imagine when you think of a slumber party - complete with the girl talk! All of us women who go on these trips are strong, successful, inspiring, amazing individuals, so they fact that THIS image got chosen for this exhibition means quite a bit!

The show will be up March 11th - April 17th at the Minneapolis Photo Center, make sure to stop by and check it out!

The organization has also published a book of all the work in the exhibition (which I have previewed and it is AWESOME!)! This exhibit book is a 9”x9”, 123 page bound book, skillfully printed on 100 lb Chorus Art Silk paper, with each photographer featured on their own page, and retail for $39.95. If you would like to purchase a book, please e-mail me at // eliesa@eliesajohnson.com!

 

The Leave Behinds are Here!

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Wooo Hoooo!

I'm super pumped that our first round of leave-behinds have arrived!! We are currently stuffing the envelopes, printing out our address labels - this production is in full swing!

For those of you who do not know, a leave behind is a little sample of our work that is sent out to potential clients, usually in postcard form. It's best to keep these as simple possible, so when they arrive in the mail, my potential-client can clearly understand who I am, what my style is like and (hopefully) keep the card around for future hire!

A couple of tips to keep in mind, when designing a Leave Behind:

1) Keep it Simple - don't waste anyone's time by being too gimmick-y

2) Think about your mailing presentation - We will be sending all of our cards out in clear mailers, so people simply have to look at them. And I'm not going to lie, they look killer in their envelope.

3) Brand yourself accordingly - It's super important for my future clients to get to know ME, just as much as my work. Therefore, all of our cards will have my face on them, as well as the work!

We're about to begin pounding the pavement over here and I feel like SO much of our work this last year has been gearing up for this moment! I'm so excited to get my work in front of new people and get feedback...the good and the bad! This is one exciting journey!

Behind the Scenes // The March Issue!

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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....

Behind The Scenes // Winter Fashion Test Shoot

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Woo Hoo!!! We just wrapped up THE most inspiring test shoot!

It was honestly, one of the simplest shoots I have ever put together. It all began when Ignite, which is an amazing agency in town, sent me over a photo of a new guy they had just signed on. This model had no experience - which is honestly some of my most favorite subjects to work with. Simply, because they have no idea what they are doing yet and they also don't have a pre-conceived-notion of what a model is 'suppose' to do. This particular model had the most amazing freckles, and I dreamed up this winter fashion spread all around his look!

Erick, once again, worked his magic on the styling and my current FAVORITE store for menswear, Black Blue lent us all of our amazing looks!!

The photographs were shot with all film cameras. We used both a 35mm camera - the Canon FT-QL and a Medium Format 500C Hasselblad (which, for the record, is like a little slice of heaven to look through that viewfinder!)

Our film was: Velvia 100F Fujichrome and Fuji Pro 400H

The best part about this shoot for me, and probably the reason it was so inspiring was just how simple it was! We didn't need to worry about downloading cards or even looking at the camera! It was just me, a window full of natural light, one model and an amazing camera! That, my friends, is what it is all about!

Finding the Perfect Film

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We've been searching for the perfect roll of film for my next test shoot! Here are some out takes from a test roll we shot in the studio!  I think it is super interesting to notice the color change, depending on what we are wearing and how the camera picks up certain tones in some shots and not in others! I am SUPER pumped for this next shoot - it's coming together beautifully and I can not wait to share it with you all!

These images were photographed with Fuji Pro 160S and we used a Canon FT QL 35mm camera!

AdFed Award Winner!!

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Well, I have some exciting news!

For the first time ever, I entered the AdFed Awards - and I WON!!!

AdFed MN is a non-profit professional trade association serving the local advertising community including agencies, advertisers, suppliers and students. Each year, they host a big awards show, that is basically the Academy Awards of the local ad world! Advertisers, Agencies, Designers, and Photographers from all around submit work in several different categories. These categories  range from everything from Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns to Billboard ads!

I entered in two of the Photography categories this year and here is how I placed:

Photography - Self Promotion - Campaign

Title: The Modern Day Man

Award: SILVER!!!

Photography - Editorial - Campaign

Title: Fine Lines

Award: Merit

I am BEYOND thrilled that The Modern Day Man shoot took the Silver honor!! This was a test shoot for my portfolio and to be honest - I didn't expect to place at all! I was more entering this competition for the experience and exposure to just be critiqued and judged, so I am SO excited about actually winning! I also love that this was something that I dreamed up and worked with an amazing team to create - and that it is good enough to be award winning! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the awards show, so I'm don't fully understand what this winning thing means, but I do know that my work gets published in a book that is distributed among the Advertising community!

I've posted images from both shoots below - enjoy!

The Fine Lines Shoot for Metro Magazine also received a Merit award in the Editorial Campaign Category!

One Step Closer // Personal Photos!

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I'm on the CUSP of getting ready to send out my portfolios and begin the official ELIESA campaign! That's right...I said campaign! As far as I am concerned, this is a mission of three things:

1) To get my work in front of new editors/agents/art directors/designers and publications.

2) To network and begin building relationships with potential clients

3) To book some kick ass jobs!

While all of these above things are necessary and exciting, I am a big believer that it all starts with me. I want my potential clients to know me, just as much as they know my work. I want them to WANT me soooo bad, they can't say no! In the commercial world, I have always been taught to 'sell your work' first, but I'm taking a different approach this time around! I'm selling myself, and the idea of working with me, just as much as the amazing work we produce! I want clients to know that they are getting the complete package and that we are going to ROCK whatever concept we are given!

This past week, I had the lovely opportunity to get in front of the camera and update my personal photos with my friend, Collin Hughes. I have always loved Collin's work and it made complete sense for him to photograph me. When choosing a photographer to take images of you, choose wisely! I chose Collin, not because he is such a good friend, but rather because his work and the energy in his work emulates the exact vibe that I want to put out there for my clients. Needless to say, he did an amazing job! Here is a tiny quick preview of some of the images from our shoot!

CREDITS //

Photographer - Collin Hughes

Hair + Makeup - Margo Gordon

Styling - Alice Sydow