Dec142012

Chicago, comp card, compcard, Photographer,head shot, Headshots, lifestyle, female, model, commercial,studio,Photography, portfolio, poses, shoot,photo

Headshots: Cosette Tomita’s Compcard

I am always searching for new ways to light my subjects, and with every shoot, I seek to perfect my technique. Recently I started using a Westcott ‘7 Parabolic Umbrella. After a few test shoots, I rolled out the umbrella for this headshot with teen female model Cosette Tomita. Using a giant softbox overhead to give Cosette’s hair a little kick and some overhead fill, I had the model strike several different poses, including this jumping shot below.

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Headshots
Dec112012

Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod poses in Chicago April 25, 2008. John Gress/for The Washington Post

David Axelrod slashes stache

When I met David Axelrod in 2008 at Obama for America campaign headquarters I instantly wanted to photograph him in front of this iconic Obama image. I decided to light Axelrod with light similar to what was in the Obama portrait, only from the opposite side, to create symmetry and contrast all at the same time.

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Celebrity, Portrait
Dec82012

Chicago Advertorial Photographer Black & White Photo

Chicago Advertorial Photographer: Powering People

I was so excited ten years ago when an advertising agency asked me to shoot nine day-in-the-life photo essays featuring utility workers in Wyoming for a public relations ad campaign. The December 2002 project was such an amazing opportunity to not only take some really cool pictures, but experience quite an adventure. Every day we visited a new small town, each different in their own way.

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Advertising, Lifestyle, Photojournalism, PR
Dec22012

Newborn piglets suckle at Whiteshire Hamroc farm in Albion, Indiana March 16, 2012. REUTERS/John Gress

Bacon Anyone?

After the worst drought in half a century hammered livestock producers like Hoelscher with record-high feed grain prices, there is renewed interest in raising pigs, an indication that the struggling hog industry is on the cusp of a recovery.

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Photojournalism
Nov302012

United States Postal Service mail clerks sort packages at the Lincoln Park carriers annex in Chicago, November 29, 2012. REUTERS/John Gress

Chicago IL 60614

Every day I walk through the front door and step over my mail. When I pick it up, I never think about where its been or how its made it to my home… God only knows, I guess.

Well sort of. After spending most of yesterday with United States Postal Service employees, I know a lot more about how it made its way to my door than ever before.

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Photojournalism