The Hometown Hottie contest is off to a slow start but DEFINITELY a good one. We are not scheduled to shoot the January female winner until Monday April 26th because we had to replace the original winner. The original winner staved it off far too long and THEN took a nice vacation down in Florida… and still has not returned! I can’t imagine putting off such a great opportunity and in the world of modeling… This is just NOT tolerated at all. There are FAR too many people out there trying to become professional models and only the most professional people get the jobs.
Anyway… enough about that. The January Male winner was on top of it from the beginning and he was also very prepared when he came to the studio for his session. It payed off for him to study the material I gave him and I could tell that he practiced. I felt bad because I had to put him off for so long because I wanted to shoot the male and female winners in the same session. I have since reconsidered and will shoot separate sessions.
Jamie is a 23 year old male. He is 6’2” tall with the most captivating blue/grey eyes I’ve ever seen. He has a bachelor degree and he is a graphic artist (he’s a smart guy too!). He’s had little to no experience modeling but has had some interest for some time. I hope the right people find him soon because it is of my opinion that he is professional, courteous, smart, has a great attitude, easy to work with and will likely be on time and prepared for any employer or agency.
During this shoot we used two Canon 7d’s and a Panasonic GH1. I worked the still imagery while Paul Filan rolled the HD video. Paul brought his shotgun mic and his Zoom H4n 4 track recorder and also used a slider/panning bar. I was using photogenic strobes for in studio and a couple of portable strobes for on location.
We started out in studio using a black background and then changed to a high key set-up after that (about 15 minutes to change set-ups and re-meter the lights). Then we packed up the portable equipment and went out on location.
Personally… I prefer to shoot on location. Yes it tends to be a bit more complicated because there are so many different elements that are beyond your control and the equipment must be carried around and repositioned all the time but there is SO much more potential for creativity and the challenge is always exciting to me. The world is the background… The studio can never be this diverse unless it is edited in…
Here are a few shots from the session. It’s funny how you can take a dirty, dark and grungy alley and turn it into a great part of a portrait. This alley certainly fit the bill and it is no place to bring your family for a picnic! But it worked great for this session. I often find locations that most people would NEVER think of shooting and incorporate it into my work and I think it really does help me achieve a more artistic feel to my images. 
