Fashion Test

The month of May flew by, but looking back it was a good month.  I did a lot of new fashion, beauty and celebrity images for my portfolio.  I had an opening exhibit of my images from India in Switzerland, photographed legendary singer Aretha Franklin in NYC for her new cd cove, and shot a fashion story with Sony documenting the process on video.  It was a good month despite the recession.

My week in NYC was great all around.  It started with the Infinity Awards honoring Annie Leibovitz and other for their work in photography.  The day after the awards was my fashion shoot and working to pull off six powerful images was challenging but fun to work on.  The fashion story is a spec. story, and by this I mean I will shop it along with the jewelry story I did a few weeks ago to a magazine I have connections with in Milan, Italy.  Hopefully they will love the images and give me great coverage of both.  I've selected Zoom magazine in Italy for my spec. stories because the magazine is sold all over the world vs just in the States.

The day after my fashion story was Aretha Franklin day.  I was very excited about the entire week but most excited about this day.  I was also on edge because of the weather forecast and was literally watching it hour by hour because rain was in the forecast for five straight days.  We were shooting in studio first and then going to Central Park and then a night shoot in Times Square.  All of this took ton's of production and figuring out every aspect.  I had three assistants on the shoot but a smaller crew than usual because Ms. Franklin likes it that way.  This would be my fifth or sixth time working with her.  My crew met me and we set up the studio with different sets.  The lighting was my signature light to capture Ms. Franklin in all her glory.  To set the mood I started playing my Aretha Mix which is a collection of all my favorite Aretha songs.  As my crew set up the studio Aretha's voice filled the air and put us all in the mood for the day.  When Ms. Franklin arrived we were all set for a great day.  I've played this mix many times but never while I photographed Ms. Franklin but today I decided to let it play and it was the best thing I could have done.  As we shot everyone from the bodyguards to my assistants were in a trance listening to Ms. Franklin's top songs of all time.  It make the shoot so easy and Ms. Franklin at times started singing along and I just captured the images until I felt we had the shot and moved to the next.  We shot four images in studio and it went smoothly.  During the shoot Ms. Franklin said "Jordan I was looking at your website and you have a lot of friends".  It took me a moment but then I realized she was speaking about my Facebook page and I was shocked that she looked at Facebook.  We laughed and kept shooting.  Once done in studio we prepared to go on location.  My crew prepared to get all the gear in our location vehicle as I walked Ms. Franklin to her bentley.  As she got in the car, she looked at me and said "Jordan, pick one.  Central Park or Times Square"!  I said Times Square and she said okay I'll see you in an hour or so.  With that my crew set off to Times Square and called my agent who was producing to alert the police to meet us there.

Once we were set up and the area was secure in Times Square we prepared to shoot at night.   I called Ms. Franklin when we were ready and she drove up and the security blocked off our area and we started shooting.  As we shot a huge crowd watched on three sides of us and cheered.  It was one of the most amazing shoots I've had this year and my favorite session to date with Ms. Franklin.  At one point I turned around and looked at the crowd behind me and all I could see was a zillion point and shoot cameras and phones taking images.  I could only laugh.  When I had the shot I shouted "that's a wrap"and Ms. Franklin bowed to me and then to the crowd and they went crazy.  There is nothing that can compare to photographing Aretha Franklin in Times Square at night.  Thank you Ms. Franklin!

Always Dream Big!

Infinity Awards and Show in Switzerland

I arrived in New York City today for what promises to be a memorable week.   I came to New York for the Infinity Awards as a guest of Kodak, but the week has turned into much, much more.  Tuesday, May 12th, Annie Leibowitz will receive a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to photography.  I'm looking forward to the evening and I will tell you all about it once the evening is over. 

 The following day I will shoot a fashion story to submit on spec. to Zoom magazine and Sony will shoot behind the scenes footage of me working.  I was going home at that point but received a call from Ms. Aretha Franklin asking if I was available in NYC on Thursday and Friday, so now a slow week has changed out of the blue.  

Saturday, May 16th my exhibit will open in Morges, Switerland at the Chateau de Vullierens showcasing my images from India.  I will not be at the opening unfortunately however I will be at the opening of a show in Senegal the first week of December.  More on that later.

Most of last weeks shoots have been retouched and I will work on promoting the new work via the web.  Stay tuned for info on promotion and marketing in the coming weeks.

Always Dream Big!

P.S.  I know we are all in hard times these day and know that you are all in my thoughts.  Be strong, stay positive and no matter what keep working on your dreams.  It doesn't matter if you have to do other things while you work on your dream as long as you don't give up your dream.  

"How Did you Spend your Time During the Recession"

It seems all I am hearing these days is how bad the economy is and how slow it is in every industry.  As a photographer we get commissioned, (or hired) to shoot for a client and bring a vision to life.   When it is slow however you may not get as much work, but you can still work on new images that show your vision and how you see the world.  The plus side to this is you have new fresh images to show  and when the economy is robust again, and it will be, you will be the one everyone is calling because your work looks fresh.  

I just finished three days of shooting beauty images that are focused on hair.  These images were not commissioned but shot to promote myself and everyone involved in the process.  This is part one of three, so check back in the coming days for more.

All images were shot with the Sony A900, Profoto Strobes, and a wonderful cast of talent.  Once all the images are edited and retouched I will update the website and send out a email promotion via Adbase directed to the beauty industry.  When work comes as a result of these images I will let you know, so you can also see the process for promoting yourself.  The fun part of this is you have more fun shooting images for yourself than you do on the actual job sometimes.  

Always Dream Big!

Matthew Jordan Smith

New Images

It is Tuesday morning and I am about to start shooting the third part of a series I began working on last week.  The subject is hair, and I am creating new images for my portfolio in the area of haircare.  I have spent hours looking for the perfect models with great hair, getting the best hairstylist, makeup artist and wardrobe stylist together to work with me on these images.  

Last weeks photo shoot of Svenja, an amazing blond from Germany, was incredible and those images are now with my retoucher.  Yesterday, I photographed another incredible model from Photogenics agency in Los Angeles.  She is a natural red head with flawless skin and great energy in front of the camera.  I am very pleased with both shoots so far and looking forward to today's shoot of another stunning model with brunette hair.  Once all my selects are retouched I will share them here.   

Oh, btw the secret project will be shared shortly!

Always Dream Big!

Weekend Break

I think it is very important to un-plug from work and get away to recharge.  I find that taking time to enjoy life helps with my photography and also with my creativity.

This past weekend I ventured four hours away to Mojave with my girlfriend to relax and enjoy nature.  I wanted to photograph the sand dunes at sunset and capture the sunlight play on the dunes during the final hour of light.  I'd tried before but we didn't realize it was an hour hike to get to the dunes and had to turn back before it got dark.  This time I came prepared with a flashlight and we planned our hike, which was a grueling uphill climb the entire way.  When we finally made it to the top I was exhausted, but seeing the dunes from the top took away all my pain.  It was my first time seeing sand dunes with my own eyes.  I have wanted to photograph sand dunes ever since I watched the movie "The Cell" with Jennifer Lopez.  

Capturing the sand dunes at that time of day was incredible for me.  I feel in love with the beauty of the light and the way it danced with the dunes.  We enjoyed the sunset and talked until the sunset afterglow vanished.  It was an amazing trip.......,until we tried to find our way back to the car.  

Walking back from the top of the dunes at night, without the aid of a full moon, was not an easy task.  We soon found ourselves off the path and walking in deep sand and grass instead of just sand alone.  I wanted to get off the grass and looked for our path when all of the sudden I heard the worst sound I have ever heard.  We had walked to close to a rattlesnake and the sound was directly at our feet.  My girlfriend felt it zoom past her towards me and I leaped and tried to roll away from it.  I found it with the flashlight and it was huge!  We got out of the area as fast as we could but were still about 30 min. from my car.  In that moment we found the path made it back to the car safely.  The moment we were in the car I bowed my head and prayed thanking God for protection.  It was a moment we will never forget!

Always Dream Big,............,and never walk in the dessert at night!