music

Tre Isaacs Shoot

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Tre Isaacs is a Hip Hop Recording Artist coming out of Brooklyn, New York. He currently resides in PG County, but had planned to visit New York last weekend & figured we'd link up to shoot.

Now this was supposed to be a daytime shoot as I LOVE natural light. In the Winter, it's usually a bit cloudy out with less sun which is PERFECT for shooting. The shoot ended up being a nighttime thing because Tre came up from PG a bit late. I was prepared though! Came through with the off-camera flash! I rarely use my flash unless I'm shooting indoors or at an event. I'm not big on artificial lighting, but I know lighting is everything so I suck it up. The good thing about the off-camera flash is that I can control the light. Only thing I wished I did was bring my stand for the light, but luckily my assistant (my boyfriend) was on it! Had him stretch them arms out that night. LOL

It also became a snow shoot! My first of the season, so I was hype. We didn't even see snow on the forecast & were frozen after, but anything for the ART!

Check out some of my favorite images from the shoot below & follow Tre Isaacs on Instagram to stay updated on his future projects! @tre_isaacs

Mr. & Ms. Fit Shoot

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3 weeks ago, I had a photoshoot with 2 music artists by the names of Fitz & Ms. Fit. They are currently working on a collaboration album entitled "Mr. & Ms. Fit." The theme is inspired by the film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," which happens to be one of my favorite movies so of course I thought the idea was dope! Fitz contacted me about shooting the photos for the album cover art which will look exactly like the movie's poster. To achieve this look, we shot in the cyclorama photo studio that I often use.

Along with the shots needed for the cover art, we shot 2 other looks they could use for promotional reasons. I like giving music artists a range of shots they could use for flyers, single art, posters, etc. because having professional photos is key to looking clean & ready! While we were shooting, I had them turn on their album to really feel out how i wanted the images to look. I often ask music artists to even perform their songs while we're shooting so they're fully comfortable & we can get some unique shots. Common poses are cool, but they're just that - poses. When capturing the artists performing, I get a variety of different looks & their actual personalities on camera.

Ms. Fit had Kiser of K Shark TV come through to take behind the scenes footage during the photoshoot. Kiser talked to them about their upcoming album & got me on camera while behind my camera! (I'm corny, lol) Check out the footage & more images from the shoot below!

Extra's Blue October Shoot

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I had just arrived in Vegas when I got a text from one of my most frequent clients - Extra. Extra is a Hip Hop Recording Artist based in NYC. He was referred to me about 2 years ago from another client. Since then, we've done about 4 photo shoots and I've designed his website. He's been one of my most loyal clients so of course I had to answer his call while I'm on vacation. 

Extra was about to begin working on his next project entitled, "Blue October" and asked me if I could take a few photos and design the cover art. I said sure, so we set a date for the shoot.

2 weeks after I came back from vacation, Extra double checked to see if we were still on for the shoot and if I had any ideas for the cover. We were good for the shoot, but I didn't have a clue what I was going to do about the cover. I looked at images from past shoots & ran to Pinterest (I freaking live on Pinterest) for inspiration. My "shmoke & a pancake" Pinterest board caught my eye immediately. I had already owned a blue smoke bomb, which was perfect because of the album title and I've really been wanting to use it for a shoot. I texted him to tell him my idea and he loved it!

The day of the shoot, I was super excited. I had been on a hiatus dealing with life and this was the first photo shoot I've done in a while. Out of everything I do for work, I enjoy photography the most. Creative shoots especially make me extremely happy. Extra chose an outdoor basketball court in Bushwick, Brooklyn for the shoot. I was kind of nervous to shoot there because the court is right next to a school park in a residential area. I didn't want anyone to be alarmed by the smoke bomb and call the cops or something. Lol. I've only used a smoke bomb once for a music video I shot and I was all the way in no-man's land in the middle of winter. No people. No cops. When we got to the basketball court, I scoped out the place (because I was so nervous) to make sure there were no snitches, proper shade and lighting and a cool enough background for the photos. I took some test shots to make sure my camera settings were right then told Extra all the rules while dealing with the smoke bomb. He pulled the keyring and boom - it didn't work. 😡  Then he reattached the keyring to the wire and pulled again. This time, it was successful.

So happy about the way the images turned out. I processed them in Lightroom and designed the cover art in Photoshop. Extra's EP will be released in October and I'm happy I got to be apart of the process. See more the images from the photo shoot below.

10 Years: College Dropout

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February 10, 2004 - Kanye Omari West released his debut album "College Dropout"

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If you know me, you know that Kanye is at the top my most influential people list. Since day 1, I've paid attention to this guy. In the beginning, it was just about his music. Shit was dope. The strength Kanye showed on "Through the Wire" (the first single) was impeccable. You can literally hear and FEEL his pain throughout the entire song. The day I heard that song is the day I fell IN LOVE with Hip Hop. From that point on, I knew to expect nothing but greatness from him.

Being a Jay Z fan, I knew who Kanye was but I didn't know WHO KANYE WAS. "College Dropout" introduced his skill of creativity I love today and proved how brave & committed he was to bringing something brand new in Hip Hop. From the skits to the POWERFUL tone of "Jesus Walks", "College Dropout" is HANDS DOWN one of the BEST Hip Hop albums IMO. I recently got to see Kanye at the Barclays Center for the Yeezus tour and witnessing him perform "Jesus Walks" honestly made me a bigger fan. The way he felt back then poured out of his performance and it was truly inspiring. 

You can tell just by looking at him how far he's came as an artist. His music will forever be timeless. What he's done with "College Dropout" to "Yeezus" has kept Hip Hop on its toes. All of his albums in the past 10 years exceed way beyond light years what anyone has done in the music industry to this day. His thoughts, growth and movements throughout the years prove that we as Hip Hop fans NEED him. I especially need him and I look forward to the next 10 years of creativity! 

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Thank you Kanye - for the amazing production, lyrics, badassness, honesty, G.O.O.D. Music, DONDA, and most importantly for being YOU and not compromising who you are and what you believe in for ANYONE. You have inspired me to work hard AND smart to continue to take my art to MY ultimate level. I am a God.

Below you can peep Kanye's tweets today about "College Dropout". My favorite was "The doors may be heavier, but I promise you WE WILL BREAK THEM."

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