Film Noir Shoot with Matt Morgan

Recently I embarked on a mission to accomplish a film noir photo shoot.  

Luckily, I have a very talented friend, Matt Morgan, who is a wonderful actor and was able to bring a classic Hollywood feel to the shoot.  

Here are some highlights. 

Fun Family Photo Shoot with some Arrigos

In addition to great music, tons of parties, overeating and mall lines, the holidays are great for family photos.  This is a shoot I did with my fianace's brother Joe, wife Dominique and daughter Sienna.  

Since these two are so artistic, I added a lot of contrast to give a sort of HDR effect on some of the group shots.  

Here's what happens when you put three beautiful people on the suicide bridge during the holidays.

In the Studio with Neil

I mentioned Neil Zlozower previously.  Neil is my super-wacky, X-neighbor that is also a really established rock photographer.  Since I started putting more energy into photography, Neil has invited me more often to come into his studio and hang around while he shoots.

Yesterday he shot the bass player for the band Filter, Phil Buckman.  During this shoot I learned about professional lighting and also about working with a concept.  I always grow when I work with Neil.  He has this very specific way of handling people that simply cannot be taught in class.  He MAKES people perform and gets exactly what is needed from the subjects.  This is something I am working towards, being a better director.  

The shoot took about three hours and after seeing the shots, I think it turned out pretty great.  I look forward to seeing the Hartke add when it hits magazine stands.

After we finished looking at the photos, I put away the lighting equipment and walked around the studio.  I am always so blown away when I see all of the iconic photos that I have only seen before in magazines.  Yesterday one image stood out.  It was of a super young Tom Petty, sitting in fetal position near a stack of records.  I knew I had seen this image previously.  "Did you take this," I asked Neil (some of the images in his studio are from his other famous photographer friends) "Yeah Barker, that's Tom Petty."  He says sarcastically as he knows that some of his subjects are either before my time or our of my musical repertoire. 

I laughed, "I know Neil."  No one is too young for Tom Petty.

Sassy day with Sasser

This is my friend Amanda.  She is a singer and an actress.  She has a really pretty face and an electric personality that makes taking her picture fun.  Amanda let me steal her for a day and allowed me to dress her up like my little doll.  Such a fun day.  

This is my friend Amanda.  She is a singer and an actress.  She has a really pretty face and an electric personality that invites you to take her picture.  Amanda let me steal her for a day and allowed me to dress her up like my little doll.

Angels and DAMONS in the studio

When I first moved to Los Angeles I lived in this shitty little apartment on Ivar St. in Hollywood.  I used to walk a lot, mostly because once you moved your car, there was no telling if you would ever get another parking spot.  On one of these walks I met Neil Zlozower, a super accomplished rock photographer.  I remember the first time I went inside his studio, I was blown away.  He has shot hundreds of rock n' rollers and his whole studio is filled with 30 years worth of slides of many of the people I have been listening to for years.  You can imagine the amount of excitement I got when he offered to let me use this studio for an assignment that I have been working on.

Today I collaborated with an amazing photographer friend named Damon Biviano and we shot an actress named Claire Smith, a friend named Toni and another friend named Amanda.  These ladies are stunning and this shoot was magic.

Amanda Sasser.

Claire Smith

This is Damon Biviano. 

Toni Baliton, dark angel.

Gypsy Pregnancy Shoot

Living in Los Angeles has its benefits and one of the largest one is always having interesting people that are eager to shoot and be creative.  When I found out that my friends Luis and Angela were having another baby I immediately wanted to schedule a shoot knowing that it would be something cool and completely untraditional.  I had this image of gypsies in my mind.  Luis has this great beard and serious stare, Angela has this wild hair and Lennox (their first child) is already a little actress.

We decided to shoot in Topanga Canyon, an area of Los Angeles that Angela and I share a common love for.  I also knew we would find some shade here, which was important since we had to shoot in the middle of the day to accommodate everyone's schedule.

When I arrived, everyone had their gypsy gear on.  Long skirts, hats and scarfs were among some of the garments.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the day.