Make It Work, Tim Gunn Style
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Celebrity, Editorial
Tim Gunn. The man is like a saint. Everyone loves him. And I have to say, he is one of the nicest people I have ever photographed or met. He was kind, easy to work with, and the only person who has ever said to me, “Are you sure you don’t want more time?” at the end of a shoot. What most people don’t know about this picture is that I actually made his suit out of an old soft box, and the lining from one of my camera bags. ”Find a way to mitigate that center seam” he repeatedly instructed as I tirelessly worked, rushing to finish the garment. ”Make it work!”
Talk about pressure. Thankfully he thought the suit was stunning, and the shoot went great too. While I was packing up, I noticed Tim in the corner of the room tearing up a piece of berber carpet. I gave him a questioning look, and he said, “For our next challenge, you will be designing an outfit for a garden party. You have fifteen minutes to caucus.”
Season 6 of Project Runway, hosted by Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum will be starting soon. To hold you over, (here) is one of my favorite Tim Gunn video clips.
Tags: author portrait, book portrait, Celebrity, celebrity photographer, celebrity photography, Celebrity Portrait, Fashion Design, Headshot, Headshots, Liz Claiborne, Parsons, Portrait, Project Runway, Style, Tim Gunn, Tim Gunn 10 Essentials, Tim Gunn Blog, Tim Gunn Guide To Style, Tim Gunn headshot, Tim Gunn picture, Tim Gunn portrait, Tim Gunn's guide to style, TV host, TV personality
The Robin Hood Of Oil, Except For The Stealing Part…
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
Sometimes my favorite picture from a photo shoot is the last shot of the day. And sometimes the last shot happens after I tell everyone the shoot is over.
After shooting for close to two hours in near freezing temperatures, I knew that I had the shot I needed for my client (lower picture). I had just photographed Dallas Gigrich for People Magazine, as one of their Heroes For Hard Times.
While putting away the equipment, I had an idea (top picture). It was more like a feeling than an idea, but I knew it could turn into a great shot. I decided not to fight it. Dallas and his wife Randi were very gracious, and said that they would love to keep shooting. The final shot would require all of the lighting I had, so my assistant and I took everything out and began setting up. Again. It can be hard to fight your practical side that says, it’s cold, everything is already put away, you can’t ask them to stay any longer. But the outcome can be rewarding when you trust your instincts and feelings.
***
Dallas Gigrich and his wife Randi started Tanks By Dallas as an oil tank removal business. As the business grew, Dallas discovered that there was usable oil in many of the tanks that he was decommissioning. He then realized that he could donate the leftover oil to families in need of oil for heating. Since then, “Dallas has donated oil to over 250 families in need who have not yet switched to natural gas for heating.” - www.tanksbydallas.net
Find out more about Tanks By Dallas and oil donation at www.tanksbydallas.net
Read an article about Dallas in the Seattle Times (here).
The online version of this article in People Magazine can be seen (here).
Tags: Dallas Gigrich, Oil Tank Service, People Magazine, Photography Technique, Seattle Heating, Seattle Oil, Tanks By Dallas
Dr. Marsha Linehan for Time Magazine
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Editorial
Dr. Marsha Linehan is a Psychologist and a Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington. She is one of the world’s leading experts on borderline personality disorder, (BPD).
“Borderline individuals are the psychological equivalent of third-degree-burn patients. They simply have, so to speak, no emotional skin. Even the slightest touch or movement can create immense suffering.” – Dr. Marsha Linehan
“Borderlines are the patients psychologists fear most. As many as 75% hurt themselves, and approximately 10% commit suicide — an extraordinarily high suicide rate (by comparison, the suicide rate for mood disorders is about 6%). Borderline patients seem to have no internal governor; they are capable of deep love and profound rage almost simultaneously. They are powerfully connected to the people close to them and terrified by the possibility of losing them — yet attack those people so unexpectedly that they often ensure the very abandonment they fear. When they want to hold, they claw instead. Many therapists have no clue how to treat borderlines. And yet diagnosis of the condition appears to be on the rise.” – John Cloud, Time
It’s a fascinating article, and you can read it in it’s entirety here at Time.com.
The portraits were taken at Dr. Linehan’s office on the UW campus.
Tags: borderline personality disorder, BPD, dialectical behavioral therapy, Headshot, Headshots, Marsha Linehan, Portrait, Time
Portrait of Annie Leibovitz
Posted by John Keatley | Filed under Celebrity, Editorial
In the course of a conversation this past summer, it was mentioned that Annie Leibovitz was going to be in Seattle that November. As soon as I heard this, I was gone. Blank stare. Absent from the conversation. I was thinking, “What would it be like to photograph Annie Leibovitz? Would she let someone else take her portrait? I don’t think so. She is one of the greatest photographers ever. The only pictures I have ever seen of her were self portraits. How nervous would I be if I got to take her portrait?” A couple of months later, I received an email from a photo editor at Seattle Metropolitan; “Do you want to photograph Annie Leibovitz?”
I thought a lot about how I would photograph her. But after dreaming about some grand and sizable production ideas, I decided not to try to do too much. I would just do what I do best, and keep it simple. We were scheduled to shoot in a private meeting room in a downtown Seattle hotel, with no chance of moving to a different location. Because of her full schedule that day, I knew she would be tired. An interview with Steve Scher on NPR (listen here) right before the shoot, and speaking at Benaroya Hall for ‘Seattle Arts & Lectures‘ right after. I had a small window of time to work with her.
When Annie came into the room, she looked around at the lighting setup, and said, “Wow, this looks scary.” My thoughts exactly, but it wasn’t the lights I was thinking about. We talked a few minutes about photography and cameras before she sat down. Then I told her about my idea for the portrait, and asked if she would mind taking off her glasses. She said that was fine, and I started to shoot. It was a balancing act trying to find the line between being in control to get what I wanted, and not being pushy. I could tell that she was not comfortable being photographed. She moved around a lot while I shot, and I decided to be flexible rather than push too much to hold a certain pose. Things don’t always go exactly to plan, and sometimes this can be a pleasant surprise. It felt like the shoot ended up being a collaboration in making the pictures. It’s not often that I work with someone who is so willing to be expressive and experiment as she was. Shortly after we started, the shoot came to an end, and I knew that I had the shot. I thanked her for her time, and she said, “You did good.” I’ll take it! What a compliment.
The article that was published in Seattle Metropolitan, and written by Steve Wieking can be read here.
*Update* – My portrait of Annie Leibovitz was selected in the American Photography 25 Competition (AP25) and will be published in November 2009. This is a huge honor for me! The link will take you to a post with more about the award.
Tags: Annie Leibovitz, Annie Leibovitz portrait, best photographer, Celebrity, Celebrity Portrait, famous Leibovitz picture, famous Leibovitz portrait, famous photographer, greatest photographer, Headshot, Headshots, John Keatley, John Keatley photography, Keatley, Keatley Photo, Keatley portrait technique, Leibovitz portrait, Lighting Setup, photographer, photographic process, photographing a celebrity, Photography, Portrait, Portrait Lighting, Portrait of Annie Leibovitz, Seattle Metropolitan, Seattle photographer
