There are many different definitions that people toss around but in my own personal work, a paid test shoot is when a model or agency books me to test a concept or idea. They either want to a shoot a look that they have or capture a quick sitting to use as content for social media. How is this different than a traditional booking? For starters, the location is usually up to me and there really isn’t much production involved. Most of the time it’s just a one on one session meaning the shoot will be simple and usually only lasts for about 30 minutes to an hour. If the modal only has one look that they want to capture (as shown above) then I’ll spend the remanding duration shooting looks or styling that I want to use so the model has more frames to select from (if they choose to. Sometimes they just want to sit for 15 minutes and call it a day). Also, the rate is much lower. A testing session with me usually runs about $600 opposed to what I would typically charge for a project shoot or a one on one with production. And finally comes the editing. Rather than giving a full range of selects for a model or company to go through for editing, my test shoots typically consists of one roll of film and a few digitals that results in about 10-20 final images.

Create Daily

-Danny

I was randomly going down a YouTube rabbit hole last week watching videos on photography and film camera’s because I’m starting a new project where I buy a new camera each month and only shoot with that one camera for the entire month and document my experience with it. Anyway, I don’t know how I ended up on a product review for the Canon® Selphy CP1300 photo printer but I was instantly sold. I’ll admit, it was definitely a 2am impulse buy but buying random stuff is the last of my counter-productive vices and sometimes you just have to live a little. I ordered the printer and some extra inks and photo paper and after turning on the miniature unit I quickly discovered it’s the 4x6 printer that I never knew I wanted but definitely always needed. You can print directly from your camera, SD card or simply through blue-tooth from your phone and within 30 seconds you’ll be holding a quality print at your finger tips. It’s honestly amazing and I highly recommend anyone who is shooting on locations to purchase one so they can leave their clients with an instant tangible keep sake. 

I’ll be including free signed and numbered 4x6 prints in our next SS release. Stay tuned.

-Danny

I just started opening up slots for paid test shoots which is something that I haven’t really done in a couple of years. Like I stated many times, I was on a hiatus from making photographs and dealing with anything that put me in the same mental space of my old, wild life. To be honest, I didn’t know if I still had “it”. I didn’t know if the new sober, conscious me could compete with the old heavily induced free-spirited me. It’s easy to create when you’re mentally and physically checked out, in la-la-land with the aide of drugs and booze. It’s even necessary when you become co-dependent on said substances because it’s how you made all of your work over the past decade. And yes, I am taking about myself. So of course I was a bit intimidated and wondered if I could tap into the same vibe I used to have but this time do it with true creative intentions rather than trying to turn every experience into an opportunity to get wild. I quickly discovered that the answer is yes. When you’re a creative, a true creative and someone who absolutely loves the medium, the spirit you thought you could only conjure up in the dark can actually be called upon as soon as your camera turns on. While shooting I felt a tremendous focus come over me and I went into a flow-state where things moved at a fast pace (something that I was always known for. Most of my shoots rarely ever took over 30 minutes) and everything just sort of worked out. I felt way more present, way more alive than I ever have before. So, why do I bring this up? Because if you were ever like me and thought you needed to live a rockstar lifestyle in order to be creative, you’re mistaken. To be completely honest, the fact that someone is paying me to do a job, it’s my responsibility to give them a clear mind that sees all perspectives and can adjust and steer the visual atmosphere rather than being a one-trick-pony and expediting the process just to chase down another wild night. 

Why would someone pay for a test shoot if so many photographers would shoot for free? The experience. The content. Most of all, the fact that they trust the person behind the camera. 

-Danny

In todays climate I’m a firm believer in being adaptable. Being mobile. Being able to transition to any location or space while keeping the same integrity of your work intact. I think it’s time for me to create a video on my process and how I can shoot the same style of product shots regardless of where I am. I’ll discuss how I choose my equipment on a budget in order to keep everything easily replaceable. When being creative you need to see things as tools and to never hold them too precious. Just because you have the most expensive gear doesn’t mean you’ll output work that’s good.

-Danny

Supreme® released a plastic fantastic point and shoot 35mm film camera with Yashica® last week and though I’m not really into Supreme® these days, it was cool to see them pay homage with the camera company that I feel really kickstarted the raw identity that the brand used to embody when captured through Terry Richardson’s now infamous Yashica T4 lens. Say what you will about Terry Richardson, even I have my own discrepancies with his ethics but I can’t deny the fact that if it wasn’t for me being really into Supreme in 2008 and discovering the books that they used to put out, all shot by TR, well, I highly doubt I would have ever pursued my own photographic journey. 

-Danny

The gal and I have been so busy that we haven’t really been able to spend much time outside together in a couple of weeks which pretty much just leaves us with eating homemade banana ice cream in bed at the end of the day. It’s a bad habit, I know but we finally broke the evil chain by getting some sunshine today. It was nice to hit up our usual spots for groceries and goodies before dropping off a few rolls of film at Dark Room Lab. They have this extremely convenient drop-off box outside that allows for zero contact and they process and scan your film within 48hrs. It’s honestly the best and I highly recommend using them if you’re near the Topanga Canyon area. After that we went location scouting for a couple of shoots that I have coming up. All in all it was a pretty lovely Sunday with an even lovelier girl. 

-Danny

I read somewhere that if the world were to stop producing clothes today, we would still be covered tomorrow. Consciously shopping and supporting sustainability is a small part that we can all partake in while giving old clothes a new life.

New vintage pieces are now available on our Depop.

-Danny

Let me share a story with you so you can see how things in life can come full circle. When, C, and I first started dating in October things obviously went pretty fast because of this indescribable connection that we have. By the end of October/beginning of November we were already trying to figure out what to buy one another for Christmas and it just so happened one morning I was putting my rings on and I told her how I’ve always wanted a cool necklace but could never find one with the right vibe. It was literally just a thought that I said out loud and never expected anything from it. Fast forward to Christmas and one of my gifts from her was a really awesome skull necklace by a company that I’ve never heard of, Degs and Sal®. Me being me, I really analyzed the piece of jewelry and after my meticulous evaluation I was completely sold. I honestly couldn’t get over how much I liked it and how I felt it was a cool departure from going the Chrome Hearts® route, which to be honest,  I was pretty tempted to do. Nothing against CH, I truly love their pieces but I feel like, well, let’s face it, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen most of them. And two, there’s just too many knock off’s. This brings me to The Great Frog®, another absolutely amazing jewelry brand that makes exquisite pieces but the price range is way up there. For me, Degs and Sal® hits all of the marks for what I was looking for but could never seem to find. They make pieces that have a vintage biker vibe, the quality is amazing and there’s a lot of attention to detail and finally, the cost factor leaves you feeling like you get way more than what you paid for. I truly loved my Christmas present so much that a couple of weeks later I ordered another necklace from them so I could “stack my chains”. I was so hyped about them that I keep tagging them in my instagram stories without any sort of expectation of  them reaching out to me. I just believe in the brand and wanted to let people know about them who were perhaps in the same jewelry predicament that I was in. Which now brings me to the full circle moment. Someone from the Degs team did end up reaching out to me and offered to send me a care package with pieces from their new collection. I thought they were going to send me one or two pieces but they sent me a bunch of items, some that I absolutely love because it fits my aesthetic and some that I wouldn’t gravitate towards because it doesn’t suite my personal style but one thing is consistent, all of the pieces align with a quality that is purely superb. Thank you Degs and Sal® for the lovely gifts and I can’t wait to work some of them in to my day-to-day styling as well as my photoshoots. I may even be giving some away on my Instagram and Youtube channel so stay tuned.  

Oh, and another full circle moment, I gave the lady one of the chains that she loved, which is pretty funny because that’s how this whole thing even got started. Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

-Danny

I feel like life is moving at a tremendous speed right now due to how much stuff I have going on. I’m literally being pulled in so many different direction at once and I can’t seem to finish small tasks because my attention instantly has to segway to another. I speak like I’m complaining about this but to be quite honest, creative chaos is where I thrive, especially when I have a moment to look up and see something that has been completed. It hypes me up to tackle more, create more, do more… be more. 

-Danny

I’ve been looking for a couple of lightweight, transportable lights that can be quickly setup for an upcoming project and I think I finally found the solution. I ordered a set of Came-TV LED lights from Adorama last week and was beyond thrilled when they got delivered. The first thing I noticed was just how incredibly lightweight and compact these little babies are and the second was just how massive the wall plugs were (after researching, this seems to be an issue for a lot of people who had the same reaction). It’s like cable after cable which sort of defeats the purpose of why I chose these in the first place so instead of using plugs I went ahead and ordered a set of Kastar NP-F980 rechargeable batteries. I believe paid $60 for the batteries which gives me about an hour of juice at 100% brightness. I know that’s not a long time and it’s kind of a bummer and I know there’s other battery options out there but they require more plugs and additional attachments on the light stands and I shoot pretty fast (pause) so it might work out just fine for me. I paid around $600 for the set with batteries and it seems to be a pretty good deal for a solid lighting source that I can beat up and not be too upset about if they get thrashed. If you’re looking for decent continuous lighting for shoots but aren’t ready to drop that Profoto type of money, I would say give these a shot.

-Danny