Introducing my new MASTER CLASS...

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New York Fashion photographer Jodi Jones has teamed up with Phase One  and Profoto to offer an exciting and unique opportunity to learn how to create beautiful images and take your business to the next level! Jodi and NY Fashion Stylist, Yanyanista, are offering an exciting and unique opportunity to learn the real nuts of bolts of the fashion industry, taking you from any level to the pro level. Jodi and her team of experts will show you ways to dramatically grow your portfolio and learn creative retouching, marketing, and social media techniques. This intimate workshop will have you working with and learning from a top crew and models, and will give you an excellent opportunity to network.

In this MASTER CLASS program, you will learn every stage of a fashion shoot from: creative concepts, fashion styling, casting the models and crew, shoot prep, shooting in-studio, shooting on-location, lighting techniques, model direction/poses, shooting tethered, post production and retouching. Plus a wealth of business information including pitching clients, marketing, and social media advertising.

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CITIES ON THE TOUR:

WEST COAST

EAST COAST

SOUTH

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IMAGE_DEVELOPMENT

FASHION TRAINING

LIGHTING WORKSHOP

LIGHING TECHNIQUES

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POST_PRODUCTION

retouching techniques

CAPTURE_ONE

HOW TO USE CAPTURE ONE

A Capture One expert will give an in-depth teaching of how to create an efficient workflow using the software.

BUSINESS seminar

the business of photography

WEEKEND_workshop

DAY 1 MORNING - Throughout the weekend we will find THE NUTS OF BOLTS OF FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY.  In the morning on day 1, we will cover studio lighting, creating moodboards, posing the model, and creative direction in a keynote presentation. There will be a group Q&A session with my team, including the lead fashion stylist, Yanyanista, who will go over the concept and inspiration for the afternoon shooting sessions.

DAY 1 AFTERNOON - After breaking for lunch, we will then regroup and everyone will have the opportunity to shoot in the studio with the Phase One medium format camera system and lenses and our professional agency models in a gorgeous set up for your portfolio. I will be teaching you all my essential lighting techniques that I use in my work. I will show you how I approach the creative process of making an image along with the technical knowledge needed to be confident in your technique.

DAY 2 MORNING - We will start up on day two with an overview of the day before, a retouching segment with Yanyanista, my personal retoucher. She will be uncovering tricks of the trade and sharing before and afters. A Capture One expert will follow with an in-depth teaching of how to create an efficient workflow using the software.

DAY 2 AFTERNOON - After lunch, the second portion of the day will be a group portfolio review where you have the opportunity to find out what image(s) of yours are the most powerful to help move your career forward. We will then cover essential business and marketing strategies for getting your work published, pitching to clients, social media tips and strategies. In this segment, with a set of new ideas and a marketing strategy, I hope to give you a plan that will elevate your business to the next level!

At the end of the second day you will also have the option of attending a wrap dinner with myself and a few members of my team to extend the conversation of the workshop and get to know each other over dinner & drinks! We encourage networking during the workshop and many students leave with new connections in the industry.

workshop DETAILS

Times: 9.30AM until 6PM each day

Availability: There will be a limit of 15 students for this event.

Equipment provided: Phase One medium format digital camera and lenses.

Equipment requested that you bring: 2 compact flash memory cards, laptop, tablet (or mouse), and your portfolio (whether printed, presented on an iPad or laptop).

Investment: $800 USD (please pay deposit or in full). Includes a light lunch and refreshments each day. Does not include flight, accommodation or transportation.

Optional: Join Jodi and her team for dinner where she extends the conversation from the workshop during a fun and casual evening.

Payment Terms: Please note that a 50% deposit is required to reserve your spot. The rest of the payment is due 3 weeks before the workshop event start date.

Cancellations: We have a 3 week window cancellation policy. If you cancel your enrollment in a workshop more than 3 weeks before the course start date, we will refund your deposit. After this, the deposit is non-refundable. If you are uncertain you will be able to attend the course, please let us know in advance.

Register now for:

LOS ANGELES - SOLD OUT! NEW YORK - November MIAMI - October NASHVILLE - September

SAN FRANCISCO - coming soon DALLAS - Coming soon

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THE_INSTRUCTORS

WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

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JODI ALSO TEACHES ONE-ON-ONE PRIVATE LESSONS.

Please inquire with the studio to schedule one:  info@jodijonesstudio.com

NYC Fashion Photographer JODI JONES is a successful creative director and fashion photographer who has spent over 10 years shooting Campaigns, Editorials, and Runways for New York City’s Fashion Week.  The Lifetime TV special “Women on Top”, a show about women achieving success in a male dominated industry, did a full episode on Jodi's early fashion career. You can view the TV special below. www.jodijonesstudio.com

EBOOK1

A Guide to Beauty & Fashion Lighting by Jodi Jones.This Ebook will guide you through lighting all your fashion and beauty shoots! It shows examples of my work and detailed lighting diagrams on where I placed the light, what modifiers I used, and why!

• 140+ page Ebook!

• Use this guide book as a way to think about light and how it relates to mood, tone, emotion, feelings and style!

• This Ebook is a value-packed read that won’t waste your time!

• Get inspiring photos, instructions, and diagrams!

• Refer to this Ebook often during your step-by-step process to create stunning images!

• If you truly do not want to change your photos then do not read it, but if you do, you must read it!

Get a copy of the new ebook on lighting!  Click here!

How To Paint a Photo Backdrop

Ever thought of making your own backdrop rather than wasting money on a new premade backdrop? It's easier than you think, fun and fast!

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First you will need a big open space that you don't mind getting dirty! We used our roof in Brooklyn with a beautiful view!

Then you need your canvas for creating your beautiful backdrop! It is very easy to buy. We got ours from an Art supply store in Chinatown, but you can find it in most Art Supply stores, anywhere. Our canvas was 12x24 feet and was on sale for $50.

To start this process you will need your paint! We bought a light grey to paint our first layer!

Your brushes and a small tube of black tint! (Black tint $2.99, 3 Brushes $3.99 each, 1 gallon of cheap flat paint $30)

And some roller brushes to make the process quicker!

And then your ready to start! Starting with the roller brushes to just quickly give the backdrop a light grey base. We only needed to use half of the paint, saving the other half for the second layer.

Done! This is what it should look like after the first layer!

Once your done with the first layer, take a break and have some fun while you wait for it to dry!

Your first Layer dry? Awesome! Now its time to start with your second layer. Because we want our backdrop to have a vintage look we want more than one layer to darken the backdrop as we go along, so now we will add a black tint to our light grey paint.

Next we add our water, because we don't want our paint to be too thick and so that we don't lose all the texture created from our first layer. When it's watered down to a 50 by 50 ratio then it makes a nice "glaze".

Now you can start your second layer, for the second layer we used a paintbrush adding to the texture of our already light grey backdrop.

As you go along and the paint starts to dry you will see the backdrop get darker with more texture to it.

Second layer done! You can already see the difference!

Although the backdrop looks perfect after the second layer, we added one more  layer just to bring it all together! We had another gallon of paint lying around so we used some of that paint (mixed with plenty of water) and paint brushes and cloths just to blend all the textures together.

After giving it one last touch up, it's done! And how easy was that! If you are not covered in paint then you must have done something wrong. :)

Now you have you very own homemade backdrop!

And here again is my first shot from my first photo-shoot with the new backdrop! The lovely Oksana Dennis Jager! Voila!

To learn the ins and outs of the Fashion Photography industry, join me on my upcoming Photography Master Class series "Fashion School".  And be sure to come to my next photography workshop this fall!

Photographers! Tips to getting your work published!

[twocol_one] You may have asked yourself "How do I get my fashion photographs published?!" It's a very important and crucial part of the photographer's career to get their work published.  It establishes you as a professional and gets more eyes on your work.  I am fortunate to have been published in magazines around the world, including: Vogue, Time, Cosmo, Elle, Vanity Fair, Bullett, Zink, Hunger, Kurv, Adon, and Beautiful Savage. Here are some tips to help you in your own photography career. My latest fashion editorial was in Bullett Magazine - you can see it here. (http://bullettmedia.com/editorial/fashion-editorial-hiding-paris) It's an essential part of the photographer's career to have magazines essentially do part of your marketing and publicity for you.  [/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]In this case with Bullet, my work was marketed to over 1 million viewers. It's not likely that your website portfolio reaches 1 million viewers in a month. If you do happen to be one of the few where it does, then congrats on hitting the 1 million mile marker!! You know how important marketing is to one's career! Extremely important. Working with the magazines is a give and take.  We as photographers help out the media by supplying them with great content, and in return, you will get help from them by  either publishing your fashion editorial work, writing an article about your work, or maybe even an interview on you! Recently, I had the pleasure of two magazines doing an interview on me for their readers. The possibilities are endless![/twocol_one_last]

1- Get Outside and Meet New People! I know you're working hard everyday on the computer. It's important to edit your images, stay organized, retouch photos, and email your Vogue contacts. Every now and then you really need to stop working on the computer and go get a breath of fresh air.  You've got to meet people face to face, rather than just hiding in your studio as a lonely artist. Sure, you can call your contacts from your studio, but it's so important to get outside and meet the top people in your industry! OK, good so you already know Anna Wintour!  Me too!  Now the next step is to meet other great people.  Lots of them.  Go meet the CFO of the magazine, the art director, a new fashion stylist at a magazine. Stay in touch with these people as they move from position to position all the time!  Network!  It's simple!  For example: My good friend is a young model and she does all sorts of cool things like traveling the world as a musician, actor, and model. We are both busy beyond belief, but we make time to hang out with each other when she's in town, and guess what?! We introduced each other to our contacts.  She just introduced me to a few magazine creatives recently, and "voila!" One month later I have a published fashion editorial in their magazine.

   

2 )Build Your Network Of Editors Now the second step is to utilize your new magazine contacts to meet the magazine's editor-in-chief and the creative director. Getting connected with them can be priceless to boost your career.  It's amazing how many top editors all know each other and really work together to help each other with content.  Especially with the digital platform.  They are constantly in need of new digital content every day. There are literally hundreds of really cool indy magazines out there right now!  In Paris and London, the indies have just as much weight as the Conde Nast Vogues. Citizen K and Lui are two outstanding Paris magazines. Check out Kurv Magazine in Australia.  That magazine is 100% fashion editorials, and they do not require you to have all the big designer labels in your fashion editorials. I attend fashion week in New York and Paris, and find it a great opportunity to meet that industry insider and exchange info. Look low and high for those editors, you will find them! Maybe you don't have fashion week in your town, but most likely you are close enough to a big city that has a magazine.  Or if you travel to a big city, be sure to try and set up a quick coffee meeting with one while you are in town! If anything just to introduce yourself, and suggest that you would like to help them add value to their magazine. In this industry, it is often WHO you know!  One great contact can make all the difference in your career!

 3) Go To Industry Events And Parties Whether you love or hate nightlife events, get on the lists of these events! These events are made for networking. As a photographer, you have to learn how to sell yourself.  Yes, sell.  It's ok.  I know a lot of you may think that there is no way you want to be a "sales person"!  Well, if you want to make money, REAL MONEY at photography, then you better do everything you can to educate yourself on sales!  Having a photography business in my opinion is 50% talent, and the rest is sales and marketing!  Be confident and bold. Have fun and strike up a conversation with people at these events. Try to attend at least one per month! Go with the intent of giving out as many cards as possible (in a non-obnoxious way), and make at least one solid connection at each event.  Listen and be interested in what projects they have going on. Most of the time you don't even have to buy drinks, as they are free.  Plus goodie bags and food too!  Recently I went to the Marc Jacobs new collection launch party.  While I did not get the opportunity to meet Marc himself, I did meet other people in the industry, and took photos with them for social media.  That is an easy way to meet someone.  Find someone you see at the event that took the time to look fab, and give them the compliment.  Be sincere.  Maybe even ask to take a selfie with them.  Voila!  You make them feel good and you've met someone new.  I've gotten so many interesting contacts, and even jobs from going to these events!  Good luck!

Photo Credits-Photographer: JODI JONES

Art Director: ADAM RODRIGUEZ, Stylist: MIREY ENVEROVA, Model: EVELINA SZAMSZONCSIK @ Elite Paris, Hair & Makeup: MARIE TRITSCH

Shot on location in Paris, France.

Now go work on getting some of your images published!

Here is the screenshot from the BulletMedia Website:

Come join me for my upcoming Photography Workshop Tour!  Click on photo for details below:

Creating beautiful light for a designer's collection

Every season as a fashion photographer I am hired to shoot the new collections of fashion designers new and established. The designer's work hard half the year creating this new collection, so when they give it to me to photograph, I have to take care in capturing the garment in the best light.

Here are some of my tips for creating a beautiful light when photographing a fashion designer's collection.

from jodi jones

Photography is a BUSINESS - Part 1

STEPS TO CREATING A PROFITABLE CAREER IN THE ARTS

PART 1 - "The Mission & Vision Statement"

Photography can seem like an isolated, competitive industry. I want to empower other photographers and share what I have learned and share what other successful people around me have learned. Sometimes I will share a lighting tip, a photoshop trick, a behind the scenes educational video, or in this case, essential business skills. I aim to help you with the daily skill-sets needed to run a successful business in the arts.

Any artist pursuing a career, regardless of the discipline (photography, music, poetry, filmmaking, painting, writing, sculpting, illustration, etc.) needs entrepreneurial skills, a marketing plan and access to money. In this part 1 - Photography is a business - The Mission & Vision Statement, I will introduce to you the steps needed to begin to build a long-term profitable career as an artist. I am breaking them down in different parts (posts) to allow you to take action or seek further information on a topic before moving on, so that you can develop a solid understanding of what I feel are very important steps to take in starting your artistic career. Even if you have been surviving for many years at your craft, but only just getting by, this information can certainly help you too! We all need to get back on track sometimes and re-adjust our business plan in an ever changing marketplace.

Helping you get more knowledge about the business side of being an artist (copyright laws, pricing, marketing, contracts, networking, fundraising, sponsorships, co-ops) helps not only you, but also helps to educate the community at large. When I was an actor, professionals in my field had a union (SAG, AFTRA) that set the bar, the basic pricing for work and certain work conditions. This helped the film industry not to exploit the professional working actor's rate. As photographers (and many other art forms such as musicians) we simply do not work together to make sure that our day rates remain at a certain level. I see the rates of many of my talented associates go down year after year with trying to keep work in a market that has a constant influx of new talent, many of whom undercut the industry rate which ends up hurting us all.

Yes, even artists need to understand important business skills if they want to be able to support themselves doing their craft. I get a lot of photographers that come to me asking for guidance or requesting an internship. Most of them have already graduated from a 4 year fine-arts photography degree, and I find that a majority of them do not even know the basics of starting and running a successful photography BUSINESS. I do not blame the artist for not having this knowledge. They simply are not always taught these things. Many artists only want to focus on creating the art. But that is only the beginning. I admit, I didn't know much when I started, by I really wish I had. I would have saved many years spinning my wheels.

It is certainly not enough to take great photos, even outstanding photos now-a-days. An artist should understand that creating their art - taking the photo in the case of the photographer - is just the BEGINNING. Actually, once the artist has a basic understanding of their craft and decides to pursue it professionally and not just as a hobby, they should really seek out as much information as possible about running a business. I am going to share with you some very important business advice for artists. For many artists this might seem boring and not worth their time. I greatly advise the artist to change that way of thinking.

THE MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT You probably have heard these terms before. Maybe you associate them with what a fortune 500 company needs for their "about page". But what you may not have realized is that YOU, the ARTIST, need to have them too!

What are they?

Mission statements define what you do, what is the purpose or direction you want for your art/business.

My mission statement for Creative Space - Our mission is to empower, educate, and inspire artists by providing them with high quality information from experts in their field.

Here are a few examples of the mission statements of popular companies:

AMAZON - Our vision is to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

FACEBOOK - Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

GOOGLE - Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Vision statements are your long term goals and core values.

My vision statement for Creative Space - Our aim is to be a powerful marketing force and resource hub for artists globally.

Why is this so important to know your mission and vision statements? And also to write them down? First of all, it keeps you and the people that work in and with your organization (assistants, studio managers, interns, agents, etc) all on the same page. It's good to display this somewhere that is visible to you on a regular basis. It also keeps you on track. You need to know where you aim to take your art business in order to maintain a pathway to your success. It's not to say you won't be flexible or even re-evaluate your mission statement every so often, but if you are not clear where you intend to go, then the people that follow you will not be clear either. Plus, if you ever decide to seek funding, grants, sponsorships, agent reps, etc. you will most likely be asked this. You might also consider this to be an "elevator pitch". So best to confidently have your answer ready so that you do not miss out on any opportunities!

Do YOU have mission statement? A vision statement? If so, great! You have already made the first step toward your success. If not, why not try and come up with one right now? Grab a cup of coffee or wine, find a nice quiet place, and reflect on these things that you envision for your art business. You will probably want to revise it over and over until it feels right. But don't put it off. Get started on it today!

Good luck! Please feel free to share with me your mission/vision statements here!

Be sure to check back soon where I will be posting PART 2 of "Photography is a BUSINESS".

x Jodi

10 lighting secrets - Advanced Photoshop Mag

I was just featured in a new article "10 lighting secrets" in this month's Advanced Photoshop Magazine.  Here is the article with tips from industry professionals. (Click to enlarge)

Advanced photoshop lighting secrets article Part 1

Advanced photoshop lighting secrets article Part 2

Download the pdf article: LightingSecrets

Featured Photographers:

Me -  JODI JONES -  www.jonesimage.com

KEVIN ROODHOORST - www.kevinroodhorst.com

FABIO ARAUJO  - www.behance.net/fabioaraujo 

VICTOR NOVAK - www.higher.sk

SALEM AL LANGAWI  - www.salemallangawiart.com 

TOMAS PETEREC  -  www.tomaspeterec.sk

JOANNA KUSTRA  -  www.joannakustra.com

JOHN GILSENAN  - www.iwantdesign.com 

ALBA SOLER -  www.behance.net/albasoler

MANIPULA - www.manipula.art.br 

The Role of the Makeup Artist on a Photo Shoot

Photo shoots have several key significant players that make a successful photo shoot.

It is important as a makeup artist to understand your role while maximizing your talent, creativity, and contribution to the rest of the team. As a makeup artist it’s more than just having a great kit with beautiful products and a bubbly personality. The art of makeup is a craft and it is an essential part to any photo shoot. The makeup artist is in a position to use their artistic skills to transform the face of the model, through their skills the look of the image can be taken to a higher level. I recently worked with Jodi Jones on a Photo shoot for the clothing line JordanWolk. I am going to outline for you several helpful tips that I used while working on this photo shoot.

Tip#1: Understanding the style and desires of the client is the first step that I take when preparing for a photo shoot.

The theme for this shoot was “Alice and Wonderland.” Often times the client will give you tear sheets or photos for inspiration. It is so important to understand how the client visualizes the makeup because everyone’s interpretation is different. Make sure that you always ask for the inspiration in addition to doing your own research and bringing additional images for inspiration. You always want to be prepared and don’t be afraid to ask specific questions regarding the makeup so that you can have a clear visual picture of how you are going to execute the look.

Tip#2: Research the work of the photographer you are working with and be familiar with their style and the type of work that they do.

On the photo shoot make sure that you introduce yourself to the photographer and the entire photography team. Remember that the photographer is the director of the shoot and you are there to assist them in making a beautiful image. When I initially did the eye makeup on this model the client felt that the color was a bit too dark and dramatic. Jodi expressed her concern that she agreed with the client, so as a makeup artist you have to ask specific questions about the changes that are needed. Jodi suggested that we lighten the color on the lid and inner corner of the eye. I showed Jodi and the client what colors I was going to use and I made the changes. It is important to find out from the photographer what they need you to do to make the best image.

Tip#3: It is very important to understand your model.

Often times your model may be very young in age or may even have a language barrier. I always try to make my model comfortable because I am in their intimate space. Pay attention to the energy level of the model. If they are hungry or thirsty be proactive and go get them something to eat or drink. The model is a key part of the shoot so you want to be positive and have great energy when working with them.

Tip#4: The guidelines have been given to you from the client and the photographer, now it’s time to express your skills and creativity within the framework that they have provided for you.

This is when you have fun and you tap into your gift. Make sure you have all the materials that you need to execute the look and if you don’t have them, then you must learn to create them. Give it your all and put love into what you do.

Tiffany Stout (Makeup Artist), Jodi Jones (Photographer)

“Let the beauty we love be what we do” -RUMI-

Photoshop Tip - Selective Color Adjustment

I have recently become a big fan of the selective color adjustment in photoshop.   Sometimes when working on an image when I want to take it a bit away from the “reality” of colors that we see on a daily basis, I will do some adjustments to the image on a non-destructive selective color layer. Below is an example of a recent beauty image I created of Madeline.  She is a model here in NYC with Muse Models.  I only had about 30 mins to do this shoot once hair and makeup did their magic.  I photographed two models for a beauty shoot in the morning before my afternoon commercial lookbook shoot.

In these series of images below I have first the final retouched, color adjusted image with smoke added.  This is the final image.  I shot this with a hasselblad h4d 50 megapixel camera so there is a lot of detail in the actual image that may not show up here on the web.

FINAL RETOUCHED/ADJUSTED IMAGE WITH SELECTIVE COLOR & SMOKE -

Now I will take you thru the stages to get to this final image.

I sent the raw unadjusted image to my retoucher Pablo in Spain.  I used to do all my own retouching, but just find it too time consuming.  I love creating art in photoshop, but I have teamed up with another artist.  I trust his work, so this frees me to focus on shooting more and sharing my the process of my work thru this blog “creative space”.  I am arranging now to have Pablo join me from Spain to share his photoshop “magic”.  He has amazing techniques that he will be sharing with the students who sign up for my 2day master class in April in NYC. The images below are to show you the retouching of the skin that Pablo did.

RETOUCHING BEFORE AND AFTER -

Madeline has great skin, and the broncolor light I used (with para 88 modifier) has a very silkening effect on the skin, but digital photography tends to show too much reality, so retouching is pretty important to clean the skin, remove all the stray hairs and give the image a special polish.

After I received the retouched image back from Pablo, I added my own quick color treatment.  I created a “selective color adjustment” in photoshop to give it a more interesting jeweled color tone.  See below.

RETOUCHED IMAGE (Left), Added SELECTIVE COLOR ADJUSTMENT (Right) -

I have a behind the scenes video that Adam (my amazing video man) and I are working on now that will show the exact lighting tools used to create this shot, plus several other  lighting setups for doing beauty shoots. (check back later this week to watch me demonstrate the lighting for shooting beauty!)

The next step for me after I did this tone was to ask Pablo to add some smoke coming from the model’s lips for a graphic visual effect.  And there you have it!

The Makeup – For this shoot I worked with nyc makeup artist Tiffany Stout.  Her and I  just recently started working together and  I must say that I really enjoy her energy on set.  I get hundreds of requests from different hair and makeup artists to work together.  When my regular team is booked doing other work, I will “test” someone new.  I say test because it is not always just someone’s talent that I look for when working together, but also, and as important to me:  do I enjoy working with this person?  do they bring a positive energy to the set?  are they a diva or are they likable and treat the model and others on set well?  and are they bringing creativity to their work?  The last one here is really important because I do not like to follow what everyone else is doing, but rather try and create something new.  If I work with others who feel the same and can bring something new to the table, then it helps my work evolve as well.

Hope you enjoyed.  Thanks.  xo Jodi

[fve]https://vimeo.com/60101149[/fve]

For lighting tips and hands on training, come to one of my workshops!

To learn the ins and outs of the Fashion Photography industry, join me on my upcoming Photography Master Class series "Fashion School" this fall!

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS AROUND THE WORLD - 2013

After 12 years in the NY fashion photography business, I have decided to start teaching the craft to others!

I am working on the specific details and schedule now and will be posting the first intensive workshop itinerary in the following few days.

Some important topics to be included:

Creating Concepts & Art Directing, Assembling a great Crew (hair, makeup, models, fashion stylists, etc), Directing your Models, Lighting for Impact, Digital Workflow, Post Production Retouching, and Marketing your Style.

Drop me an email if you want to be added to my list for Workshop Updates and for when I come to a city near you!

jodijones@mac.com

Thanks.

x