“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.” – Steven Pressfield (The War of Art)

A big part of my move to LA was an opportunity to grow. Not just growth as a photographer but to expand my skill set as a producer and art director as well. I think it’s important to understand all the roles in this business because ultimately that’s who you’ll be working with as you book bigger and bigger jobs. So my  idea was to approach this shoot like I was booked for a Coca-Cola campaign (just in case you didn’t notice the subtleties). It was a little ambitious, given the fact I’ve never shot 5 models before, but what I lacked in experience I made up for in preparation. With a great team, cool props and little bit of luck on our side I think we pulled off one of my funnest tests to date. Let’s just hope Coke takes notice.

Check out the full story HERE!

Styling: Melis Kuris

Make Up: Jamila Debow

Hair: Kim Forbers

Creative Direction: Kehlin Sears & Kelechi Kalu

After all the hard work what else is there to do but jump? (*This was the day before my birthday too)

Ever since I moved to LA I literally CAN NOT stop listening to the new Kendrick Lamar album so I decided to base a shoot around one of my favorite tracks off the album, “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. In an effort to keep things simple for my first test out here I decided to use just 1 girl, 1 beer, 1 lens (35mm) and 1 hour to make this shoot happen. More importantly, no pressure. I’m very thankful for all the big projects I have coming up but sometimes its so much easier just to shoot for yourself.

On a technical side, I’ve started using Capture One to process all of my images lately and I’m still working out the kinks but it’s a great software. *All images shot with a borrowed Canon 5d Mark II, Canon 35mm L series lens and 580 EX II on camera flash.

Model: Tiernan – NEXT; Styling – Ayanna J; MUA – Starlynn; Hair – CALI

Full Story Here: http://eltonanderson.com/archives/swimming-pools/