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Brian Smith

Julia and Me in Elle Magazine!

by Brian Smith on September 2, 2010

in Art & Soul,Brian Smith,Magazine Photography,Media,Miami Photographer,People Photography,Sony Artisans of Imagery

In what ranks as possibly the most unlikely statement of an outrageously lucky career, Julia Roberts and I are in the September 2010 issue of Elle Magazine. Julia is on the cover where she belongs but the massive 562-page issue also spotlights my ‘Art & Soul’ celebrity portrait project that I photographed for The Creative Coalition with the generous support of Sony.

The spread in Elle previews a few of the images of creative artists Jimmy Smits, Alyssa Milano, Samuel L Jackson, James Denton, Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte, Taraji P Henson, Porsche Doubleday, Debi Mazar, David Hyde Pierce, Jesse Williams, Tony Bennett, Dayna Mendoza, Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington, Miss J Alexander, Marlon Wayans and Taye Diggs in the project that showcases the importance of support for the arts and arts education.

Big THANKS to all the Creative Artists who have lent their voices to this cause and to Sony and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. for their support!

Click here for a PDF of Brian Smith in Elle Magazine.

Tagged as: Alyssa Milano, Art & Soul, Brian Smith, David Hyde Pierce, Dayna Mendoza, Debi Mazar, Elle, Elle Magazine, Harry Belafonte, James Denton, Jesse Williams, Jimmy Smits, Julia Roberts, Kerry Washington, Kim Kardashian, Marlon Wayans, Miss J Alexander, Porsche Doubleday, Samuel L Jackson, Spike Lee, Taraji P. Henson, Taye Diggs, Tony Bennett

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New Seminars at PhotoPlus Expo 2010

by Brian Smith on August 30, 2010

in Brian Smith,Celebrity Portrait Photography,People Photography,Seminars & Speaking

PDN’s PhotoPlus Expo is always the can’t-miss-event in the Photo Industry and this year is no exception. There are a bunch of cool new seminars at this year’s PhotoPlus Expo this October 28th-30th at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC. Here are a few I got circled… including my first solo appearance on their big stage. Registration is open now.

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 – 8:45 AM to 11:45 AM
Extreme Web site Makeover: Putting Your Website to Work for You
Speaker: Grover Sanschagrin, Vice President & Founder, Photoshelter Inc.
There’s not another company that freely provides as much good information to photographers as Photoshelter. Grover really knows his stuff!

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 – 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM KEYNOTE
Chase Jarvis Live: Creativity and The New Social Art of Photography
Speaker: Chase Jarvis
Chase is the only guy with more energy than the X-treme sport athletes he photographs and always a great and motivating speaker.

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 – 1:15 PM to 3:15 PM
Publishing Your Photobook
Speakers: Darius D. Himes, Consultant, Publisher, Author, Radius Books
Mary Virginia Swanson, Consultant and Educator, M. V. Swanson & Associate
Swanee is THE Authority on the Fine Art Photography marketplace and she knows everyone in the photo industry. She and Darius ‘Sir Books-a-Lot’ of photobooks will be rolling out their new book. Can’t wait..

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 – 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM
Secrets of Great Portrait Photography
Speaker: Brian Smith
Shameless Plug…I know, but I’m very excited for the chance to do a whole new presentation and spill all the secrets I can about shooting great portraits…

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010 – 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM SPECIAL EVENT
Legacy: Portraits of the Environment
Speaker: Colin Finlay
I love Colin’s work and he’s quite worthy of Special Event Status.

Friday, Oct 29, 2010 – 8:45 AM to 11:45 AM
The Big Picture: Editorial Photography Behind the Scenes
Speaker: Art Strieber
OK, OK…This is actually a repeat performance..What can I say…Art Rocks!

Friday, Oct 29, 2010 – 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM KEYNOTE
Strip Search: Albert Watson in Conversation with Laurie Kratochvil
Speakers: Albert Watson and Laurie Kratochvil
I got this one double-triple circled! A can’t miss event!!! Albert is one of my favorite portrait photographers and Laurie is an icon of the industry who gave me one of my first big breaks when she was at Rolling Stone.

Friday, Oct 29, 2010 – 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for Portrait Photographers
Speaker: Katrin Eismann, Chair, SVA
Katrin is the Pixel Diva. I learn stuff from Katrin just walking past her…

Friday, Oct 29, 2010 – 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM
New Media Marketing for Next Generation Photographers
Speakers: Jack Hollingsworth, Jason Moriber, Lindsay Adler and Rosh Sillars
Rosh and Lindsay really now this stuff. Jason does EP’s Social marketing and @photojack has more people followers than anyone in the photo industry…except for Polaroids’ Creative Director Lady Gaga...

Friday, Oct 29, 2010 – 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM
Institute Presents: New Directions in Storytelling
Speakers: Elisabeth Biondi, Visuals Editor, The New Yorker, Gillian Laub, James Longley an d Lauren Greenfield, Photographer & Filmmaker
Photojournalism isn’t dead – it’s just moving in different directions.

Saturday, Oct 30, 2010 – 8:45 AM to 11:45 AM
Mark Seliger: Icons & Images
Speaker: Mark Seliger
I’m not sure who is more of an icon – Mark or the people he shoots, but this is bound to be good.

Saturday, Oct 30, 2010 – 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM KEYNOTE
Avatar: The Struggles of Indigenous People in a Modern World
Speaker: Cristina Mittermeier, Photographer & President, International League of Conservation Photographers
My Sony Artisan sister is the Mother Theresa of the photo industry – Saving the World One Pixel at a Time…

Saturday, Oct 30, 2010 – 1:15 PM to 3:15 PM
Platform Building: Using Online Video Sharing to Attract an Audience, Establish Creativity and Network
Speakers: Blake Whiteman, Director of Community and Product, Vimeo, Philip Bloom, Ryan Koo and Vincent Laforet
I don’t really need to hype this one, you know you want to see these guys.

Saturday, Oct 30, 2010 – 1:15 PM to 3:15 PM
Demystifying DSLR: Beyond the Green Box!
Speaker: Me Ra Koh

Me Ra is loaded with energy. If you shoot kids, families or weddings stop by and hopefully some of that will rub off on you.

BIG THANKS to Kayla Lindquist and everyone at Sony for sponsoring my talk and Lauren Wendle and Moneer Masih-Tehrani of PDN for giving me the stage to talk on. Hope to see you all there!

Tagged as: 2010, Brian Smith, PhotoPlus Expo, Portrait Photography, Secrets of Great Portrait Photography

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Secrets to Great Portrait Photography
Adorama Special Event: July 29th NYC

by Brian Smith on July 25, 2010

in Brian Smith,Celebrity Portrait Photography,Editorial Photography,Seminars & Speaking

My lecture this Thursday July 29th about the ‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography’ at Adorama in New York City is nearly sold out, but I’m holding half a dozen seats for any of my blog or twitter followers. So if you’re can’t get in, let me know and I’ll try to get you in.

This is a new lecture with focus on all aspects of what it takes to create a great portrait, from concept to execution to post. Ways to give your portraits extra polish with production value that looks more expensive than it is. Emphasis will be placed on the ‘concepts of lighting’ that you can apply to your own work.

Hope to see you there…

Secrets to Great Portrait Photography

An Evening with Brian Smith
Thursday, July 29, 2010 5:30PM – 7:30PM
Price: $25.00
Registration deadline for this Special Event July 28, 2010

Each attendee will receive a $25.00 coupon at the Seminar in exchange for a copy of their registration receipt. The coupon will be valid for 30 days towards the purchase of any merchandise when presented at either Adorama’s retail store at 42 West 18th Street, New York, or for an online purchase at www.adorama.com

Event Description:

Great portraits capture the soul and spirit of your subject. This Special Event with celebrity portrait photographer Brian Smith will focus on ways of breaking down barriers and secrets of working quickly to capture the great portraits, whether you have minutes, hours, or days to get the shot. Brian will share the lessons he’s learned over the past 30 years as a top magazine portrait photographer capturing the faces of the famous, infamous and even the un-famous. He’ll break down the approach he uses on editorial, commercial and personal projects from concept to execution to post, on productions large and small. Simple choices in lighting can affect the mood of an image, so during this evening’s presentation, he will detail his problem-solving approach to lighting and how he customizes his lighting to a particular situation, using light to create bold iconic portraits on location. Brian will show you ways to remain fresh and passionate about your photography, and the evolutionary steps you can take to allow your personal style to evolve as you move your photography to the next level.

Special Event Sponsored by Adorama and Sony

Tagged as: Adorama, Brian Smith, Secrets of Great Portrait Photography

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PhotoShelter Salutes the Point-and-Shoot

by Brian Smith on July 20, 2010

in Blogs,Brian Smith,Photographers,Photography,Photography Gear,Press,Sony NEX

Grover Sanschagrin of PhotoShelter put together this great article about Professional Photographers who also shoot with Point-and-Shoot cameras.

It’s great to see that so many of my friends also carry a small camera with them everywhere they go. Afterall, the best camera you can own is the one you’ve got with you…

Tagged as: Cameras, Photographers, PhotoShelter, Point-and-Shoot, Point-n-Shoot, Sony NEX-5

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Emerge Photography Symposium – Miami Sept 10-12th

by Brian Smith on July 16, 2010

in Brian Smith,Celebrity Portrait Photography,Miami Photographer,Photography,Seminars & Speaking,briansmith.com

I’ll be one of the speakers at the Emerge Symposium in Miami this September 10-12th at the fabulous Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Coconut Grove. I’m going to be speaking and working with participants all day Saturday, September 11th.

Emerge Photography Symposium is geared towards photographers who advance best through small group, hands-on collaborative learning.

This event provide learning channels via three components:
– Instruction lectures by award-winning industry professionals
– Intensive hands-on photo shoot sessions
– Round table critique discussions of your images

Emerge Photography Symposium provides value by way of intimate interaction and a personalized experience. Listen to the the stories and experiences of industry professionals. Learn about how they developed their careers and ask questions about key pieces of information they wish they knew when they were starting out, or advice on how you can improve your craft and techniques.

Let me repeat: There will be no large conference room hall. Brian Smith, Tony Yang and Norman Chow certainly will not have microphones. It’s personal. It’s about you, me, your future new friends, a wealth of knowledge, and an awesome weekend in Miami, FL.

Come with your brain ready to soak, a prepared trigger index finger and a laptop to show off your new skills.

Early-bird registration will close Friday, August, 6, 2010. Hurry! Save $150 if you register before July 30, 2010!!!

Tagged as: Brian Smith, Celebrity Portrait Photographer, Emerge Photography Symposium, Photography

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Digital Photo Pro Interview

by Brian Smith on July 15, 2010

in Art & Soul,Brian Smith,Celebrity Portrait Photography,Magazine Photography,Miami Photographer,Press,Sony Artisans of Imagery,briansmith.com

Fantastic article in the July/August 2010 issue of Digital Photo Pro magazine by William Sawalich with a behind the scenes look at my about my ‘Art & Soul’ project!

Tagged as: Art & Soul, Brian Smith, Digital Photo Pro, Interview

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Rangefinder Magazine Interview

by Brian Smith on July 2, 2010

in Brian Smith,Celebrity Portrait Photography,Interviews,Photography

Lynne Eodice of Rangefinder magazine wrote a very nice profile of me in the July issue of Rangefinder where we talk about my approach to portrait photography and how I got to this point.

Tagged as: Brian Smith, Interview, Magazine, Photography, Rangefinder, Sony Artisans of Imagery

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American PHOTO Salutes the New Burlesque

by Brian Smith on July 1, 2010

in Brian Smith,Burlesque,Interviews,Media,Press,briansmith.com

What day would be complete without another post from me about Burlesque? AmericanPHOTO has become the latest magazine to profile Burlesque. Fantastic article by Franklin Melendez in the July/August issue follows my burlesque shoots from 1993 up until now with photos of Tempest Storm, Dixie Evans, Inga Ingenue and the Amazing Knicker Kittens.

Tagged as: Amazing Knicker Kittens, Burlesque, Dixie Evans, Inga Ingenue, Tempest Storm

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PDN Faces 2010 Winner

by Brian Smith on June 30, 2010

in Awards,Brian Smith,Burlesque,Photographers,Photography,briansmith.com

And a drumroll please…Six of my Burlesque portraits won in the Celebrity/Editorial Portrait Category of PDN’s Faces 2010 Competition. The July 2010 Photo District News includes photos of Candy Carmelo and Kitten DeVille. The rest of the winning entry includes Dirty Martini, Roxi DLite, April March and the Chicago Starlets. My thanks to the lovely and talented Burlesque dancers. Take a bow ladies!

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8
Profoto 2400 Acute 2
X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
X-Rite i1 Xtreme

Click here for a Behind-the-Scenes look at one of my burlesque shoots.

Tagged as: April March, Awards, Brian Smith, Burlesque, Candy Carmelo, Celebrity Portrait Photography, Chicago Starlets, Dirty Martini, Editorial Photography, Kitten DeVille, Miami Photographer, PDN Faces 2010, Photo District News, Roxi Dlite

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PhotoShelter Shout-Out

by Brian Smith on June 25, 2010

in Brian Smith,Burlesque,PhotoShelter,Photography,Photography Gear

Nice Shout-Out from Grover Sanschagrin of PhotoShelter with his PhotoShelter Blog post about X-Rite’s behind-the-scenes video “Brian Smith: Color and Burlesque” which shows an inside look at one of my burlesque photo shoots. Thanks for the love, PhotoShelter!

PhotoShelter is the ultimate destination to host your online photo archive or to secure any images you plan to include on photo sharing networks. You can SAVE $30 on PhotoShelter if you click this link.