Boston Studio Rental Braintree, MA Modeling Portfolio | Nick Ilacqua

Nick recently contacted me after he came across some of the outstanding photographs I had taken at my brand new studio in Braintree, Boston Studio Rental.

Nick is a local electrician that is also an up and coming model in the process of building his portfolio.

I had just recently completed a Fashion Editorial / Model Marketing shoot that took place over the span of three days.

Through social media, which is just an amazing tool, Nick came across my work and he knew that I could capture what he was looking for!

After speaking with him for a short period we both realized that we were a good fit. In photography you have to be able to understand what your client in looking for and they need to understand your process.

If you as the photographer can’t understand what your client would like that how can you possibly capture their photographs? As a model you have to be comfortable taking photographs and part of that comes from working with the right photographer.

Once Nick and  I got in the studio it was like we had always known each other we had a great time laughing while working. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Boston Studio Rental Fashion Editorial with Giovanni The Photographer Marketing Model Photo Shoot in Braintree, MA | Niara & Samari

I recently had the honor or capturing these fashion editorial photos of Niara and Samari at my brand new state of the art studio in Braintree, MA fifteen minutes south of Boston, MA.

Niara and Samari are sisters of Montserrat and Nigerian decent. As one can tell, they are both equally photogenic. Niara and Samari are beautiful young women and are up and coming models originally from the Boston, MA area. They have what it takes and are well on their way to being successful in the fashion industry. Samari is planning on relocating to New York to persue her modeling career. Niara is planning on opening an agency in the modeling / fashion industry.

Within the coming weeks, Niara will be hosting an event in my studio that I have been blessed to participate in as the lead photographer.  I’m looking forward to following them and all of their success. The ladies were both such a pleasure to work with and photograph.  

This photoshoot was done to enhance their profile in addition these photos will be part of the marketing and advertising for the upcoming event Niara is hosting.

The photoshoot was an incredible learning experience for these artistic sisters as they were able to learn new techniques as well as work on their emergent modeling style. Practice makes perfect and these talented woman allowed me to inject my expertise by following my direction. We used angles and triangles which in photography make for far more attractive photos. For example, if you see a picture of someone in a symmetrical pose it can be a bit boring whereas an asymmetrical pose is far more attention grabbing. Over the years I have learned to help make this look graceful and natural vs. staged and posed. Another technique I often suggest is turtling, by simply sticking your neck out this eliminates the appearance of a double chin or wrinkles under one’s neck and creates a slimmer appearance. They said, “using this technique felt a little awkward at first.” When they saw the finished product they were inspired and mastered the technique. I often also suggest squinching aka half-squint, which was a technique I pick up from Peter Huley. Squinching creates a sexier look verses looking like a deer caught in head lights and both of these ladies nailed it.

In preparation for this photo-shoot, these picturesque woman trusted my expertise when deciding on a color scheme. Niara chose a florescent green top, coupled with her beautiful golden skin tone this was a great choice.  The first thing I did was go to one of my many tools to help decide on the most complimentary color to go with green. I knew that purple would be perfect. Having over eighty different backdrops to choose from available in my studio made this an easy task. Another common question asked prior to most photo shoots is what type of make-up should I wear? In my ten plus years of experience I have found that heavy make up photographs the best. This is typically recommended on all of my photo-shoots whether it is for an engagement, wedding, family or maternity session. In addition to that I always tell my clients to come moisturized; however, for a more dramatic look, my go to for this type of shoot is natural olive oil. As you can see in these photos it provides a natural glow that isn’t over powering.

Olive oil is good for one’s skin and doesn’t take away from the portrait as baby oil does. In addition baby oil tends to create a greasy, oily look that is unattractive in pictures in my opinion.  Baby oil is also difficult to remove and in most cases can be damaging to clothing and equipment, whereas natural olive oil can easily be removed by simply using a baby wipe or alcohol.

As a professional photographer I know the importance of lighting, having EVERYTHING that a photographer could need in my brand new state of the art studio allows me to capture every photograph perfectly. All Photographers and Videographers are welcome to rent my studio at a fair and affordable rate.

For this shoot I chose to use my Sekonic L-3085-U flash mate light meter.

Using my light meter during the shoot ensured that the exposure was perfect in every shot. I opted to incorporate this device because of the saturated green shirt, which can easily be over exposed or blown out in photographs, which is very hard to see during a shot. Using my light meter allowed me to easily avoid this, it’s also extremely helpful during these types of shoots as there is a lot of movement by the model(s).  In addition to my lighting tools, my 70 inch 4K television allows us to see our progress throughout the photo shoot in real time which makes it that much easier to make any corrections immediately.

Stay tuned for upcoming model shoots. I’m looking forward to the event I have coming up with Niara. Thank you for reading this today. For more information follow Niara on Instagram @niarafalls she is blowing up!!!

Empire Restaurant & Lounge Event in Boston, Ma | Mohamed

Recently, I was hired to photograph Mohamed’s birthday bash at Empire Restaurant and Lounge in Boston, Ma. Honestly I had such a blast at this event with Mohamed and all of his friends and family I can hardly call it work. The entire evening was nothing but fun.

Everyone was having a great time laughing and joking. The crazy stories everyone was sharing with each other and me all night guaranteed there was never a dull moment.

Mohamed was having such a good time. The smile on his face was infectious. Everyone was dancing and drinking while the incredible DJ had the party rocking from start to finish. This beautiful venue was a perfect location for this incredible crowd of family and friends.

Empire Restaurant & Lounge is the Seaport “Innovation” District’s first Asian locale, located in the heart of Fan Pier. Empire transports you into the mystics of Asia with its gorgeous Imperial Chinese meets contemporary Asian atmosphere.  Award-winning designer Peter Niemitz designed the place.

The sleek, modern space is designed to give visitors an old world feel with a touch of Hong Kong secrecy. It is divided into nine incredibly distinctive rooms containing gorgeous detail in design; the Great Wall Gallery, Bar and Lounge, Salon, Imperial Dining Room, Persimmon Room, three private dining rooms served by a private bar, and an Asian awe-inspiring open kitchen at the heart.

Empire’s extensive menu is a lively assortment of Asian favorites and delicacies, ranging from creative new dishes in addition to amazing traditional dishes. You can choose anything from sushi to noodles. They offer wok dishes, chicken, steak, or lamb. The food was amazing.

Happy Birthday Mohamed!

Visit http://www.GiovanniThePhotographer.com for more information.

Jamaica Pond Modeling Shoot in Boston, Ma | Nina

I recently had the honor or capturing some spectacular photographs of the stunning, Nina. On a lovely April afternoon, Nina and I met up at Jamaica Pond in Boston, Ma. Nina reached out to me to take these photos’ as she is building her modeling portfolio.

As you can see by some of my favorite pictures, Nina made it very easy. She is a natural behind the camera. Nina chose Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain, which is part of Boston, Ma. The area was gorgeous and the photo opportunities were endless.

Jamaica Pond is a kettle pond and a beautiful part of the Emerald Necklace of parks in Boston and around the area that were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

The pond and park are in the Jamaica Plain community of Boston, Ma and it borders Brookline, Ma. It’s the home of the Muddy River, which empties into the Charles River. The pond is roughly 68 acres. It’s just about 53 feet deep in the middle making it the largest body of fresh water in Boston, Ma.

A 1.5-mile walking path surrounds it and it’s a super popular place for walking fishing and sailing. The pond once served as a reservoir for the City of Boston and the Town of West Roxbury, and it supplied ice in the winter to Boston and beyond.

Visit http://www.GiovanniThePhotographer.com for more information.