TEARSHEET Magazine: Whip Appeal Issue

Showing posts with label Whip Appeal Issue. Show all posts

Friday, June 3, 2011

TOP 10 Sexiest Reality TV Beauties

The Fans Have Spoken...

Images by: Google Images and Getty Image

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Featured Professional - Wiggins Studios (Photographer)

An Exclusive Interview with an extremely diverse Photographer

holding in down dirty, dirty style.
Brandon Wiggins of Atlanta, GA
explains how he balances his career, family & success.

Graduate of Perfection
www.WigginsStudios.com

Written by: QianaNichol

Freelance photographer Brandon Wiggins went from a freelancing party photographer (one of the founding members of ATLPics.net) part-timing as a photo lab technician to one of Atlanta’s most-sought after photographers. His client list extends across an unimaginable list of mediums from record labels (Capital/EMI Records, Atlantic Recordings, Grand Hustle) to sports (FOX Sports, ESPN) to television (MTV, BET) to beauty (Sophisticate’s Black Hair Magazine, Mizani Hair Products) to clothing lines (GlassMott Clothing, Fly Couture Clothing, Oema Takor Clothing) to print publications (The Atlantan, Jezebel Magazine, Creative Loafing, Rolling Stone Magazine). He is confident and proud of the body of work that he has created. He describes himself as a purest and feels his greatest triumph when he walks into a person’s home and sees photos on their mantel that he created.

When did you discover the creative side of yourself?
-Creatively, I’ve always loved pictures. As a child, I would go to my grandmother’s house and dump all her pictures out on the floor and go through them. I loved to see pictures of my uncles and other family members. Growing up, my father had this camera that I would play around with it and shoot. I’ve always enjoyed how when it’s time to take pictures, everybody comes together to be happy.

You attended GSU under the dual English Degree. Is that photography & English? Do you work both muscles?
-I have two English Degrees; One in Creative Writing and the other in Poetry. First I studied European and Early American Poetry, literary and composition and poetry. Then, I returned to focus on the business side of creative writing. I studied advanced rhetoric, and designing and creating content for websites and other educational purposes.

How does photography and graphic designing relate to you? Do you appreciate one over the other?
-Graphic Design is the icing on the cake. I love to be able to photograph first. I want to create an image that is perfect straight out camera. I shot film when I first started. I learned how to get it right, the first time. Then, the digital age came out and the industry began to demand the graphic design. The meaning of photography is to paint with light, not clicking to hope you get the right image and then “fixing” it in Photoshop. If you learn photography first, you won’t have to do as much graphically to enhance. The “cake” should already be made.

When you shoot a wedding, are you telling the story of a wedding or are you capturing the essence of the day?
-I’m a fly on the wall. It depends on the style the bride is looking for. If she wants more of a photojournalistic style or fashion conscious about the clothes and how the dress lays. I shoot her like a high-end couture and add light. I shoot it a certain way to showcase that and to send out to magazines. It’s elegant, pretty, timeless and personable. I want the bride to be friends with me before the wedding day. During the wedding, you don’t want someone you don’t know involved and in your face.

How do you balance your life as a father & husband with your work?
-My kids are always with me and my wife works with me. I am blessed to have a good team. My studio manager and interns help take some of the load. I’m there to feed and play with my kids in the morning and then I get dressed and am off to shoots. I get home and try to side down and eat with the family every night. My clients love my kids; they play with them during down time. This is a family business that I want to grow and keep in the family. I want my children to enjoy this journey with me and be a part of it. I want my daughter to learn hair and makeup and I want my son to learn to take pictures. I am trying to build a real company and I’ve done a fairly good job. Having my kids has made me a lot more hard working and focused. They are a constant motivation to make sure that I don’t fall off.

You have been featured in several magazines, created projects for artists and corporate clients, which accomplishments are you most proud of?
-I’ve had a lot of touchdowns, but to have my first multiplatinum album cover, Bobby Valentino’s “The Rebirth” (February 2009/Blu Kolla Dreams/EMI). Bobby could have reached out to any other photographer, but he reached out to me. I have shot for a lot of independents, but this was the first time I was a part of the entire project, the designing and shooting the album, listening parties, video shoots, special appearance. I was his personal photographer. It opened the world up to my work. A lot of people had seen my work, but once “The Rebirth” came out, it validated it.

Do you have any models / artists that you would like to work with and haven’t?
-Barack Obama! I would love to do a family portrait session of the Obamas. That would be major.

What’s your next step in your creative journey?
-Traveling and destination photography. There has been a demand on me to travel overseas and shoot weddings. The world is bigger than Atlanta and now I have the momentum.

Images by: Wiggins Studio

Featured Professional - HD The Agency (Agent)

An Exclusive Interview with the

Industry Coach of Modeling.

Jay Glover of HD The Agency in Atlanta, GA
explains the Talent Industry rules.

HD The Agency
www.HDtheAgency.com

Written by: GF Smith

Don’t think about it as a minor league for modeling by any stretch of the imagination. There’s nothing second rate about Jay Glover and HD The Agency. A more accurate description would be the breeding ground for where models learn the fundamentals of what star power is all about. The Derek Jeters and A-Rods of the world don’t invent themselves. They need coaching, and the same goes for anyone else looking to be a star including models. Jay is the hands on coach that can guide the model to the championship level… if she’s ready to step up to the plate.

Hip us to HD...
-HD The Agency is a boutique, ethnic and modeling talent agency. I represent ethnic and urban models. I have models in Atlanta, New York, L.A. Detroit, the Midwest, I pretty much represent ethnic talent across the U.S.

Boutique?
-I call it a boutique agency, because it’s not a major Agency like a Ford, but it’s an avenue to develop yourself with a professional model mindset so if one day you want to approach one of those agencies you can do so as a professional.

So let me understand this correctly... You’re training the models to represent themselves?
-No, I’m training them to work within an agency setting. The goal of true models (runway, etc.) is to work with the agency that represents you, and you find with a lot of urban or ethnic models they aren’t really disciplined to work in the agency setting. They’re not really exposed to that because they’re not really runway models, so a lot of them freestyle when there is actually a certain protocol that goes along with it. So I work on that development with my models.

You would say it’s not only an education but you help them put the portfolios together?
-Yeah, it’s a full development. One thing I do, I represent models with my agency exclusively and non-exclusively. Most of my Atlanta models are exclusive. Pretty much anything they do is facilitated through the agency. Most of the ones not based here are non-exclusive, they act independently as far as getting bookings and they use the agency more as a consultation service. So I pretty much provide feedback and direction.

Is this a different approach to a modeling agency or is this fairly standard?
-It’s a different approach for ethnic models. Attention to detail and strict protocol and development aren’t given a lot of attention. A lot of ethnic models don’t really do it to be looked at as viable models or viable talent, They do it in pursuit of being a celebrity or being popular. And that’s not what modeling is about. The essence of modeling is representing a product brand a service or a client. They don’t hire models to go out and be popular and be the next big thing on blog sites.

So you have a pretty good reputation with the clients you book with?
-Yeah, I work with several genres from TV to print, commercial, fashion, music video, hosting and spokes modeling. And I have good relationships with all my clients. A lot of the clients I started with I still work with and the agency has been around for 6 years. And of course the more prominent work my models do the more I add new clients. And now my clientele has really diversified. At first it was just the urban outlets, music videos and so forth. But now I do TV, film production people, beauty and make-up people. So when models do come into the agency they have a lot of different resources they can channel.

If a woman wanted to be represented by your agency, what would be the best way to prepare herself to be a model?
-First thing is, the pictures have to be professional quality images with professional quality photography. I get a lot of pictures with the whole lingerie thing which I’m kind of desensitized to, because I’ve been looking at that for 6 years. I like the strong headshots, with strong fashion or commercial appeal. I’ll pay more attention to the models who leave a little bit of mystery and intrigue about themselves. How am I supposed to market something if you’re giving it away? I really am also looking for more ethnic models right now. A lot of companies are looking to diversify their look so you need someone who can be a representative in that way.

This is the full-time gig?
-Yeah, I’ve been doing this full-time since 2005. My first two years ding HD I was still working with an advertising agency managing clients for about 6 years. But then I decided to leave and focus strictly on my model and talent agency

Does that mean you’re pretty selective about the models you choose to work with or you just take everyone and kind of work on them?
-No, I’m very selective about it. One of the things I pride myself on is that I don’t go out of my way to work with every model that’s “hot” in the industry. I like working with models that are new talent just staring out to develop them. You’ll find that most agencies tend to work with new talent they feel they can build up to being the next supermodel. My roster of models is up to about 30 right now. I’m able to have a lot of one on one contact with them, so they know I’m loyal to them and we can develop better rapport. But on the flip end they understand that because of that exclusivity, they have to be ready to put in some work. You can only model and take pretty pictures for a short time. You have to be able to use what you know to open up other doors for you like becoming an actress, see yourself in business or whatever it is you want to do.

And if a model has her stuff together how does she get in touch with you?
-I’m actually having a website built for the agency now so the quickest way would be to check the Myspace page which is Myspace.com/hatkahd. There’s a little literature about what we expect on that site or the email to contact is jayg@hatkaentertainment.com

Gonna loan any of your next supermodels to TEARSHEET?
-I commend Sam on what he’s doing and I definitely got a couple of concepts I wanna shoot by TEARSHEET.