Cats, Dogs And Future Presidents

The easiest group of states to travel to in a short amount of time is the New England states. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont are all very close to each other and after traveling to almost every state in the country I was looking forward to doing less driving.

To start this leg of the journey for Future American President, I flew into Boston and started the process of looking for families. The second family I photographed in Connecticut had two beautiful girls who were filled with energy and excited to show me their unique swing. The first moment I saw the swing I knew it would be the perfect location for a portrait.

While I began taking pictures the younger daughter really starting to have fun on the swing. Soon the family cat and dog came to see what all the excitement was about, and at times, walked into my frame. I was hoping to get both pets in the image, but the cat had other plans.  The shoot went well and afterwards I said goodbye to the family and headed to Boston.

I may have thought the New England leg of my travels would be easier, but I still had Alaska to cover and I was running out of time before kids started back to school. I had no choice but to fly from Boston to Alaska.

As I left the New England states, I thought about all the families I met and wondered if or when I would see them again. I thought about each of the children and imagined how this project will impact their lives in the future. The truth is no one knows, but hopefully this project will help children dream bigger and do more than they ever imagined they could.  

Always Dream Big

Behind The Scenes in Connecticut

I really enjoyed working with this family in Connecticut. The parents both work in the medical field and the father is Puerto Rican and the mother Sri Lanken. The children, who were born in Connecticut, speak English, Spanish and Tamil. 

I asked the older daughter if she could write a statement describing what she'd do as the future president. She said, "YES!" and then told me she can write in Spanish and English. It made everyone laugh, but then as I watched how focused she became as she wrote her statements and I knew this little girl has the ability to be anything she wants to be in life. Having these moments during the making of this book made it worthwhile.

Always Dream Big

Georgia On My Mind

The day I arrived in Atlanta, Georgia it was extremely hot and humid. I was getting used to the intense travel schedule but at times the driving took its toll on me, especially on humid days. I carried a lot of lighting equipment because I wanted Future American President to have a consistent look throughout the book. The best way to achieve a consistent look is to have a consistent visual style and my lighting added that element.  I couldn't control the weather in each state, but I could control the lighting if I used the same lighting recipe throughout the project.

I was getting ready to shoot when I noticed my strobe battery was dead. I'd charged all my batteries before starting this leg of the trip, or so I thought, but when I shot my first test image my lighting pack was dead. I'd packed an extra battery but left it in my rental car thinking I wouldn't need it. The car was parked 15 min. away but I had no choice but to make the trip back and get the spare battery. The battery weights about 15 lbs, but I ran back with it so I wouldn't keep my subjects waiting too long. 

While most of my subjects were random strangers, a select few were people I had a connection with. My subject in Atlanta is the daughter of  two celebrities; The actor Leon and Real Housewives of Atlanta star, Cynthia Bailey.

The day before I left for Atlanta, Zendaya had agreed to write the books foreword and I told this to my subject as we began shooting.. She is a big fan of Zendaya's and was excited to be in a book that included Zendaya. 

After I finished shooting, Cynthia pulled out her cell phone and starting taking pictures to remember the day. I watched this identical scene take place over and over throughout the country and it always put a smile on my face.

The lesson from this trip was to always take my extra eqipment with me.. I was trying to cut down the weight of my gear, but I learned the hard way that it was better to have everything with me all the time.

Always Dream Big

Invisible Man - New Jersey

Nothing shines as brightly as the smile of a proud parent watching their child in the spotlight. Part of the mission of Future American President is to shine the spotlight on children from as many different ethnic backgrounds as possible because far too often, the picture of the future excludes many.

I recently watched the hilarious Mindy Kaling TV commercial for Nationwide Insurance, which shows a young Indian woman believing she is actually invisible. The sad truth is if you don't see yourself represented you can feel like you're invisible. The day I stopped the family below and asked if I could photograph their son I made every family with roots from the subcontinent visible and part of the future American president conversation. 

There are times when families are very vocal about their feelings in being included in this project, and times when words alone can't express the feelings. This day was one of those times. As I photographed my young subject and asked him what he'd do if he were the president fifty years from now, his parents looked on with overflowing pride. They didn't have to say a word because I knew what the question and photograph meant, and what his image in the book could mean for other children around the world. 

As I packed my gear and prepared to leave, the father came to me and shook my hand and simply said, "thank you," and I knew exactly what he meant.

Always Dream Big

Future World Photo Tips

Have you ever watched a child look at a photograph of themselves? We've all witnessed people looking at the back of a camera or admiring a selfie after their photo has been taken, but for a child this is a deeper moment. When children look at their pictures, they are shaping how they see themselves. This is why it's important for children to see positive images of themselves and their peers. There used to be an old commercial for Sprite that said, "Image is everything," but really, self-image is everything.

I met a second family in historic Gettysburg while traveling in Pennsylvania for Future American President and asked them to be a part of the book project. As I photographed the children the younger daughter wanted to see her pictures from the back of my camera. She was too young to really understand what has going on and why this stranger was photographing her, but she knew her image was inside the black box I held in my hands, and she was excited to see them.

 This week, take the time to photograph a child that's close to you. Maybe it's your own children getting ready to enjoy summer vacation, or maybe it's a sibling, niece or nephew. As you photograph them, step back and take a moment to let them be themselves. Make these images your wide view. Your wide view photographs will show not only your subject, but all the elements around them. That modern day car or smartphone will be old relic's fifty years from now and add context to your images. Next, move in and capture the essence of your subjects. This is your mid-range shot that makes them the focus of your image, not just a part of the image like in your wide shot. Lastly, move in close and take pictures of just their face. Big faces of kids are adorable and young children usually have a lot of fun taking pictures with the camera very close to their face. Above all have fun and remember the powerful effect a great image can have on a child.

Always Dream Big

Photographed for Future American President

Pennsylvania - Farmers Feed America

Diana Vreeland said it best; "Give them what they never knew they wanted." This was the idea behind creating Future American President. To give children across the country from every state, the chance, the possibility, to dream bigger than they may have thought possible.

In Pennsylvania, the first family I met had two young daughters and lived on a farm. When I met the daughter's they were excited because one of their cows had just given birth. As I explained the project's concept to the parents they were excited as well.

The beautiful thing about photography is that it has the ability to change how people see themselves. So many children grow up thinking they have limited possibilities, but that's not true. The truth is that every child has the ability to do great things if we expose them to the limitless possibilities the world has to offer.

http://bit.ly/1A9prEbFor Future American President, I asked children all across the country what would they do if they were to become president of the United States fifty years in the future. They may have never thought of becoming the president, but that's not the point. The point of asking this question, and combining the question with a high-end photography session, is to plant a seed and hopefully make them think about the very real possibility that they can do anything in life, even become a future American president.

Always Dream Big

In The Beginning There Was Delaware

The day I met little Daniel the sky was filled with beautiful summer clouds. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue, but the clouds littered the sky. In Los Angeles, where I now live, you don't see clouds like this, so I always admire them when I do.  Even though aesthetically it was a lovely day I started the day filled with concerns. It was my second time traveling to Delaware for my personal book project, Future American President, and I was nervous about finding a family to photograph.

I’d traveled to Delaware the year before but had difficulty in finding a family for the project.  I thought back to that trip and remembered how things had all gone wrong. I remembered going to a park and seeing a large group of people that looked like they were headed to a BBQ. As I watched the people headed to the same picnic area I was amazed at the diversity within the group. The group had Caucasian, African-American, Asian and Hispanic, all mixing together. Seeing this group make me smile because you just don't see cultures mixing in this way. I wondered if it was an office bbq, but it didn't seem like a work event. Everyone seemed too relaxed and they appeared to really be friends. 

I decided this would be the perfect group to approach because they were the essence of diversity. I envisioned this large group standing with the youngest child in the group being featured in front. I introduced myself to a group of woman, each from a different ethnic background and asked if I could speak with them. I started talking about my project and how impressed I was seeing this group with such diversity. Their eyes lit up and they smiled as I spoke. Then I told them the name of my project, Future American President, and the theme of inspiring  children all over American to dream big, and t I felt the energy change. Their faces went from smiles to blank expressions, and as I continued to talk I wondered what was wrong. When I finished my soliloquy, one of the woman said, it sounds like a noble project, but we are Jehovah's Witness and we don't believe in politics, so no Jehovah's Witness will ever become President. I was in a state of shock but thanked them for their time and decided to come back to Delaware another day.

A year later I found myself back in Delaware trying to find the perfect family...again. I had a good friend, Kumiko Norrell, who volunteered to help me and accompanied me on the trip. I’d flown into Maryland, where she and her husband lived at the time and picked her up early that morning before making the drive to Delaware. The first spot we found, though beautiful, lacked families with children so we left and found another park. Right away, I noticed a young couple with a little boy. The mother looked to be Hispanic and the father looked Caucasian. I decided to approach them and went to speak with the father. As I told him about the project I showed him images of other children and families from around the country. He loved the idea and his wife, who was by his side as I spoke, also love the project and said they would love to have their son featured in the book.

Daniel: Age 2 - Representing Delaware in Future American President

To hear more about this story join me for the launch of my new podcast starting in the next two weeks. 

American Vogue Shoot

Photographing Veronica Webb has always been fun, but to shoot her for American Vogue was something I will never forget. When I received the assignment to capture Veronica's portrait I thought long and hard about how I wanted to light her. The assignment was a portrait job and in true Vogue fashion I wanted to keep it simple and timeless.

Veronica Webb Photographed for American Vogue

A simple white or grey backdrop always works well for portraits in terms of making them timeless. For the lighting, I used a Profoto bi-tube head with an Octabank umbrella. The only other gear on set was two wind machines. One wind machine was on the ground and coming from behind, and the other was used by the hairstylist, Oscar James, as he saw fit. 

Veronica Webb photographed for American Vogue

When using a wind machine (or fan) make sure you don't have it coming from the front. A direct fan on your subject will dry out your subjects eyes and cause their eyes to tear. For this reason having a fan coming from behind is best. You don't need a strong wind machine to give the feeling of movement in hair, just a light breeze. Have fun!

Always Dream Big

This American Dream

Imagine a photograph having the ability to change a child"s future and change the way they see themselves. Imagine your child on the cover of an inspirational book that has the power to inspire them while teaching them about America, past presidents, and about iconic people from their state.

Coming this fall - Special edition version's of Future American President featuring YOUR child on the front and back cover jacket.

Always Dream Big

Could Your Child Become President?

Imagine if you could do something today that could have a powerful impact on a child's life fifty years from now?

Stay tuned!

On Cloud Nine

Angela Bassett

Zendaya

This has really been an incredible week thanks to these two woman. Very soon I'll be able to share what these two woman have in common.

Always Dream Big

Throw Back Thursday - The Lena Horne Story

Welcome to my very first throwback Thursday post, which will now be devoted to sharing stories, lessons and inspiring thoughts from past photo shoots. Today we kick off throwback Thursday with a story about the late-great actress, Lena Horne.

In the late 90’s I began working on a project that would become my first book, Sepia Dreams.  I had big dreams for the book and made a wish list of people whom I wanted to include. The list included Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, Denzel Washington and more. I sent each person on my list an invitation to be a part of the project and followed up often to schedule a time to speak. Being persistent was key, and it was an all-consuming task, but thanks to two good friends, Darlene Gillard and Nicole Friday, we were able to maintain our sanity and pull the project together.

I remember getting the chance to speak on the phone with Sidney Poitier. and he said, “I liked the idea of the project but my book has just been released and I just don’t have the time,” and graciously declined. I sent a package to Lena Horne and received a very nice rejection message from her manager as well, but she stayed on my mind as I continued to work on Sepia Dreams.

Throughout the project many of my subjects, like Halle Berry and Eriq La Salle, referred to Lena Horne and Sidney Poitier as inspirations during their childhood. Lena and Sidney were mentioned so many times I felt compelled to approach them again. I sent another package with segments from interviews in which people mentioned Lena and Sidney, and I included these segments in my package to them.

One day I was at home editing images and listening to interviews when my home phone rang. I picked up the received and a voice said, “Okay sugar, I’m ready for my interview.” It was Lena Horne and I was in a state of shock. She had received my package and in that moment decided to be a part of the book. The lesson I learned that day was to always be persistent and no matter what to believe in your dreams.

Lena Horne Photographed By Matthew Jordan Smith Copyright © 1996 All Rights Reserved

I will never forget Lena’s voice as I interviewed her on the phone that day or the photo shoot, which was shot originally for Essence magazine. Both days were magical and forever etched into my mind.

Believe in your dreams and never stop working to make them a reality.

Always Dream Big

How To Set Your Camera ISO

A few days ago I received an email with the following question- “how do you select the correct ISO?” This is a great question because the correct ISO depends on the situation. But before I answer this question lets discuss native ISO, as this is important too.

With film, the lower the ISO the better. The slower films were considered the best, like Kodachrome 25. With digital however it’s not quite that simple. Every camera has a “native ISO” and the native ISO will produce the best digital files. This is not to say that shooting at a high ISO is bad, because camera’s today are incredibly at high ISO’s. The native ISO is also not the same with camera’s from the same company. For example, the Nikon 810 has a native ISO of 64, while the Nikon D4s has a native ISO of 100. Other brands can go as high as 160 or 200 for the native ISO. Consult your cameras manual to find your optimal ISO.

Now, how do you select the correct ISO?  You want to first think about your shooting conditions. For example, If you’re shooting a wedding inside a dimly lit church, and you can’t use flash, you will want to select a high ISO. An ISO of 1000, 2500 or even 10,000 may be best in this situation. Not very long ago the idea of shooting images above ISO 800 would have scared me to death, but today technology has advanced and cameras give incredible images at high ISO settings

Lighting condition: Hazy day - Buddha photographed at ISO 400 with Nikon D4s

Lighting condition: dark - Inside Buddha photographed at ISO 1000 with Nikon D4s

Lighting condition: overcast day - photographed at ISO 200

In studio, I like to shoot at the camera’s native ISO, as I have control over lighting conditions.  If my subject is moving fast, like during a FIFA soccer game, or maybe you’re shooting the NBA Finals or fireworks during the 4th of July. When it comes to selecting the right ISO, always think about three things: What you’re shooting, the lighting conditions and how you want your final image to look.

Studio Lighting - photographed at ISO 200

Always Dream Big

A Family that Volunteers Together, Stays Together

GUEST POST by Andrew Rebchu

They say that kids are born with a natural ability to give and that even at a young age, they're able to grasp concepts such as empathy, compassion, gratitude, and community responsibility according to Parents.com. To teach children about generosity and philanthropy, parents ideally should introduce family volunteering as a chance to spend quality time together as well as help those that need it the most.

Something as simple as donating one dollar a day to UnaKids has made a huge difference for young kids in countries suffering from civil unrest, so imagine the impact you and your family would leave when you choose to spend your time off from work and school helping underprivileged communities. Rather than jetting off to Disney World this summer, here are a few new ways that your family can bond over some volunteer work.

Stay at a nonprofit "storybook" resort in Florida

If visiting an amusement park is what your kids are really after this summer, take them to Give Kids the World Village in Orlando. It's a wonderful resort that caters to children with life-threatening diseases and their families, a place where the staff and volunteers can provide them with magical and memorable experiences at no cost. Helping create these beautiful memories for these families will give your own kids a new perspective on life.

Go on a Reading Road Trip in the West Indies

The Sandals Resorts group started the <a href Sandals Foundation that would allow guests to participate in some community service during their stay in any other of their hotels. Projects range from community health care programs to education initiatives. Take your kids on morning outings, organized by the resort, and volunteer at schools in the area. This will give them the opportunity to see what school is like for students in different parts of the world.

Build homes in New Orleans with YRNO

A lot of construction-related nonprofits are really strict with age due to liability, but a group of teenagers defied this restriction and started their own foundation, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans (YRNO), that lets youths give back on their own terms. The area has plenty of distressed and foreclosed homes that you and your family can fix up while engaging with local youths to build a better city.


Author Bio: Andrew Rebchuk
Andrew is an 11th grade sociology teacher that introduced several community service programs at his school. He plans on taking his son on his first family volunteer vacation this July.

What On Your Bucket List?

Many of us have a bucket list of dreams we'd like to turn into reality during our lifetime, but in the course of our hectic lives it's easy to forget those dreams. Today take time to reflect on all the things that bring you joy. Then, close your eyes and visualize yourself doing all the things you've dreamed about. As you visualize, think about how you will feel to be there or have that experience. What type of day will it be? Will it be a hot and sunny or overcast and  windy? What will you wear and who will you be with? Even thing about the food you'll eat that day and imagine its taste and texture. The more details you bring to your dreams and desires the sooner they will turn into your reality. 

Always Dream Big

How To Master Strobe Lighting

Taking consistently beautiful photographs in studio is a skill and not to be taken lightly. I recently read a photography forum where someone said they watched a shoot during a seminar and then set their camera up with the same settings but still couldn’t get the same results. He went on to say he had the same camera and the same lens, but his images just didn’t have the same look. He ended by asking what was he doing wrong.

I hear conversations like this often since the world turned to digital photography. Photography is much easier now (and the learning curve is not as steep) but you still need to master the craft in every way. This means you must learn about lighting, composition and all the other elements that make a great photograph. If you want to work as a professional photographer it’s not enough to say, “I only work with natural light.” You can only get away with that for so long.

Learning how to use strobe lighting takes time and effort. It’s not always fun doing the necessary light tests needed to master light, but once you put the time and effort into it you’ll be rewarded with consistently beautiful images in studio and on location.

This week I wanted to try a light modifier that I’ve never used before. I’ve used a similar modifier for years, but I know each light has its own distinct look. Before I can use it on a job I need to test it out and see how it looks.

Milk Studios, the top studio in Hollywood, was gracious enough to let my assistant and I come in and take the light for a test drive. They showed us how to properly set the light up and how to use it with my preferred strobe system, Profoto strobes. As we conduced the light test we did a live broadcast on Periscope.

Light modifiers: Briese Focus 220 and Focus 77 with Profoto strobe system

Camera: Nikon D4s with 85mm lens

Results below

Bare Head with the 220 focus tube shot flood, half way and spot.

220 focus tube with 1/3 net and focus tube shot flood, half way and spot.

220 focus tube with full net and focus tube shot flood, half way and spot.

Briese Focus 77 with Profoto strobe system

Bare head Focus 77 with focus tube shot flood, half way and spot. 

Focus 77 with 1/3 silk shot at flood, half way and spot.

Focus 77 with full silk shot at flood, half way and spot.

This test was helpful in many ways and much easier than in the film days. With film, if you made a mistake it was a pain to correct. If you make a mistake with digital you just erase one image.

It's important to keep track on what you're doing with every step of the lighting test. You can do as many variations as you'd like, for example you can change the distance from the light to the subject and do exactly the same series of tests you see here. It's totally up to you how extensive you'd like to be. If you notice we didn't fill in the height on this test, as I didn't think it was necessary for this particular light test. If we were testing a beauty dish out however, the height would be a factor.

To learn more about lighting check out the following video tutorials:

 Ten Ways To Use One Light Source

How To Work With Complex Lighting Situations

Always dream big...and test your lights.

Jurassic World

Every photo has a story behind it. Sometimes the stories are profound and uplifting, and other times the stories leave us in shock. Only my closest friends know the story behind this image, but maybe one day I'll share it with Oprah or Tyra.

Arctic Birds: Available in the store as a limited edition print. 

Always Dream Big

Goodbye Mary

Yesterday I learned about the passing of an extraordinary photographer. Mary Ellen Mark was passionate about photography, life and shooting film. I always loved her work and admired her ability to stay current even as the world changed around her. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet her several times in my career.

The first time I met Mary Ellen was while working as a photo assistant for the photographer Gregory Heisler. Greg had invited his assistants over for the Christmas holiday and Mary had stopped by. I didn't get a chance to speak with her the first time, but years later we ended up sitting next to each other at the Infinity Awards in New York City.  That night she told me how much she loved film and all the reasons why she felt it was better than digital. She said film had a more organic feel and that she felt digital didn't do her work justice. That night she told me she would never shoot digital, and I am not sure if she ever switched over or not, but I admire her stance and will always remember that night.

R.I.P. Mary  

Memorial Day Traval

Two years ago, on Memorial Day, I was traveling from state to state, working on a book project entitled Future American President. As I drove toward Indianapolis, Indiana I spotted what appeared to be a large group having a holiday barbeque. From the highway I could see tons of cars outside the home and a big green and white tent. For the Future American President project, I approached strangers all over America and asked them if I could photograph their children. As you can imagine, it was a bit scary doing this.

When I first saw the house from the highway I envisioned a large family having a great time together enjoying the holiday. I thought an image of a family spending time together in this way would be powerful and that families all over America would be able to relate to such an image. Something inside me said, go and knock on the door and introduce myself…Then my internal fight started. Part of me wanted to knock on the door and tell them about my project, but then part of me didn’t want to intrude. What if they wanted to be left alone? What if they thought I was some crazy lunatic? Also, lets face it, what if they were scared, (or hated) Black people? This was the internal fight that went on in my head as I drove down the highway. Two miles later, I thought about the words, “you have not, because you ask not.” I turned the car around and drove back to the house.

I truly believe God protects me throughout my travels wherever I go, so I can never really be fearful. The fear is always in your head. As I pulled up to the driveway, my heart was beating a million miles a minuet. It seemed no matter how many times I approached strangers and told them about my project, it didn’t get any easier. I knocked on the door and was greeted by a smiling face who asked, “can I help you?” I introduced myself and started talking about how I saw the family gathering and told her what I was doing. She said, “well it sounds like a great thing you’re doing but you’d have to ask the owners of the house.” Then she invited me in and took me out back where I saw about 30 people having a great time. I was introduced to the couple hosting the gathering and told them about my project and why I decided to stop at their home on Memorial Day. I showed them images on my ipad of other families I’d photographed around the country and they loved the project. Then they said, “well, who would you want to photography because there are a lot of kids here?” I said, how about the youngest child here? The next thing I knew I was being introduced to a young mother with a 7 week-old baby.

Future American President

Last week, my minister at One Church spoke about audacious living, and defined it as “showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.” He said, “you will never be as great as you can be without taking risks. Creating Future American President is a series of bold risks but I believe in the message of this project. I believe this book has the potential to make a profound impact on children everywhere by seeing themselves in ways they wouldn’t have imagined otherwise.

I want to have a stronger impact on children with this project. What if I could include every child in America in the book? Well, my team and I have figured out how to do just that. Very soon every family in the world will have the ability to put their child’s face on the COVER of the FUTURE AMERICAN PRESIDENT book with a special edition version of the book. Imagine your child growing up with their face on the cover of a book that is dedicated to inspiring children to dream big.

Photography notes:

To photograph this image I used Profoto strobe lights to overpower the sun. This image was shot during the middle of the day, when the sun is the most intense. I shot one stop over the daylight reading. The sunlight was reading on F 16.0 @ 1/125th, so i used my Sekonic light meter and adjusted the strobe to read F22.0, which is one stop over the sunlight reading and makes for an image that is dramatic and solves the problem of bad light from midday sun.

Always Dream Big