Wedding Portait: Empire State Groom

From the moment I found out I would be photographing Sarah and Jamal's wedding at the Midtown Loft I envisioned this kind of portrait.  Nothing says "New York Baller" like this.  Jamal is relaxing with a glass of wine and the Empire State Building in the background. 

Portrait: Jacita

About a year and a half ago I had written down Jacita's name as someone who I wanted to photograph. I waited until I felt the time was right to ask her. Earlier this year when I did ask her she said "Yes," but with trembling.

Jacita had always wanted to do a shoot. It wasn't just for the photos though. It was to conquer the fear regarding her own negative self-imagery. In a world where the definition of beauty is so heavily influenced by magazines and models, it can cause many of us to question ourselves. "Am I beautiful? What makes me beautiful? Are people noticing me? How come my friends get noticed? Am I ugly? Am I not skinny enough? What do I have to do to be sexy? How come Joseph hasn't done a photo shoot of me?"

This is a real journey for many of the people I photograph (It has been for me too). They are choosing to be vulnerable with me. The degree of intimacy they grant me directly shows in my portraits. That intimacy & vulnerability allows me to go beyond the surface.

I am not interested in cookie-cutter fake photos. I am interested in highlighting the real person. The person underneath the poses and the fake smiles. Realness is what I desire in my photos. I guess that drives me as an artist.

As expected Jacita was a lil nervous in the first of the four setups I designed with her. Somewhere around the ending of that first setup she began to relax into it. From then on she really just worked it. All the pre-shoot conversations and preparation all came together. Jacita rocked it.

That is why I am choosing to share this portrait below. It is one of my favorites from the third setup of the shoot.

Big-ups to Jacita for facing her fear and getting some amazing photos.

- J

Urban Fine Art Fave - "Sweet 16 Nessa"

SWEET 16

Sweet 16 Nessa - Here is another portrait from the photo shoot with Vanessa. This is one of her faves, a definite Urban Fine Art Portrait.

Urban Fine Art

Me & My Boo Photo Shoot, NYC

PHOTOGRAPHY

Last summer my schedule did not allow me to photograph the wedding of Catalina and Victor. However, this past weekend, I had the great fortune of following this young couple through midtown Manhattan in the cold weather and taking portraits of them. We started off near Penn Station and then made our way to Times Square.

The pics will be up soon. In the meantime, here is a photo of me, Victor, Cat, and Ura (the makeup artist and cool friend).

Urban Fine Art Fave - "The Perez Sisters"

PHOTOGRAPHY

Portrait of Perez Sisters - After freefalling three stories from a cable in a team building leadership exercise, Damaris is comforted by her sister Tasha.

B&W outdoor portrait by Joseph Dominick