Photokina08 WS: David Mecey´s FotoFantasyCamp Mini-Seminar

DAVID MECEY, Saturday September 27th 2008, 11 am - 1.30 pm
LIGHT and DARK

Description:
Still the Same in the World of Digital
I often hear photographers talk about ‘how much easier’ it is today when photographing someone. Largely due to the fact, you can see the image happen immediately during the shoot. That you can make changes to the photograph, ‘on the fly’, to ‘tweak and change’ the lighting, yet while continuing to view the image on the screen. This begs the question, what happens to spontaneity?

That special moment that you find in that split second where the model projects this look in her eyes, combined with the beautiful light you have either created completely, or, helped to manipulate out of the naturalness of her environment, then capture it forever. For that to happen, I feel photographers should treat digital the same as when we shot transparency film, as I still do myself today. To completely light a scene using various lighting devices, then, place the model in that scene for the shoot.

For me, shooting digital IS the same as shooting transparency film. The exacting exposures one must achieve when shooting chrome type films applies to the sensitivity of the digital cameras of today. Even with chip technology becoming better and better, you still must take into consideration how much over and under exposure you can give to a photograph. That means you must ‘plan’ your light rather than simply ‘discover it’ as if by Braille.

So I hope to talk about how we create our light using various devices, from the California Sunbounce to the ring flash, to light boxes, etc. To create environs of light where a model can be a model, to relax and be herself, so that you are capturing it perfectly every shot without needing so much to ‘make changes on the fly’.

This helps the client achieve more images in a day producing greater productivity, for the models to give you what you want in looks every click of the shutter, but best of all, less ‘post’ work on the computer after the shoot is over.

Speaking of ‘post’, I will talk a bit about how we do things to go from the digital RAW file to the creation of .jpegs for the client to use for FPO (for position only) images for editing purposes. I always shoot in the RAW mode and create the .jpeg images from those files later.

All of what I have written here hinges on how I light a scene or not light a scene to achieve that goal. Therefore, by simply talking about how to plan a shot it will take in everything from lighting, to pose, to working with the model during my program. The importance of wonderful makeup and hair, wardrobe, and location, combined with talented assistants all work toward the goal of creating incredible photographs. In my mind, you simply cannot leave all of that to chance.

I hope my program will shed some light (no pun intended) on the direction of photography in this digital age. In addition, I hope I can inspire photographers to be more creative initially, rather than accepting what is in front of them at the time. My program talks of old school ways combined with new technology of today. Which I wish will help open the eyes of young, aspiring photographers to be more pro- active with their shooting styles, rather than simply reactive.

Vita of David Mecey – Photographer:
Photographer David Mecey began working with Playboy magazine in the fall of 1979, where he soon became a staff photographer, moving to Chicago. In 1987, he took a title change to Contributing Photographer, where he would continue with Playboy until 2002. During this period, he would begin to expand on his photography to include fashion, beauty, and celebrity work for editorial and advertising assignments worldwide.

Called upon to shoot Petersen Publishing’s Sport magazine swimsuit issue four successive years, the final year would culminate with it broadcast on ESPN, ESPN-2, and PRIME TICKET, where he would serve as narrator & host. Soon after, he would be thrown into an acting stint in a made-for-TV movie titled Posing, aired on CBS, when, while working as a technical advisor, the director tapped David to play the fictional Playboy photographer in the movie instead of their actor.

In 2001, David founded, David Mecey’s, FotoFantasyCamp®, www.fotofantasycamp.com, a workshop that has grown to become one of the premier photographic workshops in the world. Featured in American PHOTO, David brings a select number of photographers together to a fantastic location for four days of intensive training in his style of lighting, posing, rapport with models, literally everything that makes up professional level photography.

In addition to his continued catalog and beauty photography, David has self-published a number of books containing his work. One, shot all in B&W, titled Passion, is a collection of nudes shot over the past several years. All of David’s books can be found at www.blurb.com, in their online bookstore. There is also a gallery of his work on display on the German GQ magazine website. Added to his passion for photography, is a real passion for cars. For more than a decade, he has pursued road racing as a way to relax. David is currently Chief Driving Instructor for the Los Angeles Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America, owns his own driving events franchise, www.hookedondriving.com (http://www.hookedondriving.com/home.cfm), and often works for various auto manufacturers as a pro driver, including BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, and Chrysler. He has competed in a number of endurance races including two 25 hr races where the team finished 3rd in class, then 2nd in class, two successive years. David continues to live and work out of Venice, CA.

Click >>here (http://www.davidmecey.com/) to get to David´s homepage

Clients and editorial work:
American PHOTO
American Swimwear
Arena
Bikini
Camera Arts Magazine
Cream
Esquire
Ego Magazine
Forbes
Ocean Drive
Playboy
Studio Photography & Design
SPORT
Swimwear USA
The Hollywood Reporter
US News and World Report
Variety

Celebrity clientele:
Brooke Burke
Brooke Shields
Carmen Electra
Jay Leno
Michael Keaton
Ray Liotta
Robert Palmer
Sharon Stone
Vanessa Marcil
Victoria Silvestedt

Advertising clients:
ABC-TV
AT&T
Budweiser
Dreamgirl International Lingerie
Leg Ave.
Lawry’s
M PRO Makeup
MGM-UA
NBC-TV
Shirley of Hollywood Lingerie
Tamron-Bronica
VH-1 Entertainment
Venus USA
Well Body

On-air work:
Principal role in CBS movie-of-the-week, Posing, which starred Linda Carter, 1992
Principal interview on the Vickie Lawrence Show, Vicki!
Interviewed on various Good Morning Shows throughout his career, including New York, Boston, and Miami
Appeared on the VH-1 special in 2004, Centerfold Babylon
Photographer and on-air personality on Playboy’s Sexy Girl Next Door TV series, 2 years
Still photographer and on-air personality for The Making of SPORT magazine’s Swimsuit Issue, Hawaii, 1995