maybe some photographers really are God...

So someone said that everyone in L.A. loses 75 i.q. points when it rains.  I didn't really get what that meant.  But, before I asked why, I realized that I had probably just lost 75 i.q. points (or like 500) because it's an f-ing monsoon here, so that's why i didn't get it.  Normally the rain might be kind of charming in L.A.; a novelty, where we could put on our rain gear (that none of us have) and jump in the mud puddles (liquid smog), splash each other and laugh so, so much. Unless, that is you are trying to shoot an ad-job where the outside is supposed to look like spring.  Advertisers and magazines come to LA during the winter to shoot 'spring' and 'summer', and we may as well have been shooting in Forks, Washington. The point of this all is Mark Lund, the photographer.

We basically had no light and he had to emulate spring sunlight flooding through the windows.  And by 'no light' i mean very dark, like 'maybe we should nap?' kind of dark.  But he made it look like we are shooting in bright, sunny, no cares Los angeles, with non-existent sunlight streaming in.  Now there are some shoots where I feel like the prop stylist has the most to do, the most things to keep track of (all the merchandise, rented props, purchased props, borrowed props, personal props, etc) we are often the first to arrive, last to leave and the job doesn't end for days after the shoot.  But we never have to change the weather.

So, Mark, the photographer, made sunlight.  I had to create furnished rooms out of scratch, but he had to play God, which many photographer think they are anyway - BOOM!  (kidding?)  Target was the client and they were so smart or lucky that they hired him because in L.A., specifically, a lot of lifestyle photographer rely on the sun - aka natural light - to shoot, and it might've been a lot more difficult to pull off with someone less talented.

We would look at the set, so dark, and then look at the screen where the photo was and do a double take, because the image on the screen looked like a spring morning in california, and the room looked like a dungeon.

Kudos, Mark.   You take very pretty pictures. Now can you make it 80 degrees here because I would like to sit in the sun and bleach out my hair a little bit?
All these pictures are his work from his site, none from this week, unfortunately.  I'll post those when they come out - look for the target spring catalogue.
www.lundphoto.com

And a couple points of business for any and all industry folk out there -
a.  I worked with now my favorite production company out here, Bees and Honey, with producer/partner,  Bianca Cochran.  If anybody is looking to shoot in LA or New York (or anywhere really) consider them.  Great, organized, etc, but also just SUPER pleasant to work with. (and they gave me a full advance, thank you thank you )
and
b.  I am now agent-less, so all past, present and future clients please contact me directly.  emilyhenderson@mac.com