Joel Lester Photographer: The Focal Point Blog

Fresh Faces – Lori D

Joel — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:52:14 +0000

This shoot has all of the makings of a flop from the beginning. Lori, a relatively young model , with an unproven portfolio, was approx 45 min late (already a no no) before we heard from her, and then took another 45 min to get there. I know I know, I can hear all of the groaners out there that feel my pain. However after speaking to her directly on the phone it was pretty hard to be up set with her. She sounded so sweet and innocent, and helpless in the “big city” . So she arrived and Re’nauta (an Astounding Makeup Artist who happens to also be from St. Louis.) went to work. Turning her into some sort of futuristic techno, workout ballerina. Needless to say at the end of the day, everyone was happy. I’m sure the people at whatever restaurant that Lori went to in full makeup were happy as well.

Well here they are.

JFL

Fresh Faces: Lyschel H

Joel — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:16:50 +0000

More so than the model herself, the biggest story here was the “Snow Storm”. I use the term loosely b/c what passed for a snow storm here in Atlanta greatly differs from the in the Midwest where I was raised. It snow pretty hard and heavy for a few hours, leaving the shoot up in the air. To my delight, all parties arrived and we made it through. Subsequently the snow froze over and there it was a long slippery drive home for the participants, well all except for me

Well at least some pretty nice shots came out of this. Including my first experiment with shooting with a gel blue gel on a white-ish background.

Oh Yeah this was another fantastic creation from the great Re’Nauta Bell (Smudged by R. Bell)

JFL

I’m Baaack: Gone, But Not Forgotten

Joel — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:12:52 +0000

I always say that this is the time that I will stay on top of updating my blog. And yet here we are, almost 10 months since my last post. I am going to be back blogging yet again to update you all on some of the things that I have been up to.

When I last posted, I was in the midst of moving to Atlanta. Since that time, I have taken some amazing trips to some amazing places. I will post some of the pics from Bali, Indonesia as well as Acapulco Mexico along with some of my photoshoots that I have done with some great established Makeup Artists ( R. Bell) and Hair Stylists (Charles Gregory) as well as some that are emerging in their crafts.

Also, I am going to fill my gaps in ‘bloggable’ (Pretty sure that’s not a word) item, with “2 – Minute Tutorials”, A short series of quick tips and techniques to enhancing photos and computer usage.

Stay tuned, b/c over the next couple days you will see more and more for me.

JFL

Fresh Faces: Gwenna

Joel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:00:32 +0000

Re’Nauta (the “R” in SMUDGED by R. Bell) has an uncanny knack of seeing the best in people despite what their current body of works looks like . When she first approached me about shooting Gwen, i was a little hesitant to say the least. However, the French native, African and French beauty was a joy to work with. She literally had me playing catch up to her during the shoot. Her versatility in poses and expressions was paralleled by her versatility in appearance. She started the shoot with her hair in it’s naturally curly style. Then, midway through the shoot, Re’nauta flat ironed is and straightened it out and BAM! a totally different person. As you can see, she definitely worked the studio that day.

What do you think?

JFL

Introducing Joe’l – Photoshoot

Joel — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:54:45 +0000

Nope, that’s not a type-o nor is it a way of putting my name out there in a different way. Joe’l is traditionally seen ripping the runways, however she wanted to try her hand at some photo modeling. The shy, yet fierce presence of Joe’l made for a great combination. Once we got her to let go of her inhibitions the shoot moved swiftly. What better way to introduce her to the world, than to use the final designs by the late great Shawn C. Williams of Eyekon Klothing Kompany.

I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for Miss Joe’l

Hair and Makeup: Dr. Jennices Edwards

OUT
JFL

Eva and the Beauty Dish

Joel — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:35:48 +0000

I have often heard of and have seen people using Beauty Dishes. So I decided to get one and try it out.

In cans you didn’t know, a beauty dish basically is a type of photographic lighting device, one of a number of photographic soft light devices. A beauty dish uses a parabolic reflector to distribute light towards a focal point. The light created is between that of a direct flash and a softbox, hence giving the image a wrapped, contrasted look.

So a Makeup Artist (MUA) in St. Louis, wanted to do some new make up an beauty shots, so i figured this would be the best time to test it out.

Here below we have the Subject, Eva G and the beauty Light. Makeup by Gorgeous Faces LLC

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JFL

April – June Photo Shoot Recap

Joel — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:55:59 +0000

So in the height of the chaos in traveling, I kinda lost sight of the updates from shoots in the spring. So you will get a chance to now see several different shoots in one big swoop.

Operation Beast Mode: Artist/Entertainers

Brian Owens: Singer/Songwriter

I don’t consider (nor want to be considered) a nudey, half naked seductive photographer. However, if Victoria secret came calling, then i’m sure i could answer their call with a big grin on my face. So you will see some Vicky-esque pics with models Emma Ve and Britney R.

There are Are also Some photos from my Trip to Jamaica. I met a guy a few years back that does events at the Hedo II resort in Negril every June. He asked me to shoot his girls. So here comes some beach photos

Out.
JFL

[[Show as slideshow]]

Back Blogging….Again

Joel — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:07:11 +0000

So as i mentioned in my last post I moved. well in the process of that i have gotten very behind in the whole blogging and picture updates world. Well now that i am Semi Settled in the ATL, you will start seeing posts coming in from shoots that I have done. As always your feedback is greatly appreciated.

JFL

Breaking News: Guess Who’s Moving?!

Joel — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:22:23 +0000

So for the most part I have lived close to or near St. Louis for my entire life. Sure, I’m always off jet setting all over the place, but all of those have been trips and not putting down roots. In my adult years I have been tied to a house that I built at the age of 23…Well, I received a break, someone offered to buy my house when I wasn’t even in the market to sell. I am one of the few people that’s able to: 1. Sell my house and 2. come out with a Positive gain even in this economy. So needless to say I am truly blessed.

Now as some of you know, I work a 9-5 doing web application development for AT&T. Currently there are 3 cities that I could move to and keep my job in tact with no hassles. Those cities are Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Chicago

Since I am relocating myself, I won’t get a cost of living increase (plus, I don’t want the extra 2 months of cold weather, even though my dogs would love it) so Chi-town is out.

Dallas Vs Atlanta

So that leaves Dallas and Atlanta. While Dallas is great for my allergies, and not a heavily congested city, it still an up and comer when it comes to trendiness and that cosmopolitan city like feel.

Atlanta on the other hand, I had always sworn I would never go there, b/c that’s where everyone goes, or wanted to go, and I hate doing what everyone else is doing…Plus it would be worse on my allergies than STL.

The Verdict

I went back and forth between which of these two cities I would move to. Surprisingly enough my final decision was simple, which city would give me more of the following

Access to Advertisers, Musicians and other potential photography clients
Easy, Quick or Cost Effective access to other target cities
Entertainment and Nightlife (Although these are the least of my concerns b/c I can always find something to get into)

After deliberation it seemed that Atlanta has cheaper last minute flights to places like DC, NYC, MIA, and Islands of the Caribbean that I work from semi regularly. Atlanta is also more friendly for motorcycle insurance prices too, which I am going to need to get through all of that congestion.

So as of August 15, I will officially be a full time Atlanta resident. And while this definitely isn’t where I wanted to move to in order to grow my photography business, it is a step or two in the right direction for growth, which is always a good thing. ATLANTA HERE I COME!!!!!

To any of my regional friends, be on the lookout for my info on my going away festivities in the month of July.

Out
JFL

Photographic Maturity: Before and After 2 years Later

Joel — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:09:52 +0000

Many photographers talk about going through old photo shoots and seeing if they can find some hidden gems, or possibly resurrect old classics. Well in doing so the other day, I realized there were several of shoots, I would have done differently image processing wise, especially in my 1st year of shooting.

I have only been in the photography game since November 2006. A lot of things have changed for me since then. Before I would rely on photoshop to “Fix” my images instead of getting them right before hand, and THEN using editing tools to simply enhance them. Even my editing techniques have changes since then. I went from over saturated lighting and coloring, images with cheesy effects, and a lot of rookie tilting of the camera. Thanks to some excellent advice from other photographers that I have met and read up on, I have learned to use my own unique style with fundamentally sound basics.

So today I present Lauren C. Lauren is a Hawaiin born, San Francisco resident, that did her undergrad in St. Louis. I am going to show the original “Final” images from back then and what my new rendition on those same images would be.

The Old: As you look at this small sampling, you will notice the use of over saturated light, improper and unnecessary camera tilting, and exposure processing that’s not so good. The

The New: Some changes were simple adjustments to cropping. However the tilting was so heavy on some that I had to crop down the size of the original image to attempt to save the photos. You will also see a lot less contrast used and a different coloring method, thereby softening the images dark light balance, and muting the coloring giving the images more of an Editorial Feel to them. Feel free to comment and leave your thoughts.

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JFL