Pittsburgh / Discuss

joey kennedy says:

EXPOSURE is from 7pm-2am @ Club Havana in Shadyside Pittsburgh

Where are you originally from Hans?

Ahh, the hard questions first... It's complicated. I was a military brat so I travelled a lot in my early years. I suppose the easiest way to answer would be to give my early timeline. I was born in San Francisco, CA, but I actually lived near Monterrey, CA. My mother was airlifted to San Francisco because my sister and I were being born prematurely, and there were complications. After a few weeks stay at the hospital, we went back to Monterrey and spent the next 4 months or so there. From there we moved to (West)Germany and proceeded to move around there for the next 10 years, with a brief hiatus in Georgia when I was 3. Then high school in Texas, college in Chicago. So... you tell me where I'm from. Please!


When did you start shooting?

Well let's see... I got my first DSLR for my birthday in December 2003. I think I picked up my first 35mm manual camera about 6 months earlier.

Why Studio and Fashion Photography?

Well, it's interesting...when I first started out I only shot landscapes and abstracts. I wouldn't dare point my camera at a person. I felt pretty inept. I think during that time I was teaching myself composition...learning to look for the picture in a scene, finding the obvious shot and then doing something different. There's so much beauty in our surroundings. Even the ugliest things are still beautiful. I'd spend hours at a time just walking around Chicago taking pictures of shapes, angles, and experimenting with depth of field. Once I finally got the digital I was a bit more open to shooting people simply because I could tell immediately when I screwed up (a lot) and delete and try again. Luckily my girlfriend at the time (who also bought me the camera) was very patient with me when it came to shooting her. I have so much to thank her for as far as photography is concerned. She handed me the first SLR I'd ever touched.

Anyway, shooting people began to get frustrating for me when I couldn't get the light the way I wanted. I could see the picture in my head that I wanted but I couldn't make it happen with the light I had. So I looked into flashes. They were too expensive. So I bought some old Lowell hot lights at a yard sale down the street for $20.00. From there I used myself as a model, mostly. I didn't want to ask anyone else to pose for me until I knew a bit more. Of course, eventually I needed more power to try different things, so I bought my first flash, an Alien Bee 800. I then started using models.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) most of the models that were interested in being shot by me wanted nudes, glamour shots, or fashion shots of themselves! So that's why I started shooting that way initially. But as time has progressed I'm more interested in shooting environmental portraiture than glam work. Fashion is always fun because you can be so creative, but I don't like shooting in the studio anymore. I much prefer being on location.

What famous or Professional photographers influence you the most? (Is there any photographers you want to be like?)


Annie Leibovitz - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Leibovitz; Blake Little - www.blakelittle.com ; James White - www.artmixphotography.com/p_james_white/; Anthony Mandler - www.artmixphotography.com/p_anthony_mandler/ ; Emily Shur - www.emilyshur.com; Richard Avedon - www.richardavedon.com; Danielle Levitt - www.edgereps.com/daniellelevitt.html;

I have a whole lot of links on my other computer, but the monitor is broken so I can't get them! As far as photographers I'd like to "be like," well, I'd love to have the career of Leibovitz... I mean wow.

Can you explain what a "Good Studio set up would be?" Lighting, camera, flashes? (some people maybe looking to start up their own studios)

I'd say start simple. The worst thing that people do when starting over-complicate lighting. Use exactly as many lights as you need to get the shot. You'd be surprised at how many times you only need one light. Sometimes none. I'd say that about 80% of my work is done with one light. As for a camera, I know it sounds trite, but it's the photographer, not the camera. The main considerations you should have when buying a camera are a) will it fire a flash(either by sync cord, hot shoe, or wireless)? b) what sized print would you like to make (if any)? and c) is it in my price range? Any entry level DSLR these days will work fine for studio work. Some will be quicker, some will have less noise, some will have more bells and whistles..blah blah blah... what matters is the end image. As for lights, don't bother getting anything below a 160 watt/s flash. The Alienbee 400 is that powerful I believe. If you plan on shooting outside against sunlight you will need a LOT of power to compete with the sun. But start slow. A 300 - 400 w/s flash, a light stand, and a few modifiers (ie. umbrellas, grids) should be plenty to get your feet wet and help you decide if you want to delve deeper. I recommend Alienbees as a starter product, but if you for some reason have some cash laying around, go for power. Profoto, elinchrom, and Broncolor are all good products, but pricey.

Can you describe the gear you use now?

How embarrassing! At the moment I use 3 lights. An Alienbee 400, 800, and 1600. I have various light stands, a couple of backdrops, a portable power supply (hands down the best thing ever), a large octabox, large softbox, some umbrellas, and lots of various clams and crap.
Camera wise I use a Canon 30D. My lenses (again, embarrassing) are a 50mm 1.8, a 28-105, and the old kit lens. I use the 50mm (the 2nd best thing ever) for most of my work.

Where do you get your models?

I started out using friends, co-workers, and myself mostly. I then registered with www.onemodelplace.com . It's a great place to get models who are just starting out who will pose for free for pictures. You deal with a lot of personalities, but it's a good way to get started.


What is the future for Hans Rosemond?"


Well, my first step will be moving back to Chicago. That will be
happening a week from now. (I'll miss you all!) My portfolio is
finally to a place where I believe I'm ready to truly make a push in a
large market. When I get to Chicago I'll be doing lots of actor
headshots for bills, and knocking on a lot of doors, portfolio in
hand, to try and get my work out there. It's a very exciting time for
me, but very scary. I haven't been doing this very long, but I do
feel like it's what I'm meant to be doing. I look forward to finally
going after it in a big, no holds barred way. I guess we'll see what
happens!


Come Early (7-9 pm) And Get your PORTRAIT taken by Hans himself!!!! This is a special treat to our exposure faithfuls! Thanks for a great a Year and Thank You Hans!
Originally posted at 1:39PM, 24 December 2006 PDT (permalink)
joey kennedy edited this topic 66 months ago.