snap studio

Abe Vigoda

2009-12-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, I absolutely cannot believe that it’s December already! Time flies when you’re busy, and we have been very busy here at Snap. Clothing shoots, food shoots, furniture shoots and a few personal projects thrown in has made for a busier than expected – and most important, fun end of the year.

Which reminds me, come the new year it’s always time to replenish the jokes (actually we do that every other year, but either way, it’s coming up this year). I recently heard two that are too bad for even me to repeat, so I would like to do a “Joke Go-See”. Send us your best dumb jokes, and if we use them on the air, you could win a valuable prize!

Our last contest – the Abe Vigoda look-alike contest – was such a huge success, that we know we can get some great responses. So, what are you waiting for? Send in your dumb jokes! All of them! We can’t wait.

Now, for those of you thinking “Boy, they spend a lot of time telling bad jokes at that studio”, I just want to assure you of a few things. One reason that we even have the time to tell jokes, good or bad, is that we are very good at what we do. Photography is second nature to all of us, and the crews that we work with are equally talented and professional.

At Snap Studio we strive for three things: To partner with you for the long term to help ensure success of your business; to give you the highest quality images possible; and to keep our shoots lively, fun and professional. (In other words, the 80’s are over and you don’t have to put up with prima donna’s any more)

And if that means throwing in a bad joke or two to make the day a little more lively, hey, I’m all for it!

BTW - Go back to our website and download the capabilities brochure. That will spell out our vision and how dedicated we are to the craft of photography.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading!

Oh, wait a minute, did I ever tell you the one about the hamster, the goat and the UFO? Well, that may have to wait until you hire us!

Adria

2009-11-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

I must apologize for the lapse in writing the blog, but I’ve been up very late every night doing a crossword puzzle.

GREAT NEWS!!! Snap Studio has landed a fun new client – Ariat International, the leading performance footwear and apparel brand for equestrians around the world. We just finished up a great week of shooting for their Spring 2010 catalog, and we are looking forward to shooting the next go-round soon. Thank you Ariat team, this is a great project and we are excited to partner with you for years to come.

In other news, we have just begun pre-production on a fun new cookbook. This long-term project is the realization of a number of people on the Snap Studio team, and we are very fortunate to have such a talented and motivated crew. It seems as though those interviews last month have paid off. Stay tuned for more news ahead – we have high hopes for the coming year.

Well, that's all the blog that's fit to print. Sorry it’s so brief, but I need to get back to business. By the way, does anyone know a 5 letter word for Constantine’s horse?

Confidence

2009-10-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

You know what's funny? I have come to realize that interviews are easy. Showing our portfolio, talking about the great work we do here at Snap, etc… easy. It wasn’t always like that, obviously, but with so many years under my belt and so many times that I’ve sat and talked about myself, it has simply become easy. I have complete confidence in my abilities, and can back anything up with my work and actions.

The funny part is – why now? Why not when I desperately needed the work – like when I was starting out and struggling. It’s not that I don’t need work now, of course I do, but I really needed it then. Why couldn’t I walk into a CD’s office back then and just chat about what I do with complete ease?

OK, as I’m typing about 15 different answers are coming to me, and they are all obvious, but still, I wish I had this kind of mojo 20 years ago. (I could have used it in situations other than business too!) Whoever said youth is wasted on the young was absolutely right.

Of course, sometimes things do fall a little flat, like last week when I was doing the rounds and showing the portfolio. I was rambling on about how I’ve been doing this for 20 years and it’s all second nature to me when I stopped and said to the CD: “Now’s the time when you interrupt me and tell me that I don’t look old enough, or ask a rhetorical question like “Wow, 20 years? Did you start when you were 9?”

She looked at me like I was from Mars.

Fortunately I was able to recover and continue on for the rest of the interview without another corny joke (although I was really tempted to toss out a pirate joke at the end)

I guess this kind of confidence comes from only one thing: experience. I have worked with enough people to know who is talented, and who is faking, and I am fortunate enough to work with a team of people here at Snap who are honestly the most talented and creative people I have ever met.

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right – this is a little self-serving. But here’s the rub, I truly believe it. I am probably the least talented person on the team (that’s why I’m the one writing the blog) and I feel that I can photograph circles around anyone in the Bay Area. I’m certain that in truth, that is an exaggeration, but it is how I feel. And it’s that confidence that makes the interview process so easy. Kinda a viscous circle.

So, the moral of the story, if there is one – bring it on! Let’s sit down and talk about photography because even though you can’t tell from this blog, I love to talk about photography. Maybe next week I’ll write more about it.

Oh, and by the way... stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out the success stories of the latest round of interviews.

Rules

2009-10-11T10:11:00.003-07:00

So, I just found out recently that there are people out there actually reading this blog. This truly puts the pressure to be witty, intelligent, and informative. Considering that in my first draft I spelled “intelligent” wrong, this may be more of a challenge than I initially considered. Nonetheless, I shall endeavor to make this blog as interesting as I can.

Ready, here it goes:

My rules for traveling:

Never eat in a restaurant that revolves. Philadelphia airport, believe it or not, is one of the best in the world. Rub soap on the hotel bathroom mirror before you shower and it won’t fog up. Always have your pockets full of change. The words “public” and “restroom” are two words that should have never been put together, and... never play cards against anyone whose first name is the same as a city.

My rules for photography:

Anything goes. When you hire me, you own me for as long as it takes, and whatever it takes. After all these years it's still fun, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Never speak to me when a song is on the radio with the words “summer” “sailing” “drifting” or “dreaming” anywhere in the lyrics.

My rules for driving:

See below posts

My rules for life:

When you’re thirsty, it’s too late

Shout outs

2009-10-04T20:09:00.001-07:00

Greetings everyone, and happy October! Halloween is on its way, and you know what that means – it’s a bad time to go on a diet!

I have to say that I love this time of year – the weather changes (except in The Bay Area, where it’s pretty much the same all the time), leaves change color (except in The Bay Area, where we really don’t have very many deciduous trees), and everyone hunkers down and watches football on the weekends (except in The Bay Area where everyone is outside, and doesn’t pay much attention to football).

The other thing that happens is that the holiday craziness in the studio subsides to a dull roar, making way for fun projects like the gig we did for Cost Plus World Market PR last week. I love shoots that are collaborative, creative and fun. It’s as though the whole team can feel it too – and I must say that I work with one of the greatest teams in all of photography. It is truly enjoyable when everyone feels part of the process, and it makes my job very rewarding.

So, after a long holiday season, a big shout out to Sid, Bronwyn, Elena, Doug, James, Gillian, Caroline, Allen, Ching, and everyone else that comes in and out of our shoots. Thank you! You all are the best.

Also, a big shout out to another integral, but missing member of the team. Todd is off to Tokyo for the month, teaching Yoga. (Although he’ll never see this since I know he doesn’t have internet in his 8 tatami apartment, and is too afraid to go the internet café to check his emails). Good luck Todd, we miss you – and work on those biking skills while you’re gone!

Skiing in Hawaii

2009-09-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

When I was in 10th grade, my physics teacher laughed when I told him that, on certain cold days in winter, you could ski on the Big Island of Hawaii. He also told me that a rainbow was merely an optical phenomenon that is caused by sunlight shining onto droplets of moisture in the atmosphere, creating a multi-colored arc. As a photographer, the study of light is kind of a hobby of mine, so while I know that Mr. Ruskin was technically correct, I also know that he was missing out on something a great deal more essential to life than what physics can present us. But, when I was called in for a parent-teacher conference midway through the year, neither my parents nor Mr. Ruskin were impressed with my interpretation of what rainbows were, or rather, could be. The "D" that I received in physics class that year did two things for me: it taught me that I would never become a physicist, no matter how hard I studied, and it taught me that things are not always as they appear, and that no matter what the cost, it is always worth looking at the world in a different way. Fortunately, Mr. Ruskin's class was followed by my law class, taught by Mr. Akey. Mr. Akey was hippie through and through, and accepted my truths of rainbows, among other things. We dissected John Lennon's "Imagine", and talked about how cool it would be to ski in Hawaii, and even though we were studying the law, he is the one that started me down the path of becoming a photographer. Still, whenever I see an amazing arching rainbow (as I did this past weekend), my imagination soars, my creativity sparks, and eventually I can't help but think back to Mr. Ruskin's class, and feel sorry for him.

Arrrr ?

2009-09-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

For me the biggest disappointment of the week was that “international talk like a pirate day” happened on a Saturday. Usually, if it falls on a weekday, that is a great day in the studio. As it was, no one said anything all week with the slightest twinge of “arrrrr”, and life went on as though there never was anything called “international talk like a pirate day”, which is a sad irony.

On the upside, ACORN is being investigated for promoting using HUD money for prostitution, John Edwards is about to admit he fathered the child of his mistress, the GOP is reportedly considering changing its initials to NO, "the age of stupid" is simultaneously premiering live across the country, and the Jets beat the Patriots. Wow, what a week!

I don’t know if I ever mentioned that my grandmother invented fitted sheets – you know, the sheets with the elastic corners? Yep, she invented them, but just never told anyone about it. She swore up and down that that was her idea. But I have a friend whose grandmother, in 1941, had a premonition about Pearl Harbor – but she didn’t get it until Dec. 8^th.

I was wondering if anyone wants to weigh in on this video. Read the comments underneath, they are very interesting. I have to tell you that I used to work at the World Trade Center, so even though I was in California for 9/11, I have a connection and can understand a certain sensitivity to any parody of the event . That being said, I laughed alot when I watched this: http://gizmodo.com/5359078/when-you-think-about-it-the-death-star-was-stormtroopers-911

Let us know what you think

Bad humor

2009-09-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

Some really bad jokes told in the studio this week:

1) Why can’t fruit get married? Because they cantaloupe

2) How much did the pirate pay to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer

3) A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel coming out of his pants. He orders a beer and the bartender asks “Why do you have a steering wheel in your pants?” The pirate answers “Arrrrr. It’s drivin me nuts!”

4) Two cannibals are sitting by the fire eating a clown. One says to the other “Does this taste funny to you?”

5) No, it’s just ice cream (that’s just the punchline. It’s a penguin joke that’s too dirty to tell)

6) #23 (sometimes we just number our jokes in order to save time)

And my all time favorite: (To be used only when shooting marzipan-stollen) We had a great shot for you, but it was stollen!

Thank you, thank you. We're here all week. Tip your veal folks.

Photography

2009-09-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day everyone! It was a beautiful weekend, although on Monday I was creamed in tennis, chastised by my partner for not blogging enough about photography (and too much on my driving habits) and spent most of my day worrying about the Bay Bridge still being closed on my way in to work on Tuesday. But hey, the burgers were good and I may have had one or five beers to go along with the whole BBQ theme.

I’ll get to the photography part in a minute, but first I was wondering if there is anyone on the planet who does not have the Bob Marley album Legend? That seems to be the only reggae you ever hear on the radio, or anywhere else, and I wonder if any stores actually sell it anymore, since everyone must already have it.

Alright, photography. Photography, photography, photography. I was just emailed my shot list for our shoot this week, and it kinda makes me feel good that someone was working on Labor Day. Somehow I have lost touch with the entire purpose of Labor Day, and while I know its purpose is not to go to work, but to have the day off, somehow it seems right that someone out there is working today, and I have been reminded of it.

Anyway, it looks like a full week of shooting chubby nutcrackers, holiday cocoa and marzipan stollen. Although I’ve been doing this for 20 years, shooting holiday advertising in Summer and Fall combined with the fact that the San Francisco Bay Area really has no seasons, always turns my world upside down. I never know what season it is, and therefore can never remember from one year to the next any significant events in any particular season. This has the effect of making me look like a complete stoner (which I’m not, by the way).

Anyway, where was I?

That’s all I’ve got for now! Did I write enough about photography?

TK

2009-08-29T19:16:00.001-07:00

"Some men see things as they are and ask why, I dream things that never were, and ask why not?"

Ted Kennedy, quoting his brother Bobby, during his eulogy at Bobby's funeral.

1968

Driving Envy

2009-08-23T20:10:00.001-07:00

Most of you may not know that I have spent a fair amount of time on the east coast. So, in brief, here is my philosophy on driving fast in two different states. In California everyone drives in the left lane, probably because in California they call the left lane “the fast lane” and the typical California male feels that their penis will actually increase in size if they drive exclusively in the fast lane. Of course, for the same reason, they feel that their size exponentially decreases for every car that passes them on the right and then sneaks into the space in front of them. What takes place is all out penis warfare in the left two lanes, with cars speeding and slowing and speeding and cutting each other off merely so no car can pass and thus, in effect, emasculate the male in the left lane. Therefore, whenever you see any signs of a possible back up on a highway of three lanes or more go immediately to the right lane. It’s entirely possible to go very fast in the right lane for several miles while the two left lanes are at a complete standstill. All you need to watch out for are the right lane entrance-ramp merges and the subsequent jerks who won’t let you or anyone else merge. Also, the California female driver is completely unpredictable, and becomes the wild card at all times. Fortunately, females in general don’t have their egos wrapped into their driving skills, which I suppose must ultimately stem from having a penis.

Now, in New Jersey, which includes the entire tri-state area of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Delaware, things are a great deal more cut and dry. Never, ever, and I mean NEVER, use your blinker. The original idea behind the blinker is to let everyone know where you would like to go, but in New Jersey you don’t want anyone to know where you’re going because if they know, they won’t let you do it. The best course of action is to just throw the front end of your car in the direction you need to go, and go there with determination. Tri-staters can tell the rookies - the ones who know the rule but are too chicken to actually go through with it - and they eat them alive. What you need to do is just go. If you need to get three lanes over in the span of a quarter mile, just go. If you are trying to get out of the mall parking lot and onto Rt. 17, just go. If you’re in the exact change booth and all you have are dollar bills, just go (but you’re supposed to honk your horn). If anyone has a problem with what you’re doing, give him the finger because the thing that sets New Jersey apart from California is that they don’t shoot at you for giving the finger in New Jersey. It’s expected. It’s an accepted form of state vocabulary. It's actually a form of camaraderie - a term of endearment.

The only problem with this entire theory is that everyone in California is originally from New Jersey.

The Dude Abides

2009-08-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Having not won the lottery but encouraged that I was only 6 numbers off, I’m feeling pretty good now that it’s time for another blog entry. And hey, on the bright side – they’re saying that the recession is over, or at least it’s time to return “It’s a Wonderful Life” to Netflix.

The past two weeks at Snap Studio was filled with holiday cheer as we embarked on shooting the first installment of Christmas in Summer. We are in full holiday mode, which was punctuated by Ian and Whitney, my 8 and 5 year old children showing up to take advantage of left over Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. Which reminds me – have you ever tried explaining the job “food stylist” to someone who does not work in our industry? Everyone seems to simultaneously not get it and think it’s the funniest thing in the world. Everyone also thinks that we use Elmers Glue instead of milk. I mention this because we are in pre-production for a cookbook to be published next year and it is just impossible to talk about what I do for a living at cocktail parties. Of course I don’t go to a lot of cocktail parties, so it’s not a huge issue for me – but you never know when the “what do you do/what is a food stylist” question will pop up out of nowhere. And for all of the food stylists out there that may be reading this – I understand and appreciate you, believe me.

Just a little insight into my world: Whenever I’m feeling as though I need some creative inspiration, I watch “Hearts of Darkness” – the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now. To me that is film making at its best – out on a limb, oftentimes not even knowing what you are doing but just letting your creativity take over and coming away with magic (if not just a little too violent) And by the way, did you know that there is a documentary film about people who are obsessed with the movie “The Big Lebowski”? There is even a festival every year that mostly consists of bowling and drinking White Russians. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad he’s out there, and I take comfort knowing that the dude abides.

Travelin

2009-08-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

I’m writing from the middle seat on a united airlines flight, comin home after a successful trip to NYC to secure some east coast clients for Snap. After giving up my window seat with extra legroom to the woman with her baby for this middle seat back in steerage, and subsequently popping two sleeping pills that seem to be having no effect other than to balloon my fingers to the point where I can only type the letter “r” and the F5 tab, I decided to put on some Van Morrison and let you know what we’re up to.

A few things I’ve learned after being on the east coast: It’s unbearably humid in the summertime, but for some reason people still dress very nicely. It’s a little like Mexico. And despite the plethora of talented artists in New York, we found a great need for a studio that has the creative talent and resources that we offer at Snap. I also learned that when in New York, eat a lot of pizza – it’s amazing - and whatever you do, don’t use your blinker.

That’s it for now. Even though there is still over 4 hours left in the flight, I think I’ll lean over and watch the laptop next to me showing an old Hugh Jackman film. By the way, the baby is screaming, and the Van song of the moment is a live “Summertime in England” – very nice choice considering the circumstances.

Welcome!

2009-07-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings and welcome to the first Snap Studio blog!

The answer to last weeks trivia question is "bananas in your tailpipe". Thank you to all who entered.

Just a quick update on what is going on at snap studio these days (Yes, we are still alive and actually thriving in this crazy economy!) :

The Japanese cocktail book is finally on its way to print! For those who have not enjoyed the roller-coaster that is book publishing, here's the back-story: Silverback Publishers approached us after their book on Japanese Cocktails was complete, asking for more dynamic imagery than what their previous photographers had supplied. We were given creative license on every aspect of our shoot: visual direction, color palette, art direction, props, surfaces and backgrounds. Wow! Everyone was stunned, thrilled, amazed and astounded (yes, astounded!) at the images we presented - but alas, Silverback fell victim to the downward economic spiral. Since we are never ones to give up and with the help of our friends at Silverback, the book has finally landed in the laps of a few maja playa's at Chronicle Books and wha-hoo! They signed on for publication.

This new association with Chronicle Books has become a great relationship, possibly leading to some new deals. I can't say too much, since nothing in this business is a done deal until you've paid the digital tech, but as a hint, just think two words: cookbooks!

Other news happening at Snap Studio: Holidays starting late this year! Summertime is always a crazy time of year - Christmas presents being wrapped, Christmas trees dotting the studio. But since this year is like no other, catalog producers and advertisers are starting photography in August instead of early summer.

So... if you're looking to get high quality photography, high production, at our "we're on the brink of depression" pricing - act quickly, because we are booking up all the way through the end of the year!

That's all we've got for this inaugural edition of the Snap Studio blog. We hope you enjoyed it, and we'll keep you posted on everything that passes our desk - whether you want us to or not!

Take care,

Ted, Chris, Diane, Bob, Abby - and the whole Snap Studio team.