"The Butterfly Effect"

What has initiated your transformation?

Check Out "Mariposa" http://lorenzopphotography.com/new-bl...

Check Out "A Transformation" http://lorenzopphotography.com/new-bl...

Check Out "The Creative Process" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdHD2...

Check out my brother http://www.steviereid.com/

I saw my first butterfly of this year 🦋 May 1st, 2018

Quotes “Transformation is at the center of your being”

Questions I had to ask myself,

Why is it worth doing?

What can I do to evoke people to share their story?

How can I use my art to connect with humanity?

I can not equate my transformation to one particular thing, so to sum it all up there are 3 things that subsequently helped me to transform.

1. The death of my father

2. Becoming a parent

3. Wppi Unleash The Power Within.

BTS "Behind The Scenes"

Here is a view into my world when I am working guys. Any questions in regards to gear, locations, talent, etc.. please feel free to ask!!!! 

Shoot with Serius Jones 

​BenroS4

​BenroS4 Monopod, OptekaCXS-25 Rod System. Gini Rig Follow Focus. 

A little outdoor "BTS" on an engagement shoot. 

A little outdoor "BTS" on an engagement shoot. 

Here is one of the finalized images. 

A little outdoor Fall action!! 

A little outdoor Fall action!!

Here is one of the finalized images from the shoot. This shot was taken on the back porch in the models back yard.

On the set of a family shoot. 

Final Product, Model: Sallie.

BTS. "How to achieve amazing catch lights in the eyes PT3"

BTS. "How to achieve amazing catch lights in the eyes PT3"

BTS. "How to achieve amazing catch lights in the eyes PT3"

BTS. "How to achieve amazing catch lights in the eyes PT3"  Check me out people : )

Double Deuces!!!!

Portrait session with one of my best friends for his book cover. 

You may see my brother in a lot of my "BTS" material, hes my right hand lol. Setting up for the intro video of "How to achieve amazing catch lights in the eyes"

Thanks bro!!

My brother sitting in for me to adjust my lighting.

Doing some voice over for my video, I had to bring my little audio setup to work, too anxious to finish : )   I had my little note card ready to go along with my ZoomH4N, Rode Video Mic Pro, and some Apple headphones for monitoring. 

A little BTS and finished product, Shot in Hoboken, New Jersey.

A little BTS and finished product, Shot in Newark New Jersey.

Fun shoot with my girl Sofia, we go wayyyy back!! 

My babies.

Here they go again I love my Ootas, I am a sucker for circular catchlights.

On the set of a really big shoot : )

"The Hallway Shoot" video on my Youtube go check it out people. 

The "V" shape setup

Shooting with my man Jordan. 

A and I made some dope art this day.

This was a long but fun shoot : )

I build my sets piece by piece. 

Look at the cool set up we have going on!! 

Tas getting ready for some work. 

Final Product, Model: Tas Aleeah.

I love this print and it looks like she does too!! : )

Another portrait session with my friend Regina. 

Mola Setti VS the Beauty Dish

Photo courtesy of my good friend Noel Clark. 

Photo courtesy of my good friend Noel Clark. 

Photo courtesy of my good friend Noel Clark. 

Final Product, Model: Tas Aleeah.  

Getting ready for the shoot, using some A clamps to hold down the balloons. 

Promo images for singer and songwriter Queenella.

Final Product, Big Shout out to RnB artist Queenella!

This is a flower halo I designed. 

Art & Photography

I do apologizes because I kept referring to the "Light Stand" as a "Tripod", please excuse me lol
Be on the look out for my next video where I review the C-Stand and boom pole!!!!!!!!!

It's always a good feeling revisiting your foundation. This is how it all started for me people, I picked up a camera to take better images of my Art work and boom the rest was history. I am currently up dating my website with some new art work so I wanted to let you all in.

Check out the the "Shards of Glass" video you can see the green painting featured there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0U62LWaqE

If you like the background music that's our new track titled "Think About Me"  that video can be seen here!
Filmed/Directed: Lorenzo p. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3oF8ZUBetc

Be sure to show my peoples some love
http://noelclark.com/
http://www.ibnsharifshakoor.com/

Relying on your photography community "Collaborating"

Sometime ago Kurt Von with http://kurtvon.com/ reached out to me via Instagram telling me that he admired my work specifically my lighting, and let me tell you I was Astatic. We have been following and liking each other's work for a while. I particularly admired his style, it is very commercial and clean, which is a great contrast to my work where as my style is dramatic and artistic. We conversed about many ventures, one of them pertained to me joining as a contributor on his upcoming project http://lightshapersmag.com/ of course I agreed it only made sense. I honestly despise Photographers who cling on the idea of keeping everything about what they do a secret. Your greatest alias are your photographer counter parts. 

Inspiration: We all know that nothing new is under the sun, But inspiration is not copying, You can always look at the work of your buddy to gain inspiration, you may see something in their work that you can take from and make your own rather it be style, coloring, makeup, hairstyle, props, lighting, the list goes on! The point is one little thing is give birth to an entirely new one and that's the beauty of it all. Speaking of inspiration Steve Reid with http://www.steviereid.com/ and I met in an interesting way, a while back he emailed telling me how much he enjoyed and gained inspiration from the videos I post on YouTube. A few emails turned into phone calls and the phone calls turned into us meeting up. Can you believe he came all the way from Detroit out to NJ to hang out with me and man we had a good time not only did we shoot together we had dinner at one of my restaurant, might I add he feel in love with the food lol.
Another thing to note about inspiration, "A grain of inspiration is enough fuel to travel through the universe"

Reference: Asking questions, is probably one of the greatest assets of referring to a buddy photographer. I ask questions all the time and vice versa, I get countless Emails of photographers seeking advice. I may not have the answer to every question, but I try to answer them to the best of my abilities. If I do not know the answer to a particular question I will simply say "I am sorry but I cannot help you with that" and I will try to point them in the direction of someone who can. Interestingly enough I a lot of times I learn a lot from the questions I get asked.

Cross marketing: Another great asset is cross marketing, chances are they are most likely to be exposed to a market or area they you may not be familiar, there is your indirect connection to models, locations, etc. The birth of possibilities are truly endless!

Here is an images shot by Kurt and retouched myself, I love this by the way!

Here is my creative spin on the same image.

This was an awesome shoot Steve an I did together this image was shot and retouched by him!

Here is another awesome image from that shoot that Steve shot! http://www.steviereid.com/

"The Journey"

The Journey

I am learning "Photography" is a field where you have to walk the journey to find your way. I am a huge proponent of educating yourself but it does not matter how many seminars you attend, tutorials you watch, books and magazines you read, none of that stuff will do you any good if you are not applying it. The true journey begins when you pick up the camera and start pressing on that shutter. Granted you must do all of these things if not most of them to grow, however, you will not see any growth if you are not making use of the knowledge in your own line of work. As Tony Robbins states, "Learn from the master." Study the photographers who you truly admire, adopt their practices and make them your own, do them so much that it becomes a ritual. It's been said that, "Masters immerse themselves", which is true. I believe this is a powerful way to learn, but please be aware when you copy there is no room for failure, on the contrary there is no room for improvement either so be mindful of that. 

Experience and Inspiration are the greatest teachers in my book you will substantially learn from both, so don't fear the exploration. Understand that your journey is your foundation and foundation is everything. All of the blood sweat and tears, sleepless nights, sacrifices, joyous moments, investments, failures and, successes are all attributed to your journey. This is how you find your way, this is the very essence of becoming, it starts with your journey. When you are focused and your intentions and heart are aligned, your passion for the craft will propel you forward so fast some will not even begin to fathom. I guarantee, who you are as a photographer, your style, work flow, work ethic, how you engage with your subjects, clients, audience, etc. will all emerge as you walk your journey. You will find the very things that works for you, and the things that do not.  Realize that there is power in your journey, how well you can light a subject does not make you a stand out photographer, what you can bring to the table does. So don't be afraid to bring your journey to the table but you must first walk it. I will leave you with this one word "Believe"

"Creativity is not something that can be taught"

"The Beauty Dish"

The Beauty Dish is one of the most versatile and essential lighting modifiers in my little arsenal. Using the "BD" has dramatically improved the quality of my images, It is used on 95% of my shoots. I acquired the Beauty Dish in 2011 after my good friend John David Pittman, who is an amazing and talented photographer http://johndavidpittman.com/ ,highly recommended I immediately get one.  I was in limbo on making the investment so I called him up. He said to me, "Dude, don't think about it, just buy the 22" Beauty Dish...I promise you will not regret it!" I came to realization he was telling me to get one for some really beneficial reasons. I have to secretly admit I was not sold on it initially, I guess that can be contributed to my previous lack of knowledge on how to use it. I actually tucked it away for some time while I educated myself on its uses and functionalities. It was now time to experiment and put it to the test.

I had an up coming on location shoot I was preparing for and as I was loading my gear something just clicked. I scraped all of the soft boxes I packed and brought along a single Gridded Beauty Dish accompanied with a battery powered 600w Bowens strobe. My goodness, I was simply marveled at the quality of light I was able to produce with it. Not only did I have enough light to over power the sun, I had the perfect tool for sculpting it. I quickly caught on and now I'm using the "BD" on almost every shoot both on location and studio.

Mixed lighting became a thing of mine. Playing around with the "BD" I would mix and combine ambient, gelled, bare bulb, diffused, and gridded light to shape my subjects. I Once used only the modeling light from the "BD" at it's lowest power, to produce a dramatically lit low key image. Literally over night It became one of my "go to" lighting modifiers. The "BD" is infamously used throughout the fashion and beauty industry, hence the word "Beauty Dish." Some of the world's leading professional photographers such as Scott Kelby, Lindsay Adler, Joey L., Jeremy Cowart, Joel Grimes, and many more use the "BD" to create some absolutely stunning work. Your very own Kurt Von http://kurtvon.com/ ,founder of the "Light Shapers" website and fellow photographer also uses the Beauty Dish.

The "Beauty Dish" can be summarized as to providing 3 type of light sources:

1.Bare Bulb- Which is very intense, punchy, and dramatic

2.Diffusion Sock - Produces very soft flattering yet sculpted light

3. Gridded- The grid can be wrapped up as being very controlled and tightly focused light that ultimately has a fast fall off with little to no spill

Here are a some images I produce with the beauty dish:

Model: Casey. S.

Model: Dalilah. 

Model: Teriana.

Model: Latrice. 

Model: Casey. S.

Model: Amarie. S.

Model: Casey. S.

Model: Angie. T.

Model: Eliza. L. 

Rapper: Serious Jones 

Selfie lol 

Here are some great "BTS" videos using the Beauty Dish

Lindsay Adler 

http://www.lindsayadlerphotography.com

Arron Nace

http://aaron-nace.com/ 

Sean Armenta

http://seanarmenta.com/

Joel Grimes

http://joelgrimes.com

Andrea Belluso

http://www.belluso.com/

Now understand that I am not at all trying to advertise a product, or force anyone to go run out and purchase one, however if you are in the real estate of portrait and beauty photography I recommend taking the dive. I just wanted to share my experience and info on one of my favorite modifiers. Photographers who already own a Beauty Dish will concur with it's wonders. Hope you guys enjoyed!!! 

"Photoshop User Magazine" Featured Photographer

Super excited to announce I am the Featured Photographer in July's issue of "Photoshop User Magazine" If you know the "Photoshop User Mag" you know it is a big publication. I have a nice 3 page spread going on! Hard work, determination, passion, drive, and my blessings are all the things that have lead me to this point! I want to thank everyone who has ever supported me, also I want to give a big shout out to all the individuals who took part in this creative process!! This issue hits new stands July 29th

 

"Before and After"

If you ever wondered if my photos were rendered or not, the answer is "Yes" Typically after a photo shoot is done I do whats called "Fishing" I spend roughly an hour fishing through the photos, looking for what is usable, and discarding the ones that are not. After that process is done I then look for the absolute best photos out of the batch, and those are the photos that make it to the rendering process!!!! The amount of rendering varies, sometime the work is extensive and other times it can be something as simple as adding a little contrast and brightening up a photo!!! Anyway enough blabbering on, here are some before and after photos of my work!!!

Rokinon 24mm F1.4 Prime

 I just acquired the #Rokinon 24mm F1.4 lens, this my 3rd Rokinon Lens, and I must say I am pretty excited about it!  Over the past year or so I have become a fan of the Rokinon brand. I first came across the Company after reading a post on the #Cheesycam.com blog. I was curious enough to take a chance, and I am glad I did. After being surprisingly pleased with the #Rokinon14mm2.8, I dove head first on the #R85mm1.4. Absolutely loving the performance of these two lenses I felt it was only right to purchase the #R24mm1.4. I always wanted to own a 24mm #Prime, but the #Canon equivalent is $1,550, That was way out of of my price range. Emm the founder of Cheesycam posted the R24mm1.4 originally priced at $800 for a limited time it was on sale for $500. I couldn't believe it I just had to buy this lens!!! Although these are manually focused lenses for the price point and the sheer quality you can not go wrong!!

Pros: Fast, Sharp, Creamy Bokeh, Wide, Solid Build, Superb Image Quality

As for now I do not have any Cons but if I do I will update this post!!

Here are a few images shot with this lens fresh out of the camera!! 

Fresh out of the box! 

Top of the Glass

R24mm1.4 Mounted on my Canon 5D MarkII

This was shot at 1.4, Pretty darn impressive if you ask me!!!

I took it out on a little test this was shot from inside of my car.

Lighting!!!

It's all about lighting coming from an artistic background, I know the importance of light and I understand how it interacts with my work. It amazes me how people use light to sculpt their photography. Using light in a creative way can give your photography a definitive edge creating compelling images. In my repertoire of lighting I like to use and array of lighting, primarily Strobes, Daylight balanced Florescent light, and Daylight balanced CFL short for "Compact Florescent Light" Here are a few images of my lighting equipment. 

"4ft Fluorescent Lighting Bank" (2) 4 "T8" Bulb  Housing 128w each. 

"4ft Fluorescent Lighting Bank" (2) 2 "T8" Bulb housing 64w each.

"Compact Fluorescent bulbs" (1) 85w, (2) 65w, (2) 45w, and (2) 25w (I never really use these guys)

18in Diva Ring Light 500w

"Canon 580exII Speedlites" (2) 

"Strobes" (3) 400w, (1) 600w 

Here it is people my little arsenal.