Wednesday, January 27, 2010

My Upcoming Workshop on the 26th Annual All Women Lifeguard Tournament












© JoAnne Kalish
Several years ago I proposed a story on The Annual All Women Lifeguard Tournament in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. It was a wonderful photo story.

I thought about making a workshop out of this year's annual event. It is a beautiful event to photograph and there's a lot to be learned along the way. There are many teams of young women competing in various Lifeguard duties against each other. Photographing on the beach you need to be very aware of your exposure. You have to watch out for sand and water spray on your equipment. On the beach the soft light is wonderful and it makes colors pop. We will learn how to make the best out of every sporting situation. I will share with you some techniques I used as a photographer for Sports Illustrated. Fast shutter speeds, slow shutter speeds, pans, action coming toward the camera and across the frame. There's plenty of action, graphics, portraits you name it...it'll be a hell of a Workshop! To see more recent photos of this event go to

Sunday, January 17, 2010

PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE













Photos © JoAnne Kalish

I worked with Pev a few years back doing portfolio shots for him. I think Pev liked working with me because I was always striving for something really special. I liked working with Pev because he was open to trying new things. Pev called me up & said he was looking for some new shots for his book that were different and edgy so he'd stand out more.

So what I decided to do with Pev was photograph him with some attitude. For the head shot you notice, his eyes are not sharp. I thought by focusing on his nose & mouth, rather than his eyes it gave him a little more of an in-your-face kind of look. The photo of his torso, is stronger, without showing his face. I think everyone who truly wants to improve their photography should know the basic rules of photography. But after you know what is proper composition, how to shoot a portrait, depth of field, shutter speeds, and so on, you may then want to take your photography to a different level and break some of those rules if it works. Take it to a more creative level.
JoAnne Kalish

Friday, January 15, 2010

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FUNNY STORY

©JoAnne Kalish

A highlight of my career. Funny story...
I was photographing the Long Beach Grand Prix Which was the first street race of the season. I was just one, of the many photographers there. One of the keys to photographing these events is to scout out your positions during qualifications and make sure you get to a position where you can shoot the start of the race, very early, and ahead of the other shooters.

At the start of the race, maybe into the second lap, there was a loud noise and the screeching of brakes and smoke. I quickly panned following the action, around the turn, with my new Nikon motor driven camera. I had chose a corner position to shoot the start of the race, so I was able to follow through, as James Hunt flipped up into the air and onto one tire as he went over Patrick Depailler's car with Mario Andretti barely missing getting caught up in this shunt. After the race the other photographers were talking about what happened and I, matter of factly said, "I got the whole thing on film." At the time I just assumed everybody did and was not trying to brag but stating a fact. The other photographers (all male) just stared at me and kind of met each other's eyes. Later that day we went to the lab to check and pick up our film. Again this is really funny, when I opened the first box of film, there was the whole shunt series! The guys just could not believe this when I showed it to them! You had to see their faces! Someone suggested I give SPORTS ILLUSTRATED a call and let them know I had this on film & ask if they needed it. Sure enough, a messenger came to pick up my film and it was flown back to New York for that week's issue. They ran it once again, in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED YEAR IN PICTURES and I became a freelance shooter for the Magazine working mostly with Director of Photography, at the time, Gerry Cooke. I was one of the first women shooters for the Magazine.
JoAnne Kalish

Friday, January 8, 2010

Photo Tip - I found a new kind of Lighting System Rosco Lite pads

I've found a new kind of lighting system that is very cool to use and they're called litepads. Rosco makes them. They are small, and very portable light pads that can be used in studio or location. They even run on battery power! Perfect for location shooting as they also weigh nothing! Here is an example of a photograph I did with Christina, a young model I shot in our studio/Learning Center using the large pad.

Photo © MMIXJoAnne Kalish

For those of you interested in a private photo class in 2010 both Joe or I would be glad to customize a workshop to fit your particular needs.

Rosco Litepads