Back from another trip - NY!

I just recently got back from a 5 day trip to NY.  Manhattan to be exact...and it was great.
Main reason I had gone was to visit the McQueen show before it ended.  The exhibit was aptly named Savage Beauty...which is exactly what it was.  It was graceful and beautiful yet cruel and vicious at the same time.  I was in such a thrall that I wanted to literally stay there for the whole day and keep staring at all the amazingly gorgeous pieces that Alexander McQueen has ever created.  His heart and soul was in every piece and what more can a art and fashion lover could ask for.  I found the show to be extremely inspiring.  Just reminds me why I love shooting fashion so much.  It's not just about photographing a clothing on a model, but to show off the fabric and colors and all the wonderful textures that come with it.  To photograph a complete picture where it makes the person who's looking at that image go 'wow!' and wanting to keep looking at it.  That's what I strive for in my photographs.... I want people to keep looking at a photograph taken by me.  I want to be so enamored by it that it is engraved in their mind.  What I've been grateful to know is that I have been achieving this thus far.  I've had followers state that they can't help but stare at my works.  Thank you :)

I also wanted to share that I've recently updated both my site and my blog header. 
Here are some teasers:

 

Photographer:  Nadia Cheema

Stylist:  Luis Zulayhka @ PUSH

MUA:  Marcia Garnes

Model:  Alex @ PUSH

Assistant:  Adriana Garcia

Photographer:  Nadia Cheema

Stylist:  Luis Zulayhka @ PUSH

MUA:  Keirsten Morris

Model:  Jordan @ PUSH

Assistant:  Adriana Garcia

It's my first time really shooting men and I have to say that it was very challenging, but fun at the same time!  Everyone was great.  I look forward to shooting more men in the future as I enjoyed the challenge very much and have to say very pleased with the results.

Stay tuned for more images as there have been more shoots and a fall fashion shoot publication coming up. 

Off to Paris!

So... I haven't blogged in a while.... a good while actually.
I'll be going off to Paris very soon.  I'm leaving Sunday night and will be back on the 27th.  Very excited.  I'm going mainly because I've never been and want to.  Strange thing is the amount of people that have been congratulating me thinking I'm going there for a job.  A job would be nice, but why not just go for the sake of it?  I think Canadians are conditioned to think that one should not bother traveling unless it's vacation time.  I guess you could say I'm going on vacation, but to be honest I just feel like traveling and wanting to go to places I've always wanted to visit and explore a bit.

I'm going with a friend who randomly told me one night that she's going.  So I randomly asked 'Can I come?', she said 'Sure!!!'.  I wasn't expecting that ..... and this was just about 3 weeks ago.... so I decided why not?!  So here I am...writing to you to tell you I'll be off to Paris :D  I'm packing light and just taking a small Canon S95 camera with me.  It's a 10 megapixel camera that also shoots raw should I feel the need to photograph something.  I don't normally take pictures when I go off to somewhere.  I want to look with my own eyes and not through a viewfinder constantly.  This way I remember the actual trip and places and scents and tastes.... you get the idea.

I managed to find a flat to rent at a very short notice.  Luckily it's in Les Halles, which is pretty much a central area in Paris and almost everything is within walking distance.  My landlady seems very nice and enormously friendly!  She's gotten great reviews and after I get back from my trip I'll be blogging about my trip and what my stay there was like.  I've been fortunate enough to establish a connection there through a friend here in Toronto.  Great friends are hard to come by, but when you do have them it just makes life that much better.  Thank you friend!  I'm very much looking forward to my trip :)

I also wanted to provide other updates as I've been lacking sorely with providing news.
I was featured in May on a blog called Fusion of Effects.  Marcus Kan is the creator of the blog and does a fantastic job with showcasing up and coming photographers, illustrators, designers, etc.  All mainly related to fashion.  I recommend that you add this blog to your bookmark!  Thank you Marcus for the feature and interview :)

Through Marcus Kan I was able to get one of my photograph's featured on Swide Magazine run by Dolce & Gabbana.  The article was based on Lace in commemoration of introducing Dolce & Gabbana's Lace Sunglasses.   Here's the image that was used in the article:

Photography:  Nadia Cheema

MUA/Hair:  Greg B. @ PUSH

Stylist:  Luis Zulaykha @ PUSH

Model:  Katherine Hastings @ PUSH

I was able to muster up a quick shoot with a fantastic team provided by PUSH  agency.  Absolutely great team!  

Another shoot I had recently did was done by some old and new friends who put our heads together and came up with a vintage inspired shoot with some antiques used as props.  Here are the images:

Photography:  Nadia Cheema

 MUA:  Rhia Amio

Hair:  Keirsten Morris

Stylist:  Cisya Paramita

Model:  Gabriela Otis @ PUSH

Assistant:  Antoinette Scott

Aside from just doing creatives I also did a lookbook for a local designer named Carrie Hayes.  She's a fantastic designer and very inspirational to shoot for.  Lookbooks tend to be normally on a plain background where you have a model wear the clothing desired to be photographed.  You're basically showing off the clothing.  Well Carrie was kind enough to give me some freedom with the shoot.  She wanted the lookbook to have a slight editorial feel to be.  Yay!!!  I can do that!  Here are some of the images:

 

Photography:  Nadia Cheema

MUA/Hair:  Vanessa Jarmen @ Page One

Stylist:  Cisya Paramita

Designer:  Carrie Hayes

Model:  Jillian Kelly @ PUSH

We photographed 5 looks in total.  You can see the layout and the rest of the photographs on Carrie Hayes' site.  It's the first collection in the lookbook that will show up when you enter the site.

Another news to add on top of so many other things.... I was asked if I could present discussing Beauty photography for a local photographers all-in-one summer workshop named Rob Davidson.   He's an absolutely talented photographer and teacher!  I have learned a great deal from him and when he asked that I speak I was honored and nervous as hell.  Key is not to show it...and apparently I did well not showing it.  I hide it well I guess.   I presented both workshop nights, Tuesday and Thursday.  It was a great experience and the response was great.  This has motivated me to throw my own Beauty Workshop in August.  Once I get back from my trip I'll be planning towards that.  

Here are some quick images from the workshop.  I decided to keep everything clean since the core reason of the workshop was to display some lighting examples, tools used and providing direction to the model and how to interact during the actual shoot.  

Model:  Nicole Baptiste @ PUSH

Model:  Sarah Newman @ PUSH

None of these shots have been retouched except for basic work in Lightroom.  The key idea in the workshop was to shoot as if you were shooting film.  Get as much as you can in the shot and always remember what you are selling.  You're not selling the model, but the clothing, accessories, concept, etc.  You are all-in-all selling fashion!  I wanted to thank PUSH for kindly providing us with models for the workshop and Keirsten Morris for doing Makeup and Hair on set.  Response after the workshop was just phenomenal.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  Therefore, do keep an eye out for the August workshop announcement.

Well...phew!.... I'm going to say that's it for now.   Cheers everyone :)

RedBubble

I've decided to open up an account on RedBubble.com to help sell some of my fine art prints online on a more worldwide basis.

For those of you who don't know what RedBubble is about...it's basically an online based 'shop' where you get to create your own personal store to help showcase your work online.  You setup the profile and upload high res images of your best artwork.  Be it paintings, illustrations, digital art or photography.  Any medium of art is most welcomed....even mixed mediums.  You upload your images and they take care of the back end work.  Back end work includes printing, mounting and shipping.  If you don't feel that you are quite ready to manage the printing and logistics of your artwork this is one venue to use.

Mind you....you will still need to promote your work yourself.  The whole point is to show your work to the outside world.  No matter how fantastic of an artist you are will not matter till you actually show your work.  You will receive constructive, positive and/or negative criticism.  No need to shy away because art is very subjective and take it with a grain of salt.  If you feel someone's suggestions are worthwhile listening to then do so otherwise still acknowledge what the other person is saying, but in the end it's up to you whether you'd like to follow it or not.  Be confident and continue to practice.  Picasso painted an abundance of mediocre art.  He painted everyday, but out of all that mass amount of works only some were absolutely brilliant.  Now keep in mind... he did paint everyday...so that 'some' is in his case...quite a bit of brilliant paintings! Don't think that you'll be able to produce fantastic work every time.  Fine art is producing and showcasing your best, which means you are expected to create a plenty of mediocre work that very few or no one will ever see.  It's a part of growth...so embrace it wholly.  You'll greatly benefit from it.... trust me ;)

I will be providing custom sized resin coated prints which will be showcased on my Etsy shop once I have it all figured out.  I do have a shop open on Etsy.com under NadiaCheema profile, but nothing is there yet to view.  It will be the same artwork as shown on RedBubble, but resin will be applied on the prints... and I have to say.... the images do look beautiful.  Much more so with the resin.  It gives it a beautiful contrast and pop and the details stand out much more.

All of my fine artwork is available for purchase.  Please feel free to either go through RedBubble or contact me directly at nadia@nadiac.com.  I will be posting these as Still Life on my site as well.  Stay tuned for more as this is a work in progress!

All images are copyright.   Nadia Cheema © 2010  www.nadiac.com

Feature in Magazine - Papercut Mag

It's a good day today..... my team and I did a shoot over a month ago that was quite the production and involvement by many.  It was an underwater inspired shoot, but not quite being submerged ;)

The number of people involved though was quite impressive considering it's a creative based shoot.  Model, stylist, MUA/hair and four assistants.  That's right FOUR assistants!!!  And thank goodness they were all there.  It couldn't have been a success without them.  There was just so much work involved and it took us 9 hours just to complete 4 looks.  What took the longest was all the co-ordination.  You'll see what I mean when you see the actual series of photos.

There's a reason why we did this shoot though.  It wasn't only to see if we could do it and grow from it, but also for publication purposes.  Yes.... this shoot was done as a submission based idea.  I've never submitted before and don't know any real procedure behind it, but decided to go ahead and try.  I mean there's so many photographers out there that do it.... so what's the difficulty and hesitation?  I know what my real hesitation was.  How do I get my work noticed amongst so many emails that coming flooding through a creative directors and editors emails on a daily basis.  How can I make mine stand out amongst the masses?  My real intention by doing these submissions was more on a recognition basis rather that actually having any of the photographs be published and, if possible, receive feedback.

Well.... my journey begins as a virgin submitter.  We did the shoot, I polished and prepped it for final submission then sat and pondered.  Pondered so much that I didn't move and .... I think... basically marinated in my own old clothing.  I blame my brain for over thinking and not actually doing anything.  I mean.... it's not going to happen on its own.  I need to be the one to do it.  What's their to loose really?  I won't get a response back.  That's the worst case scenario when you think about it.  If I don't hear back from a magazine then you try again next time and keep trying without... well...seeming like a stalker.  So what was my first move.... I got up and took a shower then changed my clothes to feel fresh and rejuvenated.  I think tried to figure out a way to see what magazines are out there and how to contact them.  What's the default approach whenever we seek to find something on the internet?  Well... we Google it!  So that's exactly what I did.  I googled.  I have to say.... I was very disappointed.  Google had failed me for the first time since I discovered it initially in my semi-mental state.  I couldn't believe it.  What do I do??!!?  If google can't help me who can?  Umm.... being overly dramatic here.  In actuality finding online magazines using google wasn't the easiest method.  Reason being is because the listings that it outputted didn't... well it lacked quite a bit.  After googling the supposed info and not receiving anything majorly helpful I sat back and once again pondered as to what to do.  Sat and thought... thought about it ... thought about it some more and decided "I'm bored... let's check what's going on Twitter land!".  Went onto my twitter account and read up on recent tweets when it dawned on me.... browse online mags through twitter!!!  Lo and behold... it worked!  Huzzah!!  After vehemently searching through twitter and being linked from magazine to another from its original source I was able to get info on over 30 different types on online mags around the world.  Hell ya!  So I emailed all I could find that I felt should be contacted for submission purposes.  Yup... all 30 or so that I found.  This little woman was on a mission boys and girls!

Long story short... many of the online mags actually replied back with great feedback!  Unfortunately they wouldn't be able to use it for their next issue, but definitely look forward to future submissions by me.  That's fantastic!!  To be recognized and responded back to is truly fantastic.  Definitely motivates anyone to keep working on future works and show it to the world... because truth be told, that's how you'll ever be noticed is by showing your work.

After all that... I was contacted by a magazine that's both online based and print as well.... Papercut Magazine.  They actually accepted two of the images from the Underwater series and it's now up on their online based magazine and in print for purchase!

What makes it sweeter is that all moneys accepted will be donated to War Child International.  It feels good and gifted.  Please do feel free to visit their site and check out all the photographs whose work have been accepted.  You'll find my two images on pages 28 and 29.  To view the rest of the images from the series please visit my own site at www.nadiac.com.  Any thoughts, comments, opinions and/or questions are much welcomed and appreciated :)  Also if you'd like to try and figure out how it was all done please do let me know ;) 

Thanks to everyone involved and especially my friends who assisted me that day.  Couldn't have been successful without their support and contribution. 

I have future projects in mind and would like to share three photographs with you that are available for print and will be used as a 'prop' for something soon!  These three are going to be a part of a series that again will be available for print sales.  If you would like more info please feel free to email me at nadia@nadiac.com. It's an ongoing project and hoping to be done in a few weeks time.


Another piece of good news I'd like to share is a very good friend of mine and close colleague Rob Davidson is now official a guest writer and contributer for the Foodists blog based in Vancouver.  His photographs are devilishly delicious and his writing would make Pavlov proud.  He's just had his first and new post up on the Foodists blog titled A Foodist Guide to Liberty Village as a restaurant reviewer in Liberty Village (Toronto, King and Dufferin area).   Please do check it out!  All photographs and writing by Mr. Davidson himself.  As an addition do visit his Epicure In Light blog for recipe ideas and wonderful and very much drool friendly photographs taken by Rob.

As a closing note I'd like to share with you the people involved in the underwater shoot;
Photography: Nadia Cheema
Makeup/Hair: Carly Sellen
Styling: Hungre
Model: Cait (Elite Model, Toronto)
Assistants:  David Addington
                    Chris Hazard
                    Urszula Kozak
                    Antoinette Scott

Cheers for now and stay tuned!

  Prints available for purchase.  Contact me for size and price details.

All images are copyright.   Nadia Cheema © 2010  www.nadiac.com

 

Dec. 14, 2010

I am now officially a freelancer.....  I no longer work as a full-time assistant to a photographer here in Toronto.  So what have I been doing since?  Sleeping and resting.  Feels bizarre because it's something that I don't do often!  Now I feel ansy though....  Which means I'd like to get back to work and do up a 'to do' list.

What did I do yesterday?  Well I asked my handsome friend Rob to help me build a glass water table.  I purchased some glass pieces cut to size to build a glass water table.  I have some ideas in mind that I'd like to bring to fruition over the holidays.  Not quite sure what yet, but I have a start to that idea and it's just a matter of following that path to see where it leads to.

A  lot has happened in a few weeks, both good and bad.  The good parts are what is needed for my future...as for the bad ones... they are best left behind.  All I'm going to say is karma's a bitch.  I didn't deserve the treatment I had received. 

As for now I'm just going to work on my creatives and call on my resources.  The shoot I'm planning on doing over the holidays will be available for print sales.  It's something I haven't done in a while and I look forward to sharing it with everyone!!  I see it very strongly in my mind, which means it needs to be executed and brought forth for all to see.

I'm going to try updating my blog on a regular basis if I can.  I have received some requests as to again '....eh!  What's up with your blog???  When are you planning on updating it???' I apologize :)  BUT here's an update!  I have some good news..... all I'm going to say for now is that a magazine got back to me regarding a submission I made a while back.  I can't say more till it's out and I see it.

For now though I'd like to share these two photographs that were taken over the weekend.  Both of these ladies are lovely at their own right and it was such a pleasure to both meet and work with them.  Makeup artist is the lovely Carly Sellen whom I love love LOVE working with!  She sees what's in my head and just brings it forth.

All images are copyright.   Nadia Cheema © 2010  www.nadiac.com