Sunny Northern California Surf Photoshoot
I’m super excited with how this Sunny Northern California Surf photoshoot for the modeling agency Directions USA turned out. The whole original vibe that I wanted to portray through this was that iconic 70’s California surf culture feel. I’m lucky enough to be friends with an owner of a local surf shop that lent me some great pieces by companies like L Space, Rusty and Obey. We used a good friend’s Bing surfboard too but there was no way anyone was getting in that water without a wetsuit. The model Cici drove 4 hours to meet me on location and was just really incredible and easy to work with. I love when you meet someone for the first time and you just know that the day is going to go in a positive manner.
Originally the forecast had called for wind and overcast all day which I was really happy about since I wanted to convey that cloudy northern California surf vibe. Five minutes before shoot time though the clouds disappeared and we were left with a glaringly bright day to work with. I’ve been shooting long enough to know you just have to embrace what mother nature gives you. So instead of that overcast Northern California vibe we went with a Southern California vibe(easy fix). The trick is just to be able to know how to work with the sun instead of fighting it. It’s not often I get to shoot on really bright sunny days so I was stoked to be able to embrace it and soak up as much sunny goodness as possible. Typically though you want softer light but we just rolled with it and I’m glad we did.
The first set on the beach was taken in about 3 hours with some time in between for Cici to warm up(it was about 45 degrees). We did a few changes of clothes and had a chance to work some hot coffee into the shoot under the pier during one of the warm up time outs. After we wrapped the first location we headed down the coast to meet a friend who loaned us an orange VW bus. These shots from the van are far and away my favorite just because the warm tones all play off each other. The bus is so rad! And with the wind and Cici’s free flowing hair it just gave that 70’s free spirit vibe that I was really going for overall.
The majority of the work I do is weddings but being able to work with brands and agencies like I did on this one is really freeing creatively and a ton of fun. I’m really looking forward to working with SLU Agency in Portland as well as some others hopefully in LA. Future’s looking bright, just like the weather on this day!
