ellipsis…

“I’ve noticed that people who read a lot of blogs and a lot of books also tend to be intellectually curious, thirsty for knowledge, quicker to adopt new ideas and more likely to do important work.

I wonder which comes first, the curiosity or the success?”

- Seth Godin

about a month ago i collaborated with makeup artist Ella Bak and fashion designer & stylist Krista Brown on an amazing beauty shoot. we shot 6 looks in 8 hours, kudos to the full team for making it all happen. this first round of images were shot with a single over head strobe with a beauty dish and a black reflector to suck up some of the light and create more contrast. super simple setup, but really effective.

i’m also finally on the video bandwagon! with all of the retouching i’ve been doing, i thought i might as well record my work and put together a little workflow and technique video. basically condensed 5 and a half hours of editing into just under 6 minutes. it’s a bit of a manic video, but i bring you through 2 techniques for retouching skin so that it’s perfect and maintains detail.

IAN SHEH VID: beauty retouching

The Wheat Pool released their sophomore album, Hauntario, back on October 6th and just released the music video for This Is It. Glen called me up back this summer to do their press-pack images when i was back in Edmonton. i also was able to catch them filming their video here in Vancouver. Hauntario has been getting some rave reviews as well. my favourite song is probably Two Far Apart (the 2nd version). pick it up on iTunes.

i’m off to Gambier Island this weekend to relax, maybe shoot some personal work, and catch some crabs. i’m taking along a couple of new toys i’ve just picked up; the new X-Rite Color Checker Passport, Kodak Zi8 pocket HD camcorder, and The Pod camera stand (though it’s more of a bag… pillow… thing). should be lots of fun. i picked up the Zi8 to start doing behind-the-scenes videos on my shoots. used it earlier today at a portrait sessions and the video is pretty decent for a little guy. i was super excited to use the Color Checker Passport too, but totally forgot. have to start working it into my workflow. the Pod is something i’ve seen around for a couple of years now. never really needed something that small until i picked up the Zi8. it seems to work pretty well.

have a great weekend everyone, see you on the other side!

Two older dudes texting away at a coffee shop.

this is the first, but definitely not the last post you’ll see about an awesome project called Help-Portrait. the idea around Help-Portrait is simple, find someone in need, take their portrait, print their portrait, and deliver them. the idea is from photographer Jeremy Cowart and he just launch a brand new Help-Portrait website detailing everything. Help-Portrait events will be happening worldwide on December 12th.

here in Vancouver, myself along with a great group of photographers and with the help of the Nehemiah Foundation are holding a Help-Portrait event in the lower east side. the Salvation Army has been kind enough to sponsor us with a space that we can use, and details are starting to come together. i really believe in the impact this project can have. even the video below, which is a test run, shows you how a portrait can impact a person. community is such a big thing for me, both personally and professionally. it’s rare that a single project will bring both together to help the community we live in.

if you would like to be involved with Help-Portrait Vancouver please email me, or visit our Facebook page.