A few months ago I shot the next trilogy for The Vampire Diaries; The Hunters.
Volume 1: Phantom has been released and you can find it on shelves now. I always love the great privilege of working for the fabulous folks over at HarperCollins and my wonderful team.
Client: HarperCollins Publishers Art Director: Becky Terhune Graphic Design:Tom Forget Makeup and Hair: Michelle Coursey Production: Megan Toscano, Production Intern: Marquez Vargas Photo Assistants: Eric & JJ
I was very excited to shoot the lovely Vera Farmiga for the cover of this weeks Village Voice. Vera just had her directorial debut, Higher Ground, in NYC last week with & met with rave reviews. Our shoot was a calorie burning photo sprint from 11:45am – 12pm, the energy was upbeat and we had a great time. Vera is the embodiment of loveliness & it was a privilege to photograph her. John Dixon, Art Director extraordinaire, wanted to do some tight cropped headshots for the cover, so we played around with light patterns, selective focus and angles in about 7 minutes before moving on to the next environment. John and the Village Voice are always incredible to work with and I really love shooting for them.
Read the interview with Vera here.
View the rest of the finals here .
Below are some behind the shots of our quick shoot.
1st asst Eric. 2nd Asst: Michael. Behind the Scenes photos: Celeste Slomon.
Ashley, Engie, Miasha, Carrie, Matt, Joel, Matt, Eddie (not pictured)
Recently I shot upcoming singing & dance diva-sensation Miasha. What can I say about Miasha other than POWERHOUSE. This girl is a total doll, strong, sweet, passionate, talented and the energy and perseverance to see her way to the top.
Although I missed the private prelim show of hers..I hear her live shows are something to write home about – video mind explosions with heart pumping beats.
Lotsa love to her managers Greenhouse Management (Matt V. & Eddie)
Hair/mua: Joel Marriot, Styling: Engie Style, 1st asst Matt M. (miss ya buddy..hope Ohio is treating you well)
Getting my makeup done by Ruth
On 2.2.11 I hosted Engie Hassan’s, CEO of EngieStyle, web launch and 1 year anniversary celebration. It was a bit nerve-racking getting on a 4 foot wooden box in 6 inch Jimmy Choo’s to deliver my speech, but I made it. The celebration was a huge success with a room full of heavy hitters in the fashion and celebrity industry. We sat high above the city at the Hudson Terrace in their rooftop glass cabana. Engie did an amazing job as did her team, Iman, Sam, Emily, Steph, Ash and Steven. On my side I had the fabulous and lovely Megan Toscano, who is a major asset to anyones life. I’m super proud of Engie and everything she has accomplished and was honored to be a part of the celebration.
We had the joy of wearing Dominique Auxilly’s beautiful gowns. One of the most popular questions of the night was “Who are you wearing?” Her dresses are a smash hit whether its on the red carpet or covering the pages of fashion magazines.
The press photos & tv interviews are out and about (you can see one here), below are some point-n-shoot photos & a home-movie. Photographed/Filmed by Megan Toscano.
Makeup and Hair: Christopher Ritchey, Alicia Oliveri, Jessi Butterfield , Ruth Fernandez, Donald Francis
in the elevator at the Hudson Terrace
Jessica, Daryana, Me, Engie
tv interview
Niia (one of my fav singers and clients) and myself
me being interviewed on tv again and Engie waiting for her interview
A few weeks ago I got the call from the SF Weekly about a opportunity for a cover shoot & feature spread for the beloved indie band from Glasgow, Belle & Sebastian.
I had the incredible art direction of Andrew Nilsen, a visual risk taker & creative genius, who had a plethora of strong concepts for the cover. Unable to fly to NY for the shoot he sent me Brit Cochran, stylist & makeup artist extraordinaire. Her attention to detail and smile turned the grey day into pure sunshine. By my side was Mike M. my fabulous 1st asst.
in blue Belle & Sebastian | brunette = me | blond = Brit
We had the band for 1 hour, they decided as the hour was almost up to be late to their sound check for their evening outdoor Williamsburg concert and we got some extra time on the last setup (thank you B&S). The SF Weekly cover was especially meaningful to Stuart as he expresses in his SF interview, plus all of them were pumped on Andrew’s concept for the cover.
Due to the time crunch we had to pin them 2 by 2 into their ‘blue waves representing the San Francisco bay’. They had to stay pinned to together for a bit, so they shuffled around the studios with their partner, laughing and joking with each other, it was a riot to watch. I completely loved them. It was an amazing shoot, my life is richer for it. Thanks Andrew, Brit, Mike and of course Belle & Sebastian!!
me, niia
I photographed the girl with the magic voice a little while ago…. her name is Niia Bertino. (Check out some of the finals shots here.) She is a classically trained pianist with one of the most intoxicating voices I’ve heard in a while. I’m in love with “Masochist” and “Learn My Body” at the moment.
From age 16-21 Niia was signed to Wyclef Jeans label. I recognized her voice from Wyclef’s smash, Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) featuring Akon, Lil Wayne, Raekwon & Niia.
michelle, niia, gigi, & myself. photo by eric
I met Niia at her old managers office to discuss shooting her press kit … I loved her as much as I love her music. Niia knew exactly how she wanted to be photographed, which was awesome.
Before the shoot I went to see her live. The audience hardly breaths while she sings, which almost led to a riot when the bartender dared try to shake a martini for a customer during “Last Man”.
On set: The fabulous designer and stylist Gigi Burris, the talented hair and makeup artist Michelle Coursey , myself, and my 1st Eric B. convened at Niia’s residence with Rocco & Wednesday on a beastly hot summer afternoon. Now working on her solo career, Niia is recording her new album and I personally can’t wait.
In loving memory of Rocco Bertino. Huge thanks to the wonderful Cory Greenwell for the behind the scenes photos!!
rocco
Here is the ad’s I did for Abano Terme Cosmetics (you can also read their blog here) in Abano Terme, Italy. There’s even some of my product photography I did for the ad. Due to the time of the day, the water was naturally green in color, but generally it is the beautiful blue color above, in Photoshop we matched the color to its usual tint, I prefer the green, I have those on my site. My amazing client, CEO Junio Lamannis, gave me the ok to put up which ever image I wanted to since we like them both. (thank you Junio!)
I love what these products do for the skin, our beautiful model Elena had been using (and still is) the products on her skin for months before the shoot, so this ad is a true testament to how incredibly healing and nourishing Abano Terme Cosmetics is.
The people who own & work for the company are unbelievably genuine, I felt like family while I was there, they kept me laughing, fed, and gave me a wonderful few days in a glorious spa right outside of Venice, Italy. I love them.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to embark on a 1 hour tour with Ludacris, his entourage, my team & my clients at the ESPN Zone in New York’s Time Square. It was here that we shot the cover for the newest issue of Honey Magazine. The brains and brawn behind Honey Magazine are pretty magnificent and it was a pleasure to work for them, Ludacris was a class act and its no wonder why he’s at the top of his game, he’s 100% on point, and it was a great shoot. Above is the video from Honey TV showing some behind the scenes footage.
Photographer: Carrie Schechter | Talent: Ludacris | Client: Honey Magazine | Photo Editor: Erika Ramirez | Editor-In-Cheif: Shanel Odum | Production: KWC Productions | Photo Asst.: Noah Dodson | Styling for talent by Mike B. | Styling for model: Jason Rembert | Hair: Tracy Balan | Groomer/MUA: Sir John Barnett | Manicurist: Amber Stores | Model: Kneecole Hamilton
stretching before Ludacris gets to set. Time to prepare for some gymnastics to get the angles I need in some pretty tight spaces.
The shoot itself was craziness, we had one hour of shooting time. In that time we had 6 location changes, 5 wardrobe changes, a Dr Oz interview for Ludacris, brunch, a high school honor roll field trip and a children’s party. Due to unforeseen events ESPN had to keep the floor open during the shoot, so we had quiet the audience and adventure in the arcade.
Photographer: Carrie Schechter | Art Director: David Caplan | Designer: Jennifer Heuer | Model: Pi | Client: HarperCollins Publishers | Author L.J. Smith
The 2nd book cover I shot in the Vampire Diaries/The Return Series, hit shelves last week. I am very excited since the model that plays Damon is a friend of mine that I pulled in to the castings in hopes that the Art Director from HarperCollins, David Caplan, would cast him. David, being the genius that he is, was sold on Pi as well, and I booked him a few days later.
I have just completed the 3rd and final book cover for the last of The Return Series to be released either 2010 or 2011, and I believe it will be called “Vampire Diaries, The Return: Midnight.” I receive a lot of emails from the V.Diaries fan clubs and I love it all. Everyone wants to now who the 3rd cover is and my lips are sealed!!! I’m a superb secret keeper. Judging form fans emails….I think it might end up being a little surprise who or what got the cover.
I love shooting these covers!! Getting to shoot the cover of a book series that has been around since I was little, has been a favorite of so many people, and now a high rated TV show on the WB is an honor and a privilege and I am extraordinary grateful. Now go buy the book.
my 2 covers next to each other...still one to go....
here is my cover in Slovakian (thanks HC for sending these over), which comes out in a few days over seas. The craziest part of this is the book is 2/3's smaller than the American version. Its the size of a readers digest. So either its censored in Slovakia or their one word = 20 of our words.
carrie schechter, the Masters of Glamour Kills, and Gabe Saporta
Glamour Kills met with Gabe Saporta & it is an Overnight Sensation.
I recently was asked to shoot the new line by Glamour Kills and Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta, OVERNIGHT SENSATION. The shoot took place in Chelsea, NY with Gabe & friends and the creative genius of GK. The line is amazing, I’m in love with the Wolf Geek T.
Gabe had a huge hand in the shoot which was great – we were bouncing ideas of each other when needed, he had a good idea of what he wanted, his ideas were solid, & we went for it. Everyone on set was amazing, the shoot was full of positivity.
What we shot is a different style of light than what I’m mostly know for, but it was what was the best way to show the lifestyle of this line. My normal light was a bit too “pretty” for Overnight Sensation. As a people photographer, it’s about people and connecting to your subject. I am technically trained, I can shoot in any style and its easy for me to see light and shape it. I currently enjoy the light I’ve been playing with that makes up my portfolio, it keeps me challenged and it keeps the blood hot and pumping. I love expressing myself through light, I love doing things differently, and I love switching it up. For this light setup we went for simple, direct, sexy, in your face, and to the point …like the line.
I first met Gabe shooting Cobra Starship for AP Magazine last year, and since then we worked on their current myspace together and now OS. Gabe and Glamour Kills are pretty sensational to work for and I am excited to be part of the release of one of the sickest new lines in ‘09.
See the ad campaign wherever Glamour Kills Drops Them (and on my website soon) My official site.
behind the scenes of Carrie Schechter's shoot for Glamour Kills & Gabe Saporta's Overnight Sensation
behind the scenes of Carrie Schechter's shoot for Glamour Kills & Gabe Saporta's Overnight Sensation
