I'M RELOCATING BACK TO LA IN JANUARY! LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BOOK SHOOTS BEFORE I LEAVE SACRAMENTO FOREVER, AND FOR THOSE SOCAL LADIES, IF YOU WANT TO BOOK ME STARTING IN MID-JANUARY!
For updates and other networking blah, drop by my
MySpace
For a more personal connection, hit me up on
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also have a wardrobe stylist account for those who like the outfits from my photoshoots and would like to have me spice up yours too, check out
J U N K -
"Don't wear crap, wear JUNK!
Calendar of Planned Shoots (*Please note, I am not available during weekdays for shoots, I have a day job and my schedule is eratic at best during the week)
FOR THOSE WHO KEEP MISSPELLING IT -
I spell
Risqé without the
u, and here's why:
ris·qué
–adjective
daringly close to indelicacy or impropriety; off-color.
Syn. - broad, gross, indecent, ribald
Risqé Factor
–adjective
bold; courageous; intrepid; adventurous
a style of photography that is not afraid to push the limits of creativity and sexuality
a creative edge in vision or concept
the willingness to continually step out of a "type" and endeavor a style that is continually changing and progressive
My style is
NOT Risqué, or raunchy. It is my
OWN definition; ever changing and challenging; attempting to adapt and progress towards whatever "style" that is needed or fits the theme of whatever concept I am photographing.
PLEASE SPELL IT RIGHT!
** For those that are always asking, I am originally from the East Coast, Philly area, and I try to get back every year to see family, usually around the holidays. There are many of you that I would love to shoot with when I do make it back east, and try to block some time for shoots when I do. Just drop me a message and I'll add you to my "East Coast" folder so I can be sure to contact you when I am on eastern shores so we can plan something out. =]
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The concept shot from
Melissa's maternity shoot. Check my port and leave some comments, I'd love to hear feedback...
Melissa had her baby boy today, Easter Sunday, at 12:05 pm. He was 18 inches long and about 7.5 lbs.Congratulations Melissa on a quick and easy labor and a successful birth of your newborn son!
... And, only 3 months later... Then... and NOW...
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** I
RARELY do TFP anymore, and usually not unless I contacted a model about a specific theme to shoot, or have already worked with a model. This is more than just a creative outlet or hobby, it's my
Job and how I pay the bills. Also, I have selected makeup artists whose work I think best reflects the style and themes I plan for each model, all of whom have diverse portfolios and/or are people I work with at the studio I photograph for during the week, or have worked with in the past. I invest time & money into my shoots putting together themes, outfits and finding locations to shoot, plus the time editing the shots I take; and the MUA's invest money into the makeup they use to create the look that makes each set that is shot unique, and the hair accessories or tools they use to style hair to fit that theme. From time to time, I bring on MUA's who are looking to enhance their portfolio and are willing to do TFCD. I
AM willing to work with models to enhance their portfolio, and
CAN offer a reasonable rate for a collaborative photoshoot. Just ask and let's see what we can work out. I do offer a great discount (see special listing below) that gives models a lot more for their $ than the studio I work at, and more variety to choose from. I love doing shoots, but they do take preparation, time and money on my part (since I often provide much of the wardrobe used in my shoots) and after 9 years, my portfolio is a good reflection of what to expect. Isn't that worth the investment?
* Due to an overwhelming number of NO SHOWS, a $100 Deposit required prior to ALL shoots, Remainder due at time of shoot.
ALSO, If you're an IMPORT MODEL, Don't waste my time. I dealt with that BS for years before breaking away from it, and having had a brief stink working with a few import models recently and the BS that came with it again, I'm
NOT interested...
I ALWAYS call the night before a shoot to confirm the time and go over last minute details. If you don't answer/don't show, there will be NO rescheduling! I'm growing tired of having to call MUA's to cancel the day of a shoot because a model doesn't show up!!
RATES:
Head Shots
15-25 Shots - $50.00
* Includes CD of images and Copyright Release
$10 Additional per Retouched Image
4 Looks, approx. 150+ images - $500.00
* Includes DVD of images and Copyright Release
* includes expenses for travel
* includes experienced Makeup Artist to provide 4 looks/2 hair changes
* includes 3 Retouched Images/Set on CD
** $15 Additional per Retouched Image
7 Looks, 300+ images (Multiple Location Shoot) - $900.00
* Includes DVD of images and Copyright Release
* includes Thematic Location reservations
* includes expenses for travel
* includes experienced Makeup Artist to provide 7 looks/4 hair changes
* includes 4 Retouched Images/Set on CD
** $15 Additional per Retouched Image
Travel Expense outside Sacramento - $50 (for every 100 miles)
ZED/Comp Cards
Creation - $50.00
50 Cards - $100
Book an Exclusive Location for Photoshoot - $250
** Location Booking NON-REFUNDABLE
** Booking of Exclusive Location is required prior to shoot. At least 2-3 Weeks Notice required for location bookings.
DVD of all images (as shot) will be provided within 7 days of shoot. Please allow 14 days from shoot for edited images.
A BIT ABOUT ME…
I began in film working as a PA, and then a grip, working on various independent films before taking a job at Warner Bros in their DVD department as a Production Coordinator on all Domestic and International DVD release titles starting with 'City of Angels' up until I left, with my final project being 'Matrix Reloaded'.
After starting Elasians in 2000, I began building model portfolios and running a website on the weekends until I left WB and moved onto doing more frequent freelance photoshoots, starting Xotiquex in 2002 and then Risqé Factor in 2003. After shutting down Elasians and Xotiquex in 2004, I shoot full time for Risqé Factor and am currently working on MAXX Magazine.
*** I won't be stereotyped and am always eager to try a different style! I believe that a varied portfolio is the true test of a creative and diversified photographer and I continue to strive to be both. I am always eager to try something new and am always open to ideas and themes that are different than my already extensive portfolio. Got an idea? Hit me up...
-- Chad
For anyone that actually wants to know
ME, read on...
PERSONAL CONSTITUTION -
Me... in a "Nut" shell
1. I have abandonment issues... They're deep seeded and go back to childhood... Personal experience and current events empower this proclivity... If we schedule a shoot, and you don't show, and don't tell me why within 24 hours, I probably won't want to "work it out" later... I will still want to know why, but don't expect another chance... To me it's just rude not to let me know immediately, pardoning an emergency room visit or near-drowning where your cell phone is at the bottom of some body of water. Prudence and courtesy call for explanation. I send texts (I don't like them using up my limited cell phone minutes).
2. I can be neurotic. Ask my friends. I'm bi-polar, I don't take drugs for it (why would I want to take something to change a behavior I've become used to and learned to control given the perfect conditions, which I admit, are rare and few in between), but is it really best to trade one pathology for another?
3. I enjoy photography. I don't live it, I don't breath it. I may do it, but it is not all I am or who I am, although conversations with me may suggest otherwise. I don't take a camera with me everywhere... Though, sometimes, I've wished I did. I've missed many a "kodak moment" that I would have liked to have captured. I guess I could always use my camera phone, but fear the addictiveness of the "myspace" photography bug that so many around me seem to have been infected with... I don't know if it's airborn, blood-born, or how it's spread, but I believe if I take enough vitamins, I'll become naturally intolerant (I mean tolerant, freudian slip there), and immune, to it.
4. I love movies. I live them, I dream them, and I breathe them... I
am a movie buff, but that does not suggest that I have seen every movie out there. I'm not that old (though my driver's license may show I'm older than you might think), and haven't been alive long enough, or have had enough free time to watch every movie out there. I watch what interests me, what interests my friends (if it interests me) and don't bother with movies that are too touchy-feely (though may watch them from time to time, on DVD, in the privacy of my home). I'm single, I don't need the sexual frustration!
5. I
DON'T, and let me reiterate
DON'T, date the models I work with. If you think I do, or that I should, move on. I have become good
friends with many of them, most of them, in fact, but I don't date them. I don't need the reputation for it, nor want the drama that ensues by doing it. If, by chance, you're a model and we hit it off, this point may be null and void... But don't expect that to be my intention for working with you or getting to know you. I have not dated since I started doing this 9 years ago. I don't like being single, but since all I meet are models, I keep my work life and personal life separate, only so much as friendship allows me to do so.
6. I am good at what I do. I am not cocky about it, I'm not the best, nor think I will ever be the best, but I'm good. Look at my work. If you don't agree, drop me a tag and tell me (but don't expect me not to delete your humble opinion once I've read it should I disagree with you disagreeing with me).
7. I like sharp objects. Sharp points, sharp wits, sharp contrasts, sharp cheddar, sharp dressed (although I'm more of a shorts and t-shirt kinda guy), sharp nails... you get the point. I just don't like sharp declines (I'm afraid of heights - you fall 80 feet off a mountain and see if you don't feel the same). I use many of the things that are, and although I sometimes regret it later, often have thought it through before putting them to use.
8. I don't dick around. Take that any way you want to, literally, metaphorically, ironically. I like to be to the point. Literally - I am not sexual - I may shoot it, but I don't indulge in it. I'm single, but that doesn't mean that I think it's ok to spread my seed everywhere I go. Metaphorically - I don't mince words (mincing is only for meat), though I will attempt to be tactful no matter the circumstance and I often think it through first, even if it does seem instantaneous to whatever I am commenting on. Ironically - I can be a dick, though I do truly try not to, but if you piss me off, my tune can change and the only way I am musically inclined is that I know music and can pick out the various instruments in a song, whether played or modulated, and can remember lyrics and recite them back at the oddest of moments without any seemingly known reason for doing so, unless you, yourself, also believe in the power of free association.
9. I have a cynical & eclectic sense of humor. I can be off the cuff, or off the record, depending on the conversation. Too many people take me more seriously than they should, and at all the wrong times. Serious when I am trying not to be, and not serious enough when it should be evident that any other definition is irrelevant to the case and point.
10. I am nothing like my parents or my friends. I
am my own person, I speak my mind when it needs to be spoken, and don't when not saying what I'm truly thinking could seem cruel and malicious. I am also bi-polar, which I stated before, so don't think me being one way one moment is the same as me being another way another moment. I attempt consistency, and to most, that is what they see and expect, but don't think it is always the case.
11 . I have many other points, they're barbed, they're sharp, and I don't care if they get rusty. I don't cook enough to worry if they are polished. I
DO like my knives, I miss my knives, and I would like to get my knives back (the cooking ones, that is). But I do not feel the necessity to share all of them with you. I
must maintain some mystery... ;-)
P.S. - I don't shoot nude. It scares the models and makes me very uncomfortable being that fancy free with someone I hardly know. I do shoot implied - which basically means I like to leave it up to your imagination, both in my imagery, and if you really feel it makes you more comfortable imagining me naked to make you feel less nervous when shooting. The nude sets in my portfolio were requested by the models, not by me, though the concept was my idea and executed under careful supervision of the Almighty who judges me not on my intent, but by what I do (though I guess I do get judged by my thoughts, but I'd hate to be damned for muddying the holy waters). All nude models got themselves into place, setup the "accessories" as best able considering pose, and I finished covering whatever needed be covered, or suggested what be moved to not show anything that need not be seen to keep a shot elegant and tasteful. I believe the female body is a work of art and should be shown the same respect as would a classic painting or statue. I wouldn't touch what I see in a museum, nor do I touch the models I shoot with!
P.P.S. - If you think I'm messed up, you should see the other guy...
"From now on, I'll connect the dots my own way"
And in the words of the prodigious Calvin and Hobbes, that I think truly reflect my personality:
Calvin: I'm a genius, but I'm a misunderstood genius.
Hobbes: What's misunderstood about you?
Calvin: Nobody thinks I'm a genius.
Calvin: You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood... Last minute panic.
Calvin, sitting at his "A Swift Kick in the Butt, $1" stand: I don't understand, everyone I know needs what I'm selling!
Calvin to Hobbes: "You know Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't even help."
On a more serious note...
TO ALL THE GIRLS I'VE LISTED
In my searches through MM, I have encountered many beauties, each with a look that is truly unique and beautiful. I have created a number of lists which all of them fall into in one way or another, each with something stunning that caught my attention and left me amazed... But of all the models I have come across, I have found a particular group that have always awed me and left me breathless, and so I decided to dedicate a special LIST just to them, for all the ravishing 'Ravens' out there, be it their first or last name, you are all incredible and here's to you!
