Contact Information:
Tom at tommiyake.com
(or PM me here)

For me, photography started as a hobby and ended up being a passion.

NOTE: I have a list of my current projects at the bottom of my profile. If you are interested in working together on any of them, please send me a PM and we can talk about it.

At the end of 2011, I decided to not move forward with starting a normal portrait photography business and instead will be trying to get into commercial photography and fine art. Unfortunately for me, that means I will basically be throwing away about 90% of my portfolio. For you models out there, that means I will probably be booking a lot of shoots in 2012/2013.

Here is a link to a slide show of my portfolio that I made around a year or so ago.
http://animoto.com/play/rzkUtjnKB7Pf7Gd71sK4wQ

I live in a live/work loft and converted most of the space into a full time studio. I’m in the process of adding a lot of new lighting gear to expand my studio (better stands, more lights, more light shapers, etc.), so I will be looking to shoot a lot more to break it all in.

I have a new process for getting photos to models in a timely manner. As long as a model can stay for about an hour after the shoot so I can import the photos into my computer, they can pick the ones they would like in their set. I will then process them first and get the set to them normally in 24-48 hours.

I am always okay with a model bringing an escort with them and encourage it if it's the first time we're working together. On larger shoots (more than 1 female model, makeup artist provided), I would rather keep the group small and would prefer to not have escorts present; but that is not set in stone. I rarely shoot with any model under 18, and would require a parent or guardian present during the shoot if I did.

One more thing...
I've been noticing models putting “must be good at Photoshop/retouching” in their castings. I rarely use Photoshop (I mainly use Lightroom & misc. plugins). I don't remove blemishes, I use a makeup artist. I don't make people thinner, I use angles and light. I don't make images, I make photographs. I have absolutely nothing against people that use Photoshop; that's just not me.

Makeup Artists
I’m looking for a couple of reliable, reasonably priced makeup artists to team up with on shoots. I rarely use MUA on smaller shoots, but I want to use them more often for sure. Please contact me with your rates and your portfolio if you’re interested in working together.

Current projects:

Ballerinas
I was able to shoot a (classically trained) ballerina on the beach in LA over Christmas, and have decided that ballerinas are now my favorite subject ever. If you have ballet training, either travel to or live around the San Francisco area, and are interested in shooting with me, please shoot me a PM or email.

Selective lighting
The new light stands I’m getting gives me a lot more control of the angle and direction of light in my shoots. From Feb 2012 through around May or so, I will be booking 5-10 different models for implied and full nude shoots with concentration on selective lighting. I’m hoping to shoot the first one this weekend (2/18 or 2/19) and then shooting another model every 2-3 weeks.

Mock Ads
I have a couple of mock ads in my mind that I want to put together over the next 9 months or so. One is a mock alcohol ad (so all models will need to be 21 or older) that will be shot on location at a bar. I want to get some fitness style shoots both in studio and on location. And the last one is still in the early concept phase and changes often.

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