Awesometographer wrote:
I'm planning a quick day trip to LA, and would LOVE to do a beach shoot. El Matador Beach is so freaking gorgeous, and I wanted to shoot there. Any input on weekday crowds, weather (wind) etc? I hear california is retarded when it comes to permits, it'd be me, model, assistant, with  2 speedlites.

Make sure you pay for parking.  They DO check.  Rangers are on-site regularly.  Shooting for personal reasons should not require a permit.  But if you're setting up lighting, they may require it.  Might want to call ahead or at least if a ranger is there when you get there, ask.

It's a short hike down to the beach.  If you have a lot of stuff...it's a pain in the ass to get your stuff down and even moreso to get it back up.  Wear shoes, keep them as dry as possible so you can put them back on when you go back up.  Unless you have really tough feet. I don't. I have baby soft feet that hates even smoooooth pebbles.

Christopher Hartman wrote:

Make sure you pay for parking.  They DO check.  Rangers are on-site regularly.  Shooting for personal reasons should not require a permit.  But if you're setting up lighting, they may require it.  Might want to call ahead or at least if a ranger is there when you get there, ask.

It's a short hike down to the beach.  If you have a lot of stuff...it's a pain in the ass to get your stuff down and even moreso to get it back up.  Wear shoes, keep them as dry as possible so you can put them back on when you go back up.  Unless you have really tough feet. I don't. I have baby soft feet that hates even smoooooth pebbles.

Thanks. All my gear fits in/on my backpack, so the trek shouldn't be too horrible. I'll start looking around for permit stuff, and look into calling the rangers station.

Jonathan Ocab wrote:
You get your permit for El Matador here:

http://www.film.ca.gov/

I hate that this crap requires $1M insurance. I'm not a production company, dammit.

Awesometographer wrote:

I hate that this crap requires $1M insurance. I'm not a production company, dammit.

welcome to los angeles.............

san diego is more friendly!!!!!!!!!!!! and better beaches!

Awesometographer wrote:

I hate that this crap requires $1M insurance. I'm not a production company, dammit.

It's not expensive. I got the $2M liability for just over $200 a year. Friend of mine is paying just over $300 a year and that includes equipment (but excluding water damage; go figure).

Even if the State didn't require insurance, it's in your best interest to get liability insurance, anyway. A model slips on a rock or what not and gets injured on one of your photo shoots (which is technically your 'production' project), you'll want coverage for that if (s)he makes a damage claim against you.

Awesometographer wrote:

I hate that this crap requires $1M insurance. I'm not a production company, dammit.

I've shot there without a permit.  But then, each time I shot there (twice) rangers were no where to be seen.

Awesometographer wrote:
I hate that this crap requires $1M insurance. I'm not a production company, dammit.

Jonathan Ocab wrote:
It's not expensive. I got the $2M liability for just over $200 a year. Friend of mine is paying just over $300 a year and that includes equipment (but excluding water damage; go figure).

Even if the State didn't require insurance, it's in your best interest to get liability insurance, anyway. A model slips on a rock or what not and gets injured on one of your photo shoots (which is technically your 'production' project), you'll want coverage for that if (s)he makes a damage claim against you.

Well, you're half right. The insurance is not expensive, but it is required to get a permit. If the model gets injured, that Certificate of Insurance you got for the state won't cover the model's injuries, that's there to protect the state in case she sues THEM. If she gets injured, your regular liability insurance will kick in.

As for the need for permits, a word of warning. If you apply for one, do not tell them your model will be getting in the water, otherwise they're require you hire a Water Safety Officer and that's expensive, and no nudes. Although I've gotten permits there long ago, most of us just risk it these days, especially weekdays/non-summer when the crowds are less. I went there a couple years ago and found three other crews working, two had permits, one was shooting nudes but he left when all the others showed up. One crew was doing an album cover with a wanna-be rock star, the other was shooting a teen clothing catalog and had a ton of people.  We were doing swimsuits in the middle (managed some topless too). Here's an aerial photo of what it looks like just so you know, you can see the trail leading down to the beach and the red X is where there is a hole in the rocks which can be hard to shoot at high tide. Also, if you get there between late April to late August, you may not get any sunset over the water. People don't realize the beach faces south (look at a map of the coastline), and in summer the sun is farther north in the sky and the sun sets over the mountains behind you. June is the worst.