The Goddess of Glam

I wasn't able to update yesterday as I was shooting at another studio. It was a long freakin' day! I arrived on-set about 8:30 A.M. and didn't leave from there till around midnight. Whew!

It was one of those gigs, however, that I was very excited about: An opportunity to shoot, amongst others, the Goddess of Glam herself, Ms. Tera Patrick.

Tera's been on my really, really, short, short-list of glamour models I've wanted to photograph for a very long time. Because of that, it seemed like the long day flew by quickly. Not only because I was getting paid to shoot someone I've really, really wanted to shoot, but because Tera is a genuine peach! She friendly and fun (no Diva crap whatsoever) completely at home in front of the camera (making my job so much easier) and a total professional in every way. Plus, of course, she's drop-dead gorgeous and that was some very sweet icing on the cake.

I received a call last week inquiring about my availability to shoot for Tera's company, TeraVision. It was difficult to hide my enthusiasm and I wanted to maintain my cool, calm, professonal demeanor since I am a cool, calm... uhh... professional.

Anyway, I was told Tera and her partner and husband, (Evan Seinfeld, bassist/vocalist for the band, "Biohazard," and a star of HBO's hit series, "Oz") had seen some stuff I shot for another company. The common demoninator between that show and getting the Tera gig was the production manager, Max. Max was the PM on the first show and also the PM on Tera's show so that's how some of my work ended up in front of Tera and Evan. I love when shit works that way!

I'm hoping shooting Tera will up my street cred a bit. I ain't saying I don't have any street cred, I do. But whenever you can grab a bit more of it, it's a good thing. In the competitive world of pretty girl shooting, it's not just about the quality of your work, it's also sometimes about who you shoot. Amongst glam-shooters, Tera is tops! It doesn't get much better if it does at all. The list of glamour models, like fashion models, who are branded and who have legions of fans is a fairly short list. Tera is right up there with those few super-glam-models who are very recognizeable, sought after, and can give a shooter some much-needed credibility and juice to go after the better gigs.

I'll let you know if it ends up doing just that.

At the end of the day, Tera gave me a hug and said, "I want you to know, Jimmy, I'm very happy with what you shot." Dang! Thank God for digital! The client gets to see the work instantly. Instant feedback! I love it because I'm such an impatient sort.

Below is a shot of Tera and a couple of the other models I shot during the course of the day. I tried lighting and composing it in a style I've seen in some group portraits, albeit they weren't glamour shots, published in Vanity Fair and a few other magazines.