I recently did a one day workshop with Antonio Genovia, a very skillful fashion/beauty/editorial photographer here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We shot at his studio in Morgan Hill from 10am until 5pm. Our model for the day was Alissa Larson and makeup was by Melanie Paulina. The theme for the day was “The Roaring 50’s”.

This first image is more of a beauty shot than a 50’s shot, it was one of the first of the day and it was taken before Alissa was made up for the other looks.

Antonio has amazing vision; he knows the look he wants and is very talented at guiding the model into the pose he desires. I don’t have that skill but I learned a lot from him that I think I will be able to use and apply to the shoots I do. A good example of his posing ability is this next shot, he guided Alissa into this right down to the detail of how her fingers should be positioned!

Throughout the day Antonio and I would review the shots we had taken and he would show me how he would work the shot in post processing. He has a strong style that is unique without being tacky. I tend to err on the slightly less processed side of the fence and I recommend you take a look at the shots he posted from this day to see our contrasting styles.

This next look got Paulina excited as she was eager to break out the bright red lipstick. This brings me to the topic of makeup. Recently Sean McCormack told me that good makeup is essential, I now believe him! Paulina did a great job on this shoot.

The final shot is from the last look of the day, a dark, moody look. Again, Paulina nailed the makeup and Alissa the pose.

I’ll conclude with a recommendation. Go and do a one on one with Antonio if you can. He’s very knowledgeable and a super friendly guy. I feel lucky to be able to shoot with him and look forward to the next time we work together!

Thanks to Antonio, Alissa and Melanie for all your hard work. It was tiring but a lot of fun!

Credits

Photographer: Antonio Genovia
Photographer: Paul Pratt
Model: Alissa Larson
Make Up: Melanie Paulina