The photography of Northern NJ Fashion and Beauty Photographer Mike Kortoci

That’s just what LOFT, an Ann Taylor brand, did this past week. After posting pictures of models wearing its new line of cargo pants, its Facebook page was full of compliments about the look of the pants, but just as many concerns that the pants wouldn’t like like that on them, the fans.

Loft decided to prove that they would look just great on women of all sizes, by doing things a bit differently the next day. Loft went to its own staff and chose several women, ranging from size two to twelve and 5’3” to 5’10” in height to model the same pants and posted the pictures on its facebook. Not only did this help them to illustrate that these particular pants can look great on all kinds of women, it also showed their fans that they are paying attention and deeply value their opinions.

More here.

And speaking of Facebook, if you’re not our “friend” already join us!

What if you have model looks and the desire to pursue modeling, but you don’t have the height? Years ago it would have been considered nearly impossible to be a successful model if you were on the shorter side, but not anymore. According to Isabella Jade – model, author, and the woman behind Petite Modeling Tips Blog, “Your own hustle makes stuff happen”.

One suggestion to get your work out there – get some experience with a local magazine or a new, aspiring brand. These types of clients are often more open to hiring different types of models and a great way to get experience and shots for your portfolio.

Read all of Isabella Jade’s tips here.

Whether it’s your child’s first steps, a graduation, wedding, or 90^th birthday party, Samsung wants you to capture that moment and share it.

Thanks to Samsung, capturing your favorite moment can also win you a prize. Entering to win is easy. Simply submit a photo or video of a “moment of wonder” to the contest website. Every week from now until July 19^th two lucky winners will receive a great Samsung prize. Each week one winner will receive a DualView Camera and a grand prize winner will score themselves a 50-Series 24” LCD monitor. Go here to submit an entry or to check out all of the inspiring entries in the photo gallery.

The flow of any portfolio is essential, as many times it is the first impression you will be making, and as we all know you only get one chance at a first impression.! A good flow keeps the viewer or client intrigued and makes he or she want to keep turning the pages to see what is next.

Melissa Rodwell,a Los Angeles fashion photographer with over 21 years experience, writes all about the importance of the flow of a portfolio in her latest blog post:

“Fashion is always moving forward and staying current is really important. But what about the flow of the pictures in the book? . . . When I say “The Flow”, I mean, the sequence that the photographs are laid out in the portfolio. . . It’s very important to have a good flow.”

Read her entire post at Fashion Photography Blog.

The Ridgewood Rotary Club is sponsoring a fun contest, open to anyone who loves to take photos. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, you are invited to enter your best shots of the Ridgewood community!

Photos can be entered into a number of categories including nature, landscapes, architecture, outdoor fun, family life, photos by kids, and more. The idea is to both capture stunning photos, and to take pictures that really capture the essence of Ridgewood. The best photo in each of the 11 categories will be published in a commemorative book, Ridgewood 2010: The Year In Pictures. Three winners will also receive a cash prize and a free coy of the book.

Find out more or enter your best photo here.

Working with families in a beauty photo shoot setting is always a nice divergence from the norm. When photographing models it is typically a one-on-one setting where I get to see only a part of their personality and background. While not the first time I have worked like this, shooting both a mother and daughter has been a great way for me to have a deeper connection with people I am photographing. Photographing both Natalia and her mother Maria was an exceptional experience which I hope to repeat in the future. When working with a 14 year old in a modeling setting, it is normally challenging to get great results right away but I believe that the confidence and talent Natalia showed is a direct result of the her mother’s exotic looks and natural talent. I can see a bright future for Natalia in acting or any other career she decides to peruse. These are just a couple of the stunning images I got from both of the photoshoots:

Natalia is represented by D-Mand Talent and you can find her on Models.com as well.

No photographer ever hopes to photograph a disaster of the magnitude of the recent BP oil spill near the Gulf Coast. While disasters like these are by no means desirable, these kinds of situations do present unique opportunities for local photojournalists.

Local journalists and photographers have an advantage over national journalists and photographers in situations like these. They know the area and possibly even the people involved. They have a unique local perspective to offer. In fact in the case of the BP oil spill, it was a local newspaper, the Courier in Housma, Louisiana, that was granted permission to accompany the fisherman to get their stories. So while all of the big papers were of course covering the disaster, it was a small local publication that was able to get the first real inside look.

At the same time this professional “opportunity” also complicates the workload of local photojournalist and journalists. They still must cover their local beats, while making an effort to address the colossal story at hand. In the case of The Courier, it actually spent the first week relying on AP photos like many other publications. It wasn’t until later that they had the opportunity to photograph it first hand.

“At first, I was really anxious,” he says. “I just couldn’t sit still, I gotta get out there, I gotta cover this. I couldn’t sleep that night. Because I am a daily news photographer who covers a lot of fires and car wrecks and it’s over in a couple of days, if that. Since then, I’ve started to pace myself.”

Read the entire article at Photo District News.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend! Today we are back with another of our favorite images. As I write these, and you may have noticed while reading them as well, one of the common themes in all of my featured favorite images is the creativity of the model. Everyone knows the photographer must be creative to capture a diverse range of quality images, but the best shoots tend to be when the model is creative too. And of course determination, another great quality of the model picture here, helps too. In fact, this model was so dedicated to getting the facial expressions just right, that she even practiced in front of a mirror during breaks!

This image, and many from this shoot, is one of my favorite for many reasons. I use it often to show newer, aspiring models how to properly pose and angle their bodies. Just look at this image – her look is intense and seductive, and her eyes seem to follow you from every angle.

The day of this shoot we captured one amazing shot after another. I could have continued long after we had the shots we needed, because this model was so easy to work with, largely due to her creativity and her willingness to do whatever was needed to get the absolute best shots.

This image is a favorite from my recent photo shoot with Jacqueline Laurita. Some of you may recognize her from Bravo’s Real Housewives of NJ. In fact the studio was even featured on the show during the first season, but this time the shoot was not being filmed and I was able to really concentrate on getting some spectacular images of Jacqueline.

While Jacqueline doesn’t have formal training as a model, you would have never known because she seemed so comfortable during the shoot. I’m sure it has a lot to do with being constantly followed around by cameras! Wherever her comfort in front of the camera came from it was definitely apparent, making her easy to photograph and the shoot a lot of fun. I’m happy to now know Jacqueline more personally, and she is as charming and down to earth as the first impression I had of her from this shoot.

Where do the ideas for photo shoots come from? From type of publication, to specific assignments, to inspiring locations – inspiration can come from a lot of places. But sometimes, it’s the models themselves that inspire the idea for the shoot.

“When Felice Fawn asked me to contribute to the Spring issue of Magazine, I already had a concept in mind that I wanted to shoot for it. About a month before she contacted me, I was casting for an advertising job where I needed a male model and a package came in with Tait’s portfolio. Tait wasn’t right for the job I was casting for but when I saw his portfolio I knew I HAD to shoot him in the near future . . .”

Read the rest of the story at Fashion Photography Blog.