(Top BCBG, Skirt BCBG, Necklace Michael Kors, Shoes Joan & David)
Hair: Braid Bar at Nine Zero One Salon
Makeup: Me
When planning my fashion-filled weekend in L.A, I was looking for a photographer to attend the Simply Stylist Seminar with me. I called my good friend Ryan for a recommendation since the musicians have the A-List of contacts, and he highly recommended Justin Bettman. Justin was a pleasure to work with due to his expertise in photo shoots, professional direction, and his down-to-earth and energetic personality. After the seminar we headed to Drai’s Hollywood, soaring up the elevator to the posh rooftop club, a magnet to the hottest celebrities. The uber-cool hotspot included jaw-dropping views of the Hollywood Hills and Downtown L.A. the perfect setting to complete my photo shoot.
Interview with Justin Bettman
1. What type of photography do you specialize in?
First off, I only shoot people; I do this because I believe it’s really hard to differentiate a picture that I take from someone else if it’s of a landscape. Additionally, I try to tell a story with all of my photographs by using dynamic lighting. Lots of people believe that I shoot HDR when in reality I’m just getting a higher dynamic range through artificial lighting, not photoshop.
2. What are some of your greatest abilities as a photographer?
As I touched on in the first question, I think my strongest ability is lighting. I think lighting is the key to setting the tone and mood for the right photography. If you have a photograph of a gang shooting and light it really bright, it’s going to have an extremely different emotional reaction to the viewer than if you used strong overhead and rim lights.
3. When did your passion for photography begin?
I first began doing photography in my last year of high school. My dad had always had a dSLR and so I picked it up one day and just played around with it, not knowing what any of the settings did. Before I knew it I was shooting every day, whether it was my friends’ concerts or portraits.
4. What celebrities or famous people have you photographed?
I have photographed Usher, Akon, The Cataracs, Dev, Gym Class Heroes, The Fray, Mike Posner, Tech N9ne, Mickey Avalon, and etc.
Love the bright red with royal blue