livebooks blog

Casey Curry is a celebrity, portrait, and fashion/beauty photographer based in Los Angeles, California. Casey has worked with A-list celebrities such as Michael Caine, Kate Winslet, Billy Bob Thornton, and many others. To see more of work, visit his liveBooks8 website: www.caseycurry.com.

I’ve been studying light and taking pictures since I was the was a child although my start in the industry began with an assisting job for David LaChapelle. His creative approach fused with the talented photo crew he surrounds himself with set the bar for the level of production I wanted for my sets. From then, it’s been a slow burn of testing, developing my craft, and shooting commissioned work. As my aesthetic matures, so does my need to push the limits of what I can deliver for my clients – this can only be found through constant testing. I’ll often watch a film or look at a classic painting and think, “Oh that look would be great for this band/upcoming project.” It’s a continual path of discovery. I never stop learning.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

CC: Clean, minimalistic, modern.

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

CC: Since I started constructing the layout and curating work, it’s been a daily effort. From here on out, I plan on updating my site on a bi-monthly basis.

Q: How do you choose the photos you display on your homepage?

CC: The homepage is intended to give viewers a taste of each section of the website. Additionally, each image is meant to showcase the diverse approaches I’m capable of.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

CC: It’s been years since I use the old liveBooks, so I can’t attest to how much it differs. I can, however, say that it is the best self-managed website I’ve user, and I’ve used quite a few of them. The functionality is superior. It is not only user-friendly, but also technically superior with the built-in SEO and design customization capabilities.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

CC: Although it’s important to stay true to yourself, get feedback from peers in your field – or better yet, from those you draw influence and aspiration from. I always try to surround myself with people who I feel are better than me, and I took the same approach when building my site. Also, you need to strictly limit the content you display (that’s where the help of others can really come in handy). It should only be the best of what you have to showcase and it needs to take your viewers on a cohesive journey. A good portfolio is one that doesn’t feel disjointed and doesn’t ever get boring.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

Michelle Coursey is a professional make-up artist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in national and international magazines, television shows, runways and the red carpet. She has a natural talent fro making women feel beautiful and a special gift for creating flawless, beautiful faces through make-up and airbrushing. She has worked alongside famous make-up artists such as Pat McGrath, Dick Page, Tom Pecheux, and Charlotte Tilbury at New York and Paris Fashion Weeks and the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. To see more of Michelle’s work, visit her liveBooks8 website: www.michellecoursey.com.

I’m originally from Oregon and came to NYC to study acting but quickly switched my focus to makeup after graduating from college. I didn’t want to sit behind a desk all day and wanted to be doing something creative and then stumbled across a book about the business side of make-up and decided that is what I wanted to do. I did a ton of test shoots and got my portfolio together and eventually got some regular clients and an agency. I’ve been full-time freelance for about 12 years now. I work on a combination of commercial, editorial, fashion runway and red carpet projects.

Q: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MC: Clean, fast, striking!

Q: How often do you typically update your website?

MC: It really depends on how much new work I have coming in, but on average I’d say once a month.

Q: How do you choose the photos you display on your homepage?

MC: I choose the photos based on how much I love them and also which photos have gotten the best response in general. I like to choose a range of dramatic and natural looks so clients can see my range immediately.

Q: What is your favorite new feature of liveBooks8?

MC: Ease of updating and an easy backend. I love being able to see how design changes will look as I’m doing them.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

MC: Keep it as simple and impactful as possible. Most clients won’t look at every photo so make sure your best work is front and center.

Have a website you’d like us to feature? Email us at social@livebooks.com.

As the end of the year approaches it’s an opportune time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next. We decided to check in with longtime friend and celebrity photographer John Russo to see what his most memorable moment was this past year and what he plans to do in 2013. And the answers sound fabulous!

What was your most memorable moment from this past year?  

Shooting the Hugo Boss Fragrance Campaign and getting to travel all over the world to do it.

What is your biggest goal for 2013?  

To play more tennis and see the Greek Islands!

How has liveBooks changed your business?  

liveBooks plays a huge role in my business. My clients love how my photographs are displayed. We are constantly uploading new images to our site. It’s so easy and fast!

Photo courtesy of John Russo

Irving Penn, one of the masters of photography, died Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at the age of 92 at his home in Manhattan. Penn leaves behind him a wealth of iconic imagery, from portraits of cultural leaders to obsessively exact still lifes. Photography Now has a great selection of Penn’s work online and the Getty Center in Los Angeles is showing Penn’s exhibition “Small Trades” now until January 10, 2010.

Scientists Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, inventors of CCD (charge-coupled device), will be sharing this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics with Charles K. Kao, the “Father of Fiber Optics.” Although the duo had moved onto other research projects, their discovery made digital imaging possible, from point-and-shoots to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Both Outside and Esquire launched a moving magazine cover this month, with the full videos available on their websites. Alexx Henry, the photographer behind the new Outside cover, made a name for himself doing a “Living Movie Poster” for the movie Mrs. Washington. It’s the second time Greg Williams has shot a moving cover for Esquire, after the first one featuring Transformer star Megan Fox.

Fashion label Ralph Lauren landed in hot water this week with a “poor imaging and retouching” job on one of their advertising images. After Boing Boing brought attention to a photograph of already thin Filippa Hamilton photoshopped to unltra skinny, Ralph Lauren’s legal department sent the blog a take down notice. Bad move. Now The Drudge Report, The Huffington Post, Yahoo!, Jezebel and ABC News have jumped on it. PDN has the details.