Reblogged from helloballoon.
One of the distinct pleasures of being a professional photographer is getting to meet the most fascinating people up close. In New York, while working with photographer Sante D’Orazio, I had the privilege of working with a number of celebrities, many of whom I personally admired and was happy to get to hang out with on set. And boy, were there many stories! I will never forget the time I found myself alone in the makeup room with Diana Ross; Or the time I took a swig from Keith Richards’ vodka after a shoot for Rolling Stone Magazine; Or the day I helped James Taylor locate his wife, who went missing in Milk Studios. And there were more — Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, the Victoria’s Secret Girls, Mickey Rourke, Faith Hill, Jennifer Garner (with Ben Affleck in tow), the list goes on.
Anyway, just recently, I was happy to receive a call from Ivory Records, asking me to shoot David Archuleta, who was in town recording an album of OPM hits (Original Pilipino Music). I must mention right off the bat that I am a huge fan of David’s, and remember rooting for him when he was competing in American Idol in 2008 — so imagine my excitement to actually be working with him. By the way, did you know that he got 44 percent of some 97 million votes that season? Amazing.
Happy to share photos from my afternoon with David — Two days, actually. The first was in the recording studio, and the second was on location for his album cover shoot. Enjoy!
I walked into the studio that morning as David was recording his version of Side A’s “Forevermore,” the album’s title track. Wow, this is even better than a front row seat, I told myself.
As David collaborated with songwriter Jimmy Antiporda in between takes, I instantly observed how David was charming, focused and a delight to work with.
In less than an hour, David completed recording “Forevermore,” and immediately moved on to the next song.
David shares a light moment with his manager Kari Sellards, as they viewed a viral video of him interacting with “Vangie,” the Pinoy virtual assistant.
On set for the album cover shoot, David was energetic, focused and professional, despite a hectic mall tour the day before.
Of course, there were the occasional bursts of laughter, which also produced some of the shoot’s most memorable portraits.
I was excited to shoot this portrait because it represented the two things I love most about David — His music and his laughter.
Found this handsome jet-black mini-coop parked in the driveway and couldn’t help using it for one of our shots.
The shoot went by smoothly, shot after shot, and before I knew it, David and I were off to our last outfit of the day.
Thanks for a wonderful afternoon, David and Kari! Hope to see you guys back in the Philippines again very soon!
Forevermore is released by Ivory Music. Here is the video of the album’s title track:
And in case you’re interested, here’s the video that Kari was showing David — You gotta love Vangie! Hahaha!
