I haven’t officially announced this and I probably should: SoBe Darlings, a modeling agency here in South Beach staffed with absolutely gorgeous girls, has hired me to be their staff photographer. I was incredibly flattered when co-owner and Playboy model Alexia Roy asked me to fill this role. Alexia and I have known each other since the spring of last year when she was referred to me. I remember our first shoot I was so ridiculously nervous with her being a Playboy model; here was this insanely beautiful woman who had had some of the world’s best and most respected and professional photographers pointing their cameras at her. And there I was, just some guy with a condo and a low-end DSLR. So that first day we shot, I was a bundle of nerves, wondering if I was doing anything right and just hoping I would get ONE shot that she would like. When I accidentally knocked her cellphone off a ledge from two stories up, I just knew she would never shoot with me again. Thankfully, she liked my work well enough to overlook my clumsiness and neurotic spasticity (it’s a word) and we’ve maintained a nice friendship since.

Anyway, I’m absolutely thrilled about this and am really looking forward to getting the shots. I’ll be covering promotional/club events, fashion/runway shows and then model shoots along with anything else needed. I’ll also be shooting video on occasion.

While event photography is somewhat of a new venture for me, I’m thrilled about the possibilities here: I’m not really shooting club life, I’m shooting models and the people and life around them. For me, this is a perfect combination since models and everyday life is exactly what I shoot. With the event/promotional photography, it’s my personal goal to make the photos more alive, more personal and more real than most event photography. I’ll deliver the shots of people smiling with the models, but I really want to bring more. And even if I can somehow bring more to those shots, I’d like to. With hours at a time at events, it gives me a lot of opportunity to experiment and explore and I’m excited about where this is going to go.

And for those of you who have followed my work, you know that nightlife photography isn’t something I typically shoot, either. I’m thoroughly enjoying exploring this area of photography and have been pleased with the results so far. Difference between nighttime and daytime photography? It’s night and day.

Anyway, this is my news.