Behind the scenes of the JUZD photo shoot

On Wednesday, the JUZD photoshoot team did it's first full production photo shoot. We had a make up artist and a wardrobe stylist from Elad style studio. I hand picked four of the hottest models in Toronto and chose a top fashion photographer, Igor Yu.

The weather forecast was calling for rain and thunderstorm at 9 PM and we were to start at that exact time because that's when it gets dark. When speaking to Igor at 3pm he said we should postpone the photoshoot because the cost of the production is very high and it would be waste if we didn't get any shots. Also there was a 60% chance of rain but being a risk taker I went ahead.

It was 7PM and heavy dark clouds were overhead. I spoke to Dale, the director of Elad, and he also warned of the rain but I didn't get to where I am by avoiding risks. I figured if it starts pouring we can always wait it out, right?

The next day was perfect and sunny but with all the exciting development with JUZD and scheduling of all the talents I couldn't really postpone another day.

Our first set of models were Evan and Vlada. They are top professionals and naturals. Igor really like their chemistry. We waited till it was dark and then we went to work! This photo was taken at an alley way by Bathurst and King. Look at the photo it doesn't look like a typical Toronto location. All of a sudden we felt drops of rain. Maybe I've made the wrong decision? But luckily that's all it was, raindrops.

We proceeded to our second location with a new set of models, Endri and Camila. They were perfect looking models - straight out of an ad for GUESS?. When we got to the second location it started to rain hard. It was cold and late in the game.

This shoot involved a very high end leather couch I got from my friend. It was very hard to find the leather couch because we needed something light coloured so it doesn't blend in with the background. I wanted something classic Art Nouvelle which isn't popular now but my friend had the perfect loveseat.

Luckily I was smart enough to ask one of my buddies to pick up a tarp before heading over to the shoot to help.

It was pouring hard, the camera was waterproof but not the flash so we couldn't take any pictures. While it was raining I cruised around looking for a backup location. My firiend warned me that models and photographers won't work as hard if it's cold and they're wet. It was almost 1am and we were all tired. We looked at every corner but didn't see anything I liked.

Once we got back, luck was on our side and the rain stopped but then the 'technical' problem arose. The battery charging the light wouldn't shoot properly. Natural inclination was once again whispering to reschedule the shoot. We considered all the options and I went with Igor using his camera flash attachment.

Overall there were many things that went wrong. Many times I felt like quiting. But that is with life and any business. What determines how successful a person becomes is not the things that go perfect, it's about how that person handle problems and obstacles.

I noticed that with all the problems and setbacks that I've encountered building this label, and honestly it has been a lot, somehow I've trained my mind to feel great pain when I quit so it's easy and natural to work harder and succeed.

Finding the spots for the first big JUZD photoshoot

The other day we went cruising around Toronto to check out a few potential locations for our big photo shoot. I decided to work with one of Toronto’s top fashion photographers , Igor Yu. It feels like I’ve seen portfolios of every single photographer in Toronto, but I instantly fell in love with his work.

We’ve done a shoot before and it was the idea of my then Marketing Director and good friend Amy Lan to do another. She was a publisher for a couple of magazines so I left it in her hands but with her gone and the stage we are in - a high fidelity vision of JUZD -the creative was in my hands.

The great thing about Igor is that he has a lot of experience. I really don’t know what to expect or what the exact vision is. I called up my sexy friend Deniz Reno and we went cruising around town. We met at 8pm but we have to burn quite a bit of time before any shots because it was still bright outside.

Our first stop is a parkade in Chinatown. This photo has a very nice dramatic feel to it. Igor wanted a greenish glow in the background. He wanted a longer lot for a more dramatic feel. I really didn’t know what to expect. The only thought that came to my mind is that the picture looks good and Deniz has nice legs.

Then we went to this part of town where all the ‘famous’ walls of nice graffiti are. Not really a big fan of graffiti. It’s too ghetto and cliché'ish. “But they are really nice” says Deniz and Igor. We drove by it. It looked good but I’m still not a fan. Plus the look of the place would be too typical. So I suggested making it kind of surreal by bringing a really high end couch to the place. Igor loves the idea no photos were taken and we kept driving.

Next stop was an alley way I always go through and thought it was a very interesting spot. Photo above. Igor saw potential there. With the wooden platform you can make some interesting poses. It looks exotic and doesn’t look like Toronto but it does look like the alley of any city.

Tried some street paparazzi style shoots but it didn’t turn out well.

We stopped by for burritos which was, in retrospect, a bad idea. Deniz has been very sick from it for a few days now. I hope she gets well soon.

We returned to a spot that we drove by earlier, now it was dark enough for what we wanted to do. It was in the back alley of some stores. I really liked this because of the strong classic architecture. The vertical lines made it very dramatic and powerful. I’m beginning to realize the creative vision I wanted for JUZD photos.

Then we went back to the area where we initially met and I left my car. This is kind of an American Apparel style photo with the natural lighting, no make up, just pure rawness of the street. I wasn’t a big fan of this but it started to grow on me.

At the end of the day there were two spots I really liked and I thought they were the perfect locations. It was a great experience because now I know the creative direction I want to go with JUZD photoshoots. Igor was amazing with his perspective of the options and his creative vision. To find out the location and theme, stay tuned...