About the Image

Merry Christmas!

This was shot near Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles, California 2 days ago. I was driving back from a client meeting and the sky was ablaze with puffy clouds as far as the eye could see. I pulled over a few times before finally being able to shoot this without any streetlights.

Feel free to share, this is the shortcut link: stpvd.com/22/32

See below to find the "For Photographers" section to read how I shot this.

What is "Personal Work"

The shortest definition of "Personal Work" is photography or videography that you are not being paid for. Personal Work is something you will hear when talking to your better professional photographers. These are normally photographers that have learned their craft and want to explore other avenues of photography that they are not well versed in, like a product photographer shooting fashion or lifestyle. They could also be shooting a test where they are trying something new: Different lighting, new lens, new model, new makeup artist etc. It can also be a body of work one has shot trying to promote social change, or call attention to a cause they believe in.

One of the reasons we shoot personal work is we still have a passion for creating new imagery. Generally speaking this body of work is the photographer by themselves, in other words, they do not have a crew to help them.

I have a wide range of photographic interests other than what I normally show as my commercial and editorial work. I like to show what I like to shoot when I'm "playing". Some of your better art buyers or art producers in advertising agencies will look at personal work to better understand the photographer's "Vision", or they way they see the world around them.

These art buyers, art producers, also art directors and creative directors, will look at personal work to see if a photographer's vision is something they want to use for one of their clients.

My personal work speaks to the beauty I see or something I just like, and is never political nor a social statement.

For Photographers

The Gear:
Android cell phone.

The Light:
Post sunset.

We are based in Los Angeles, California, Atlanta, Georgia, both in the USA, & Milan, Italy, and serve the nation and travel worldwide for projects, both video and stills. On average we travel 175 days a year from all over the USA, 48 out of 50 states, to Singapore to Japan, Europe and the Middle East. We are normally in Europe 2 or 3 times a year, mostly Italy and Germany, shooting for clients there.

If you would like to use this image, or any of my images for mock or comp use, please just ask. There is never a charge for this service. Educational use is permitted without charge, unless published, but please ask first. All commercial use is available only with a limited copyright release prior to use from the copyright holder, Steve Thornton. Thanks for looking!