Arny Freytag: Another way to see the inspiration behind SexyMuse

Last Monday of 2011, so I am going to take this chance to talk a little bit about meeting one of the man you can consider my inspiration.

It’s funny to me, that for years I’ve been studying the way Playboy Magazine [prepare their] lights, models, and the production of those amazing images, let alone the Centerfolds. For a long time, it didn’t even occur to me, that there was a person behind all this magic, all this beauty, all this sexy hotness.

I am talking about Arny Freytag whom I have the pleasure/opportunity to meet at the two STC events I participated in this year. Some of you may not know who he is, but I am sure you are very familiar with his work.

Long time Playboy photographer, Arny not only has the dream job of every person I know (women included), he has been doing it (with excellent results) for decades. I have always believed that ‘getting there’ is just a little piece of the puzzle, the hardest part is staying at the top and staying relevant. Well, after more than 140 covers on one of the most famous magazines in the world, you know this is a person that knows how to beat all the odds and doesn’t hide behind lame excuses.

There is a lot you can probably find on the Internet about Arny, so I won’t repeat the same info you would get from Google, like how he is famous for using large amounts of head (lights) on every centerfold he produces, sometimes up to 50. And it’s not just the quantity, as I’m sure you would like me think; it would be meaningless to use 50 lights if you just start adding lights like crazy just because. In the case of Arny, each light has an individual purpose, whether it is to call your attention to a single detail of the model’s anatomy, improve (yes, these Playboy models can also be improved), a particular part of the model, or to make each piece of the background work perfectly for the shot he may be working on. When you are talking about 20/50 lights on a shot, you also need to think in terms of the amount of modifiers and studio equipment he uses to make sure he controls 100% (and I am talking 100%) of what the lights are doing on each scene. Every modifier there is, is present at Arny’s shoot.

This is one of the things that strikes me the most when I saw Arny working and explaining to me the theory behind each light. It’s that on the very second that you realize that you are not talking to a photographer, in reality, you are talking to a painter, who happens to change the canvas and brushed, for a camera and lightning equipment. This guy is a real artist, far beyond any technical preoccupation, his main concern is how each struck of light will affect his final ‘paint’.

Yes, he knows about cameras, lenses and all that technical stuff that just makes my head dizzy. He knows it to the point that it is like second nature to him, but when he was teaching, I don’t remember him talking about this that much. I just remember how this artist was talking about color, brush strokes, color and composition. How he creates something that makes sense every time he has the difficult task of shooting one of these gorgeous girls for a worldwide publication.

And then the person. Man! As a Glamour photographer myself, I know it is difficult to put a girl at ease, make her feel comfortable even though there is a bunch of people around her and she happens to be nude, most of the time for the very 1st time at her very 1st photoshoot. Well, he has done it over and over again, and does it perfectly (remember, 140 covers and counting…)

With so much of the Celebrity status that Arny has gained over the years, it was amazing to me how ‘cool’ of a guy Arny is. I remember having lunch with him at a food court in a mall in Florida. Yep, getting in line, getting a tray and ordering some Chinese out of the menu printed on the wall. I Had lunch with some other folks that were there too (btw, Jarmo Pohjaniemi was one of them), and it was like having lunch with any of my close photographers friends, talking about the art, the girls and life in general. Pretty normal up to the point that a ‘fan’ (male dude probably on his 40s) recognized him and from there, it was like watching a TV show on E entertainment; funny to me how an all grown up guy can look so much like a 13 y/o girl that just got to meet Justin Beiber. Funny stuff, but it gets you thinking that yeah, you are having lunch with a Celebrity (TV, magazine, famous people) that not only was, for example the photographer at the very famous show ‘The Girl Next Door‘, but this is a guy that has shot some of the most beautiful girls all over the world (over and over).

In short, I can talk (or write) for hours and hours about this guy, how inspirational his work (and persona) is to me, and how cool it was to know a celebrity that has his head on the right place. But I am just going to leave you with the comfort to know that this is something that can happen to you too. Don’t ask me why, it is beyond logic to me, but Arny has decided to share all of his knowledge, all of his tricks and all of his experiences with everybody who is willing to listen. Yep, Arny Freytag, the guy with the job we all dream about, teaching you everything he knows (man, even 10% will do you so much good)

Enjoy!

Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

Amy by Rocke for SexyMuse.com

It is amazing to me the number of people who ask me why do I shoot what I shoot. I am like ‘Hello!… have you seen the models I get to shoot with?’

For the few of you out there who still don’t see why, here is another example of the multiple reasons I love to do what I do.

SexyMuse model Amy is one of the many participants of the North Carolina casting call we had a few weeks ago. Talk about standing out!!!! She is not only obviously super hot, she is as fun and charismatic as you have never seen before.

She is definitely a Muse, somebody that can inspire you to keep shooting for hours and hours and never get tired of it. And as you can see in these images, she is super sexy; in summary the perfect SexyMuse!!!

Enjoy!

Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

Rocke, Jarmo and a future Miss Playboy

Hey guys, ready for a long reading?

On my 1st post about Shoot The Centerfold, I forgot to mention a ‘tiny’ detail that Jon mentioned at the beginning of the day and that already put everybody on a great mood. A really tiny present they have for us; you know, offering something for free it’s always good to brake the ice, you know like a pen with the logo of the company, or a mouse pad or waving the $495.00 fee for the next event in Vegas… What?

Yes, the next Shoot The Centerfold is going to take place in Vegas (Vegas baby!) and you know how much I have to pay? Zero, nothing, nada!!!

So, my group went 1st with Playboy Photographer Jarmo Pohjaniemi (if you want to make it to PB, you need to pronounce his name correctly on the 1st try). Jarmo is an amazing guy, full of energy and you can easily see, he is 150% invested on this project.

Jarmo had a set with 9 lights with everything ready to go, model included. The model was Ksenia Tsiulina (I think she was from Russia) a fresh face and a very good model when it comes to follow directions (she is not published as of yet, but you just wait). A very, very sweet girl, but at the end a new model. What? Not a PB super start? Man, this is going downhill right? Wrong again!

He started by taking one picture of the model and tethering this to a laptop and from the laptop, to a big screen so we all can see the results. He took a picture (just showing up, you know) and suddenly, silent was the master of the room. And with this, there was your 1st lesson and another myth going away: PB images only look good because they use all these plastic over surgery models with tons of experience shooting glam that know exactly what to do.

Now we not only hear that there was no photoshop on the images they had have shown us before and I mentioned on my 1st post, now we are seeing this happening live. If you see most of the images on this site has just a hint of PS, and no matter how much I said that, a lot of people will never believed me.

This was kind of happening there with some of the folks attending the event; this ‘in your face moment’ really surprised a lot of people. I can just only imagine what was going trhu the mind of these folks.

Then Jarmo turned off all the lights and proceeded to explain what was happening and how everything was done to the most tiny detail. During this time, he kept telling, actually almost demanding for people to ask questions. So people did, and things just got even better. Now we are not only learning everything he has prepared, now we are learning from different people questions and Jarmo giving us answers from his point of view. These were really good questions, as there was a lot of very high professional people on the audience. And when I said to the detail, I mean people was asking tricks for the pupil of the eyes… and getting a response.

If you were paying attention, and taking good notes, you can 100% redo what Jarmo had there step by step.

One note here: On all the years I have been working in photography, and in all the events I have participated with other photographers, one thing has been common every and each time: Photographers don’t want to share their “secrets” (I wrote “secrets” because sometimes I am like: really, you honestly think that you invented Rembrandt lighting?). But there was none of this at the event. Jarmo was giving out everything, and regardless of your level of photography, you were getting a lot from him.

Then he started turning on light by light, and explaining exactly what each light was for and the impact on the final product. Step by step, with explanations in between, until he was using all 9 lights. He also explained the modifiers that were attached to each light; some of them with 3 degrees honeycomb and a “___” (I don’t know how they called this big washer) to reduce the angle even more. This was controlling the light to the most ‘minusculo’ detail.

Then we got to shoot. Each person in the room, got to shoot this beautiful model on this beautiful setting with every light available and everything to be perfect. And here is where I notice the passion, enthusiasms and love Jarmo was putting into this event. Man, he was going the extra mile.

Jarmo Pohjaniemi, Playboy Photographer (staff) stayed behind each photographer (I think there were 25/30 in my group) and helping everyone to get the perfect shot. He was making sure that the guy behind the camera, was getting the shot he/she will add to his/her portfolio and leave there for years to come. Now, he was not taking the camera and shooting, he was there, looking at this little screen and telling you change this and change that, and let you go again. I can almost say for a long as it took for you to get your shot, he was there. For some, one or two shots, for others maybe 10 shots. Man, I am having a lot of problem explaining this and why do I think it was so great, but it was.

This is what I am telling you, and as I have my personal assistant, to my close friends the story goes like:
Yes, I went to Fl you know, to shoot this Playboy model, you know; she need it a favor and she asked nicely, so I said, ok, I’m nice fella, so I went, you know. I need it some help, ’cause I can’t do everything, right? So I looked for a ‘caddy’ kind of thing, you know, and this young guy happen to be there and got lucky, because I let him help a little bit with the lights and stuff. I think his name was something like Jargon, or Jarson, or Jarmo Pohjaniemi, something like that, you know…

Now, this is good enough for what they promise, right? At the end, you go to this event to learn these stuff and that’s exactly what we did so far. But there is some more.

One of the things that was really cool, was to watch Jarmo’s team in action. Everybody so prepared and so perfect of their execution, following the lead of this great photographer.

And man, were these guys talented!, not only because what they were doing at the event; I got the chance to look over the port of a couple of these guys and maaaan, very impressive. I think that Jarmo may have the job that we all dream about, but I would not complain if they give me one of these jobs as a second choice (hint, hint!). Plus, it was great to see this PB makeup artist also doing all the styling in the set. The make up artist? Mary Alejo, a model that have appeared in several images on the previous slide show and that has been published in PB publications several times. BTW, her super lucky husband was there too, his name was something like Jargon, or Jarson, or Ja… hahahaha!

So, anyhow the point is that you also got a chance to see this all this happening.

There you have it, the second part of the event and we still need to cover other two. Stay tuned.

By the way, being from Venezuela and a photographer with an accent when I talk, it was funny to me that a lot of people was getting confused between Jarmo and myself. So take a look at the picture and to avoid any confusion, I’ll explain how to know who is who: On one hand, you have this gorgeous guys, that doesn’t look his age at all, he is good looking and I don’t care to say it as he was even a model at one point in the past, he is a great photographer and has a lot of charisma. The other one is Jarmo

Enjoy,

Rocke, Jarmo and a future Miss Playboy

Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

Kyra Milan, Miss Playboy March 2010

For those of you that don’t want to read long, especially a ‘write up with accent’, let me in a summary tell you that the event was worth it every penny and from any angle you can look at it.

I would love to have everybody on the phone and talk about the event, actually more like a sport bar sharing stories with friends, but let me try to give you a chronological summary of how everything happened and my take on the event from my several point of views.

The location: The event was held at the Hard Rocke Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. I didn’t even know this place existed, and later I found out it is relatively new. I heard it cost $1Billion dollars to built, so you can have an idea of how nice the place was. They rented 3 big rooms on the hotel and created 3 different sets on each one; the creations of the set itself where really impressive to me, you can see how the Hollywood folks can make you believe you are in Paris, France when you are actually in the middle of Calhoun, GA. A great work of production, especially on the set they did for Arny Freytag. But the ones for these other Playboy photographers Jarmo Pohjaniemi and David Mecey were also very nice.

The Flow: My memory is the worse, and I don’t have the agenda with me here, but basically we all went to a big room where Jon (organizer and very pleasant guy), gave us a few words about the event, the photographers, and then of course, the sponsors.

Then the 3 guys came into the room and sat in these director chairs with the Shoot The Centerfold printed into them. Funny how it was not until this point that I realized these guys were actual celebrities, and as such, they were received with celebrity treatment. It was so funny to me to see scenes that I can only describe with a mental picture: Imagine Justin Bieber getting into a room full of 15 y/o girls. That’s what I saw (To the guy that almost fainted, don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody)

They then started sharing their vision for these events (as they, and now I, hope would keep coming), and the motivation was great. They want to share what they have learned in all their years of photography and somehow break all the myths that you so much find on the Internet all over the place. A very funny and entertained conversation where each of the 3 amigos share their view of the event. Another funny fact is that these people kept building the expectation up and up for what was coming.

Then the room was left for each photographer to talk about themselves and show some of their work. Pieces of art! I’m sure even those that dislike what they do would see some of these pictures and go WOW. Here is when one of the main myths was about to be broken: “It’s all photoshop”; well, no it is not!

For the most part they presented their unedited work and yes, the audience was blew away. Perfect images with all the little imperfections that any person or place normally have. Awesome!

After these, they broke the audience into 3 groups. Each group would then go with a different photographer into the ‘class room’.

Editorial Note: English writing is one of the most difficult tasks you can assign to me, so I really don’t like it (hence, communicating using images). So to make things easier and allow me to go back to my 19 kids and wife, I’ll continue this post tomorrow. Be aware that in Venezuela, tomorrow translate into “mañana” and that means not today. Meanwhile, enjoy one of the images of the Shoot The Centerfold seminar.

To Be Continue… (Models, Networking, Shooting, Organization, Learning and more…)

Enjoy,

Kyra Milan, Miss Playboy March 2010 by Rocke

Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

SexyMuse Margaret by Rocke - Soccer World Cup 2010

Well, here we are, ready to see the last game of this wonderful and exiting cup.

Spain vs. Netherlands: A couple of teams that are ready to make history but just one will live the glory of being the world champions for the next 4 years.

We are posting the last part of our calendar and getting ready for another amazing set of images now that the hot weather is here. Keep visiting our site, nice surprises are coming your way.

Enjoy,

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Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

SexyMuse Margaret by Rocke - Soccer World Cup 2010

We are basically on the last week of this amazing tournament and it can’t get any better. Two of my favorite teams are out of the competition, but there is a lot of good soccer still left at the event.

This week, we are bringing you our red-headed and amazingly beautiful SexyMuse model Margarete. She’ll be holding our soccer balls ready to let them go as soon as her team get the win. Could you guess what team that is?

Also, this week calendar is up.

Enjoy,

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Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

SexyMuse Jessica N by Rocke - Soccer World Cup 2010

With games that bring more than 80,000 people to one place, the World Cup keeps getting better and better.

This week, the number one and number two teams of the world, Brazil and Spain, will be competing against a very hungry Chile and Portugal. We decided to wear the Brazil colors this week, to show our support.

Enjoy,

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Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

SexyMuse Deonta by Rocke - Soccer World Cup 2010

Wow, the emotion keeps building more and more. Underdogs getting the victory, a very complicate ‘panorama’ for some of the groups… it doesn’t get any better than that.

Well, maybe it does. This week, enjoy of a very sexy version of the USA Team. After all, they are still alive

Enjoy,

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Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

2010 Soccer World Cup for SexyMuse by Rocke

The 2010 Soccer World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament. It is scheduled to take place between June 11th and July 11th 2010 in South Africa. It matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations. Italy is the defending champion, yet Brazil is the most successful national football team in the history of the World Cup, with five championships (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002).

Here at SexyMuse we could not escape this international phenomenon. During the month of June and part of July, we are going to bring you sexy images full of soccer (futbol), in addition to a sexy calendar featuring all the games and times as well as images of our beautiful models.

Enjoy,

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Rocke
www.rockephotography.com

Emaya by Rocke for SexyMuse.com

Not that it didn’t work before, Emaya has been one of our most popular models since her 1st time at SexyMuse

On this month dedicated to the Latin Beauty, she is here one more time enhancing the hotness of our pages with her grace.

Enjoy,

Rocke
www.rockephotography.com