People

Portrait of a Filmmaker: Lavado Stubbs

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Getting the chance to photograph another artist is very important to me and so when filmmaker, Lavado Stubbs approached me about doing portraits of him, I was elated at the opportunity. I'd known Lavado from when I first began my career in photography 10 years ago. He was involved in another creative venture back then but we'd always kept in touch and I watched him grow into an amazing film maker and director with his brand "ConchBoy Films." 

Lavado wanted something simple for his portraits but at the same time he wanted there to be some style elements present. Using a mood board, I decided to incorporate some of his signature pieces in the photography like his fedora, tropical print shirt and vintage frame glasses. The only request from the artist was that he wanted a photo of himself enjoying a handmade cigar from Greycliff. 

He also mentioned that he was nervous as he was used to being behind the camera. So I told him to trust me and just let the creativity flow. I think that put him more at ease and as his excitement grew, so did mine. So excited that I had to stop him from buying all new clothing for the shoot, even down to a simple white tee!

We got great frames with Lavado as his personality came through on set, sometimes emotionless while other times joyful and full of laughter. Check out some of my favorite shots from shooting this filmmaker.

“I have known Scharad for several years and always admired and respected his craft as an amazing photographer. I was delighted when I finally got the opportunity to be photographed by him. It was great to see another artist’s process and get a feel of how it is to be a subject. Scharad truly made this entire experience comfortable for a filmmaker like me who lives behind the scenes.”
— Lavado Stubbs

Photography + Styling: Scharad Lightbourne

Grip: Aaron Davis, Malik Smith, Antonio Miller • Video: Ashley Whitney • BTS: Keisha Oliver

WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO

Uptown Downtown with Kara Mac

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I'm really excited to finally get these "uptown downtown" images out having visited LA for the first time over 2 years ago. While in LA, I got the chance to work with a few models, Kara being one of them. She was actually suggested to me by the MUA as it was her daughter and she said that Kara had done beauty pageants, but was a passionate dancer. Now, I love dancers, dance actually; its such an amazing art form so I jumped at the chance to photograph one.

Kara was awesome on set, giving me a multitude of poses, one of the other, jumping, twirling, skipping, twisting and many more. The clothing was already her own, dance inspired, comfortable and stylish at the same time. It was a breeze to run through different looks that I actually put together myself (we had a tight budget) and everything worked well together. Hats, scarves and boots make for great foundation pieces.

Downtown LA was a photographer's paradise providing me with a buffet of interesting spaces with murals plastered everywhere, graffiti on mile long walls and just the district as a whole was visually interesting to take in. I think we spent the entire day walking around finding all these great spaces to capture.

Photographer: Scharad Lightbourne
Filmed by: Daniel K Pictures
Additional Footage: Selina Ruthe
MUA: Karen Barragato

Theodore Elyett, Fashion Designer Lifestyle Shoot

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Theodore Elyett has been a premier designer in The Bahamas for quite some time, so when he approached me about shooting new lifestyle images of him for a brand, I felt honored to do so. Theo has won countless awards, been featured in multiple publications and was the 2015 winner of Mission Catwalk, a reality show competition for caribbean designers held in Jamaica last year.

Theo and I had several brainstorming sessions and we mapped out the look and feel for his shoot. His looks were going to be simple with monochromatic styling and different fabrics that ranged from plaid to houndstooth to tweed. Theo worked with fashion stylist Igee Okafor to help complete the looks. Very clean, very "artsy."

Our location, Harry's Haven was the perfect setting for the shoot combining both victorian and an "island chic" decor. We had really great spaces to work with and TONS of natural light, which I always embrace with a big smile. Theo took direction like a professional and threw in spots of his fun, outgoing personality which made for great frames. 

Video: Ashley Whitney
Styling: Igee Ofakor
Grip: Malik Smith
Grip: Shawn Hanna

Carolyn Carter for Ale by Alessandra

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I got an email from Carolyn late one evening introducing herself saying that she was in The Bahamas and wanted to shoot lifestyle swimwear images for her blog. She told me that she connected with Alessandra Ambrosio, former Vicky Secret model who was now going into her own line of swimwear and that she had a few of the pieces to shoot with. I always jump at opportunities like these because it allows me to work with foreigners and ultimately grow my network.

Carolyn and I met a few days after to discuss a concept for the shoot and to look at the pieces that we would use to style her in. She was very easy going and assured me she could do her own hair and makeup, meaning that I would be working with a smaller team. Of course I didn't mind this as it would cut down on prep time and allow me to focus on shooting. We planned for a sunrise shoot, scouted our locations at Albany Bahamas and even secured a few four-legged models for the set.

My team and I woke up around 4am that morning to make sure we would be punctual on set. We arrived only to be greeted with a spread of deli meats, fruits, pastries and beverages which would surely provide us with fuel for the shoot...which of course we did not turn down!

The shoot ran great, particularly, the lighting. I love using natural light where I can and the lighting was almost perfect all day. I was able to diffuse the bright sun, bounce the light, which lit my model beautifully. Additionally, using my NIKKOR 85mm f1.4 lens created great flares and bokeh frames and awesome depth of field compositions.

See images from the shoot below.