1. Angelo Parente (Motionless In White)

"I know, I know, youre all like “what the hell? An endorsement shot is your favorite shot of the year?” Well… yeah. It is. This was taken during Warped Tour while I was doing a spread for Vic Firth. As you may know, Motionless is one of my favorite bands to work with, so I was already well versed in their imagery and look. When Angelo showed up with a hood on, I wasn’t sure if it was going to block out the lighting on his face too much, or actually look good. I had the same set as the Mayhem Vic Firth shots for continuity. Using to bare parabolics and a beauty dish main. I had Angelo take a step forward so he would have slightly more front light due to the hood, and I set the lights to be a bit darker for his shot. After a few shots I had him hold the sticks under his chin and bring his head up to get a bit more light while I got down a bit low to get a straight shot, and the result is one of my favorite photos I’ve taken in my entire career. This is shot with the 24-70 lens at iso100 F14 at a 200th. The goal of any endorsement shot is to capture the product, and the artist equally, while bringing out some of the personality of the artist. I could not ask for a better subject to work with or a more perfect end result. This is by far, my favorite image of the year."