Get Right

Posted on March 17, 2013 by freshcliniclife

“In Broad Daylight, Get Right.”

One of my favorite Mobb Deep quotes that solidifies what’s been on my mind lately.

Too many young people waste their time doing stupid shit, instead of being productive. I heard someone say that it takes about 10,000 hours, or roughly five years of your life in order to master the basics of the film industry. This is in addition to any school training you received. I tend to think this applies to most professions.

If you’re not willing to work hard while your friends are out having fun, going out, dating, getting married and having children, then you will never achieve greatness. If you can avoid all this, stay focused and make it out of your twenties still sane, then you’ll be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Rich in money, rich in power, rich in love, rich in family, rich in success. Like Mobb Deep says, “In Broad Daylight, Get Right” early on in life, so you don’t have to struggle later.

So Fuck My Twenties, I Have My Entire Life To Think About

Dress For The Boss You Want To Be

Posted on March 4, 2013 by freshcliniclife

Yesterday this young man said to me:
“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you dressed so classy?”
I said “Because this is the profession I strive for.”
He said “What’s that?”
I simply responded “Fashion”
He got the point. Dress for the profession you want in life, EVERYDAY, NO EXCUSES!
YOU WANNA BE A BOSS, DRESS LIKE ONE!

I see too many young men showing up to interviews, inquiring about jobs, and attending social events dressed like slobs. It’s a shame. The way you dress can mean the difference between you getting the job or client you want vs. failure.

More importantly than looks are ideas. We need to start thinking outside the box, educating ourselves more and experiencing environments outside our hometowns. It was obvious that the gentleman who asked me about my wardrobe had not been to Hollywood much, or was never told how to dress for success.

Hopefully I inspired him to dress for the boss he wants to be

Sincerely Yours,

-MANÉ

Erwin Blumenfeld: Dada Photographer

Posted on November 14, 2012 by freshcliniclife

Being the man who took the most cover photos for Vogue magazine, Erwin Blumenfeld has become a legend in fashion photography. Blumenfeld’s work ranges from collages mocking Adolf Hitler to Dadaism inspired fashion images.

Born in Berlin, Germany on January 26th, 1897, Blumenfeld’s love for photography would eventually lead to his professional career as a photographer in 1934.

By 1936, Blumenfeld moved to Paris, France and within a year his photos were being published in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. An accomplishment to say the least!

When Nazi’s began to occupy France during World War II, Blumenfeld was taken to a concentration camp. Luckily he escaped, taking him on a journey to New York in 1941. After gaining American citizenship, Blumenfeld continued his amazing and nostalgic work as a fashion visionary until his death in Rome on July 4th, 1969.

His legacy has been celebrated by his wife Lena Citroen, whom he married in 1921, and his three children: Henry, Lisette, and Yorick.

Here is a great source for some of his best photos: http://www.photographyoffice.com/2011/06/25-fashion-photographs-by-master-of-photography-erwin-blumenfeld/

Below is a video showing some of Blumenfeld’s Fashion Film Experiments:

Blumenfeld’s influence has a tremendous impact on modern day fashion photography and film. Check out this CHANEL tribute to Erwin Blumenfeld:

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from this brilliant photographer:

“Day and night I try, in my studio with its six two-thousand watt suns, balancing between the extremes of the impossible, to shake loose the real from the unreal, to give visions body, to penetrate into unknown transparencies.” -Erwin Blumenfeld

A Professional’s Thoughts on Runway

Posted on September 18, 2012 by freshcliniclife

I was watching a runway video on youtube and I came across this comment that was very honest:

“im a designer and a model coach – the secret behind all of this bullshit is:
CONFIDENCE!!
you have to bring from the inside before you can bring it from the outside.”

As I was reading this I was thinking about all the models that pay top-dollar and invest loads of time to learn how to walk for the runway, when really the secret to runway success is one’s own confidence. Such a simple answer that can be found within yourself, and no where else. It’s true a model may have to understand how to walk properly, but this still does not make up for any lack of confidence or uniqueness in one’s walk.

When you think about some of the best runway models from the 70’s and prior, many of them didn’t have models to look up to or didn’t bother taking modeling classes. In fact, some have said their classes were watching actresses in classic films and mimicking these actresses movements. Maybe that’s why those women had such a charismatic aura about themselves when they hit the catwalk, a charisma I feel has disappeared today. Why? This isn’t easy to answer, but it may be partly due to the systemization of the modeling industry. You take classes that you pay for, you think they will provide you with everything you need to know about modeling or runway, and when you finish you go on your merry way to get the best jobs in the industry. But of course this isn’t the case in the real world, not with any profession. This A-B-C way of thinking is very linear, and we forget about the space below and above the line. It is here in this space where you will find that extra something to not only make you a great model, but one of the best in the business. So don’t be afraid to step into that unknown space.

If you’re an aspiring model or model in the making I suggest that you take the time to work on improving any characteristics you feel are making you emotionally weak or unsure about yourself. Only when you have become comfortable with your body image and emotions can you be fully confident on the runway or in any modeling gig. Finally, and I am saying this with all seriousness, watch and study classic films. Take note of how the actors express themselves through exaggerated body language. On the one hand, exaggerated acting makes a film seem less realistic and almost corny, but it’s acting…it’s not meant to be realistic. Remember that any form of entertainment is escapism that helps people relax from the stress of the real world.

If you can incorporate this strong, expressive emotion in your body while walking, it almost takes your viewers to a whole new world where they imagine that they are “you” wearing that gorgeous piece of clothing. Confident, unique expression is what turns a Model into a “Best Super Model.”

-MANÉ

Business Cards: Easy Step to Looking Professional

Posted on September 6, 2012 by freshcliniclife

I received some brand new business cards in the mail today to make it easier for me to exchange contact information when I am talking to other business people, professionals, employers, or potential customers. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have business cards in order to make yourself standout and look professional in this rough economy. It surprises me when I meet other young business people such as myself who are looking for employment and/or call themselves professionals, yet they do not have a simple business card. How do you expect to compete among the countless other Business School graduates in this country and around the world without this simple and easy to make tool. In fact, it doesn’t matter what you studied in college or what professional field you are working in, YOU NEED BUSINESS CARDS…PERIOD! So I am suggesting that if you do not have business cards, make some!