DeadBuryDead are back with a new collection of tees that are nothing short of awesome. Dead Bury Dead have been doing a great job honing their brand image and really concentrating on creating a polished look, and they are nailing it. All tees are available now at www.deadburydead.com Also huge hats off to the awesome photography done for the new release!

Before announcing the top 5 finalists for the IAMTHETREND & Josh Guim Photography Contest, I just want to thank all of the brands that submitted to the contest. We had an amazing response and narrowing it down to five finalists was extremely difficult.

When picking the top 5 both Josh and myself weighed several factors including the paragraphs each company had submitted explaining how the company would benefit from the photoshoot and why they deserved a shoot. We also took a look at everyone’s sites to check out their products and weighed several factors such as quality of designs and quality of existing pictures. Some clothing lines already had very solid photos of their line. We really wanted to give some upcoming brands some help!

We also do plan on doing this again in the future, so if you didn’t get picked this time make sure you re-apply next go around!

Top 5 Finalists

Capitl Clothing Co.
Lamebrotherhood
I Love Antix
Half Cut
Among Villains

Starting tomorrow morning until Friday July 29th at 6PM CST visitors will be able to vote for whom they think best deserves the photoshoot.

The winner will be announced following the end of the voting!

Thanks again to all the brands that submitted, we loved you all and it was extremely tough to make the final five decision! Best of luck to the finalists!

One of the main things that I feel indie clothing lines drop the ball on is the importance of taking professional looking product shots of their line. Upcoming clothing companies can skip this step for a variety of reasons, whether it be they don’t believe it’s important, it’s to costly or they don’t know any photographers. Whatever the case may be I have teamed up with photographer Josh Guim to help you solve that problem! Josh has taken some amazing pictures for bands, brands athletes make sure to check his portfolio HERE.

IAMTHTREND and Josh Guim Photography have teamed up to offer one lucky clothing a full professional photo shoot of their line for FREE! Yes for FREE!

Here is how it works. From July 11th to July 18th you will be able to submit a SHORT 3-7 sentence explanation why your company needs, deserves and/or wants a photo shoot. On July 25th we are going to announce the Top 5 finalists. From there we are going to turn it over to our readers whom will vote for whom they think deserves the photo shoot the most, by voting for their favorites.

What’s included?
The winner will be asked to send up to 5 products directly to Josh Guim, and a short description of what kind of look/vision they want and have for their shoot. Josh will take photos for that line and the brand will have full permission to they will have permission to use the photos for web and promotional use for their clothing line. In addition the brand will get a feature on both IAMTHETREND.COM and JoshGuim.com showing off their new photos and interviewing the brand.

How to Submit
Simply send your 3 to 7 sentence explanation on why your company needs, deserves and/or wants a photo shoot and would benefit from it and email it to
info@iamthetrend.com Both Josh and myself will go through the submissions and narrow it down to the final 5 which will be posted on July 21st! From their it’s all in the hands of the voters!

Any questions please feel free to leave below in the comments.

And make sure to support this contest by visiting the following:
www.joshguim.com
@joshguim
@iamthetrend
IATT FACEBOOK

Photographer Irina Werning has single handedly created a time machine allowing people to go back to the future using only her camera. Irina’s time travel methods are actually a lot simpler than building a flux-capacitor. She has turned her love of old pictures into a very creative and cool way to show how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact those old photos exactly the same way today.

A picture is worth a thousand words so I’ll shut up now. Check out all her pictures at: irinawerning.com

Alright maybe that title was a bit over reaching, but these new Lens Bracelets from Adam Elmakais are pretty awesome. Adam, originally made these bracelets to be intended as a promotional tool for his photography starting with just one design based on the 50mm lens. After only six months he was selling thousands of his bracelets in the US and to over 50 countries world wide!

The silicone wristbands are available in two different base styles and focal lengths of 50mm, 35mm, 85mm, 14-24mm, 17-40mm, 24-70mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm. Size choices for Lens Bracelets© include 7″ circ. x 1/2” and 8” circ. x 1/2”

They retail on store.adamelmakias.com for $10. Also check out www.adamelmakias.com to see some of Adam’s awesome photography!

www.uneekgrafix.com

Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself? (name, age, > education, the basics!)

Christopher Magruder, 30, BFA Graphic Design, Designs under the name of UneekGrafix.

So when did you first realize your passion for the arts and what really drew you to it?

Somewhere between eighth grade and freshman year in school. I was really into graffiti, handstyles, hip hop, djing …..the whole subculture. I had always been big into drawing and graphic design just seemed like the next step.

You are both a photographer and an designer, do you find it tough juggling both aspects and is their a side that your prefer more?

Not at all. Actually I find that they work rather nicely together. Its kind of a left-brain, right-brain type of situation. Working with one has helped me work better in the other. I think that it has helped me become more successful in both.

You have worked with a pretty wide range of clients anywhere from huge companies such as Wrigley and Volvo to upstart companies. Do you prefer working on those big clients or helping the little guys establishing
their identity?

I like the little guys. I like the whole interaction with a start-up. Working together from the initial idea and helping someone create their “big idea” is something that really inspires me to keep working. It is a very gratifying feeling knowing that I helped someone take an idea or thought and turn it into something tangible.
On the flip side it’s always nice to get a big client like the aforementioned because they always have huge resources, project scopes and of course budgets.

So did you go to school or get any formal training in the arts or are you self taught?

BFA in graphic design and some photo classes through school. That’s about it. No specialty art school or private classes. Just me, my sketch book, headphones and a mac.

What have been some of your favorite projects to work on?

Any branding project. I love logos. I love designing them. I love when you can take someone’s idea and create a visual representation of their thoughts. I guess if I had to pick one project for each of the avenues it would go like this.

Brands – I really enjoyed the PetFoto logo design project. Which as it turns out was an unused concept from a previous project. After some cleaver editing and some reworking of elements it turned into one of my favorite logos I have designed. Its fun, memorable and clever. Exactly what a good logo is supposed to portray.

Bands – I recently worked with group called Me,The Mirror for some promo photos. Now a while back the front man of the band was in another band I worked with so it was one of those return client/new band things. We really enjoyed the first go around and the second was no different. The guys in the band are great and their music is even better. Ohh yea the photos didn’t tunr out that bad too.

What is one thing you hate about being and artist and one thing you love?

The hours…. and the hours.
I work both contracted jobs and personal freelance with UneekGrafix so somedays seem to never end. 40+ hours on contracts plus client work gets to be tough. But I love what I do and it’s what keeps me getting up every morning. Well, that and my lovely wife and dog too.

One thing that I have noticed is most of the successful artist, photographers and designers have in common is they know how to market themselves and their product. What do you do to set yourself apart from the competition?

I have ridiculous low pricing and I try to give my clients the biggest bang for their buck. But beer and pizza is not the best form of payment. I try and keep my overhead low with projects, which helps me keep my costs low on the client side. Plus when I start a project with a new client I’m really not looking to get into a “one and done” type of situation. I want to build long lasting relationships with my clients and I want to see them succeed. Nothing makes me happier than when a satisfied client call back to discus a new project.

Now for some rapid fire questions!!!

Favorite Color:
Blue

Favorite Movie:
Super Troopers.

One word that describes you:
Uneek! Or Reliable

Biggie or 2pac?
Notorious (sung in a high falsetto)

Favorite Season:
Road Construction. That’s a season, right?

Favorite website?
Humm. (insert shameless self promotion?)

Thanks a ton for your time! Any last minute announcements or shout outs?

Yes if your a band and your looking for high quality, professional design and photography and you mention that your an IATT reader you get special discounted pricing. Get at it!

Website:fortysixtyphoto.com

So how did Forty Sixty Photography start?

Forty Sixty Photography started when the 3 of us decided that taking photos was exactly what we needed to be doing. We put together our knowledge and experience from working in many different industries and put Forty Sixty together to provide people with a photography company they can really relate and connect with.

You guys have worked with some awesome clients such as Butch Walker, Against Me! and Four Years Strong. Do you prefer shooting bands and musicians?

Chris: I personally toured for a number of years so being around bands and knowing what type of shots they want is second nature to me. I love traveling so shooting bands just makes a lot of sense to me at the moment! It is also a ton of fun, and never really “feels” like work.

Conor: We really love shooting bands! We’ve been blessed with having a lot of experience with musicians and it would feel wrong if we weren’t working in the music industry with them. They are always fun to work with and are also open to many creative ideas for shoots.

Forty Sixty is made up of three guys, do you guys collaborate on shoots or is it more individual work?

We like to collaborate and assist each other whenever the chance comes up because you can always use a helping hand with photo equipment. And a second set of eyes there is always a good thing as well. But for the most part, we still do our own individual projects, because each of us have varying styles for each shoot we do.

The first time I came across you guys was because of some shirts that you have put together had been surfacing on some T-Shirt blogs. Where did that idea come from?

We always had that idea in our head from the beginning. We couldn’t find any really good photography based t-shirts that we liked enough to buy so we decided we would provide the industry with our own. At the same time, it brands ourself as a company that can do more than just take photos.

The shirts look incredible! Will this be a ongoing line or is it more of a one time shot?

Thanks! We really love the way they came out. These designs will definitely be ongoing, but that won’t stop us from making more in the future. We’re hoping to be able to release the designs on new shirt colors in the very near future.

You guys have done a great job branding yourselves! You have formed a company image, started a blog and a clothing line. What advice can you give to other photographers and entrepreneurs out there?

Thanks! It’s really tough to get your name out there when every industry you look at is saturated with a ton of people all offering the same thing. It is incredibly important to brand yourself in a way that shows people you can offer more than the next guy, and that if they choose to work with you, their experience will be a great one. Making connections and building relationships so they feel connected is what it’s all about.

So if someone wanted to get a hold of Forty Sixty Photography how do they do so?

There are many ways to get a hold of us, but the best way would be through email to hello@fortysixtyphoto.com, or by using our contact form on our website at fortysixtyphoto.com

You can also contact us through Twitter: twitter.com/fortysixtyphoto

You can even contact us individually on our Flickrs:
Conor – flickr.com/conorkeller
Chris – flickr.com/wordsnowhear
Sean – flickr.com/mrbattle

Either way it should be pretty easy to get a hold of one of us!

What has been your favorite photo shoot?

Chris: Shooting bands is definitely a passion of mine, and it is very hard to choose just one band that is the definitive favorite. Every time it is a new experience, and you get to have a lot of interesting conversation just getting to know the people that you are shooting and hearing about their different experiences on the road. I love shooting for Hey Monday, because they are very close friends of mine and every time we shoot it is just very relaxed and fun because we are all so comfortable with each other.

Any favorite bands at the moment?

Chris: Miniature Tigers, Ryan Adams, A Rocket to the Moon, Brighten, The Agency, Butch Walker, Matt Nathanson, and too many more to list!

Conor: Drop Dead Gorgeous, Attack Attack, I See Stars, Confide, 3oh3!, A Day To Remember, Moving Mountains, Cage, Weathermen, and a ton of others.

Sean: I can haz music-burger?!

Make sure to check out their photography work on fortysixtyphoto.com and leave a comment below to let us know what you think of FortySixtyPhoto!