The Foundation Forge

Waaaaaaay too much to explain in a single caption… so I’m not even gonna try, but that’s why we made the video in the first place. Huge s/o to @jacqueline_shiffman @owenzubek @sam_wagnr @jurellsison for helping piece this thing together. More info to come but watch the whole thing so I don’t have to repeat myself. Cheers to the next chapter. 🍻#TheFoundationForge

I first met @rebecca.maxwell last summer when she was curious about what we here at @thefoundationforge could offer a budding fashionista/girl boss/stylist and apparently the answer was… quite a lot!!  So we’ll be hosting a spring cleaning garage sale for her @shes.company organization bringing together women from all across Cleveland this Saturday and Sunday 4/25 4/26 here at the @thefoundationforge .  This is an all female seller event but everyone and anyone is welcome to come and check out the over 25 vendors, our brunch bar, matcha cart, and two food trucks!!  This is a free event and clothing donations will score you a free drink ticket.  So come by and support your local girls girl and all the other incredible artists here at The Forge.   Photo Nerd Section:  Rebecca was shot here at The Forge against our burned wood wall using the Canon 5Ds and the 85mm 1.2L series glass set to f3.5 ISO100 and 1/160th.  She was lit using our Profoto D1000 pushed through the 5’ octa soft box off camera left and maybe 5ft away.  I pulled Rebecca a little further off the wall for a few images to soften the background and create a bit more separation than some of the vertical ones that are on our story.  Her style with the thrifted pink jacket, pink hair and blue eyes was all the color we required to keep the image interesting.  Having bright subjects on bright backgrounds with bright lights is great for selling candy bars, soda and toys but sometimes you want to show just enough personality and keep the focus where it should be.  Using a single color with texture, layers and depth rather multiple primary colors to draw the eye around a scene is a more subtle and classic tactic for attention… and a little more OUR style. 😉

By popular demand. Photographer: @nicktelerico.jpg Stylist: @jatin_perch Model: @alyciaacolon Studio: @thefoundationforge

Alycia at The Foundation Forge model: @alyciaacolon stylist: @jatin_perch photo: @nicktelerico.jpg photo assist: @tjdstudio studio: @thefoundationforge All images taken on the fujifilm x100vi and edited in Lightroom & Photoshop

So @markdohner hollers down the hallway at me and asks if I’d assist him with a portrait session for @francesca_mensgroomer who’s in need of a few updates. Now Mark isn’t new at this by any means but his specialty is story telling via video, where mine is storytelling via images. We work together… discuss lighting and even pass the camera back and forth learning how each other likes to shoot and talking with Francesca to make sure we’re covering what she needs. With a few tried and true lighting styles, a couple outfit changes and a whole new fancy pants studio to play in, it was easy to come away with a pile of great images everyone had a hand in making. Photo Nerd Section: (first photo only)Shot right here @thefoundationforge using the Canon 5Ds and 100mm Macro L series glass set to F6.3 1/125th and ISO100. Francesca was lit using a Profoto D1000 pushed through a 3’ octa fitted with a 25 degree grid to control excess spill from hitting the @sherwinwilliams Hunt Club Green brick wall of our library. A grid is a ‘cheap’ and fast way to maintain the same quality of light but focused in a narrower space, often thereby preventing a more extensive post production process to achieve the separation you may be looking for. Uncontrolled light spill on the green wall may have cast an unnatural hue onto our subject’s FLAWLESS face and GORGEOUS hair which we wanted to be sure to highlight throughout the shoot.

A new chapter in a new year, and in honor of my birthday. I chose to mark this moment with painting under the first full moon of the year. This quick and fun project shot by @owenzubek helped to call in my spirit animal, the wolf. @thefoundationforge The Wolf reflects both who I am and who I’m becoming. Like the wolf, I’m learning to walk the line between independence and deep community, solitude and belonging. Strong alone, stronger in connection. This piece is a reminder to trust my instincts, honor my path, and stay aligned with the pack that nourishes my spirit. 🌕🐺

I’ve long said that “ a headshot is what you look like, a portrait is who you are.” Here we tend to specialize in the latter and always encourage our headshot clients to take a smol step out of their comfort zone. I’m constantly amazed at how many people choose the unconventional over what’s traditionally expected of them. Steve Mchale’s headshot is good… but I think I like his portrait just a bit better. Photo Nerd Section: Shot at the old TJDS back in 2022 using the Canon 5Ds and 200mm L series glass set to F10 1/160 and ISO100. Steve was lit using a Profoto D1000 pushed through the magnum dish reflector from about 12ft away while our cyc was blasted with our ceiling mount to a “hot white.” The Magnum dish gives a very small powerful source creating dramatic shadows and a “crunchy” specular texture that you can almost feel. A black sided V-Flat off camera right deepens the shadows even more, not a lighting scenario for the faint of heart but Steve pulled it off exceptionally well if you ask me.

Lots of stuff here at #TheFoundationForge has been handmade… our new lounge coffee table certainly fits that bill having been painstakingly handcrafted by our Executive Director James. Invaluable guidance provided by @yourlankymix somehow came together to make a really unique piece. Thanks to @owenzubek for capturing the final touches so it actually looks like we know what we’re doing!!

Watching your friends get the recognition they rightfully deserve is such an incredible feeling. @chefvinniecimino tops the 2025 list of Best New Chefs according to @foodandwine magazine, even though some of us have known all along. We were lucky enough to have chef and co come by, clean out our “urban forage” cherry tree and tour The Forge back in June. A very fun afternoon that @owenzubek just so happened to capture in a short recap video. Hats off to the chef, @cleveland2222 and the whole crew over at @cordeliacle for a very well deserved accolade. Photo Nerd Section: Both images were shot in studio here at @thefoundationforge using the Canon 5Ds and the 200mm L series glass(tight) and 16-35mm L series glass(wide), set to 1/160 F11 and ISO 100. Vinnie was lit using a Profoto D2 1000 pushed through a 3’ Octa mounted to the ceiling of our cyc wall studio, which may now be becoming a thing… TBD. Cherry Nerd Section: The 50+ year old Montmorency sour cherry tree we have out front is an old world species of cherry native to the Caspian Sea and known to the Greeks by 300BC. Popularized in 16th century England by King Henry VIII they’ve been a staple in baking and sauces ever since. The quintessential Americana image of a pie cooling on a windowsill can still trace its origin to this species of fruit. A true American legend that we’re blessed to have close at hand.

It’s so undeniably true… that all good things truly do come in time. In this particular case it was five years in the making. My guy @conormichaelsmith finally releases his first solo album and I couldn’t be prouder. I’m honored to have been tasked to create the cover art especially since it was a “found image” that we hadn’t planned for but was somehow always in the ether. In my nearly 24 years shooting I’ve found that the best moments are the ones in between, the ones when no one’s paying attention. Which is the essence of this image, when Conor thought no one was looking and was just lost in his own head writing lyrics for a song we haven’t heard yet. Congratulations brother… now maybe we can title the next album with a slightly higher sense of urgency. #JustSayin 🍻🍻🍻 Photo Nerd Section: Shot on location @thefoundationforge in a suite that is now currently occupied by the @hotbarber using the Canon 5Ds and the 85mm 1.2L series glass set to F4.5 1/800th and ISO100. Conor was lit using a burning ball of hydrogen gas from 94,000,000 miles away as it passed through our front window and nothing else.

I love when the homies trust you enough to let you do whatever you want with em. My guy @bobbybooshay216 needed some fresh assets since he’s been ABSOLUTELY CRUSHING IT all over the country lately. He had a few ideas… I had a few ideas… and we pretty much did all of em. Including this 10 shot composite image that still breaks my brain a little. Photo Nerd Section: Shot on the Canon 5Ds and 85mm 1.2L series glass set to ISO100 F5.6 and 1/160th. Bobby was lit using a Profoto D1000 pushed through a 3’ octa soft box off camera left and higher than you’d think. Thankfully we can put stuff way higher up now with the 17’ ceilings here at @thefoundationforge . There’s more from this day an epic one that neither Bobby nor I knew would become quite so iconic 🤣🤣

Thanks to the squad!!!