From the desk our our Co-Founder + Resident Feminist Jose Klickpicks:
I got my start in 1999 with Metropolitan Model Management in NYC. My very first project was to assist photographer Tony Duran in his upcoming shoot for Jennifer Lopez's first Album Cover "On the 6".
I had no experience, no skills and no training but I had something in common with J Lo. I was hispanic and raised on the streets of NYC. My first task was to get Tony Duran's team to the airport to catch their flight to LAX. Of course, I send them to JFK instead of LaGuardia. Rookie mistake - I'm off to an inauspicious beginning to say the least. Fortunately, they still made their flight and no harm was done. Fast Forward 20 years and now my assistant is sending me to the wrong airport - I have to take a zen moment and remember I was once in their shoes.
A few days later the contact sheet from the shoot comes across my desk. Back then the process of selecting photos was to use a "loupe" to look at the contact-sheet on a light table. Now we use apps like Unfold + Storyluxe to simulate the effect of a contact sheet. I noticed all these little white circles all over J Lo's photos. There must have been about 50-60 tiny circles per photo and each sheet had 35 images. It turns out the circles were all the flaws Tony wanted the retoucher to smooth out. I was blown away by the precision and technicality that went into each image but also how such a beautiful women needed so much retouching. At this point in history J.lo had just gone from a fly girl on In Living Color to a International Superstar in just under two years.
That's the moment I realized how important it was to pay attention to details. Details is what separates the mediocre from the best. Details is what sells a great story. Details is what kept me in this business for 20 years. Details are what sets Klickpicks apart.
Read about J.lo's journey to fame 20 years after 'On the 6' was released here.
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