Kyle Dean Reinford Photography

The Thermals for SPIN Magazine

kyle dean reinford — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:43:51 +0000

In early May I finally got a chance I’d been waiting for – my first portrait photo shoot for SPIN Magazine. After shooting live music for them for nearly 2 years, I was happy to do something a little different, with the knowledge that it would definitely go to print as well. The job was super last second, with next to no budget or time, but we made it work. One of the tricky things was that it needed to look like it could have been shot in Portland, as the photo was to be in a mini magazine insert where bands gave an insider’s guide to their cities. The shot came out in the July issue, which has either Bon Iver, The Black Lips or Arctic Monkeys on it, depending on the version. Here’s how it ran, along with a few of my favorite shots from the session.

Lord Huron

kyle dean reinford — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:39:24 +0000

Over the past few months I’ve fallen pretty hard for Lord Huron, aka Ben Schneider. His song “The Stranger” is one of my favorites, and has been since I first heard it – it’s got staying power, for sure. So when I heard the Michigan-born, LA-based musician was going to be in town with his band, I knew I needed to check them out. Though I couldn’t make it to their Mercury Lounge show, I went for soundcheck and grabbed a portrait of Ben. We went to a candy store and explored the neighborhood for about 30 minutes. Afterwards he invited me to a very cool performance the next night that they hadn’t announced – a show at a towing garage in Greenpoint with their good friends Hool. It was a really unique place to see a show, and Lord Huron did not disappoint. I’d suggest checking them out.

Eliza Doolittle

kyle dean reinford — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:23:42 +0000

Last night I finally caught up with a girl I’ve been trying to get a portrait of for some time – Eliza Doolittle. The British songstress is, whether she likes it or not, going to be labeled “Lily Allen 2.0″. She’s definitely blowing up the same way over in the UK, and will here in the US this year, I’m guessing. Not only is she talented and spunky, but her sex appeal will help launch her to the top.

Eliza’s family is interesting as well – her dad is John Caird, a British director who works with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and her mom is Frances Ruffelle, the original Éponine in Les Mis (for which she won a Tony). Clearly she comes from good blood. And clearly she’s heading to bigger places than Mercury Lounge.

The Most Stressful Shoot.

kyle dean reinford — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:53:18 +0000

Have you ever had a photo job that was already quite, quite stressful? Can you think of any way it could have gotten worse? That’s what happened to me last night in midtown Manhattan. I was waiting to take a shot of James Earl Jones and Morgan Freeman in front of a 1953 Packard – Mr. Jones is currently the driver in “Driving Miss Daisy” on Broadway, and Mr. Freeman was the original driver in the film. While waiting in sub-zero temperatures, I felt the need to adjust my flash. While doing so, a combination of my gloved fingers being frozen and an old, worn-out tightening screw caused my flash to fall to the ground. Hard. I had hopes that it would survive, but it did not. I was forced to shoot with available light and tried to catch the flash of other photographers – it was all I could do to try and nail this job. I wasn’t optimistic. But, I came away with these two images that I’m quite happy with. Just a reminder that even when things get bad, don’t give up – try and make the best of it!

Manhattan Skyline at Dusk

kyle dean reinford — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:14:18 +0000

Last year I took some shots of people sailing. While I was waiting around afterwards, I took some shots that I intended to put together into a panoramic, but I kind of forgot until I came across them today. So here’s Manhattan, shot from Jersey at sunset. If you’d like to take a closer look, you can here.

Kids of 88

kyle dean reinford — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:52:11 +0000

It’s true. I’ve been really, really busy. But I haven’t forgotten about my blog, I promise. This last week was CMJ, which is a yearly exhaustion for me, but also one of my favorite weeks of the year. It’s a time to see new music, meet new people and build relationships, and I love it.

This year, one of the bands that left a big impression on me was Kids of 88. The New Zealand duo does dance pop in a real good way, and I think they’ve got big things ahead. Actually, in their own words they’re “a cross between a late 80s police drama intro theme and a sophisticated super hussy”. I like that. Anyway, after seeing them play with Ravens & Chimes at Trash Bar on Friday night, the opportunity arose to get some portraits of them the next morning. Here are some of my favorite shots, which the band won’t see until Tuesday (Monday doesn’t exist for them – they flew from NYC on Sunday night, but won’t arrive until Tuesday. Weird). Anyway, check out the shots, but definitely check out the band. Their album, Sugarpills, is out and totally awesome. And yes, they’re called kids of 88 because they were born in 1988. And yes, that makes me feel old.

Todd and Julia Got Married

kyle dean reinford — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:07:07 +0000

One of the bigger jobs I’ve had this summer was a wedding in Indiana for Todd and Julia. It’s the second full-scale wedding I’ve shot – the other being Anthony and Chelsea’s back in September. It was a beautiful wedding on a 95+ degree day in a small chapel out in the country (without air-conditioning). It was also the 4th of July. Everything went beautifully – it’s exactly the type of wedding I’d like to have.

I would also be mistaken not to mention how much help I got from my girlfriend, Laurel Linton, on this shoot. She took a few of the photos below (including some film) and was a great assistant on the day. Thanks babe!

Cantora Records in Foam Magazine

kyle dean reinford — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:57:25 +0000

A few months ago I was asked to shoot a portrait of the guys that run Cantora Records. I was doing it for Foam Magazine, which is kind of like Nylon for surfer girls. If you don’t know Cantora, they put out the first MGMT singles a few years back, and now they’re putting out consistently good stuff by Francis & The Lights and Bear Hands, among others – they’re easily one of my favorite indie labels. The above is a tearsheet from their November issue, page 93, and below are a few of my other favorite shots from our portrait session, in addition to a better resolution version of the original shot.

The Boxer Rebellion Are In “Going The Distance”

kyle dean reinford — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:02:57 +0000

Last night I went to a pre-screening of the new Justin Long/Drew Berrymore film, Going The Distance. It’s about long distance relationships, which is particularly pertinent to my current relationship. It’s a funny film, though sometimes I thought it was a little too sappy. But the funny parts? Man, they’re hilarious. Watch out for Jim Gaffigan’s first appearance eating a sandwich and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Another reason I wanted to see the film is because it features a band I’m pretty interested in right now: The Boxer Rebellion. I went to see them play an event at Bryant Park a few weeks ago, and I must say, they’re pretty great live. They’re British, though lead singer Nathan Nicholson is from Tennessee, and guitarist Todd Howe is Australian, and they’ve made their way up the charts with several hard hitting pop-rock tunes. I think this film could really push them over the top in the US, but I guess we’ll see in time. If nothing else, it will get them some much deserved attention.

I took this shot of the guys right after they played Bryant Park.

Neil Davis Promo Shoot

kyle dean reinford — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:14:51 +0000

I did a shoot with an upcoming singer-songwriter, Neil Davis, back in June. It was one of the hottest days of the year, but we stuck it out and got some great shots out of it. These shots were done out and about in Williamsburg near the waterfront.