anti

Velvet Rope - Anti-portrait

August 17th, 2010

A few years ago this family allowed us to put a spin on the traditional family portraits by transforming into super hero’s for the day.  This year, they are stars walking the red carpet.

Tivon, Kiera, Willie, Randi & Naazir.  If you know this family than you really know how suitable this is for them as they are real life super stars - amazingly giving, ethical and passionate with all that they do.  I believe the red carpet was made just for them.

Thank you to RSVP for the set up and to Tuxedo Junction for dressing the men so handsomely!

    7 Comments

  1. cara

    That dress she has on is ridiculously sexy. Love these pictures as I always do.

  2. Ricci Shiplett

    LOVE THEM! That is one hot & sexy family :)

  3. R. J. Kern

    Magnificent concept. You’ve done it again. The composite is you 100%.

  4. Alyssa Andrew-Swift

    really awesome!

  5. Trevor

    What a cool idea. I bet they’re already thinking how to top if for next year. Love it - good work.

  6. taffy

    this is quite a concept. That flash turned backwards is genius. Now I know that you need a twin to be a red carpet photog :) Amazing work and thanks for sharing.

  7. Suzi Lighten

    ooh la la! Randi looks amazing! Love the concept!


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Sweet Disorder in the Dress

August 15th, 2010

Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick

A sweet disorder in the dress
Kindles in clothes a wantonness:
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Into a fine distraction–
An erring lace, which here and there
Enthrals the crimson stomacher–
A cuff neglectful, and thereby
Ribbands to flow confusedly–
A winning wave, deserving note,
In the tempestuous petticoat–
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie
I see a wild civility–
Do more bewitch me than when art
Is too precise in every part.

We seriously can’t get enough of the gracious Ms. Ricci.  We photographed her wedding and bridal session, her pin up session and now her anti-bridal photos.  Now all we need are maternity and newborn;)  As you may or may not know, JMC has been coined as the “godfather” of the Trash the Dress phenomenon. Considering we actually don’t even offer “Trash the Dress” sessions, we find it humorous.  But we do offer anti-bridals and we do not offer them to just anyone.  Not only is there a hefty price tag attached to these but this art is more about the concept and about finding the right person.  John Michael Cooper came up with this idea just under a year ago while photographing a live concert.  Ricci was the perfect subject and when she arrived for her pin up shoot, we explained that we had finally formed the concept for her very own anti-bridal.

Make up by Jolana Adamson

    2 Comments

  1. Gina DeConti

    gorgeous! looks straight out of a glossy magazine. amazing work, as usual.

  2. Rob Munroe

    Really cool JMC.


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fin•ā•ō!

May 8th, 2010

They say “all good things come to an end”, “change is good”, myself -I  said at the Mystic conference “it is always a good time to re-invent”.  Enter Finao, a bad ass album company, to help us with the reinventing of altF.  Yes…. an album company.   As of the beginning of 2010 we have been changing things all across the board here at altF and our albums are not immune to those changes.   As of a couple of months ago we have stopped the production of our hand crafted albums and passed over the craftsmanship of our books to the folks at Finao.   I know some will be disappointed, as we have been at the very forefront of artist crafted books for the last 11 years, but not to worry - I will still have my hands busy creating things, it will just be in a different place. Having Finao produce our wedding books will free us to do what we do best which is push the boundaries and do things people haven’t seen yet.  So with that, I’ll leave you with a small hint on why we have chosen Finao over all the other album companies:  There are a lot of great album companies out there and Finao’s quality (which is superb by the way) was only a very small part of the equation.  We picked Finao because of their attitude, passion, and style line up with our philosophy here at altF.  Frankly we are just “trying our best” to be bad ass fucking photographers and we need one bad ass fucking album company to make our books. Finao!

.johnmichaelcooper.

ps. I also like that there is an “F” in Finao.

a few of our new samples and a good segue into moving away from our albums to Finao’s with a 12×18″ book with a decade of our artwork,  signature images from 2000-2009.

    2 Comments

  1. daniel kudish

    you lit a bride on fire?!! :)
    looks great!

  2. Tim Burkhalter

    How in the world did you pull that off. That is one hot bride!


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Joe Photo

April 2nd, 2010

a little bit of Joe.

The ultra cool, Mr. Joe Photo swings by every now and then to hang with us at our studio so this time around I decided to pay a little homage to Irving Penn then headed to the airstream to get down and dirty.

.jmc.

    4 Comments

  1. Mickie Easby

    love the homage to Irving Penn… and the airstream?!? to die for!

  2. Stacie Frazier

    That airstream is awesome! So much character in those shots!

  3. Christine

    Loads of fun!

  4. heath sandall

    mmm. Optoma blue top. Yummy.


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grand opening party — success!

February 22nd, 2010

Yes, I Have Mariachi Pants!  Thank you Jimmy and Sanne!  Our grand opening party was a huge success, not just because I was wearing some of the coolest pants ever made, but because we had so many friends, family, clients and vendors that showed up to party and support us in a 23 year old dream to have our own studio.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  If you missed the party of the year, I will give you a small recap.  We had a Cool band doing some great covers - Dean Cortez, Greg Diaz and World Famous Drummer, Joe Esposito in form Southern CA, and killer DJ - Mike from Good Vibrations - spinning and keeping the party going and lighing up the studio making it more like a club, of course we have to hand it to Randi from Naakiti for transforming our ultra cool space to an even ULTRA-ER cool place, The crew at Ice Occasions for literally cooling some hotness down, JR Lighting for equipping us with some fun toys to play with, William Pfersching for providing the delicious cuisine, Lori White for making Dalisa beautiful and finally, to Loftworks for providing a unique and exsquisite location to fit our brand, lifestyle and business.

-jmc & dc

    18 Comments

  1. Angelica

    This was an amazing event and I was so thankful to be a part of it. Congrats to you both on all of your hard work and success!

  2. Mindy

    Congrats on the Studio. I’m glad you two were able to make your dreams come true.

  3. Ashley Reed

    Love the pants!!

  4. Joe wfd

    Awesome, Who were the two sisters in the video??

  5. Ashley Swapp

    Congrats on the big opening! We wish we could have made the trek back to Vegas! The studio looks fabulous! Looks like the party was sick! Congrats again!

  6. Mel McLellan

    woohooo! What an awesome space! Can’t wait to see it in person! Congrats you guys!! :)

  7. lorenz

    Thanks for the invite. It was a great night. You both revolutionized the world with your anti-bridal sessions that caught the world on fire (no pun intended) with “Trash the Dress”. I can hardly wait to see what level you take studio portraiture. You guys a cutting edge artist with no boundaries. Wishing you the best!!!

  8. Juliet Douglas

    Yeah, those pants were totally rad. Thanks for the invite to the grand opening celebration! I had fun!

  9. Chelsea Nicole

    Thanks for inviting us! It was a blast and the new place is killer. :-) Congrats guys!

  10. Jimmy Diep

    Everything was totally awesome. I can’t wait to get into the studio with you two for some family portraits. John, you made the pants look good!!! =) Dalisa, you looked great too. See you guys when we get back from Vietnam.

  11. Scott

    Looks pretty sweet! Especially loved that large silk. And, of course, you would film this from the back to the front. Congrats!

  12. Chad from Jersey

    Wow John what was that car. MAn I am sorry I missed it arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

  13. Tracey Kumer-Moore

    Best line of the night…”My pants are Awesome!!!”-JMC.

    As was the party, the space & the people who do amazing things there.

  14. Shane Roberts

    Congrats kids! The space looks fantastic. Also, thanks so much for talking w/ me at length during DWF in Nashville. I was the guy that accosted you in the lounge and kept buying you wine so I could pump you for ideas. Best to both of you.

  15. Steve

    What a great setup. Congratulations on a lot of hard work paying off with such an awesome workspace.

  16. Mark

    Awesome space….are you doin’ an open house Wednesday….would love to stop bye.

  17. Joe

    Love it! Congrats!

  18. Brian

    Waaaaay cool studio, may just have moved to the top of the list of awesome creative spaces… And you get to live there too!!! Congratulations to you and your family.


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“my darling”

March 11th, 2009

version 1

version 2

“flying is the ability to throw oneself at the ground and miss…” -douglas adams

The most recent conceptual shoot… Gina being so brave, daring and exceptionally gorgeous for us.  Who knew she had such amazing abilities?  Rachel and Robert were the final touch that helped execute this vision

    30 Comments

  1. john

    wowow!!!!

  2. john

    love it….so cool!

  3. Michelle O

    You never seize to amaze us!! Amazing work.

  4. David Freund

    Love it. I did a similar (yet opposite) thing last year.

  5. ohana photographers - david

    we’re not worthy! we’re not worthy! i’m just sitting here shaking my head in awe. again.

  6. Allen

    Amazing JMC! My wife is wondering why someone would swan-dive a driveway :)

  7. Gina

    Thank you John for letting me be a small part in your amazing vision! I love your work!!

  8. Jeremy D

    just when I thought you were great, out comes some sweet @ss magic.

  9. Ashley

    AMAZING! I’m sitting here hurting my brain trying to figure it out.

  10. Juliet

    This is the coolest thing ever!

  11. LV Wedding Concierge

    That is just so unbelievably COOL!
    Very “Matrix”!

    Never ceasing to amaze me JMC!

  12. craig stodola

    I’d love to spend 10-minutes in your mind.

  13. Carol

    Love ‘em! What a fun, creative concept!!!

  14. Shelia Stone

    no freakin way!!! these are awesome!!

  15. RUSTI

    YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE! AWESOME

  16. Alyssa

    These shots are INSANE! love em

  17. Suzi @ TSL Photography

    The grin on my face is just so big right now. That is too cool!

  18. Ricky Gulati

    The work is beautiful, this much we know, but it can be further enhanced by the presence of a male with great hair, such as me. I will wait by the phone and await your call for a re-shoot. All kidding aside, LOVE IT. LOVE GINA!, LOVE ALT-F!

  19. Kyle

    This is out of control AWESOME!!!

  20. pixelbleed

    your style is out of this world!!!

  21. Elizabeth O'Neill

    This is brilliant!

  22. Marco

    These are insane! Great Stuff!

  23. Mands

    Fabulous! Made me laugh as soon as I saw it, then start to try and work out how you did it!

  24. Nancy

    I especially like the top one. It’s very Park-Harrison -esqe to me . . .

  25. RANDI

    LOVE IT, YOU GO GINA FLY GIRL FLY. JOHN AND DALISA YOU GUYS ARE JUST PRICE LESS

  26. Junshien Photography

    This is hilarious! Love it!

  27. Heather

    Really now, how did you do this one?

  28. John Heil

    wow, so cool!

  29. Edna

    I am your biggest fan..but also the biggest douglas adams fan.. thanks for quoting my man!

  30. fer juaristi

    amazing work.


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the results of zero

February 22nd, 2009

The results of another Zero Package.  As some know, amongst our offerings in our price list there is one package that is very special and very different.  The Package Zero.  What is Package Zero? The best way to describe it is to describe what it isn’t.  It is never the same, and it is never what I normally do.  It is a package that gives me total creative freedom to be an artist and to view a wedding day as the opportunity to make art that is considered as “one of a kind”.   The clients that accept this kind of package have zero input on what I shoot, how I shoot, and what I produce for the album.  My promise to them is that I will follow a style, genre, or theme that I have not done before and then once I do it, I will never do it again as coverage for any other wedding.  In addition, I will build an ultra custom, one-of-a-kind album that I will not replicate, ever.  The resulting trust that these clients give me to produce the final product often becomes a burden as my goal is to produce (what I hope will be) my opus of that time: the best piece that I have ever done. 

The above video is just a quick glimpse of what my latest zero’s album looks like.  It was shot and designed knowing that I would not be able to share the images effectively online since I shot the entire wedding in stereo and the results to be viewed as large format stereograms.  Also included in the album is a 100+ year old stereoscope viewer.  This was, by far, the most difficult wedding that I have ever photographed and its post production and album has been the most complex project that I have done to date.  Although I can’t share with you the experience of the images online, the album in the above video represents (for now) my magnum opus.

    19 Comments

  1. Michelle O

    I wish I could see this in person!! Your zero packages are ALWAYS amazing! Great work as always…you are brilliant…truly brilliant!

  2. Alex Maldonado

    i love you.

  3. Jeffrey Neal

    John, again amazing. I have been so excited to see how this was going to come together.

  4. oeil

    John you are the man.. I can’t believe you made something like this!!

  5. Ricky Gulati

    Can I see them in person?

  6. Aaron Hawes

    One of the most incredible undertakings I have ever seen. You have managed to even outdo yourself. Bravo!

  7. Rita Wiebner

    John - I just don’t even know what to write in comments anymore cause I feel like I say the same thing every time. So I won’t say anything fancy, I will just say “Ditto” to everything I have ever told you in the past. :) Love ya.

  8. Christine May

    WHOA! HOLY COW-PATTY! That is the most beautiful album collection. I am so so jealous it’s not mine. The recipients of that album collection are probably going to need to leave that to a museum after they die. TRUE ART!

  9. Blair Van Bussel

    This is insanely awesome.

  10. sarah smith photography

    wow! i just discovered your site and i must say that i am about to become a stalker :) you have taken the art of photography to a whole new level with this…it is amazing and beautiful and such an original approach. Kudos to you! Can’t wait to see how you can possbily top this one!

  11. Alyssa

    That may very well be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.

  12. Hillary D

    So, I’m a little slow. I didn’t know what “steroscope” meant until I Googled it and found it on Wikipedia so I could figure out what the heck your magnum opus was all about. Wow. Beyond cool. That’s quite a mind you’ve got there, JMC.

  13. john

    brilliant!!!!

  14. Chelsea Nicole

    Haha, that’s awesome John! Jayse and I love this idea… so unique and fun! What an insane project.

  15. Sasha

    you are such an inspiration! i absolutely love and the idea behind your zero projects and totally envy the creative innovation of your mind. not to mention how much i want one for myself!

  16. Alen Abdula

    True artist, you are!

  17. Erin Cady

    Wow,my dad and I shoot Stereo images and I can not even IMAGINE shooting a wedding in stereo! He’s been working on duplicating old stereo slides from the National Parks, mostly caves, and it’s been an intense project. I can’t even imagine doing it for something like this. Wow…. very very cool. I hope you know that they’re going to write books about you some day… ;)

  18. kristel wyman

    wow.

  19. kerri mcconnell

    so don’t tell rick, but i think that i’m going to plan another wedding JUST so i can have this type of awesomeness!!! :)


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anti portraits

January 27th, 2009

We have so many ideas written down, sketched out, just waiting to see the light of day.  Most of the time these ideas take so much work and effort that I procrastinate and put off the project until the concept finally overcomes my laziness and pushes itself out into the real world.  Below is just one of the many ideas that I have sketched out for a project to bring my conceptual “anti-bridal” approach to portrait and family photography.   

above in tights our willing participants in our first antiportrait project: Kiera, Willie, Tivon, Randi, Autumn and Naazir

    18 Comments

  1. Meg

    You are amazing- and not just for the unique concepts but for your ability to obviously describe them so well and convince clients that they will work- and work they wil!!!

  2. Ricky

    Very Harry Potter?

  3. john

    oh man…so cool!!!!

  4. RANDI

    WOW CANT WAIT TO SEE THE OTHER ONES. AND RICKY HARRY POTTER DONT YOU KNOW WHO IS IN THIS PICTURE HELLO ITS THE ONE AND ONLY…

  5. Elizabeth

    Randi told me about this–so so so cool!!!!

  6. Scott

    Awesome!

  7. neal

    No words John. Marvelous!

  8. Dominoe Imus

    Holy moly, that is awesome. I’m having flashbacks to Captain Underpants. I want to see more!!

  9. Rita Wiebner

    John, that is frickin awesome. nuf said

  10. Doug Boutwell

    Ah, glad you got around to doing that one! Looks killer! Congrats!

  11. karissa

    AWESOME! Video lights?

  12. Christie May

    That is the ultimate portrait! Who wouldn’t want to blow that up 30×40 for their house!

  13. Alma

    I love Harry Potter and I love your work… no wonder I like this image so much!!!

  14. Robyn

    haha! I LUV IT!!

  15. cindy

    That is the best picture I’ve ever seen. Love it! Love your techniques for capture too. I enjoyed your presentation at DWF so much I haven’t stopped talking about it!

  16. KIm sanderson

    This makes me want to peek closer. and closer. and closer. I love what you have done here!

  17. ohana photographers - david baxter

    that is so killer! you are just amazing!

  18. Nancy

    This really reminds me of the sigur ros video where the kids are dressed up and marching in a field. i love this approach; it’s very inspiring.


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Retiring Joan and Ophelia

December 12th, 2008

Our most published image, the gatekeeper to our website.  ”My Joan of Arc” has been published nationally and internationally in major photography and wedding magazines along with my version of “Ophelia”. These images have also been a part of the inspiration to the “Trash the Dress” phenomenon that has spread through out the world - pushing photographers to think well outside of the box.  We don’t want these to become like those good songs that are overplayed on the radio, so we are taking them from the front of our site and burying them somewhere peaceful.  We will no longer submit them to requests for publishing. At the start of the new year you will have to look hard to find the bride on fire or the tragic romance that consumes the bride in the water.  This also means that it is time to put up new images and start to push the boundaries once again, reinventing ourselves and doing the unexpected. 

When intitiating the “anti-bridal” project, I did not realize the paradigm shift that it would cause within parts of the wedding photography industry,  nor did I realize the opportunities that it would open for altF - demanding speaking engagements around the world.

Thank you Joan and Ophelia for making such an impact in our career.  

Take one last look… February being the end of the sale of these fine art prints on our site.  If you want a piece of wedding photography history, you can snatch up your copy here until February 28th - a limited edition fine art print of each of these images as well as the black and white version are available.  Prints are signed and only 250 of each will be printed - we are almost to that number.

    11 Comments

  1. Cristina Alt

    I guess I was just in time! :) I just started my blog, and dedicated fridays to “trash the dress” photography, and of course featured your work, as my first TTD post :D Amazing images!

  2. mark eric

    So long Joan and Ophelia, you’ll be missed. Thank you John for inspiring us all with your vision.

  3. Blair Van Bussel

    These images are AMAZING. I will be sad to see them buried away, but completely understand why. On to bigger and better things! I am so excited to see what amazing things are coming.

  4. Shannon Cunningham

    Congrats on a great run Joan and Ophelia

  5. CARA

    I love you guys.. ur awesome..

  6. Nic

    Total respect for what your doing. Thanks.

  7. Anne

    Congratulations on constantly striving for something new and inventive. I can’t wait to see what you do next!!

  8. Adam Cavanagh

    Joan started me off… sad to see her go. But I can’t wait to see what you come up with next.
    Cheers Adam

  9. Rita

    John - Can’t wait to see where your journey goes next. Ophelia and Joan will be missed. I think it’s time we finally get our copy of Joan framed and hung in our office, that way we can see her and think of you everyday. :)

  10. Ricky Gulati

    I’m so sad!

  11. Marco

    Noooo! It’s one of those images that belongs now to the photography community. You freaked all us out the first time you showed it at DWF. 500 peopled jumped on their chairs. Thank you for that kick in the butt. Still feeling it.


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the McLellans

November 6th, 2008

081027-0061.jpg

The McLellans **updated**

Strange how some of my ideas get from my sketch book to reality.  It was near the end of July when i just happened to be strutting through Elvis’s living-room pondering a peanut butter and banana sandwich when i mentioned to the noticeable pregnant McLellans that i have wanted to shoot a maternity bridal session in front of an old air stream, ala trailer park anti bridal….  well a few months later and the super cool McLellans flew out all the way from Nashville to let me play dress up with them…    So while channeling a peanut butter and banana sandwich i give you the Fabulous McLellans as my latest anti-bridal “trailer park bride” .

081027-0068.jpg081027-0142.jpg081027-0218.jpg081027-0238.jpg081027-0254.jpg081027-0267.jpg

big thanks first to the McLellans for flying all the way out here, 2nd for Mikka at Tuxedo Junction for supplying us with a vintage powder blue tux, and 3rd but not least Hoss for allowing us to spill beer on his driveway while also allowing us the use of a pre ’70s Silver Streak.**update…ok when i originally posted, i totally forgot to give proper credit to this last image.  while shooting with the door open our daughter, Ros, said we should put them in door facing one another..  well i tried it out and just before i started to shoot someone said that it looked very Norman Rockwell-ish.    Sorry Ros, i forgot to give you your due credit….  thanks so much, now if you can just be there for all of our shoots….

081027-0298.jpg

    22 Comments

  1. Jenny Evelyn

    As always I love your work! I have been wanting to do something with an airstream too! btw your wife look awesome blond! I love her profile pic on facebook! i am thinking about what to call my antibridal section on my site? I went to your workshop in the ATL. I really enjoyed everything! Any Suggestions?

  2. Dana Grant

    I don’t know what I love more: the pregnant bride,the blue suit or the trailer. It’s perfection.

  3. ohana photographers - david

    the mclellans are too hot!!! who looks that smokin preggo? mel that’s who! you guys look fab and how lucky to be shot by one of the best!

  4. Jeremy Dueck

    Okay, these rule! John, you are the King of Cool!

    Cheers mate

  5. Mel McLellan

    These are great John! Thanks for letting us be a part of your crazy vision! :)

  6. Joel

    kick. ass.

  7. Robin Dini

    LOVE the last three! Awesome idea!

  8. Mary Crow

    I see a new career for sean and mel. Sean reminds me a little of Johnny Depp in “Fear and Loathing…”. Melanie, as always, looks like a goddess!! I am not sure which is my fave….but the one with the slinging six pack and the movie camera are priceless!

  9. Coralie

    LOL! Love that last shot! You cheered up a dull November evening for me.

  10. Blair Van Bussel

    Are you kidding me? These are beyond cool.

  11. lorenz

    You’re the master of lighting amongst your other wild and brilliant ideas! It was a fun time watching you put this together.

    a modern day anti - Rembrandt, Picasso,and Dali all rolled into one~lorenz

  12. Rachel

    what a fabulous shoot! Love it :)

  13. Christine Meintjes

    Such fun! These are great!!

  14. Tracey Kumer-Moore

    JMC (and Roz)…

    What a great shoot! I am so looking forward to finally doing a wedding with you for A&E (the couple, not the network..but that would be fun too).

    You never cease to amaze and inspire me.

  15. DonnaB

    Way over the top. Made me go “wow”, smile, and laugh..all at the same time.

  16. Maya

    These are awesome! I want to get pregnant again and get photos like this!

  17. adrian hitt

    i died when i saw these. absolutely hysterical. so fantastic!

  18. Allana

    Props to Ros!

    That last Rockwell one is definitely my favorite!

    Great idea, and implementation.

    makes me want to get pregnant . . .

  19. Amy

    Oh, oh my. Now this just about made my day.

  20. Kate Crafton

    Ha! These are fantastic!!! (and I hate Mel for being so photogenic while pregnant)

  21. kerri mcconnell

    awesome. nothing is better than trailer trash shiek! how fun!

  22. Meggie Velasco

    HAHA!!! I love it!!! Well done, well done. Mel, even though you’re supposed to be trash, you still look amazing.


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