photographer spotlight - randall slavin

"All you want is people to have a bit of fun with you for a day. I mean many people can do what we do, but you have to have people skills to make the job work. It doesn’t matter how good your photos are, if they don‘t want to spend six hours with you, you won‘t get anywhere."

Randall Slavin was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California.  Growing up, Slavin was a typical Californian, spending most of his time surfing, skateboarding and attempting to pursue a career in acting.  Throughout the beginning of his young adult life, Slavin hitchhiked his way around the United States and ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he started working in a carnival booth to make some extra money to get himself back home.  Once back in Los Angeles, Slavin started working at the family gas station.  Located across the street from his family gas station was a small photography studio.  Seeing all the beautiful woman walking in and out of the studio, Slavin decided that he would wander across the street and talk to the owners.  Before even asking if he was interested in taking photos, the owner of the store started taking headshots of Slavin.  The conversation progressed and the owner of the studio then asked Slavin if he was able to take a good picture.  It only took one shot and Slavin was hired on the spot.

Throughout his glamourous career, Slavin has photographed such celebrities as Sharon Stone, Dennis Hopper and Charlize Theron as well as musicians Alicia Keys, Leona Lewis and Rilo Kiley.  His beautiful work has appeared in  magazines such as Esquire, Rolling Stone, GQ, Black Tail and FLAUNT (and many others).  When asked about his favourite pieces, Slavin is quick to talk about his photoshoot with his good friend, actress Charlize Theron.  Although many pictures were shot that day, there is one in particular that holds a special place in Slavin’s heart.

"That picture will stand the test of time. I mean you can look at some pictures
 and say you love it, but a couple of years later, they don't hold up. To my dying
day, this picture will still be remembered and stand out in my portfolio till then."

Randall Slavin is able to grab personality and truth from all of the subjects that he has photographed.  His work is unique, artistic, flawless and dramatic; each piece has it’s own story to tell, making each photoshoot a beautiful portrayal of Slavin’s creative and undying love for taking photographs.  A few of Slavin's work are posted below, and to see more of my favourites of his, please click on this link.

all images in this blog entry are © Randall Slavin.

website: http://www.randallslavin.com/

source of quote: LA2Day Talk.com