The Shot

Dean Dishes About the Finale of 'The Shot'

editor@buddytv.com — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:00:38 GMT

At the beginning of The Shot, VH1's series about the “next great fashion photographer,” Dean Zulich appeared destined for reality show villain status. His aggressive demeanor was off-putting and his strong sense of self seemed to veer into arrogance.

However, during the show, he did seem humbled and chastened at times by his own difficulty in several of the challenges. While he did, on occasion, regain some of his confident swagger, he became more likable as it was clear he was truly driven by his passion for photography, and therefore appeared willing to try to incorporate useful critiques when he could.

He has written about each of the challenges on The Shot, including his perspective on the all-important final challenge on the show.

The Shot: Judge Italo Gregorio Gives Tips for Curly Hair

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:58:24 GMT

The season of VH1's fashion photography show The Shot ended last week, and the winner, Maria, will now have the opportunity to shoot a Victoria's Secret catalog spread. She might be working with one of the shows judges: Italo Gregorio has worked with Victoria's Secret, and he seems to be the go-to guy for sexy hair.

If you have curly hair, and are looking for a new, sexy way to do your 'do, Italo has some tips to help you achieve just that.

'The Shot' Airs Finale, Was Anyone Watching?

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 23:39:43 GMT

The finale of The Shot aired tonight. Normally, when a reality show – especially a competition-format show – airs its finale, fans are frantically leaving comments for their favorites or their least favorite. But for The Shot? To use a reality show cliché, insert the sound of crickets chirping here.

So why the marked lack of interest in The Shot? After all, if America's Next Top Model was able to become a monster hit based on its highly unrealistic reality competition about modeling, and Project Runway cornered the market on fashion design, why didn't a show about fashion photography, completing the triumvirate, take off?

Russell James on Getting 'The Shot' for the Holidays

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:11:22 GMT

Friends and family will be gathering together this holiday season and, of course, millions of photographs will be taken. Of course, the main point of holiday pics is to capture the moment so that good times can be remembered, and aesthetic concerns aren't necessarily high on the list of objectives when the cameras come out.

Nevertheless, it can't hurt to try to maximize the impact of your holiday snaps by using some tricks of the photographers' trade in order to make the most of the moment. Russell James of The Shot recently offered up some advice on holiday picture taking.

The Shot: Judge Italo Gregorio Gives Hair Tips

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:29:37 GMT

Until the "Hair Dance" episode of The Shot, I was actually quite unclear on precisely who Italo Gregorio was or what his role is on the show. (The "Hair Dance" episode is the one in which the photographers had the models jumping on trampolines to capture movement in hair, and contestant Jason said the words “Hair Dance” about 37,000 in one half hour.)

After that particular The Shot episode though, and the level of distress he seemed to experience witnessing bad hair, it became clear: tresses are this man's passion.

The Shot: Zanna Roberts and the Challenges of Being a Judge

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:36:52 GMT

Part of being a reality show judge is making someone very unhappy every week. There's no getting around it. Without critique and painful eliminations, what would be the point? Sure, maybe you could have a show where every week people participate in some kind of competition, but at the end of it, everyone just gets a cookie and a hearty pat on the back before returning to the house for a nap. But no one would watch it. Because we've lived it: it's called kindergarten.

So in both the real world and the reality world, there are winners and losers, and in the subset of reality that involves a competition, it often the judges who make that call.

But they don't always like doing it. The Shot judge Zanna Roberts recently wrote about one such tough call from that show, and offered up a slice of drama markedly more interesting than a lot of what's actually wound up on air on the VH1 series.

Russell James Talks About Getting 'The Shot'

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:21:19 GMT

Tonight was the third episode of The Shot, VH1's new series about the search for the next great fashion photographer. I find myself continuing to watch despite the somewhat ho-hum nature of the whole thing. This week was a doubly-challenging episode, forcing the photographers to work with the heights and depths.

Last week's episode of The Shot was also a double-whammy of challenges. The photographers had to work with both children and animals. Host Russell James recently offered up some advice for others on how to deal with these sometimes difficult subjects.

The Shot: A Fatal Flaw?

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:33:44 GMT

Today we had the second episode of the new series America's Next Top Fashion Photographer…er…Project Studio…er…The Shot.

Now, I don't have a problem with derivative reality programming. Sometimes, a show can replicate the structure of another show but still bring something interesting to the table. Case in point: Top Chef. Yes, it's just Project Runway with food, but the chefs, judges and subject matter are interesting.

But The Shot, so far, doesn't seem to be hitting that mark.

The Shot: Initial Thoughts

editor@buddytv.com — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 23:41:02 GMT

Tonight was the first episode of VH1's new fashion photography series The Shot, and it's time to make some initial evaluations.

I find it irritating when people make blanket dismissals of the efforts of people on reality competitions. It's easy to sit on a couch and judge, but who knows how difficult the challenges might really be with all the variable and elements we might not see from home? You have to give the participants at least a little credit. And besides, I'm sure were I ever put on the spot in such a contest I would probably just take an entire roll with the lens cap on.

But still. Seriously, this is the best these people could do?

The Shot: Meet the Cast

editor@buddytv.com — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:42:15 GMT

The Shot is VH1's new reality competition series about aspiring fashion photographers. The first episode will air this Sunday, November 4 at 10pm Eastern, and I, for one, can't wait.

To me, the best part of America's Next Top Model is the weekly photo shoot. For one, it's always fascinating to see the transformation made possible by make-up, lighting, composition and after-effects.

In addition, photography is one of the most ideal topics for a reality competition. Beauty can be instantly recognizable and totally subjective.

Catch 'The Shot' November 4

editor@buddytv.com — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:30:00 GMT

In the tradition of America's Next Top Model comes the search for the hottest fashion photographer on the VH1 reality competition, The Shot. Ten amateur lensmen get a dream chance to work with beautiful, professional models in various exotic locations in a quest to become the next great fashion photographer.

Renowned fashion, beauty and celebrity photographer, Russell James, will mentor the 10 hopeful entries on The Shot as he imparts a lifetime worth of knowledge before sending them out to accomplish a specific assignment.