A VISUAL JOURNEY THROUGH THE DARKEST OF ARTS

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Welcome to TrueHorror.net All Photography by Jason R. Sheppard Thank you for taking the time to check out my photography. I have recently updated this site to include  “Commentary” on all my work. I felt this would provide you the viewers with some insight into what goes into creating all of these images, as well some of the experiences I have gained during my time shooting. I have been lucky to meet and work with plenty of great people during my time working on all these projects. I want to thank all of my family and friends who have taken time to assist me when they could to create these images.  I hope you enjoy what you find here as much as I enjoyed putting it together. If anyone is interested in a photoshoot or would like to purchase a print feel free to contact me for info. note: There are currently 4 pages of images, to see the next page click “older posts” on the bottom right side of each page. -Jason Photo above entitled: TrueHorror model: Olga Ras This photo is one I had been wanting to try for quite sometime but never had the right opportunity arise to do so. Once Olga told me she was interested and wasn’t shy about getting bloody or messy I was ready. While she had never modeled before, especially anything like this, she was game and enthusiastic which generally makes all the difference between a fun laid back shoot and an awful one. The post production process (try saying that 5 times fast)began with her eyeballs being digitally removed, after which I added the tissue damage to the area around the sockets. I find it to be a disturbing image that is a good way to start things off for your viewing of this site. I have included a cropped version in order to provide a better look at the  gory details. 

Welcome to TrueHorror.net

All Photography by Jason R. Sheppard

Thank you for taking the time to check out my photography. I have recently updated this site to include  “Commentary” on all my work. I felt this would provide you the viewers with some insight into what goes into creating all of these images, as well some of the experiences I have gained during my time shooting. I have been lucky to meet and work with plenty of great people during my time working on all these projects. I want to thank all of my family and friends who have taken time to assist me when they could to create these images.  I hope you enjoy what you find here as much as I enjoyed putting it together. If anyone is interested in a photoshoot or would like to purchase a print feel free to contact me for info.

note: There are currently 4 pages of images, to see the next page click “older posts” on the bottom right side of each page.

-Jason

Photo above entitled: TrueHorror

model: Olga Ras

This photo is one I had been wanting to try for quite sometime but never had the right opportunity arise to do so. Once Olga told me she was interested and wasn’t shy about getting bloody or messy I was ready. While she had never modeled before, especially anything like this, she was game and enthusiastic which generally makes all the difference between a fun laid back shoot and an awful one. The post production process (try saying that 5 times fast)began with her eyeballs being digitally removed, after which I added the tissue damage to the area around the sockets. I find it to be a disturbing image that is a good way to start things off for your viewing of this site. I have included a cropped version in order to provide a better look at the  gory details. 

Alice in Zombieland model: Penny Pax Sometimes some of the best shoots come from collaborative efforts. In the case of concept for the above image, the credit goes all to the model Penny. An avid Disney “Alice in Wonderland” fan, she came up with the idea of meshing her favorite movie with my distinct style of photography. The thought of Zombie Alice was intriguing and I decided to really give it a unique feel by portraying her eating the White Rabbit, so I was excited to get started. It was a fun shoot that in the end, turned out more to my liking than I anticipated. While I have a few more zombie inspired shots on my site that I love, this one really stands on its own as well and is a welcome addition that I am proud of.

Alice in Zombieland

model: Penny Pax

Sometimes some of the best shoots come from collaborative efforts. In the case of concept for the above image, the credit goes all to the model Penny. An avid Disney “Alice in Wonderland” fan, she came up with the idea of meshing her favorite movie with my distinct style of photography. The thought of Zombie Alice was intriguing and I decided to really give it a unique feel by portraying her eating the White Rabbit, so I was excited to get started. It was a fun shoot that in the end, turned out more to my liking than I anticipated. While I have a few more zombie inspired shots on my site that I love, this one really stands on its own as well and is a welcome addition that I am proud of.

Nocturnal Animal model: Nefreteri Tomalo As far as Vampires go, I generally prefer the more monstrous interpretations of the mythical monsters. However, there is just something about a classic sexy vampire that you just can’t go wrong with either. That was the intention when the model and I set out to shoot this photo. Which was the result of a night of having nothing really to do so we wanted to at least be productive. I must have tried editing this photo at least five different ways before I finally got something that worked for me and those I showed it to. This shot is the reason I wont try to do another sexy vampire shoot, because I don’t think it would be able to capture what Nefreteri and I were able to with this photo.

Nocturnal Animal

model: Nefreteri Tomalo

As far as Vampires go, I generally prefer the more monstrous interpretations of the mythical monsters. However, there is just something about a classic sexy vampire that you just can’t go wrong with either. That was the intention when the model and I set out to shoot this photo. Which was the result of a night of having nothing really to do so we wanted to at least be productive. I must have tried editing this photo at least five different ways before I finally got something that worked for me and those I showed it to. This shot is the reason I wont try to do another sexy vampire shoot, because I don’t think it would be able to capture what Nefreteri and I were able to with this photo.

Amazing Spider-Man #671 

model: Nefreteri Tomalo

additional editing & composite work: Tony Davis & Edgar Delgado

based on Amazing Spider-Man cover art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado

While this image is not Horror related, it still stands as one of my favorite pieces of work I have done. I debated about including it on this site due to it not adhering to the “horror” genre, but not only am I extremely proud of, it also has a great story to go along with it so in the end I decided it was worth displaying here with the rest of my work.

I am a huge Spider-Man fan. Always have been. I am especially a fan of Spider-Man artist Humberto Ramos and Marvel colorist Edgar Delgado’s work. So upon first seeing the cover they did for Amazing Spider-Man #671, I knew I wanted to attempt to recreate it. This was an exciting shot to attempt as it was the result of a collaboration with a group of people I was proud to work with. First off I must thank my awesome model Neffy, who really did an excellent job essentially transforming herself into Mary Jane as she appeared on the original cover. I think there is no questioning just how great she looks in that outfit nor how well she fits the bill. Next up I have to thank my pal Tony Davis who is a technical wiz when it comes to photography and Photoshop Tony was responsible for the compositing work on the shot which lead from green screen to brick wall. An extra special thanks to Edgar Delgado, who took time out of his busy schedule for believing in my vision based on his work and to get involved in the project by digitally painting in the Spidey symbol onto the photo. It was definitely a privilege and an honor to collaborate with one of my favorite artists. Last but not least I have to thank my Mom who was responsible for creating the spidey top that Nefreteri is wearing in this photo, without that, this photo doesn’t work, so THANKS MOM! Overall this was definitely a learning experience in that there were so many people involved, however it was worth it once the end result was complete. I have since showed the image to Humberto Ramos and the current writer of Amazing Spider-Man Dan Slott who gave it their enthusiastic thumbs up. Slott went so far as to ask that I submit it to Marvel for inclusion in a future issue of Amazing Spider-Man. So That I did. Hope you guys enjoy checking out this photo as much as I had creating it.

The Main Corpse model: Jose Gomez When it came time to do a new Zombie image, I wanted it to be unique to the majority of Zombie stuff out there, So this idea dawned(no pun intended) on me and I set out to get it done. Well I never realized just HOW difficult it would be to get a brain to utilize for this outside of the Halloween season. I eventually was able to track one down on vacation in NY at a year round Halloween shop. It was cheap looking but my best option, as it turns out it photographed extremely well, especially once the “brain goo” was poured on it. For the Zombie, I selected my friend Jose who had previously portrayed one for me and while the photo was gross and effective, it quickly outgrew my skill level, so I decided to use him again for the upgrade since he goes all out and gets into character. I used PS to “Zombify” him along with the practical blood effects that were applied to his face beforehand. I liked this idea of a savage zombie who still is proper enough to use his utensils when the time comes to eat a braaaain!.

The Main Corpse

model: Jose Gomez

When it came time to do a new Zombie image, I wanted it to be unique to the majority of Zombie stuff out there, So this idea dawned(no pun intended) on me and I set out to get it done. Well I never realized just HOW difficult it would be to get a brain to utilize for this outside of the Halloween season. I eventually was able to track one down on vacation in NY at a year round Halloween shop. It was cheap looking but my best option, as it turns out it photographed extremely well, especially once the “brain goo” was poured on it. For the Zombie, I selected my friend Jose who had previously portrayed one for me and while the photo was gross and effective, it quickly outgrew my skill level, so I decided to use him again for the upgrade since he goes all out and gets into character. I used PS to “Zombify” him along with the practical blood effects that were applied to his face beforehand. I liked this idea of a savage zombie who still is proper enough to use his utensils when the time comes to eat a braaaain!.

Good Guy Doll Advertising Being a huge fan of the Child’s Play series mythology, (yes, there is a mythology as ridiculous as that may sound) one of the more fascinating ideas presented in the films universe is that of the Good Guy Doll itself as well as the Play Partners Toy company that produces them. In the original film we learn that the actual Good Guy Dolls are a newer part of the Good Guy brand itself, which seems to have a following based on a popular TV show involving The Good Guy characters, which has both an animated segment and a large sesame street-esque Good Guy character in a tree house in between those animated segments. Not to mention their own cereal. So I took it upon myself to create what I imagined an actual ad for the upcoming dolls would look like. Everything in this photo is based on info and items from the original film. From the pricing of the doll to the ad for the Good Guy TV show. I wanted it to be as accurate to film continuity as possible and sticking to the source material is the best way to achieve that. I want to thank Matt from www.x-entertainment.com (check it out its a great site devoted to the 80’s and other awesome stuff) for his help with this project, he helped me tweak some ideas with his suggestions and insight to give it that authentic 80’s toy ad feel. It wasnt easy to produce as I only possess ONE of these Good Guy dolls, but in the end I felt it was really a great piece that ranks up at the top of things I have done. I also learned some new techniques while creating it which is always a plus. UPDATE: Since posting this I had the pleasure of sharing it with Chucky himself Brad Dourif via twitter. For those that don’t know, Brad is the actor who played Charles Lee Ray in the original “Child’s Play” film as well as supplying Chucky with his distinct voiced throughout the entire series. Generally when you attempt to do something of this sort there is a 50/50 chance they will respond back (usually it seems like less than that even). I was suprised and pleased to see that Brad did indeed see my image and I even more pleased to see he actually liked what he saw. It may seem like a little thing, but to be able to show the person who basically IS Chucky my work and get a good response to it, was definitely one of the highlights of my photography career thus far. It was definitely appreciated. I posted his responses mostly for show but also to keep me motivated to not be afraid to show my work and reach out to the people who inspire it. 

Good Guy Doll Advertising

Being a huge fan of the Child’s Play series mythology, (yes, there is a mythology as ridiculous as that may sound) one of the more fascinating ideas presented in the films universe is that of the Good Guy Doll itself as well as the Play Partners Toy company that produces them. In the original film we learn that the actual Good Guy Dolls are a newer part of the Good Guy brand itself, which seems to have a following based on a popular TV show involving The Good Guy characters, which has both an animated segment and a large sesame street-esque Good Guy character in a tree house in between those animated segments. Not to mention their own cereal. So I took it upon myself to create what I imagined an actual ad for the upcoming dolls would look like. Everything in this photo is based on info and items from the original film. From the pricing of the doll to the ad for the Good Guy TV show. I wanted it to be as accurate to film continuity as possible and sticking to the source material is the best way to achieve that. I want to thank Matt from www.x-entertainment.com (check it out its a great site devoted to the 80’s and other awesome stuff) for his help with this project, he helped me tweak some ideas with his suggestions and insight to give it that authentic 80’s toy ad feel. It wasnt easy to produce as I only possess ONE of these Good Guy dolls, but in the end I felt it was really a great piece that ranks up at the top of things I have done. I also learned some new techniques while creating it which is always a plus.

UPDATE: Since posting this I had the pleasure of sharing it with Chucky himself Brad Dourif via twitter. For those that don’t know, Brad is the actor who played Charles Lee Ray in the original “Child’s Play” film as well as supplying Chucky with his distinct voiced throughout the entire series. Generally when you attempt to do something of this sort there is a 50/50 chance they will respond back (usually it seems like less than that even). I was suprised and pleased to see that Brad did indeed see my image and I even more pleased to see he actually liked what he saw. It may seem like a little thing, but to be able to show the person who basically IS Chucky my work and get a good response to it, was definitely one of the highlights of my photography career thus far. It was definitely appreciated. I posted his responses mostly for show but also to keep me motivated to not be afraid to show my work and reach out to the people who inspire it. 

My Original Child’s Play poster design & The Original from 1988

I love creating movie posters, I also am a huge Childs Play fan. The idea came to me to create a Child’s Play poster that in my opinion surpasses the original and that as a fan of Child’s Play I would want to see and own myself. It took a while to complete but I love the story it tells. It now hangs in my living room with amongst a few other classic horror movie posters and for me its as effective as the rest of them. So Here I have posted my version along with the original one from the  1988 film for your comparison.

Wednesday Addams

model: Mikki Thole

makeup artist: Natalie Lunsford

During the month of October I am usually busier than normal with photoshoots. Most of the times, the shoot themes are my ideas, however I am always open to hearing what a model may have in mind, especially if they are enthusiastic about the idea. Enter: Mikki, she told me how she loved Wednesday Addams and wanted to do a shoot based on her. So it didnt take to long to get everything together, She had the outfit (albeit a sexier version which I was all for) and my niece Gabriela provided me with an old doll to turn into Wendesdays companion. My makeup artist Natalie did a great job of giving Mikki the perfect pale and dark eyed look, after which Mikki got into character and I will say this was one of the fastest and easiest photoshoots I have done. Everything just came out great and I was very satisfied with the outcome as was everyone involved. I have included a behind the scenes green screen shot as well to give you an idea of how this image was achieved and the makeup applied before the post production began. A slightly altered version of this shot will also be featured in an upcoming HorrorHound Magazine.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

models: Natalie Lunsford, Daniel, Victoria and Stefano Viola

While I have done my fair share of Michael Myers and Halloween related photoshoots (which you will quickly soon find out by delving deeper into this site) this year I decided to challenge myself and create 31 photos or images in the 31 days of October, dubbing it “A True Horror October”. I knew that some photos would be quick fixes while I worked and shot others that I would put alot of effort and time into. I also knew that I needed the perfect photo for that magical night of October 31st, Halloween. So it seemed a no brainer to up the ante from my previous Myers photos (which can be seen below) So in talking with my friends, I mentioned it would be great to get some kids into the mix to play up the babysitter aspect I have had yet to do. Luckily my friend Natalie got back to me and mentioned she had some kids we could borrow! Turns out the kids parents were into Halloween just as much as I was and were happy to have them participate and be included. This was another shoot where I had alot of fun decorating and “set dressing” so to speak(dollar tree is good for something!). The kids were great, they were excited to do it, fun and easy to work with and enjoyed carving a pumpkin and eating candy while they waited for me to prep everything. Once Again my go to guy to play Michael Myers, my friend Stefano donned the mask and did an even better job than before at portraying the evasive shape. In the end, it turned out to be pretty close to how I envisioned it, I did attempt to make it a bit darker but it just wasnt working as well for me so I went with the version you see above. I have also posted a bonus photo since Natalie is actually terrified of Michael Myers and I was proud of her for participating and facing her fear.

Moment of Fear models: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola This image is pretty self explanatory. It’s definitely one that gives alot of people the creeps. I would imagine alot of people would be pretty terrified if they found themselves in this particular scenario. It was the first non-solo Myers photoshoot I had attempted. Angelina was ready and willing to play the unsuspecting victim, while my buddy Stefano took on the role of Michael Myers. We shot alot of photos for this shoot and I believe each I have posted here has its own merits that make it deserving of a slot on this site.

Moment of Fear

models: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola

This image is pretty self explanatory. It’s definitely one that gives alot of people the creeps. I would imagine alot of people would be pretty terrified if they found themselves in this particular scenario. It was the first non-solo Myers photoshoot I had attempted. Angelina was ready and willing to play the unsuspecting victim, while my buddy Stefano took on the role of Michael Myers. We shot alot of photos for this shoot and I believe each I have posted here has its own merits that make it deserving of a slot on this site.

CREEP models: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola Of all the photos I have taken involving Michael Myers, I think this is the best representation of the mask out of all of them. The key to a good Michael Myers ANYTHING is the mask, and I am sure many of you realize All Myers Masks are NOT created equel. The trick to obtaining a good Myers mask is to get one of the custom made ones you can find if you do enough searching. I think the one I use is one of the best out there. I have had some people tell me the models face is too dark in the photo, but I think it works for this photo with Michael being the main focus. I added a grainy overlay at the time to give the photo a dirtier look, though now I am not sure I would have gone that route. This photo also was the first time I used my alternate tagline of “Babes, Blood & Boogeymen”.

CREEP

models: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola

Of all the photos I have taken involving Michael Myers, I think this is the best representation of the mask out of all of them. The key to a good Michael Myers ANYTHING is the mask, and I am sure many of you realize All Myers Masks are NOT created equel. The trick to obtaining a good Myers mask is to get one of the custom made ones you can find if you do enough searching. I think the one I use is one of the best out there. I have had some people tell me the models face is too dark in the photo, but I think it works for this photo with Michael being the main focus. I added a grainy overlay at the time to give the photo a dirtier look, though now I am not sure I would have gone that route. This photo also was the first time I used my alternate tagline of “Babes, Blood & Boogeymen”.

PLEASE NOTE: This image is a place holder for an updated newly edited version of this shot coming soon. Last Breath model: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola My favorite thing about this photo is just how evil the Myers masks looks in it. I do like the action it has going on as well. I also love the little ghost decorations we added in the background.

PLEASE NOTE: This image is a place holder for an updated newly edited version of this shot coming soon.

Last Breath

model: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola

My favorite thing about this photo is just how evil the Myers masks looks in it. I do like the action it has going on as well. I also love the little ghost decorations we added in the background.

Myers model: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola This shot was the one that caught HorrorHound Magazines eye and started my working relationship with them. The thing about this shoot is, originally the jumpsuit Michael Myers was wearing was green, we ended up using the green one because it just fit better, it was only later down the road I color corrected the image to give him the more traditional blue jumpsuit as well as give the shower curtain a more orange tone to go with the Halloween theme. Her wound was created by simply layering on the fake blood with a bit of touch up in PS after the fact. What is lost in some of these photos is her t-shirt actually has a pumpkin face on it which was a nice touch we found at the last minute. It’s little things like that, that make shooting this type of material a blast. Plus Angelina here as you will see throughout this site is great at playing dead.

Myers

model: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola

This shot was the one that caught HorrorHound Magazines eye and started my working relationship with them. The thing about this shoot is, originally the jumpsuit Michael Myers was wearing was green, we ended up using the green one because it just fit better, it was only later down the road I color corrected the image to give him the more traditional blue jumpsuit as well as give the shower curtain a more orange tone to go with the Halloween theme. Her wound was created by simply layering on the fake blood with a bit of touch up in PS after the fact. What is lost in some of these photos is her t-shirt actually has a pumpkin face on it which was a nice touch we found at the last minute. It’s little things like that, that make shooting this type of material a blast. Plus Angelina here as you will see throughout this site is great at playing dead.

End of the Night models: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola This photoset has alot of shots I was happy with. This one in particular was the shot I set out to get from the beginning though. I love the vouyeristic feel of it and the framing. It’s as if we are hiding in the dark room watching yet hoping not to be seen or meet the same fate as Angelina has.

End of the Night

models: Angelina Brooke, Stefano Viola

This photoset has alot of shots I was happy with. This one in particular was the shot I set out to get from the beginning though. I love the vouyeristic feel of it and the framing. It’s as if we are hiding in the dark room watching yet hoping not to be seen or meet the same fate as Angelina has.

Dr. Loomis Office As you can probably tell by now, I am a huge fan of John Carpenters HALLOWEEN, it’s my favorite film. While I have plenty of Michael Myers based images, I felt it was time to pay homage to his nemesis, Dr. Samuel Loomis played by the late and great Donald Pleasance. This photoset was a big part of my October photo celebration, and I really liked this image as a teaser shot, so I have included it as an introduction to these shots as I think it tells a story on its own.

Dr. Loomis Office

As you can probably tell by now, I am a huge fan of John Carpenters HALLOWEEN, it’s my favorite film. While I have plenty of Michael Myers based images, I felt it was time to pay homage to his nemesis, Dr. Samuel Loomis played by the late and great Donald Pleasance. This photoset was a big part of my October photo celebration, and I really liked this image as a teaser shot, so I have included it as an introduction to these shots as I think it tells a story on its own.