There was a model that I’ve wanted to shoot for a while named Ann Bang. She was perfect as she has a great look and killer body! She was out of the country for a while and once she was around, I was leaving Colorado. Before I left, I had a chance to shoot her but it was part of a workshop. We had agreed to shoot before I left, but it never worked out. I sent her another email letting her know I was going to be back in the area and she ignored it. Guess I won’t be shooting her anymore lol.
I often reflect back on my first talk with my mentor and friend Art Ketchum and I remember specifically complaining as all I had was a cheap pair of Ebay strobes and a cheap camera and starter lens. In his book, Portfolio by Art Ketchum, Art states he had a ton of strobes and modifiers. He also stated if the reader or anyone else who wondered why he had so many, his response was simple; “Because I can”. It floored me
I’m amazed by some of the conversations I have with other professional photographers. A lot of well accomplished photographers, people I look up to, don’t make money in “model photography” This has always amazed me as I was able to make money in it! After talking to them and breaking through the unwritten rule of “Never discuss business” I found that none of them had a business plan!
Today’s update is of Nicole. Nicole came as a referral shoot for a website. It’s been a while since I’ve shot for a site so I figured why not? The setup was simple, just one light a Photogenic Solair PLR500DRC with a silver 24″ beauty dish with diffusion sock. Not sure what happened to her, she sort of disappeared off the face of the earth (as many of them do!) My hopes is she’s alive and well and pursuing other dreams.
I was talking to a friend and we started talking about tag lines. Now if you don’t know what a tag line is, allow me to tell you:
“Coke is it”
“You can’t beat the real thing”
“You’ve got the right one”
A few weeks ago, I posted some images of Jacqui. I’ve gotten a lot of requests for more so I put together a little demo video as well as some images from our shoot.
As I’ve stated before, when I first started getting serious about photography, I found a “mentor”. When I looked at his work, it was AMAZING! I was sure he was in major magazines. I contacted him and we talked photography. Today when I reflect on it, he really didn’t teach me much in the way of learning, but I learned a lot of what NOT to do. Anyway, after talking to him, I suggested he start teaching workshops and it was there that he told me if I put on workshops for him to teach at, he could cut me in at 50%.
I’ve been talking about the Backdrop Outlet Pro White Vinyl backdrop for some time now. I got it in about a month ago and wanted to use it several times before giving what I’d consider, an honest feedback. Before going into any ratings, I’ll tell you my experience.
I’ve said a million times you need a Muse and Mentor to be successful in photography wither it be hobby or profession. I feel you need a Muse more than Mentor and its simple; Muses’ will allow you to test out new things and help push you in ways you’ve never imagined. My former Muse Lauren has quite a lot of lighting knowledge and knows her body very well. She’s an AMAZING glamour model and friend.
I seem to go in spurts, sometimes I detest natural light, other times, it’s all I shoot.
As it works out, I’ve been shooting a ton of natural light stuff over the past few weeks and have found a really FUN way to do it! It’s using a large picture window (or sliding glass door) and getting the maximum amount of light I can and shaping it from there. I use one silver reflector and sometimes a soft gold reflector to bounce light back into the face. Simple, yet effective.