One of the things we hear time and time again is “Shoot it right in camera and you won’t need Photoshop” If you didn’t know, this is a very, very old saying that came out when everyone went digital. This saying came from the fact that photographers and our egos didn’t want anyone thinking some stupid program could do anything to enhance our work. That amazing photos were created in the camera and that was the end of it.
What do you think is the #1 career killer of many up and coming or want to be models? I’ll bet it’s not what your first guesses are! What do you think it is?
Too short? Nope! Not at all.
Too limited on styles? Nope, not at all.
No money to work with professional photographers? Nope, not even that!
There are many things one can say that will put people off. Most times, we don’t realize that it’s the most innocent of questions that will get us “blacklisted” from many established photographers. As we all know, I preach the…
Is one that provides you with a ton of photos that can keep you editing for months to come.
For every serious photographer I stress two things;
Have a QUALIFIED mentor
Have a Muse
With these two things, there isn’t anything you can’t do in the photography and business world. The reason this is so important is a mentor has been where you are or going and can usually help steer you in the right direction. A good mentor is much like a psychologist; they will never come out and tell you exactly what to do, but will suggest or lightly nudge you. A muse will bring out your creative side as well as allowing you to try new things and work with you to evolve your ideas into more. I think it’s important to have several types of muses and mentors, the more diverse, the better.
Here’s a photo from a shoot with one of my muses Lauren V. This photo was taken in April and today, this session STILL allows me at least five new photos to clean up and post. Obviously there’s no purpose to have that many on the blog, which is why I’ll have my portfolio paysite coming out soon. Until then, enjoy this photo!
One of my most popular models is Taylor. She stopped in to hang with me and of course we shot. Taylor is one of the few models that I enjoy TALKING to as well as shooting. We talked longer than we shot and as a result, I’m forcing her to come back in December. If all goes my way, those photos will be some of the best I’ve taken to date! I’m excited and so is she.
In tradition with meeting the models, I want to keep it going with Cass. I met Cass online about a year ago. She has a look that drew me in right away. I found her wit and quips to be second to none therefore shooting her was a must. We talked here and there for about a year, then one day she contacted me and told me she was moving to FL and wanted to shoot before she left. The day we shot, she just got her braces off earlier in the a.m. and was excited to shoot. We shot several different styles and I have to say, this series…captured my eye She had so much fun she’s coming back in on my birthday in a few weeks and we’re shooting again! I can’t wait as this second shoot will be even hotter!
A few weeks ago, I had a boudoir workshop in a local hotel. The workshop was really a shoot out, but everyone had a great time and got some awesome images. One of the things I made a point to teach was that boudoir is nothing more than glamour photography, just more focus on body parts. I get into arguments all the time about this as some of my peers believe boudoir is different, I tell them “Boudoir is a fancy word to say lingerie, implied and nude photography.” It’s a general portrait photographers chance to shoot nekked women and not be thought of as a bad guy.
Regardless of your reason for shooting boudoir, I enjoy it and for the same reasons I enjoy glamour; empowering women.
As of late, I’ve been playing around with a new setup. I’ve gotten into e-fights as to the modifiers I’m using as some people think it’s a ring flash. I am not using a ring flash. I am using an old school style of photography that obviously is forgotten about, it’s called The Arc of Equal Distance. This light gives me a great look, however, I’ve found I have to use some pretty powerful lights! The Arc of Equal Distance is basically using three main modifiers all set to the same power settings and positioned around the client in a crescent moon type setup. This is how I get the shadowless look and how my images are now.
Here’s another from early this year. I saw it and it looked good to edit.
Three light setup; two on background one on model.
Some people wonder why I don’t allow escorts. I’ve seen threads and arguments across the internet that ranges from the ridiculous to reasonable. Everyone has their own reasons for allowing or not allowing it. I can’t tell you to allow or disallow them, only tell you why I don’t allow them;
My sets are just that, my set. I have insurance and my insurance clearly states no one who isn’t germain to the shoot is not covered and any accident is my responsibility.
I don’t need onlookers either trying to Art Direct my session or offering their unsolicited opinion on posing/lighting.
I don’t want a fellow photographer who is too frugal to pay for a one on one session, coming in trying to steal ideas (Yes, it happened once)
My reputation precedes me, A model or model-wannabe should do his or her research on a photog before asking to shoot.