When I was a kid my father would often say, “Ain’t no one monkey gonna stop the show.” Over time I learned what he meant by that and it wasn’t until after his death I researched where that phrase came from. Although strangely worded, it’s a powerful message that has served me well in my photographic journey. In essence, it means don’t let any one person (or two) stop you from your goals. On several occasions, following this saying has led to great results. One of my most memorable instances of following this saying was when a model canceled last minute – and I do mean within an hour or so of the shoot. I had everything setup and ready to roll so I shifted gears, grabbed some props, and came up with what has essentially become my logo and one of my most watched YouTube videos. The image and video have also led to individuals all around the world reaching out to me to share their results and companion videos and blogs related to this idea. I could have easily packed my gear up and called it a night but I was more than half way prepared to do a shoot so I did one anyway. Another instance came as the result of COVID. I had a group shoot planned with another photographer and some models to do some close-up lips ideas. We did eventually get around to doing the shoot with just one model much later on, but the original shoot was canceled due to the pandemic lockdown. Once again, I changed my mindset, bought some supplies, and spent the evening playing around. It was a ton of work for just a few images, but again, well worth the effort. The manufacturer of one of the items (Outer Space Vodka) reached out and asked to use my image. I was delighted to share my efforts. And yes, even for free! My most recent example was with the amazing Lexi. We had planned on doing a blacklight shoot and she had reached out to a friend to help do some intricate painting on her body but her friend canceled the night before the shoot. Lexi and I discussed our options and decided to shoot anyway. I researched some ideas on my ‘bucket list’ and forwarded her some sample images of one idea in particular. We forged ahead with the shoot. Lexi applied her own paint which turned out AMAZING and the other idea we added to the shoot was nothing short of phenomenal! It also resulted in a kickass video, if I do say so myself. Once again, had we called it quits when her friend backed out, neither one of us would have these amazing images in our portfolios. So the next time a model cancels or a makeup artist comes up short just remember, ain’t no one monkey gonna stop the show!
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Rumor has it Instagram may hide the number of likes on posts in a few test markets here in the US. ABOUT DAMNED TIME! Apparently this test has already happened in Canada and I’m very curious if they have evaluated the outcome of the experiment. I’m sure most people are aware of how strong an influence social media can have on someone’s emotional well-being. Far too often, people use social media as a means to validate themselves. Self-worth should never be based on the number likes anyone gets – or doesn’t get. I have seen photographers get upset when they don’t get a ‘follow’ for a ‘follow’ or when another photographer posts a similar image to theirs and gets far more likes. I have seen models stress about the number of followers they lose over an image or two. Some models post increasingly risqué images in the hopes of getting just a few more likes than their last risqué image – and getting quite upset when it doesn’t happen. Additionally, some people will like an image based solely on the fact someone they know, like, or respect, liked the same image too. Likes and follows have become our affirmation, our gauge of acceptance, and the demise of our self-worth. I was recently part of a private Instagram group where individuals would post images (that are also linked to the same image on the public site) with an expectation that group members would like and comment on the images - all in the hopes that the increase traffic and attention on the image will help boost its overall visibility on Instagram. I had no problem finding positive and constructive things to say about their work and I honestly feel like I can learn something from everyone. However, I never shared any of my images in the group. It isn’t because I thought I was ‘better’ than that (otherwise I never would have joined the group) but more because I desire genuine followers of my work. I would rather have a handful of followers that genuinely appreciate and want to follow my work than a bunch of followers that like and comment on my images only in the hopes of receiving some sort of reciprocal benefit. This holds true even if it means zero followers or zero comments for me. For some people, getting tons of likes and comments actually affects their commercial value which in turn influences the types and number of commercial opportunities they may be offered. I understand that and think it is a completely justified reason to attempt to increase one’s numbers. However, I’m not in it for commercial purposes. Never have been. And I don’t think Instagram’s proposed plan is aimed at those individuals. I think it’s aimed at the skyrocketing examples of depression and suicide linked to social media. If your personal well-being is measured in followers, likes, and/or comments, you are bound to be miserable because no amount of followers, likes, or comments will ever be enough. If your goal is to create a commercial brand for yourself, garnering a following makes complete sense. Just make sure you know why you’re doing what you’re doing and manage the expectations accordingly. For me, the joy comes from the creation, not necessarily the public display that follows. That is not to say that I don’t enjoy affirmation but that’s not the driving force behind my passion, it’s just icing on the already delicious cake. So if Instagram wants to hide the number of likes and/or followers one has, I’m all for it. I’m willing to bet emotional health among the population of individuals using social media would increase dramatically. I also think people would more carefully evaluate each post individually on its merits instead of just seeing how many people may have liked it previously and simply jump on the bandwagon. I also think it helps creatives post more freely without having to worry about how it will be perceived and consumed by viewers. Instagram, if you’re listening, you have permission to begin the experiment in the U.S. with my account!
For months and months I kept seeing other photographers and models working with colored smoke. Seeing how I love colorful shoots (even though I am color blind), I had to give it a try.
I researched colored smoke and found an online store that ships colorful smoke grenades typically used for paintball games. Check out Ansgear to see their collection. They have several different sizes, varieties, and colors of smoke grenades. The grenades I settled on were wire pull basic grenades. I started collecting colors over a few months..
I knew I wanted to use several different models in several different outdoor locations for the images as well as a video so I reached out to several different models and started lining up shoots. I experimented with a grenade to see how much smoke it would produce, for how long it would produce it, and how hot the grenade would get (just to see if they could be safely handheld). The amount of smoke is nothing short of amazing. You can easily get close to 45 seconds of really good smoke with each grenade. And although they didn’t get extremely hot, I still decided to find another method for the models to hold them. Wife to the rescue! She found a decorative wire enclosure that worked great. Simply start the grenade, drop it in the basket, and swing the basket around.
Each model found amazing outfits to match or compliment their smoke colors and the shoots began. Since I knew I wanted to make a video related to the shoots, I employed my 8 year old daughter to man the video camera (cell phone). By the way, she is so excited her name is listed in the credits on the YouTube video. She’s curious as to how many ‘describers’ (subscribers) she has now!
I love several of the images we got from the shoots and the video is one of my personal favorites (despite the fact it is one of my most disliked videos to date – go figure). I am now on the hunt for more ideas that involve colored smoke. Thanks to the awesome models, my wife, and my daughter for helping me with this several month long project.
Flour – it’s good for more than just baked goods. I have done flour/powder shoots about four or five times now and they are still just as challenging and interesting as the first time I tried them. And no, I do not tire of doing the same type of shoot more than once. I learn something new every time. For this particular shoot, I enlisted the help of a competitive dancer, Sasha. I have worked with Sasha on a couple of other shoots before and I knew she would be perfect for this idea. This shoot can be done in a large studio but cleanup will be an undertaking. Doing the shoot outside helps alleviate some of the cleanup. I find the best background for these types of shoots is a black background. I buy packages of black plastic sheeting that is 10 feet by 25 feet for about $10. I buy two and tape them together with black tape giving me a single piece that is 20 feet by 25 feet. I then hang the sheet from the eves of a two car garage roughly 10 feet high - the rest of the plastic drapes down the driveway. I then place two flashes on either side of the driveway with flags (barn doors) on the side of the flash facing the plastic hanging over the garage door. Each light is placed slightly in front of the plane of the model aimed slightly back towards the model. The intent is to illuminate the model while at the same time avoiding light from spilling on the background. Despite many online tutorials, I find I get much better results illuminating the flour from the front rather than from behind. However, that just may be my personal preference. I then mark a spot on the ground about 6 to 10 feet from the background and obtain focus with the model standing on that spot. After that, I select a relatively wide depth of field (focus) around f/7 and switch the camera to manual focus. The camera remains on a tripod throughout the shoot and is triggered remotely for each image. After that, it is all a matter of timing. Some of the images were shot throwing flour on the model and other images were shot with flour simply flying off the model. Obviously the images where flour is tossed on the model take more timing accuracy but after a few attempts, you find the sweet spot. For this shoot, we also employed the use of a trampoline. Flour is placed on the surface of the trampoline and the model simply bounces on the trampoline. Setup is exactly the same. A black tarp hung behind the trampoline with two flashes on either side of the model slightly ahead of the model aimed slightly behind the model. When editing the images, I will darken the blacks and lighten the whites, or you can adjust contrast to your liking. After the shoot, you sweep all of the flour to the edge of the plastic and into a bucket or other container. The plastic can then be cleaned off, folded up, and re-used for another shoot. Any fine powder that gets in the air as a result of the shoot typically blows away in the wind. If you were in a studio however, it would eventually settle down on everything in the room requiring additional cleaning. Do it outdoors if you can on a night that isn’t windy and rain is not expected. I love these messy and crazy shoots and highly recommend everyone try it at least once. Go buy a bunch of flour, some plastic sheets, and find a model that isn’t afraid to get a little messy. And don’t forget to have fun in the process.
The majority of my planned shoots are done in a two car garage (my makeshift studio) or at a nearby park. I will take my camera with me when I go to events around town, however I do prefer controlling the setting, including lighting which results in the use of the aforementioned garage. But there’s only so much you can do with such a limited space. However, there is a challenge to shooting in a location that is fresh and different. Being mainly a studio-type photographer, one of my 2019 goals is to do more on-location shoots and so far, I’m loving the challenge and the results. The idea for these shoots came from a post I saw about a photographer that did a shoot at a local home improvement store. Check it out! The images came out amazing! Bravo to the photographer and model for doing something so creative. So why not give on-locations shoots a try? Although I have a long list of on-location places I want to shoot in 2019, most of which I’m gonna’ keep secret, I will talk about a few of the places I have already had the pleasure to shoot. My first on-location shoot was at a local library back in 2018 with the amazing Brittanie Lynne. I was so incredible nervous prior to this shoot because I wasn’t sure how the lighting would work out, if I could find good compositions on the fly, and I was nervous about attracting unwanted attention. I powered through the shoot anyway. Having done tons of portrait shoots prior made the process far more manageable than I feared. When went early in the morning when the library wasn’t terribly busy and spent about an hour shooting in different areas. I love several of the images we got that day. The only thing I would have done differently is call the library ahead of time to get permission. Although there is an argument that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission, if you get permission, you are good to go! Recently the Michaels challenge was all the rage. The Michaels (or Hobby Lobby) challenge is taking portraits of individuals in a Michaels store. The story at the time was that the stores were actually encouraging individuals to do portrait shoots in the stores typically in the floral section. I called my local Michaels store and asked them if this was fact or fiction. Sadly, they informed me it was fiction but that I was more than welcome to do it anyway! I contacted Dina, the model I’ve worked with the longest, and we met at the store and shot away. The nice thing about getting permission ahead of time is that the staff knew why we were there and didn’t bother us at all - the other customers were the only ones confused! As an attorney, I have always envisioned a photo shoot in a courtroom but getting permission and access to an empty courtroom isn’t easy. Not only do you have to deal with security, but you also need to get permission from the judge to use his/her courtroom. However, I'm lucky enough to have several friends that work in a courthouse who also follow my photography. Long story short, my friends made it possible for me to shoot in a courtroom I used to practice in – on a weekend – with the judge’s permission – and in exchange for a copy of the images! Done and done! An attorney I used to work with previously was in need of some professional images for her websites and we hadn’t been able to find a decent location for her images, so we killed two birds with one stone. She volunteered to be my model for my idea and we also did some images at the courthouse for her use as well. The judge was awesome. Not only did we get access to the building but he let us borrow his robe for some of the images. Lastly, about a year ago, my oldest daughter wanted to celebrate her birthday with some friends at a local bowling alley. It was so festive with bright colors and sounds that I immediately thought it would be awesome place to do a shoot. However unlike the courthouse, I had no connections to anyone remotely associated with a bowling alley so I put the idea on the old bucket-list. About a year later I decided to send an email to the business outlining my idea. I honestly wasn’t expecting them to reply. Why would they? About a week passed by and I had totally forgotten about the email when I received a response. They were open to my idea. A few weeks later and I was back at the bowling alley one hour prior to them opening with Brittanie Lynne. They gave us complete access to the facility including allowing us to go out on the lanes for images. They also asked if I could take some images of some of their food so they could display it on monitors in the bowling alley as well. I had everything I needed so I agreed. They made some killer nachos, a hamburger, and a salad. After photographing it, the offered the prepared food to us for free! Score! Not only did I get the images I wanted, the business got images they wanted and my model got a free meal! All with free reign to the business prior to business hours! After the shoot was over, the wife and kids came down at opening and we bowled for the morning (I insisted we pay, and did). Each of one these shoots presented unique challenges and each pushed me out of my comfort zone for differing reasons. Although I still love studio type work, I think on-location work can also stretch and improve your photographic abilities; at least it does for me! I have several other on-location ideas I hope will happen this year and I couldn’t be more excited. If you are considering doing something like this, reach out and see if you can get permission first. It just makes everything go much smoother if you can. And yes, you will get some rejections if they decide to respond at all but you will most likely also get some takers as well. No harm in asking. Use a model you have worked with before and are very comfortable with. It’s one less thing to worry about if you work with a seasoned model, not to mention a great time saver as you don’t have to direct them as much. Lastly, have fun and take tons of images. You may never get the opportunity to do it again! So get out of your comfort zone, make your way down to your local home improvement store (or bowling alley) with a model and make some magic!
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