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!
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!
"Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time." ~ George Bernard Shaw I am far from where I want to be as a photographer and I have far more failures than successes when it comes to my work. But with each failure, comes an opportunity to learn and grow. Many photographers believe that you should only post the best of your best work online, especially if you are attempting to attract new potential customers and to some degree this is a sensible statement. However, my sites are geared towards sharing my experience as a photographer and to pass along knowledge that might help someone else. To that end, I have several images that taunt me EVERY SINGLE TIME I look at them. I both love and hate this image - beautiful model and creative idea, but poorly executed! The lesson I learned from this image is to slow down! To create this image, you set up a camera on a tripod and take two pictures of the same scene; one picture with the model and frame in the scene and a second picture without the model and frame. However, before you take that second picture, make sure you have switched your camera to manual focus!!! On my first shot, I focused on the model’s eyes (which is where you should focus for most images with people). Then I had the model move out of the scene and took a second shot of just the street. However, my focus point (which was on the eye previously) was now over a section of the road fairly far away. As any good automatic focusing system will do, the camera made sure that point was in focus – shifting focus back making the area where the model was sitting previously slightly out of focus. You can notice this by looking at the street inside the lower part of the frame. It is much more out of focus than the surrounding street outside of the frame. I didn’t catch this mistake until I got home and started to blend the images together. Once I noticed it, I knew exactly what I had done wrong and my heart nearly stopped. I honestly contemplated not posting the image at all. I have done this idea several times since and have corrected my mistake! Oddly enough, as a colorblind individual I find colorful images very cool and as a result I love creating images with bright and bold colors. This paint toss shoot I did many years ago was my first attempt at such an idea. Although most people probably do not see anything technically wrong with the images, I DO! Again, it wasn’t until after I got home and reviewed the images that I discovered my error. All of the images were taken at ISO 1000! This may mean nothing to the average casual observer, but to pixel peepers like myself, I saw far more noise and grain in the images than I wanted, liked, or preferred. I’m not sure what I was taking pictures of prior to this shoot, but I forgot to reset my camera after that shoot (or before this one) to my base settings – which would have resulted in far less grain and image noise. I fixed the issue as much as I could in post processing but I prefer to get the image as near as perfect in camera. As a result of this error, I ROUTINELY reset my camera and check my settings before each and every shoot. A lot of photographers make fun of those that ‘chimp’. Chimping is when you take a picture and review it on the back of the camera before taking the next picture. Because of this next mistake, I have no qualms with chimping and chimping the ENTIRE image. With this macro shot, I set everything up, had my camera on a tripod, and had two flashes on either side of the glass for lighting. I was so concerned with trying to capture the actual splash and milk drop that I neglected to look at the entire image as a whole. As a result, I missed the fact that I had forgotten to turn on the left hand side flash – evident in the final image. This error cannot be fixed in post processing. Again, not an error I think most would notice or ascertain from the final image, but I KNOW! I now review my entire image not only focusing on the subject of the shot, but the background, highlights, shadows, and just about anything and everything else. I will chimp all day long if it means getting the proper image. And perhaps my biggest mistake...the Venus transit. An event that will never happen again in my lifetime and I failed to preserve it the best I could. I spent months learning how to connect my camera to a telescope. I purchased special equipment to mount the camera, a solar film to cover the telescope, and I even purchased a barlow lens to magnify the image. What I failed to do, however, was learn how my camera worked. I got tons of images and was very pleased with them for several months until I learned what shooting in 'raw' meant. All of the images I took were simple jpgs. Again, probably not a big deal to most but I missed the opportunity to grab ALL of the digital data from the shots to be able to edit the images to their fullest. And although you can edit jpg images to some degree, it's no where close to what you can do with a raw image. Sad, sad moment... These are only a few of the images that remind me this hobby is a process and that I am far from immune to making mistakes. These images are also milepost markers as to where I have been and where I am today in regards to my changing skillsets. Although I wish every image I took was award-winning, I don’t get nearly as upset now when I have a failure or two (or several). It just means I get to try it over again and that means making more creative images! Win win! So if your images are falling short of your expectations or if you made a straight up mistake, the worst thing you can do is give up. Rather, try the idea over again and attempt to correct the issue. The more you do anything, the better you will get at it.
1. “Comparison is the thief of joy” ~ Theodore Roosevelt Be it final images, camera gear, or number of likes and subscribers, comparing yourself to others is a surefire way to destroy your love of photography. If you are anything like me you spend a fair amount of your time looking at images created by other photographers. It is a very slippery slope to start down once you start comparing your work to the myriad of images out there. There will always be photographers that are ‘worse’ than you as well as others that are ‘better’ than you. As hard as it may be, simply stop comparing your work to the work of others! Instead, if you run across an image that blows you away, use it as a guidepost as to where you want to be with your photography in the future or use the image as practice and to try and replicate it. If possible, reach out to the photographer and start a dialogue about the image. Turn the ‘competitor’ into a mentor. I can’t recall how many times I have done this and the outcome has always been positive. And if someone reaches out to you about your work, be gracious and take the time to discuss your work with them. Worry less about what others are doing and spend more time focusing on what you are doing. If you busy yourself trying to improve your own craft, you simply won’t have the time for comparisons. 2. Believing better or more expensive gear will automatically result in you being a better photographer or producing better images Nothing can be more frustrating than purchasing new equipment expecting to get amazing results only to discover your images fall frustratingly short of your expectations. In addition to going broke, you’ll go broke with images that are generally the same quality as images you produced before the purchase. If you don’t understand how to properly use the new equipment, your images may actually turn out worse. A skilled photographer will always get better pictures from an average camera than an unskilled photographer will from the best equipment. If you buy new equipment, use the excitement of new equipment to get you up and shooting. It’s that increased practice of photography that will result in becoming a better photographer, not the new equipment in and of itself. The equipment is just a tool. Learn to use the tools you have and discover where the equipment might be failing your needs before getting new equipment, then start researching new equipment that might fill that need. Photography can be a very expensive hobby. Make each purchase mean something other than “it was on sale”. 3. Changing your style to please others When most people pick up their first camera, it isn’t to try and please someone else. Most people grab their first camera because of the creative process behind the hobby. Most people start out taking pictures of things they enjoy. Never stop doing that! On occasion, you may need to change your style to please a client or two however doing this repeatedly will result in a loss of interest rather quickly. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to garner more subscribers, followers, or likes, if you try and please the masses, photography will become less pleasurable and more like a job (and a job you begin to despise). Do what you like doing and continue taking pictures of subjects you find interesting and those that appreciate it will find you. 4. Finding yourself in a creative block or rut There are simply times you lose personal satisfaction in what you are creating for no real apparent reason. This happens to all of us. Expect this to happen from time to time and you won’t be so discouraged when it does finally happen. You can either work through it or give up. If you give up, your gear will start to sit on the shelf for longer stretches of time collecting more and more dust. I find the best way to break out of a creative rut is to actually shoot more. Try digging up some of your very first images and attempt to recreate them again with your new set of skills. I force myself to engage in a photography project or idea even if I’m not feeling it. Others find taking a short break rejuvenates their passion. Whatever works best for you, don’t give up. The creative process will return eventually if you allow it to. 5. Trolls, haters, and negative comments Once you put yourself out there on the internet and in the world of social media, you are bound to have those that simply enjoy tearing down and insulting your work. Such comments can often times make you reconsider posting your work or can even make you reconsider your passion altogether. Grow a thicker skin and march on! Think of it this way, your work caused someone to take the time to respond to it, even negatively. I once heard a statement to the effect that trolls are attracted to crowds of people and crowds of people are generally associated around great work. DO NOT respond back to trolls and haters, just delete or ignore their comments and take satisfaction in the fact they felt it necessary to react to your work. Let the haters hate. One day they may ask to work with you. It's happened to me. I have been engaged in photography for a while now and I cannot tell you how many people I have seen come into the art of photography that have since disappeared clean off the map. Perhaps some people were just dabbling in the hobby to see if they enjoyed it only to discover they didn’t but I’m sure a fair amount of them lost their interest because of one or two of the reasons stated above, if not all the reasons (or other reasons not listed above). If it’s not for you, by all means, find something that does speak to your creative side before spending way too much money. But if you are passionate about the art and any one of the reasons listed above has you hesitant about continuing, continue anyway. "Art, freedom, and creativity will change society faster than politics." ~ Victor Pinchuk.
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