Articles about shooting portraits

Portrait Shmortrait

 

“Portrait shmortrait. All my portraits look the same, why do I want to have another one done?”

 

I have written on this blog before about how often it is recommended that people get their portraits done in the articles “Has Your Company Lost Its Face,” “Putting Your Best Face Forward,” and many others. But that seems almost like useless information if each time you get a new portrait it looks just like the last one. That can happen if you go to a place that is creating images en masse and all they focus on is bulk; lots of people with a simple formula that gives consistent results every time.

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I Shot a Man in Reno (or Philly)

 

I shoot them. I put them up against a wall, or just if they are standing in the middle of the sidewalk it doesn’t matter, I walk up and POP! I shoot them. Most times they never see it coming, they may never know what is about to happen. I think it’s better to surprise them. No time to worry or think about it, no time to worry, just a quick well aimed shot, done.

 

Often though they are the ones hiring me to do it; they want to know the person that will do it. I still try to surprise them though; I want them to be relaxed and not expecting it when it’s coming. Perhaps they are smiling, thinking nothing is going to happen, at least not yet. The surprise almost always makes it enjoyable, at least for me. The shock, the sudden flash when I pop one off at them, I love that surprise. It helps me remember the emotions they have at that last moment before…

 

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It’s Also About Having Fun!

 

First my apologies for not posting recently but I have been busy shooting some great people. Why are they great? Because they embrace the idea of having fun throughout the shoot!

 

This past Monday was the most recent portrait shoot: a mother and daughter that just have a kind of chemistry that really comes through in the images. These two danced and relaxed and really played it up. I had so much fun shooting them that I want to do it again and again! Then even played “Patty Cake” together.

 

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Memories Are Priceless

Just this past Tuesday I saw a post from another photographer that about knocked me out of my chair. In short it is a letter that the photographer had received from a former client to thank her for the years of memories that she captured for her family. The client had the note hand delivered as she was too sick to deliver it herself. You can read the article here and I encourage you to do so. Warning: have tissues nearby.

 

Welcome back. I will wait while you wipe the tears away. Now that you can read the screen again I will continue.

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Past, Present, or Future?

 

This week every year we are inundated with blogs that either relive the last 12 months speculate about the bright positive future and hope we all have for the coming new year.  I have been debating all week what to even write about. How can I have a great blog post that doesn’t mention something that will alienate some of you and exclude others for reasons of politics or religion or anything else? It seems to be the time of year where everyone is either self-righteous, preachy, or with the upcoming 2012 elections, political. There is one other category though that we sometimes hear about.

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It’s About Giving Your All

 

Back in early October I wrote an article about seizing opportunity where ever it arises, in this case the beginning of Occupy Philadelphia, titled Opportunity in the Streets. I really didn’t know what business I might get out of that but I am happy to say that those images and thousands I took at the occupy encampment has led to other shoots and events that I was only able to get because I was there.

 

Through meeting people at Occupy I have gotten events, portrait shoots and a number of other gigs that have kept me very busy over the 56 days that the movement occupied Dilworth Plaza in from of City Hall in Philadelphia. So in a sense I guess I am indebted to the people there and the movement too. But how did a political demonstration/movement/evolution really give me chances to get work?

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Virtual vs. Digital

For a while now there has been the discussion that digital photography is cheaper than film and therefore prices that photographers charge should be decreasing and not increasing. In fact the truth of the matter is that the cost for photography has declined dramatically but that has nothing to do with digital vs. film. The major cause of that is that many unknowledgeable people entering the market and not charging properly for their services. These new photographers will learn in time that they are in fact cutting themselves short and they are driving the market down to their own demise. I won’t get into a discussion of what to charge in this article. I will however go into a bit of the cost of digital photography.

 

In the film days there was the visible cost of film, developing, processing, chemicals, paper/media, enlargers, and various other equipment. Today much of that has been replaced by computers, software, multiple hard drives, internet connections, and we still have the cost of media and printers. Cameras have increased in price dramatically for professional level equipment. In fact if you actually do the math it is more expensive today than it was 15 years ago and that is taking inflation into consideration. Again the cost is not a topic for this article. If you want to compare the costs of digital to the cost of film Google it; there are thousands of articles out there.

 

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Empowerment

So what is empowerment and what does it have to do with photography?  Webster’s dictionary defines empowerment as;

  1. to give official authority or legal power to <empowered her attorney to act on her behalf>
  2. enable
  3. to promote the self-actualization or influence of <women’s movement has been inspiring and empowering women — Ron Hansen>

But what does it really mean to you and your everyday life?

Empowering others means giving them choices, giving them the opportunity to excel and to give back to their community. That community can be the neighborhood, the family, the workplace or just about anywhere they interact with others directly or indirectly. In essence you are giving others the chance to influence their lives and the lives of others.

 

So why is this such an issue? Why is it that we see advertisements for classes, seminars, etc. or the empowerment of others? Isn’t that something that we each do every day? One can only hope. The fact is that many people oppress others but do it in a way where they don’t even know they are doing it. We can get so caught up in trying to advance at work or to become successful that we push others to the side and repress their ability to move forward.

 

As people we are always trying to succeed, to do better, to advance ourselves so we can realize the benefits of success. By doing so we become blinded by our own drive to succeed. We struggle and push to move forward yet we never question what we are pushing against; quite often it is others who are also trying to take the same path. In doing this we tend to remove empowerment, to repress their success to advance our own.

 

By taking time to slow down and take a moment to help each other, to empower our fellows we could actually benefit. By helping others we change the push to a pull; we change from pushing against the flow to going with the flow of success and in doing so reduce the amount of effort we put forth to succeed. You might think that by not struggling, not fighting to move forward that you may get washed away. In fact the opposite is true. By changing the direction of your efforts you have the current of empowered individuals to help you along your path, this in turn helps you grow and succeed more quickly and easily.

 

So what has all this got to do with photography? It is more about giving back, giving to others and empowering people to be their best than it is about photography. However, if you didn’t notice, I am a photographer and I try to give back with the tool of photography.

 

Through photography I make the attempt to empower people by making them feel confident about who they are and what their goals are and I try to help them focus (get the pun there?) on their success. With Free Business Portraits for the Unemployed I have given hundreds of job seekers a moment to think positively, to be happy and smiling and this in turn can turn their attitude more to the positive, away from the “I think I can” and more towards the “Yes I can!” I hope this begins to empower them and gives them a chance to focus on what will be a bright and prosperous future.

 

That isn’t all though. I try to make the images that you, my clients, need to empower you in the project you are working on. I want to capture the images you want and need to project the message you want to send and thus empower you towards your own success.

 

Photography is a powerful tool and it can be used to do more than just make something or someone look good. Photography can send a message of glory, humility, strength, tragedy or success. An image of a person in a meadow of wild flowers sends a different message than one of a battle ridden neighborhood;

 

Who can we empower today with an image that sends your message?

Do I Need A Professional?

Many times I don’t hear the question “Do I need a professional?” but I do know that many clients and potential clients ask the question, at least of themselves. The answer is, to be honest, not always. But if you want the quality that either creates memories or helps you achieve your goals, yes you probably do. Making the decision to hire a pro is actually rather easy to answer. The real question is how do you find the ‘right’ photographer for your project.

The task can be daunting to say the least. With the popularity of digital cameras and their ease of use there are so many more photographers now than there ever has been. Some are good, some are great, some aren’t. So what makes one photographer better than another? Of course there is always the matter of style. This, like many other things, becomes a matter of taste. But certain skills are consistent in all good photographers whether they are an amateur or pro. The biggest is the understanding of light and composition. Even composition is a matter of taste to a point. So it comes down to light and the understanding of how it can work for, and against, you.

 

The study of light is critical in creating great images. The subtly of shadow and light can make or break an image in so many ways. An image needs to create a mood or emotion to be successful. The balance of positive and negative space is not just a matter of the balance of the image but more of a balance of the image and the message you are trying to send.

 

Each image can have its own message as well. The image included here tells a story but only enough of the story to make you want to know what happened: why is the woman in the image hiding, what caused her to feel so vulnerable? Technically this image could be criticized for too much negative space, being too dark, or any number of things, however the image does make the viewer wonder.

 

Being able to use light and dark, shadow and highlight; understanding how light and the lack of it can tell your story or send your message is what defines one photographer over any other. Being able to do that and understand your needs is what makes a professional.

 

What story can I tell for you today?

To Retouch or Not to Retouch, THAT Is the Question

This morning I read an article by Beate Chelette, (http://PhotoBizCoach.com), titled “Advertising Under Fire for Doctored Images” asking photographers where they stand on the issue of retouching images and the ethics of doing so. Click the links above and read the story. It’s short; I will wait here for you.

 

Tap, tap, tap…. Oh you’re back. Sorry, I got distracted.

 

If you read the article you may have seen my response as well: “Some retouching is a good thing, too much, not so good.”  I whole heartedly believe that and I live it with my work too. I am not opposed to doing whatever my client wants. If the client wants china doll skin, I can do that. However I prefer to keep the image looking real.

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