Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A little something from our yard
All over the place - under rocks, in the grass, on the parking lot... everywhere these little tiny white flowers that turn out beautiful when you get down on your knees to examine them closer :)
The truth about TFCD
Most of you may already know what "TFCD" means - you as a photographer "hire" a model, make up artist, hair stylist, wardrobe stylist (here my imagination stops, but you probably can think of more roles in there), and instead of money, you pay them with photos you take or other credit they might be looking for.
That is done in order to create what YOU want to create for your portfolio. Even as a pro, you want to show not only what you HAVE created, but what you WANT to have created, and more of who you are. That's where you start looking for creative professionals, who are just like you, looking to define themselves and get onto another level.
You get together and you have a blast shooting something for 4 hours or 8 hours or however long it takes you to exhaust that creative flow and then... you end up with 16 GB (that's no standard, just the number off the top of my head) of photos that everyone involved is so eager to see in their portfolios.
As a person, who is trying to grow or achieve something in the field you have so thoughtfully selected, you are not going to release images that are not up to your current standard - technically, artistically or whatever other way. You do want to please people who showed up and did such a nice job preparing everything for your imagination to run wild, and you want to give them the best of the best, so that they feel special and think good things about you.
And that's when you run into a wall.
Let's say you took about 600 photographs. First thing you do is go through them and filter out complete waste - pics where something didn't work out quite right - whether it's your hands, or an eye, or (God Forbid!) equipment, or model made a face :). You need to filter those out, and leave only those that you do want to get to the eyes of the involved. Those come out as proofs. It takes you quite a while to do just this one step.
And then imagine having 1 hairstylist, 2 make up artists, 1 wardrobe stylist, and 4 models. That's 8 people not including you - wanting your images in their portfolios. And then take into account that some people are greedy - they'll want as much as they can get out of you.
As a person who's taking full responsibility for their decisions and promises you may end up spending long productive hours just touching up and adjusting the results in PS or whatever you're using. You may also get creative and decide that you want all 10 photos of that model in that light to be tone-adjusted, and that's a very thinly drawn manual operation, that requires attention and detachment that take time. I can go on, but hopefully you get it by now - you're in a world of post-production work!
Work that some may not notice or appreciate. Or, on the other end, - totally LOVE it and pay you the deserved respect.
The answer to this issue comes with time - the balance. Complete plan of the shoot, and perfect the notion of what you offer and what you ask for it.
I've seen photographers offering as much as ONE (1!!!) retouched photo to a model. And I've given as much as ALL I could give or was inspired to give from the shoot.
Now I'm at the point of offering only 2 photos per look, unless they are so good that I'll send my picks to go with theirs. And I have to remember to say it out loud to everyone before the shoot - what my conditions are, and find out from each one of them - what are their sincere expectations from this shoot. So far - nobody wanted to "just shoot". Well... except me *lol*. And I was just afraid of getting rusty.
If I don't speak, I may find it hard to refuse giving them more than I expected later on.
Next post will be breezier :)
That is done in order to create what YOU want to create for your portfolio. Even as a pro, you want to show not only what you HAVE created, but what you WANT to have created, and more of who you are. That's where you start looking for creative professionals, who are just like you, looking to define themselves and get onto another level.
You get together and you have a blast shooting something for 4 hours or 8 hours or however long it takes you to exhaust that creative flow and then... you end up with 16 GB (that's no standard, just the number off the top of my head) of photos that everyone involved is so eager to see in their portfolios.
As a person, who is trying to grow or achieve something in the field you have so thoughtfully selected, you are not going to release images that are not up to your current standard - technically, artistically or whatever other way. You do want to please people who showed up and did such a nice job preparing everything for your imagination to run wild, and you want to give them the best of the best, so that they feel special and think good things about you.
And that's when you run into a wall.
Let's say you took about 600 photographs. First thing you do is go through them and filter out complete waste - pics where something didn't work out quite right - whether it's your hands, or an eye, or (God Forbid!) equipment, or model made a face :). You need to filter those out, and leave only those that you do want to get to the eyes of the involved. Those come out as proofs. It takes you quite a while to do just this one step.
And then imagine having 1 hairstylist, 2 make up artists, 1 wardrobe stylist, and 4 models. That's 8 people not including you - wanting your images in their portfolios. And then take into account that some people are greedy - they'll want as much as they can get out of you.
As a person who's taking full responsibility for their decisions and promises you may end up spending long productive hours just touching up and adjusting the results in PS or whatever you're using. You may also get creative and decide that you want all 10 photos of that model in that light to be tone-adjusted, and that's a very thinly drawn manual operation, that requires attention and detachment that take time. I can go on, but hopefully you get it by now - you're in a world of post-production work!
Work that some may not notice or appreciate. Or, on the other end, - totally LOVE it and pay you the deserved respect.
The answer to this issue comes with time - the balance. Complete plan of the shoot, and perfect the notion of what you offer and what you ask for it.
I've seen photographers offering as much as ONE (1!!!) retouched photo to a model. And I've given as much as ALL I could give or was inspired to give from the shoot.
Now I'm at the point of offering only 2 photos per look, unless they are so good that I'll send my picks to go with theirs. And I have to remember to say it out loud to everyone before the shoot - what my conditions are, and find out from each one of them - what are their sincere expectations from this shoot. So far - nobody wanted to "just shoot". Well... except me *lol*. And I was just afraid of getting rusty.
If I don't speak, I may find it hard to refuse giving them more than I expected later on.
Next post will be breezier :)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lobsters and things
A friend brought me some fresh coffee from Hawaii - a place I haven't been to yet. I believe if I walk out the door and ask the first 10 people I meet - Have you been to Hawaii? All 10 answers will be Yes!
The coffee was accompanied by a box of macadamia chocolates.
Guess what I am doing now? *sip* *crunch*
Post-processing a lot this week. Since paid projects take priority I fell way behind on personal projects, and bless these two days of peace and quiet - I can finish off some things that have been waiting. So watch out, things are about to get much more graphic here.
First of all - allow me to introduce you to my new friend Lobster :)
He has recently published his second book that tells about the path of his spiritual enlightenment and lessons he learned (and we can too) from the relationship between him and his girlfriend.
By the way, the day I photographed him in my studio, he also met our little rabbit, who unfortunately was limping at that time, and applied some energy medicine on him, and the next day the little one looked much more alive and kicking.
You can see more of him in my Galleries, on his Facebook, Twitter and pretty much everywhere else too.
And oh, by the way, Hawaii don't grind their coffee too coarse *sigh*.
The coffee was accompanied by a box of macadamia chocolates.
Guess what I am doing now? *sip* *crunch*
Post-processing a lot this week. Since paid projects take priority I fell way behind on personal projects, and bless these two days of peace and quiet - I can finish off some things that have been waiting. So watch out, things are about to get much more graphic here.
First of all - allow me to introduce you to my new friend Lobster :)
He has recently published his second book that tells about the path of his spiritual enlightenment and lessons he learned (and we can too) from the relationship between him and his girlfriend.
By the way, the day I photographed him in my studio, he also met our little rabbit, who unfortunately was limping at that time, and applied some energy medicine on him, and the next day the little one looked much more alive and kicking.
You can see more of him in my Galleries, on his Facebook, Twitter and pretty much everywhere else too.
And oh, by the way, Hawaii don't grind their coffee too coarse *sigh*.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
What's new
Discovered for myself Twitter. Good friend Lobster from http://lobsterandchicken.com/ helped out and kick-started my Twitting experience. Apparently, I'm now a Twitterer!
Today we made a honey cake to celebrate the end of tax season, just because I had a day all to "me and my son". He loved being helpful, and I loved watching him grow a little bit more.
Till later :)
Today we made a honey cake to celebrate the end of tax season, just because I had a day all to "me and my son". He loved being helpful, and I loved watching him grow a little bit more.
Till later :)
Stories that inspire
There are many different stories that inspire people to do something. We all are looking for positive changes - become healthier, happier, better in one way or another.
What would inspire a person to follow their heart, look for and find their true path?
I think that would be the stories of other people who found theirs. Stories that tell how they went from surviving to thriving - spiritually, physically and/or other important aspects. People need to know that it is possible to have balance between fun, work, family, career, exercise, travel, quiet moments etc. And most importantly - live a life they've always wanted. Do things they've always wanted. Many of us are not aware of this fantastic possibility! And some of us don't know what they want...
I'm looking for people who are willing to share their story with the world. I want to meet you, write your story down, may be photograph you (if you'd like that).
I will post updates here in my blog as this project unfolds, I have a certain vision about it but where will it lead? Someplace fun, I know :)
What would inspire a person to follow their heart, look for and find their true path?
I think that would be the stories of other people who found theirs. Stories that tell how they went from surviving to thriving - spiritually, physically and/or other important aspects. People need to know that it is possible to have balance between fun, work, family, career, exercise, travel, quiet moments etc. And most importantly - live a life they've always wanted. Do things they've always wanted. Many of us are not aware of this fantastic possibility! And some of us don't know what they want...
I'm looking for people who are willing to share their story with the world. I want to meet you, write your story down, may be photograph you (if you'd like that).
I will post updates here in my blog as this project unfolds, I have a certain vision about it but where will it lead? Someplace fun, I know :)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Few more photos from Tent Rocks canyon trail
There were these rock Gardens, I'm not afraid to use that word - they looked so beautiful. A friend of mine argued the other day that everything that's done by a person isn't natural. We were talking about flower arrangements, how they don't look that perfect and beautiful in Nature, not the way a person with a skill can arrange them. And I thought that's not true, there should be beautiful places that inspire people to create these arrangements.
And then I looked through these photos and thought to myself that this is the perfect example - fallen rocks.. How they create lines and move your attention, take you into more peaceful state of mind.
Shadow and light..
Almost at the top of the trail..
My friend on the trail besides the huge rock that fell down some time ago:
Resting and enjoying the vista:
And then I looked through these photos and thought to myself that this is the perfect example - fallen rocks.. How they create lines and move your attention, take you into more peaceful state of mind.
Shadow and light..
Almost at the top of the trail..
My friend on the trail besides the huge rock that fell down some time ago:
Resting and enjoying the vista:
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tent Rocks trails
You live and you live in New Jersey and then you go back to the desert for a few days and realize how much you missed the lack of greenery. Did that ever happen to you? Probably not, but may be you can understand how I feel when you don't see an old friend for the longest time, and when you finally meet, you realize what you were missing and how much!
Tent Rocks was one of a few things this week that made my trip hundreds of times more worthwhile. Located just about an hour northwest of Albuquerque, park opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, there's a 5 mile dirt road to get to the trail end, 1.2 miles hike up the slope towards the canyon trail end and 1.5 miles of steeper canyon trail to get to the top of the vista and enjoy desert views.
These are the formations that caused the name of the place:
These are views from the bottom of the lower trail:
And then you can't resist taking shots of rocks and dried twisted trees. The essence of the desert wouldn't be the same without them for me:
Tent Rocks was one of a few things this week that made my trip hundreds of times more worthwhile. Located just about an hour northwest of Albuquerque, park opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, there's a 5 mile dirt road to get to the trail end, 1.2 miles hike up the slope towards the canyon trail end and 1.5 miles of steeper canyon trail to get to the top of the vista and enjoy desert views.
These are the formations that caused the name of the place:
These are views from the bottom of the lower trail:
And then you can't resist taking shots of rocks and dried twisted trees. The essence of the desert wouldn't be the same without them for me:
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Albuquerque visit day 1
The first day after trying to create a panorama of Sandia mountains at sunset, which by the way didn't come out because the day was too calm and rocks weren't red enough, I was taken to the Sandia Casino and got to photograph it in the dark with the lights in all it's glory:
The tripod is at home in New Jersey, so I used my backpack and any rock or wall that I could put it on and shoot like that.
More pics to come soon, we took a nice little hike in Tent Rocks yesterday and I think there're some good images there as well.
The tripod is at home in New Jersey, so I used my backpack and any rock or wall that I could put it on and shoot like that.
More pics to come soon, we took a nice little hike in Tent Rocks yesterday and I think there're some good images there as well.
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