Group Shoot

We held our first group shoot in Saginaw a few Saturday’s ago.  The shoot went really well for our first one.  We learned a lot and look forward to the next shoot.  We had the shoot at the historic Schuch Hotel in Old Town Saginaw.

A few things we learned:
* There will always be models that won’t show up.
* Be sure to check the lighting from the windows at the time you will be shooting - before the day of the shoot.
* Check the electricity situation before you show up.  In this case the first floor of the building was up to code and in good working order.  We planned on shooting on the 3rd floor of the building in the afternoon and found out that they had no electricity on the 3rd floor!  Oops, good thing we had battery packs.
* The hair and make-up artists can make or break a shoot.  At this shoot we had great hair and make-up people (from Attitudes in Saginaw, MI) and it really helped the shoot flow well.
*  Don’t expect to break even on the first few shoots.  This shoot cost us more than we expected and the entry fee didn’t even come close to covering our costs.

We haven’t started to scout a new location yet but we are planning on having anther group shoot soon.  Group shoots are a great way to build your portfolio, get the creative juices flowing and work with other creative people.

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Flickr Stats

I was looking at my stats on Flickr today.  I would have guessed that my pictures of Hawaiian Tropic bikini models would have been number one or even the picture that I had of Kumari Fulbright that got thousands of hits when she was on the front page of the online tabloids.  But to my surprise the most viewed pictures are of cars.  That’s right.  And the number 1 picture was not even one that I took the time to setup or make look great.  Just an average every day picture of a Toyota Camry taken for a dealership to put on their inventory website.

I would have thought that my #2 picture would have been the number one with cars being the most popular.  The #2 picture was the redesigned 2008 Cadillac CTS.  This was taken the day they were released for dealerships and most people had not seen them yet.  I took the time to setup this shot.  Found a nice location and tried to get the car to really look nice (I suppose I could have washed the paint off the window).

#3 was the image of Kumari Fulbright in a bikini.  So that’s to be expected.  But the Toyota Camry (at the time of this posting) has over 1,500 more views.  My conclusion is that a good looking car has more appeal than a scantily clothed woman!

Where does creativity come from?

There are times when I don’t like any of my pictures and just shoot to see what happens.  Then there are times like the other night.  There is a street I drive down every day in the morning and sometimes at night.  This night I was on my way home from work as was driving down the usual street.  There is a group of grain silos at one spot on the street.  I have tried to get pictures of the silos but never shot one that really impressed me so I’ve never edited or posted any - they are simply archived somewhere on one of my hard drives.  This night I noticed that there was a road that went around the back of the silos.  I turned the car around and went down the street.  Right behind the silos was this great old, empty wharehouse.  The shadows looked good and the late evening sun had a nice color to it.  I positioned the car and snapped three pictures.  I didn’t expect anything great and was a little surprised when I put the images on the computer.   A tiny bit of cropping and the images were vary nice.

 

Creativity can come from that different turn around a corner.  Just keep your eyes open and watch for something to catch your attention.

Friday Night Archives

It’s friday night.  I’m waiting to go out to play music tonight - not just take pictures.  I was doing some yard work and it was getting dark.  I had an hour to kill and decided to clean up one of my hard drives.  I found a bunch of unedited images from the 2007 Taste of Chaos tour.  I realized that I have a lot of good pictures I’ve never done anything with.  Will I be one of those people that when they die someone will go through my hard drive and find a bunch of great stuff and make a lot of money?  Ahhh . . . who knows.  Anyway I liked this one of Aiden that I found.

 

Graphic Rights

I’ve heard a lot of complaints from photographers and their customers lately over rights and pricing. Times change and there is a case to be made for both sides.

I recently had a client need to update their publicity shots. They were tired fo having to contact the photographer that originally took the headshots everytime they changed a book sleeve or updated or changed a brochure. Each time the photographer had to give permission and then would charge them some fee to be able to use the images again.

Recently I have also heard many photographers complaining that they cannot make any money any more. The photographers have put out thousands of dollars in equipment and then get a few bucks for a headshot or portrait. There also seems to be a lot of complaining that that anyone with a low end digital SLR now thinks they are a photographer and it’s driving down prices.

Now my 2 cents!

I offered my services to the customer that needed updated shots and didn’t want to contact the photographer for usage everytime they used the images. I gave the customer a CD with the promo shots and priced the images according to the fact that they have unlimited usage. I didn’t have to mess with prints, which is a plus, so I was simply charging for my time plus usage. So it took 1 hour of studio time and about 2 hours of editing and touchup. I charged $150 for the CD. Will the customer come back? People change and I suggested that they come back every year to update their headshots. The customer seemed happy and I think they’ll come back.

My belief is that markets change. I’m sure that video stores are complaining about Netflix. Same thing! Adjust your pricing to fit the current market climate. Put out a quality product at the proper price and you will have more business than you can handle.

Anther issue is that the images are to be used “as is” without any modifications or alterations. The contract states that anything that alters the image needs my approval. This is important because almost any High School student knows how to modify an image with some graphics program. I don’t want someone to alter my photo, have it look like crap and then the customer gets asked who took the picture and my name comes up. The issue then comes down to artistic rights and not usage rights.

But what about the guy with the low end digital camera he just got and is not a photographer? I’ve seen a lot of new photographers that have incredible work - hire them! I’ve also seen a lot of professional photographers with all the equipment, certifications, and a nice storefront that are very average - don’t hire them!

Looking for a photographer in Saginaw Michigan? Hire me! My mother thinks I’m good!
http://defoe-photography.com

Street Boss

As many people in Saginaw, MI know there is a buzz because a film to be titled “Street Boss” is ramping up to start shooting.  Are you interested in being an extra?  Need a headshot?  Contact me through my website and received a professional headshot for only $20!
http://defoe-photography.com/contact.php

 

MIDNIGHT TO 12 ANNOUNCES SPRING TOUR DATES

New York, NY - April 9, 2008 -Southern California’s MIDNIGHT TO 12
(M212) is gearing up to hit the road in support of their impending
self-titled debut release, set to come out on June 24 on JKH
Entertainment (via Koch Distribution).  Starting on April 11 in Oklahoma
City, the band will criss-cross throughout the eastern half of the
country, ending up on June 6 in Kaukauna, WI.

Having already created a buzz with their single, “Slam,” featured on the
WB’s hit show, ONE TREE HILL as well as selling 13,000 independent
records prior to getting signed, M212 enlisted Sylvia Massy Shivy (Tool,
Deftones, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash) and Rich Veltrop to produce and mix
this upcoming album at Radiostar Studios.  Mastering details were
provided by Tom Baker of Precision Mastering (Seether, Motley Crue,
Stone Temple Pilots).

Catch them out on the road this spring, with special dates on the VANS
WARPED TOUR!

Apr 16; Pittsburg State University; Pittsburg, KS
Apr 18 08; 3rd Street Live!; Cedar Rapids, IA
Apr 19; Volume; Cedar Rapids, IA
Apr 22; Spybar; Marion, IA
Apr 24; Kathy’s; Rochester, MN
Apr 25; Doubles; Green Bay, WI
Apr 26; The Rock; Minneapolis, MN
Apr 27; SOP’s; Peoria, IL
May 01; Motorheads Bar; Michigan Center, MI
May 02; Token Lounge; Westland, MI
May 03; Underground; Sandusky, OH
May 09; Around The Corner; Johnstown, PA
May 10; Paradox Rift; Huntington, WV
May 11; Hooligans Music Hall; Jacksonville, NC
May 15; The Rock Shop; Fayetteville, NC
May 17; Bourbon St. Nightclub; New Port Richey, FL
May 23; The Metro; West Melbourne, FL
May 24; The Local; Marietta, GA
Jun 06; Wisconsin International Raceway; Kaukauna, WI
Jun 25; VANS WARPED TOUR; Phoenix, AZ
Jun 26; VANS WARPED TOUR;  Las Cruces, NM
Jun 28; VANS WARPED TOUR; Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 29; VANS WARPED TOUR; Denver, CO
July 1; VANS WARPED TOUR; St. Louis, MO

For more information on MIDNIGHT TO 12, please visit:  www.m212.com

Being Creative

I took part in a model portfolio building photo shoot this past Saturday.  These are always a lot of fun and the settings help get the creative juices flowing.  This shoot was at a magazine wholesale warehouse.  The room was big with white walls and plywood shelves everywhere.  Not the best setup for a shoot.  This is the challenge of the location.  After scouting around the building there were several places to setup some good shots.  We setup a few sets, painted the canvas with lights and took started shooting.

 

The picture above was a recycle bin full of plastic wraps from returned magazines.  Add the unbrella as a prop, setup a few lights, have the makeup artist do their job and we have a live china doll popping out of a just opened crate!

Taking Good Outdoor Portraits

I remember getting my first camera as a child.  I went to the library to get a book on photography.  Every library seemed to have the same book put out by Kodak.  The method was to put the sun to your back with it shining into the face of the subject and shoot.  This may work for the old 110 point and shoot camera but this is probably the most ineffective way of getting a persons picture and having it look good.  So how do you get a good portrait without hauling out a bunch of reflectors and flashes and professional gear?  I believe the best thing to do is put the person in the shade.  Of course you need a good amount of light so it needs to be bright shade.  As long as you have a fairly steady hand most digital cameras today will shoot great in the shade.

A few reasons why taking a persons portrait in the shade is a good idea:
* You don’t have to worry about over exposure or harsh shadows
* It is less likely that the person will squint
* Skins tones usually look more natural (especially if you set your digital camera to “shade” setting)

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Fashion with a twist

I did another shoot this past Saturday for A Girly Girl Boutique’s online store.  One of the models had to bring her dog because she couldn’t find a “dog sitter”.  At one point I decided to try to use the dog in a few shoots.  After going through a lot of images with the dog a few worked out!

It’s always interesting working with animals.  There will be a picture where the dog looks great but the model is staring off to the side then one where the model looks great and the dog is running and all different variations of this.  When adding more people or animals it seems that you always need to take a lot more shots to get a good one.