Late but still relevant

Breast Cancer Awareness Ad MockUp

Today's image is from some work I shot several months ago. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the post-production in time for Breast Cancer awareness month (October), but I'm still proud of the finished product and think it is relevant.  Many thanks to the model who was willing to trust me to paint and photograph her. The paints are latex paints from LiquidLatexOnline.com. Aside from the expense, the product is superb.

A World of Change

Gina Barros

     I remember hearing a question back when I was a child in elementary school asking if I thought I was going up in the right
period of history. I cannot clearly recall what the question stemmed from, but I have been asked either that or related questions multiple times throughout my life. With the nature of current events—Egyptian protests, Libyan revolts & slaughter, Japan’s earthquakes & tsunami, the question has recently entered
my ponderings again.

    The most recent renewal of the time period query occurred to me when I realized that even given me having the exact same
personality, my question today might vary greatly dependent upon where in the world I was located. As I consider the broader implications to people at large, I wonder if the Japanese hit by the dual disasters of earthquakes & tsunami might be asking themselves that question.  Given the advances in earthquake-proofing construction, the country has suffered remarkable little damage from the major and less-major quakes that have
been rattling the area for the last week or so. A 9+ magnitude quake would have been a city-killer in 1911 Japan. But when photographs of tsunami damge are viewed, it leads one to wonder how much has advanced since that time.

  For the most part, I tend to take the long view on natural disasters. The planet is much more complex, beautiful, and dangerous place than it seems to someone who spend the majority of life in 1^st world cities. Every so often, nature reminds us of that. Though some disasters have roots in the workings of man (i.e. the flooding of New Orleans after Katrina), there are a small subset of disasters that fill me with awe, because there is little man can do to prepare or counteract nature on that scale.  The subset is:

Hurricanes – once you get up past Category 4, there is little that can be built (short of a bunker) that can withstand the storm without taking damage.

Krystine Garcia

Tornados – again past Category 4, you are pretty much looking at whatever is hit being wiped out.

Tsunamis – like taking a giant eraser to the affected coastline, these events tend to wipe out most structures along coasts, particularly since the majority of structures are designed for asthetic, commercial, or industrial function and not designed for wave-damage resistance.
Volcanic eruptions – these are dual-threat problems: in addition to the potential for magma/lava damage, the eruption tosses pollutants into the air that can suffocate, block sunlight access, and the ash can contaminate soil & groundwater.
    Today’s images come from a group photoshoot event I participated in May of last year. These images are outtakes that have been directly formatted for web without any post-processing. As each year passes and the number of images in the virtual stockpile increases, I have now implemented the outtake strategy for images I think are interesting, but not critical nor recent enough to spend the precious hours of time to edit. This blog gives an opportunity for the images to be presented and not forgotten.
    The shoot was organized by a model I had wanted to work with for quite some time and the venue was a large event hall arranged in the architectural style of a castle-palace. This was a free-for-all type shoot where the photographer could pick whatever models they wanted to work with, the models brought whatever wardrobe they felt met the fashion theme, and the equipment & lighting was whatever the individual photographers brought.  As I’ve discussed group shoot events in previous posts, I’ll broach my biggest disappointment from the shoot instead. As a free-for-all, I never had the opportunity to work with the organizer, a then 19yr-old female model whom I had been trying to work with for months and had based attendance for the event upon her emailed confirmation that we’d have an opportunity to work together. For the more experienced models, group events are often the only times the models have low enough rates for individuals on student-budgets to be able to work with them.

Sammie M

  The organizer had brought in some photographer she had previously worked with to the event and she spent about half of the little time she had free shooting nude work with them, for free. This was after announcing at the opening of the event that she would be charging for any nude work.  So not only did these particular photographers basically steal away the opportunity I or other individuals would have had to work with the organizer, they exploited an existing relationship to undervalue whatever an unfamiliar
individual would have paid the model to shoot nude work.

  

 

Group Photoshoots 2: Skill Builder, Networking Mecca, or Time Waster?

Cat Moone

    In continuation from the last post, the question of the worth of group photoshoot events should be addressed. Do the benefits outweigh the negatives in the areas of skill building, networking, and efficient use of time?

Cat Moone

  The first area—skill building—is a complex one to address because how photographers and models learn can vary. I breakdown photographers into 3 basic groupings: theoretical actualizers, spur experimentalists, and task-dependants. 

Theoretical actualizers set up—via diagram or mental images—the shoot concepts, lighting, wardrobe, and potentially even the poses they desire. 

They then take this vision and attempt to make it reality in the actual photoshoot. Actualizers find pleasure in taking the concept to execution and may even enjoy the post-production work as much or more than the setup process. Spur experimentalists may have an initial shoot concept but work primarily from the idea that the best product comes from a collaborative flow of ideas as the shoot is going rather than a rigid plan of shooting: this creative process runs throughout all aspects including lighting, wardrobe, poses, etc. Task-dependants keep a relatively stable process that only varies in the dimensions required of the shoot. While they may not be the most intuitively creative photographers, they do produce a product of consistent quality.

Kimm Davies

   The issue then becomes which type benefits more from a group photoshoot endeavor and how does this benefit play out? Novice theoretical actualizers can benefit from a group photoshoot, but need to receive information about the shoot, lighting arrangement, wardrobe, etc. for them to utilize the shoot experience in planning the next solo photoshoot. In other words, the shoot done today helps improve the shoot done tomorrow.  The multiple model nature of most group photoshoots allows the novice spur experimentalist an opportunity to try setups, lighting, poses that haven’t been done before. 

However, the novice task-dependant is tends to benefit less in skill building than the other types in group photoshoots.

Kimm Davies

 If the photographer doesn’t have the resources to duplicate the shoot variables (environment, lighting, wardrobe, model, etc.), the novice task-dependant doesn’t really understand how to innovate beyond the groupshoot.  Thus, the type of photographer who benefits most from a group photoshoot is probably the spur expirementalist.

Natalie Angela

  When it comes to networking—the utilization of exposure, building of social capital, and the expansion of brand/product recognition—all three types of photographers can benefit from a group photoshoot. This is because the benefit has little to do with the type of photographer and more to do with the personality & likeability of the shoot participants, and the socializing opportunities available at the shoot. It is the same principle behind the success of meet & greet events.

 The last question about time efficiency is multilayered because ultimately efficiency depends not just upon the photographer but also the type of shoot and how many other individuals are involved in the shoot. Assuming all the non-photographer variables are equal, a novice theoretical actualizer can benefits if he/she has foreknowledge of the photoshoot variables. Thus the actualizer has the potential to cram many more high-quality photographs in than the average photographer. 

Kimm Davies

The spur experimentalist is also capable of obtaining more high-quality photographs than the average photographer. However, the spur experimentalist is also capable of ending up with more junk as well. Not everything tried will succeed, but when success is obtained it will yield wonderful product. So unlike the actualizer whose product is directly related to how much forthought is put into the group photoshoot, the experimentalist will—on average—benefit from the shoot, but there is no guarantee. The task-dependant is least likely to benefit from a group photoshoot, because the benefit garnered comes completely from the quality and organization of photoshoot organizer. A free-for-all shoot is the least efficient, a small, meticulously detailed shoot is more efficient.

Natalie Angela

   Today’s images are from a themed bodypaint shoot. The goal was to have the models painted in water-resistant paints in designs reminiscent to mermaids. Unfortunately the bodypainter really dropped the ball on this shoot, showing up late and neglecting to bring the proper type of airbrush paints. Consequently, once the models got wet paints wet, the paint flecked off rapidly and the designs became unusable within about 4 minutes. Overall the models were a pleasure to work with.  

Natalie Angela

      The father of one of the models had been diagnosed with a myocardial infarction the prior evening and was hospitalized. It was clearly weighing on the model (you can see in the images the progression of unhappiness) and she left the shoot early to go be with her family. Since that day, I don’t think she has modeled again, I’ve been unable to ever contact her, and she hasn’t logged onto to her MM account. I always wonder what happens to models that drop of the face of the modeling earth. Another model from that day has ceased to model and discontinued her MM account. I sometimes wonder if it is life, discontent, or familial/social pressures that lead once enthusiastic models to completely cease modeling. For women in their late teens and early twenties, I know from discussion that it is hard for them to forsee all the future consequences from modeling. But I’ve also witnessed individuals in their late twenties and early thirties summarily drop out so I’m unsure if unforeseen consequences is the only reason.

Cat Moone

Natalie Angela

Group Photoshoots: Skill Builder, Networking Mecca, or Time Waster?

Veronica Vaughn

 Pt. 1

    I just finished processing images from a group photoshoot event I participated in about 2 weekends ago. This was the first event I had attended with this particular meetup group and I went to the event not knowing anything about how the shoots were run until I showed up at the door. Like most things in life there were positives  and negatives I took from the event, but it made me think about the title question more seriously. I’ll address the particular event first, and then the question as a larger issue second.

Esmerelda

     The event was held in a San Francisco studio that clearly had been created as a near-permanent photostudio. This was the first time I had been in such a space, so seeing the 4 different set setups and additional set spaces available was astounding.  There was more lighting and wiring equipment in that studio than I’m likely to ever have in my lifetime. That studio is capable of providing a plethora of lighting resources, so creativity should not be a problem for a prepared photographer.

Veronica Vaughn

      The organizers of the event were genuinely friendly and willing to talk about the shoot, the studio, life, etc., so time didn’t seem to drag on at any point during the day.  Before the shooting started, the organizer explained the process to the photographers, stating that we’d have free run of 2 fashion sets (black or white backgrounds) , use of 1 of the glamour sets (pink background), and free use of the natural light area (open space in 2^nd room of studio). He also explained the few rules: no touching, no entering the dressing room, no adjusting wiring, etc. He then explained that all of the models were aware of the shoot style (Italian-style Vogue Fashion), and that these would be edgier images than typical fashion but not glamour images.

Veronica Vaughn

      At this point, it is important to note that it did state in the meetup groups signup sheet that these were all newer models. This was evidenced by a model who, after dressing in some lingerie and walking onto the first set, immediately decided to quit and left without actually modeling. This forced the female organizer (a model herself) to have to step in so the model total would be back up to 4 models. As I still have no idea if the models were paid for this event, I don’t know if the quitter ended up costing the organizers any money or not. Either way, it was critical for this event to have 4 models because there ended up being ~11 photographers(not counting the male organizer who shot images, and the 2 late shows) at this event.

SamIAm

     Up to the present time, I have participated in several free-for-all style photoshoot meetups, and personally do not prefer them. That said, I have been in some that have ran better than others. While I’m not a full-time, career photographer, my impression is that photographers who are would probably not like free-for-all shoots if they intended to use the images for anything useful. The most obvious problem this creates is that the aesthetic biases(to put it politely) of the photographers always come up. One of the models in this fashion shoot was tall, pretty, and generously & naturally endowed. Her MM profile states she’s a D cup, but she is probably larger. As I happened to be into the room she walked into for her first set I was able to observe the flock of male photographers stream to shoot her. It went from 2 photographers in the room to 10 photographers clamoring over each other in less than a minute. I shot 2 images of her in that outfit then left to find another model to work with. In every free-for-all I’ve attended, the photographer shooting stampede has split the model’s attention in to many directions, impeded her ability to find a posing flow, and resulted in the model adopting canned modeling poses rather than really utilizing the wardrobe to the fullest extent. Consequently the photographers shoot quantity over quality and getting great images becomes mostly a crap shoot, rather than a definitive practice. Now I’ve seen highly skilled and experienced models rise above the melee; but that has only occurred as the photographer glut lost interest and moved to the next model or set so the number of shooters dropped down to less than 4.

Funz

  I’m traditionally a pretty laid-back shooter; I prefer to spend my energy preplanning what & how to shoot before the actual shoot date. I then take a “let’s see how it goes…” approach on the actual shoot date using the ideas and plans as catalyst or generation points for shooting. I am therefore not opposed to attending free-for-all events. I do however feel that these types of events shortchange models, unless they are compensated in money for modeling. A model serious about generating future work should know that he/she can’t have 25 images of the same wardrobe and from the same shoot in his/her portfolio. Such a port demonstrates a lack of range or experience in modeling. F-F-A shoots tend to provide a model a glut of these images. Yes he/she will have a pose from 10 different angles, but additional angles doesn’t automatically yield a superior picture. In many cases, poses only look good from particular locations so extra angles are just wasted shots.

 A second concern for models should also be increasing the skill level through practice in a shoot. The ability to interact with a photographer to create the desired image is hampered when multiple photogs are shooting at the same time.  However, if the photographers are new, or inexperienced, they may be incapable of shooting for a particular image and instead shoot-to-hope for something good.

Ranie Mae

Ranie Mae

  At this particular Italian, vogue-style fashion event wardrobe was a big issue. I don’t know if the concept was clearly explained—with visual examples—to the models, but it was my impression that the majority of them did not come prepared for the type of shoot sold to the photographers. Showing up to a shoot with only 1 pair of underwear is not planning ahead. If a model states she is willing to do implied work, proper preparation would be arriving with 1 strapless bra and no thongs or panties.  This was of particular interest to me as the models walked onto the sets already in their wardrobe and the photographers had no input as to what outfits (or how the outfits) were worn. The one model who actually had layered her wardrobe—allowing for staged removal of clothing items—came in more gothic-style wardrobe which none of the sets were set up for; this resulted in the wardrobe looking at odds with the shoots rather than complimenting the shoot.

Ranie Mae

    Moving away from the modeling end, I find as a photographer that F-F-A shoots do not yield me as high returns of quality images. When I’m firing on all cylinders(when conducting a solo photoshoot) my bad-to-excellent image ratio tends to hover around 12-to-1, and drops to 18-to-1 on my off days. I’ve never had a group F-F-A shoot that yielded me anything better than a 20-to-1 ratio. This is due to the dual confound of shooting less total images (I have to clamor over or compete with other photogs to shoot) and not having a flow with the model to shoot through many poses(I end up shooting what I can get, not what I’d like). The longer I’ve been in photography the stingier I’ve become with my time and energy. I see little benefit spending hours of time for useless images that don’t improve my skills nor improve my portfolio.

   Today’s images are of silhouettes taken at a couple different times. I am wanting an opportunity to revist silhouette photography as I feel I’ve learned much about the photography style over the past 18 months. Hopefully my results for the MM casting I will put up will yield better results.

Ranie Mae

Ranie Mae

Ranie Mae

Ranie Mae

Just processed an image from a January shoot. I didn't notice this image the first pass through the shots, but liked it when I found it on the second pass through. The model changed her screen name sometime after we had the photoshoot; I'm not really sure why. I'm left with the quandary of whether or not to post processed images of her with her original screen name or the adjusted one. My attempts to contact her for elucidation, or to schedule future shoots have gone unanswered.
I'm hoping to have properly learned how to improve high-key silhouettes. This was the first time I had attempted it, and while I did have interesting results, I believe it could be done better. I'm hoping to arrange a shoot with a new model within the next few weeks to try again.

Work in Progress?

Here is an older photo. (Click image to see larger picture) It actually doesn't directly relate to the post title so much. The title more relates to what to do with old digital images that have the potential to be good (with significant amounts of photoshop work) when I don't wish to work on them. For example, there are still probably over 100 Agora II images (nearly half of them include some form of unclothed, undressed, nearly naked, or nude performers) that I've reached my saturation point for dealing with. In addition to all the other projects consuming my time, I do not know if I want to spend additional time on such an old one: particularly since I was dissatisfied with my photographic endeavor at the time. (I didn’t utilize the best photo-chronicling techniques, didn’t attend enough of the performances to get all the pictures I wanted, and didn’t have the best equipment to maximize my efforts) If I am already unhappy, does it make sense to spend more time and energy on something with which—at best—I’ll only be partially satisfied?

Right now I am in a place where the majority of my discretionary time is spent trying to push out the remaining chapters on my Batman novel. I am in a rush for several crucial reasons. I want to finish the 1^st draft before the new Batman Movie (The Dark Knight) comes out, specifically so I can turn the novel into a screenplay (targeted for a TV miniseries). As the TV show ‘Smallville’ is winding down to its likely last season (2008-2009), the period is approaching where a new vision of the DC Universe—as it relates to television and film—has the potential of being seriously considered. My vision (led by the Batman, Superman, and WonderWoman characters) is groundbreaking, intriguing, and most-of-all sustainable for a period of 5-15 years.

Another reason for the rush is that the transition period I am in for my career path will soon close. Once the new work begins in earnest, I will not have the luxury of devoting time and energy to this project except in dribs and drabs. If I cannot get the ball sustainably rolling before that time, it may be over 10 years before all the personal and external factors align again.

The proceeding two paragraphs lay out, in part, my reluctance to work on older photos I am already dissatisfied with. Whatever efforts I make in photography over the next while, I really want to devote my energies to finding a collaborative model who is willing to work with me to develop our skills and both our portfolios, despite my current lack of finances for that endeavor.

Photoshop Work

Sorry for the dearth amount of posts these past few weeks. Though I'm spending more hours of the day in front of a computer, most of the time is spent on accomplishing activities I am required to do rather than activities I am seeking out (such as this blog and my website).

I am spending the little photography time I have available working on two skills I need to develop: learning how to get the sepia- & chrome-style images from digital photographs, and attempting to teach myself airbrushing and photomanipulation techniques.

Below is an example of one attempt at sepia-style black & whites.

Photo from a Sep. 2006 Agora II performance in Brooklyn, NY.