The Value of Memories (me on my soap box again)

As a photographer my work is in capturing the fleeting moment and making it last forever. Most of the moments I capture will never happen again. Wether it is a family portrait session on the lakefront, a young mans 13th birthday, a young woman's quinceañera or cotillion, senior photos, an engagement, wedding, anniversary or just a day someone wants to remember, those moments only come once. When I look through the camera I anticipate and wait for them to happen, I stage them, create them, push and pull them out of people to capture something that will live forever.

I shoot all types of events and moments. From time to time during a consultation or just a side conversation I will get asked the ever popular question. Why are photographers so expensive? I have the heart of a teacher so I do my best in these moments to find the opportunity to educate a friend, acquaintance client or perfect stranger who could easily become one of the other three. Photography is a combination of artistry and technical skill. Some of my fellow photographers cringe when I make my plumber analogy but it makes the most sense to people. Pretty much anybody can turn a wrench and measure the length of a pipe and put together the pieces of a simple puzzle. For those simple jobs it's always very possible to do the work yourself. You can probably muster your way through changing your shower head or putting new knobs on the faucet. Now imagine if you will a new bathroom jacuzzi tub, steam shower, lovely fixtures and all. You want it done right so who do you call, the plumber. Why, because they have the expertise needed to get the job done right. 

Now imagine its your wedding every moment that happens only happens once. There is only one chance to catch the look on his face as you walk down the aisle, the moment you place the rings on each others fingers, that first kiss the first time you dance together as husband and wife that silly moment when he (even though you both swore you wouldn't) rubs the cake in your face. Ten, twenty, thirty years from now where will you go to reminisce about the moments. The food is gone, the decorations are gone, ......... oh wait the photo album, or maybe the wedding video. Thats where we go to relive those special moments. Surprisingly the very most lasting record of this once in a lifetime event is the one thing that so many people leave to chance. 

Guess what we are only in the place and stage of life were in for the moment. It is ever changing. Like a dandelion in the wind we are always moving off to a new adventure. So stop take a moment and capture what you can and if its really important get someone who can beautifully capture what you want to keep forever.

Before you know it your precious little peekaboo baby will be graduating high school, off to college, in love and engaged to be married. Life happens fast. Make the memories lat forever and make them beautiful. Understand the value of those memories and the ability to look back on them as an investment in the life you cherish so dearly :)

Ok enough of my soap box. Live your life and love it .

New Sample Book Of Portrait Work

Click here to view this photo book larger

So You Want Great Headshots (5 pointers to think about)

1)Choose wisely. 

First things first choose your photographer wisely. I have so often in conversation had people ask me to take pictures for them before they have even seen my work. Of course I would never make it a habit to turn down work but I always advise potential clients to take a moment to look through my work. It is truly important that you see the work of the photographer you choose to create your headshots. There is no real right or wrong way to do it but thier style should fit witht the way you want to represent yourself. See if your photographerpecializes in a specific type of portrait or if they are more versatile.

2)Personality is important.

Remember that you are getting your headshots done with the intent of aquiring work using these images. As a model or actor it is important to have your individual personality shine through. There are many aproaches to this but most importantly remember that the photographer can only work with what you bring to the table. If you are incredibly dull and lifeless that will show in the images just as strongly as if you are vibrant and energetic. What type of message do you want your headshots to communicate.

 

3)What kind of work do you want.

Keep in mind what kind of work you are trying to get. Do you want to do theater, film, or commercial work? Are you comedic, dramatic, universal. Are you a specific type of charachter or are you an open pallete. These things have the potential to affect the way that you want to be seen. If you are a comedic actor you would want your headshots to have an air of levity. A dramatic portrait would not necessarily be the best choice for you.

4)It's all about the eyes.

Of course your smile is important, too, but the eyes can make or break your picture. They are refered to as the windows to the soul for a reason.Your eyes give you the opportunity to show the layers in your personality. Rather than thinking about the viewer looking at your picture, think about you looking at the viewer. A direct and intentional look into the lens is like making direct eye contact with whoever views your headshot, and we all know the power of direct eye contact.

5)Keep it simple.

Clothing, makeup, hair, and even expression are generally best when simple. The more complex something is in a composition the more it draws atention away from the focal point. If the essence of you is the focal point the last ting you want to do is draw your viewers attention away from is you. You want to draw them in! 

Take a moment to look at the world through my eyes

I just wanted to sharewith you an over view  have been doing this year. A small snippet of what I have been up to. Enjoy!!!!!!!

In Progress

I am always in progress whether I am working on a series of images for a particular project or working through a simple edit from a portrait session. 

I absolutely am addicted to beauty. Small problem it takes up a lot of my time. Big problem as my wife describes it I have been given the beauty in so many different places. I can as easily find myself lost in the eyes of a young woman as I can in the amzing beauty of an autumn blossom.

My work is always evolving and developing and I am always working on something new. There are a huge number of projects are constantly in progess that grow at pretty rapid rate. I find myself regularly influenced by so many different aspects of life that are just so simple and yet amazing.

It's Been Too Long

Seems like it has been forever and a day (actually two months and a little change) since I last posted on my blog. Life as we know it gets in the way sometimes. Last night I went out to the movies with my wife of nearly 14 years. We went to go see For Colored Girls. I had been advised against going to see this movie but I felt and still feel secure enough in my relationship to handle an piece of cinema out there. It's a pretty well known book of poetry that was turned into a play and now into a movie. While I came away form it with all of the trauma I have sean heard experienced or caused dredged up thats not at all what stuck with me. It was just beautiful to see I love the way so many of the heightened emotional moments became some incredibly inspiring still images in my mind. I have always been drawn to the power of human emotion throughout its spectrum. I have to be honest and say this movie is not for everyone. For some it will just leave you angry pr depressed to see all of the pain filled within it. It al depends on your perspective. One of the things I hope people come away from this with is understanding  that while the cast of this film is all black, the issues presented in it are not race or culture specific.

Working On The Integration Of Everything!

I hope everyone will like the new integration. I am attempting to make the relationship between my blog and my site as seamless as possible. This is proving to be not necessarily a difficult endeavor but definitely a time consuming one. It will be good though I think to have these all connected making your experience all the more pleasant. Of course I have been working on a lot of projects and making strides in developing my time management to help keep myself on to of the things I need to take care of. I hope that you will enjoy following me along this journey as I make things work a little smoother.

"Project Freckle"is moving along smoothly with several of its sister projects in their beginning stages. I still think and work very similarly to the way I did when painting was my primary medium. (painting hasn't disappeared by the way once i get this ship sailing a little more smoothly i will have the brush in hand again) I have been fortunate in having a great response to the project and the people interested in being a part of it.

model: Kimberly Lewis

Keep an eye out for more project concepts to be released as time passes.

There will be a link to the project 365 which is almost complete. Just a month or so to go.