Yes, I Work Crazy Hours…
July 26, 2007
My shoot on Tuesday went well. I drove up to Austin to work with Lauren, only to later learn that while I was gone San Antonio had received over 4-inches of rain. Wednesday we also had more inches of rain, it’s been practically non-stop for almost two months now. While that’s a bit of exaggeration, it’s been super rainy this year. One good thing though, my books just came in and we’re going to be getting them out the next couple of days, weather permitting.
I’ll be getting my gear ready later today as on Friday I have to take off to Chicago were I’ll be conducting a great, glamour photography workshop this weekend—five great models! We’ll have a new make-up artist too, can’t wait. I’ll get some shooting done as I arrive early on Friday, then I’m staying till mid-week as we start filming my newest DVD on glamour photography—finally getting back on track with a new video.
While I had done a DVD years ago, I wasn’t happy with the poor post-production and all the broken promises. I learned my lesson with the first one and this new production has crossed the “T’s” and dotted the “I’s.” Great group of folks!
Back to the rain, well on Wednesday, while sitting at my desk and working post-production of images it just poured down rain. Didn’t see lighting or hear thunder, so I kept working on my computer. Then I felt a drop of water on my hand, looked up, and water was coming through the top area of sheetrock by the window. House is only two years old, but what I found out, it’s rained so much that the water had washed some mortar away from the stucco window band where it connects to the wall. So quickly we put some silicone until we can put more mortar “mud” back in there and fix. Water does take a total on things over time.
San Antonio has had already over 30-inches of rain than normal for the year, and they say more is coming. I’m just happy I caught it today as my computer was spared from the water with my quick actions. Well I’m going to get some sleep, then start hammering at it again and eventually take a break to pack my clothes and lighting gear for Chicago. Can’t wait to shoot again! Thanks, rg sends!
When it Rains, it Pours!
July 25, 2007
In 1914 the Morton Salt company coined the phrase, “When it rains it pours,” and used a drawing of a cute girl walking with her umbrella as the rain was coming down. That slogan and the little girl helped sell tons of salt. Perhaps that line drawing was an early glamour, commercial conception, using a young female to sell a product.
The salt company new that with time comes change, so in 1921 with the roaring twenties, Morton put a “dance” in her step. The next change to the “Umbrella Girl,” as came to be known, was in 1933 post-Depression years when “jazz was king.” One of the more noticeable differences was the ribbon in her hair and in 1941, the ribbons were taken out and ponytails were added with the Umbrella Girl taking on a bolder yellow dress and her hair became golden goldilocks. Her hemline also came up an inch or two and there became an almost low-neck-cut appearance in her short dress. Morton states, “While our boys were off to war, our little girl was serving at home.”
The next change of our golden girl came in 1956 during the rock and roll era, with a more modern dress and the umbrella would go from the dark blue Morton Salt pantone color to white on the inside and yellow on the back side. The final change for our girl came in 1968, her hemline up even higher and now the white and yellow umbrella became a pale blue with white on top and goldilocks now sported her hair down, short and parted on the side.
You’re probably wondering what does this have to do with photography, real simple, “Technology changes every Monday when the Board of Directors meet,” and if you’re not on top of these changes, you’ll be left behind—remember, white-balance came with digital, we didn’t have RAW and white-balance with film. In fact, we scanned our film in Adobe Photoshop before we ever did a RAW conversion.
It’s funny how a salt company who developed its slogan from an old proverb, “It never rains but it pours,” would be so successful with the help of a little girl walking in the rain. One reason, they kept her up-to-date and fresh! Thanks, rg sends!
Heading Out To Shoot!
July 24, 2007
Darn, I’ve been trying all morning to get out of the house to get a shoot done in Austin with one hot model. Now, as a “professional photographer” we have to be real careful when we use the word “hot” since we live in such a politically correct society–which really means we really live in a very hypocrite society.
Now many will wonder why I say that. First, just look at all the model portfolios on the net. I know many models will say they “don’t do nudes” to keep all the freaks and stalkers from contacting them, that will do nudes, that’s not a problem with me. What is the real problem when they advertise they don’t do nudes, along with “don’t ask, don’t even try, absolutely no nudes, etc.,” and then their photos in their public portfolios have nude images. Again, I know why not to advertise it in the text description, but do you really think stalkers and freaks who want to look at nekkid pictures of girls read the text?
Now that’s one example and it struck a chord with me yesterday when a model on one site, a model I might add that is talented and I’d surely like to work with and I mean no disrespect when I say this, but she posted a new image and avatar were she’s pulling her thong-bikini down where you can see, well let’s say, practically see, her other orfice not commonly photographed, at least not in glamour. Again, the gal I’m sure is nice, she’s certainly talented, and I’m sure it wasn’t done on purpose, and I might add she does have a cute callipygian or as some would say, tutu, but she also states in her text, “no nudes.” I might add, other than that photo, she has no nudes on her port and “that” photo doesn’t show any nudity anywhere else.
My other favorite hypocritical act I often see in this business is when models put down other models that do nudes, or even sexy non-nude images, but yet that same model who chastises the other models will pose the same way and sometimes in even less clothing. Basically that act is more ego but it still comes with a capital “H” for hypocrite. Why can’t we all just “cheer” for the team?
Well have to run, trying to beat the silly, flooding rains that have come and gone and come and go here in Central Texas for the past two months, the bright side, we have a smaller water bill this month. And for those that don’t want the rain, quit being a hypocrite, you always say you’d wished it rained when you get that water bill as anyone in the Texas Hill Country knows, sometimes water costs more than electricity, seriously!
Oh, and that hot model, she’s talented, funny, great personality, but she is in fact hot! No lies, I’m a man, I like to look at hot women too, but as a photographer, well she’s hot! Why be hypocritical and not say the truth? Ultimately I’m still photographing her because of her talents. rg sends!
Oh Those Hours…
July 23, 2007
Well I’m about ready to head to the shower, then to bed. Yep, been up all night working on images, not to mention Glamour1.com and various other sites. Been a long (past) week. The main stickler was the aftermath of the last Virgin Islands trip where we did our first “one on one” type workshop with seven photographers, seven models, six assistants, a cook and one MUA. Wanted two MUA’s, but the original insisted herself only–make more money that way she figured.
When you’re down in the Caribbean paradise, it’s tropical. With tropical comes humidity, heat, and a mosquito or noseeum occasional bite. Cram 9-ladies in one house alone combined with the tropical environment, early mornings for make-up, long days of shooting, and you’ve created a conducive environment for at least one flare-up. That we had on the last day of shooting. Basically two people acting unprofessional by arguing in front of all the attendees and the neighbors. Had I’d been there, I would have ended it quickly.
Being that I knew both personalities involved, I should have seen it coming, but I didn’t, all I did was hear about it by about 19 people. I basically heard about five variations, but around 15 were very similar. In a nutshell, we had two people who acted foolishly and unprofessionally. In the end, one person felt I should back them up. How could I, I didn’t witness it? Well that was that and upon my return that person quit the team and took every reference to all I brought her with my photography. Though 98% of her friends “list” came from the workshops along with the majority of her publishing credits over the past years.
So much for helping someone get published, so much for helping someone make thousands of dollars, so much for letting someone stay in your home and treat them like family. That’s business I guess.
As I quoted Mark Cuban the other day, “Calamity can be a catalyst for significant change.” With that said, I look forward in working with new talent, talent that will be fresh to everyone, not the same old stuff. In the end, I know who was right and who was wrong. They both were wrong for their un-professionalism and I was right to move forward. Thanks, rg sends!
All Models are Subjects but not All Subjects are Models
July 22, 2007
Not all subjects are models, but all models are subjects when it comes to glamour photography and this statement is critical in the private glamour business, especially if you plan to succeed in this business.
Let’s look at models first. Normally beginning or even established professional agency models don’t come looking for glamour photos for their portfolios, though on occasion models have asked me to photograph them a bit more glamorous or sexy for their significant other. Some are even willing to trade glamour modeling in exchange for fashion, commercial or editorial images for their portfolios (books).
I’ve even had many models ask me to photograph them for submission to Maxim or Playboy. Usually this is no problem and easy to accomplish as most professional models have the proper height and weight proportionately and watch their diets to maintain their shapely figures, usually youthful bodies with experience in front of the camera—they know how to pose without asking. The camera lens is their best friend and no matter how you photograph them the images will be strong and the model will stand out—this is how your normal private glamour subject wants to appear on print, like a model.
In the case of private glamour subjects, sometimes the latter holds true, sometimes it doesn’t. Most subjects are rarely younger than 35 years of age and some are even close to 60. There are those that have endured the sometimes body-altering, childbearing process, while others have never had children. Some are not photogenic, and most have no experience in front of the camera. As a photographer you are not starting from ground zero, you’re not even on the surface, thus this is more challenging than any traditional photo shoot and to make money in this business you’ll usually have only one photo session to accomplish “model-quality” images of your subject—it’s a challenge, but if you get it right the first time you’ll gain at least two or three new clients, if you don’t and your client isn’t happy you’ll lose ten future clients.
Word of mouth is what will make or break you in this business when it comes to your subject’s happiness. If your subject is overwhelmed about your work, she’ll not only “love you” but she’ll show all her friends and you’ll be the talk of town. If your photography sucks, you’re toast, worse than a wedding photographer who blows a wedding. This is why it’s important to understand your subject and to meet your subject at least once before any shoot so you know ahead of time what you’ll face, thus creating the conditions for success, not failure. (Rapport)
If your subject is short and heavy, you know you’ll shoot from lower angles with probably wider focal length lenses and utilize more shadows in the images. If your subject is tall and slender, medium telephoto lenses and more straight-on and parallel shooting angles to your subject’s geometric plane works best. (Body)
If your subject has a great complexion, no problem, almost any professional make-up artist will do, if your subject has a rough complexion, then hire the best make-up artist money can buy and pass the cost on to your subject. You’ll also utilize the more forgiving lighting techniques covered in this book. (Skin)
If your subject is “prim and proper” then handle her with kid gloves, though all subjects should always be handled with the utmost respect and in a dignified manner. Private glamour is not a dating game, it’s a business that relies on creativity and technical knowledge, not on your cologne, though it relies on manners and politeness. Your subject is never wrong nor are you always right. (Personalities)
If your subject is older and shows significant signs, like crow’s feet under the eyes or intense wrinkles, then understand the quality of light chosen will be more important than ever and/or you’ll use diffusion or softness techniques to help take years off your client. Post-production will also become your best friend. (Age)
If your subject is not photogenic, then provide her with props, hats, or something to accentuate to the subject while not taking away from her inner-beauty. Find a method to bring any sliver of beauty out of your subject in your images. (Beauty)
If your subject is youthful, perfect height, weight, photogenic and knows how to move, then you have a model and should show her to a reputable modeling agency—but don’t become a model manager. Models come in all ages and in various categories and a good professional photographer will help (not manage) any potential model move forward in modeling. (Professionalism)
The bottom line, all subjects are not models, though they come in many forms, shapes, personalities, cultures and even different society or class statuses. As a photographer you must understand these factors in order to be successful in this business as well as hone your abilities to communication with your subject effectively. So let’s look at rapport, body, skin, personality, age, beauty and professionalism more closely.
GlAMOURCON
July 21, 2007
No “I” in Team
July 21, 2007
Well the 1-day workshop is over, what a great group of people–one team, one great effort! We kept everything small on purpose as we did this one at home, normally my workshops have at least five models, but it worked even with replacing a model at the last minute that failed to show. That’s why a list of great team members, like models, assistants and stylists are important–you never know when Murphy will hit.
Claudia, Lola and Devon were wonderful models along with Wendy for make-up too! I’ve worked with many, many make-up artists over the years, and very few are as wonderful and professional as Wendy. Elise, Kelly, Travis and Stephanie are others I’ll tip my hat for too–few cut the mustard! I expect my make-up artists to be professionals, not act professional. If I want an actor I’ll go to the local drama club. Many MUA’s, as they are known in this business, often have a false-sense about their role and often forget that while an MUA can make a model look good, great post-production can make an MUA look better.
Ultimately it’s a combination of talents, great photography, great models, great assistants, great MUA’s, the latter are scarce, sometimes, just when you think you have found one you like and have helped out tremendously, you learn they have another side and just mark them off the list.
Sometimes hairstylists can be the same. I once had a hairstylist, a male, who would never put the toilet seat down–and when you live in a house full of girls, that’s a no-no. I warned and warned him, finally one day I said enough is enough, now he’s history, and that was after a cover shoot. I had one MUA who argued unprofessionally in front of my clients with my paid talent once, well she’s history too–more her choice then mine because she failed to understand she was unprofessional with paying clients. It’s always about professionalism, not who wins or who is right–ultimately it’s art, but art doesn’t pay for the groceries, so as a photographer you must remember, it’s a business too.
Many employees can become complacent in this business, often that leads to departures, some are done gracefully, others are done unprofessionally and hastily by the hired-help themselves, but what many fail to realize, this is a very small industry and you do nothing good, but harm yourself. Again, I’ve had some great talent work for me, and then I’ve had what I thought was great talent turn into unprofessionals because they soon thought the only person that mattered was themselves, they forgot there is no “I” in team.
I close by quoting Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, “Shit happens. Bad Shit happens. When it does, there are two options. Cry over it and do nothing or recognize the problem and do the best you possibly can to not only fix it, but make the entire organization stronger…Calamity can be a catalyst for significant change.”
Wishing you the best, more soon, rg sends!
This Weekend
July 19, 2007
Well this weekend we have our 1-day special San Antonio workshop–right here in my home! We’ve got some great models, two new ones plus our rock-hard Devon and one of my favorite MUA’s from Austin, Wendy. Wendy helped me on my last private glamour shoot and she’s awesome! I’ve had the opportunity to work with awesome MUA’s and models over my career, too many to name.
One thing that I strive to do is provide fresh talent with all the repeat business I have, but it’s a balanceing act as you have to rotate people, otherwise people can become too complacent and then they think it’s their workshop. The downside, many folks can provide valuable experience, but in the end, we all have to start somewhere so using new talent should never be something any photographer should ever be afraid to do. I’ll see all of you, new talent included, this weekend at my house and I’m looking forward to start helping new talent get published too! Wishing you the best, rg sends!
Back from the Virgin Islands
July 19, 2007
Well I’m a bit behind, meant to write in this blog while in the VI, but got side tracked and I hope we’ll be able to do better on our next VI trip in August. While all workshops are fun, educational and awesome, especially when in the Virgin Islands, this trip I had to put out a few fires, sort to speak. Nothing major and we’ll leave it at that because that’s the professional thing to do.
We had some great photographers, models and assistants, they all did what they were supposed to do and then some! While we always strive to improve, when you combine seven models, seven photographers, and six assistants along with myself and the rest of the crew, how can you go wrong? We even had our own cook, Lisa, Playboy Playmate Holley Dorrough’s mom who joined us for the hot sun, sweat and the occassional mosquito bite. The pool was always refreshing, I think everyone but one person got in the pool the entire trip–yeah, I got in there myself.
We have more VI workshops coming up, though all for 2007 are sold-out so check out the 2008 line-up including the next seven on seven, or one model to one photographer workshop with assistants coming up in June 2008. We’ve also made Nov. 2008 the same way–can’t beat that! For all you returnees, we’re also changing up the talent, new models, rotating make-up artists, new assistants, cooks, etc., and we’ve even got new equipment for you to use.
I’ll post more soon once I get some images post-produced for you to enjoy, thanks, rg sends!
Working With Models and Water
July 9, 2007
It’s that time again where we all like to enjoy the water and like the seagulls we flock to the nearest and largest body of water. Whether it’s a pool, lake, or beach, water is nature’s way of cooling us off quickly, especially during the summer and the retail industry makes billions each year selling us everything from swimsuits to snorkel fins—most through ads that feature beautiful, bikini-clad models, some even wearing wicked weasels.
The photographers that take these images work under the same conditions as all photographers taking pictures of their family near or around water— battling reflected light from the sky, water, sand and even concrete from the edges of a pool. Anything on the white side of the tonal scale will reflect and amplify light like crazy.
While reflected light is sometimes a sweeter light than direct sun-light, it’s also the culprit to many underexposed subjects. Unless you’re using a narrow spot meter, your camera meter system is easily fooled by all this reflected light and will give you false readings, thus you have an underexposed image. To help prevent this, many photographers will set the settings on their under/over exposure compensation dial/buttons to at least an F-stop, sometimes up to two F-stops on the overexposure side of the scale, depending on the camera make and model.
With digital cameras, it’s even easier as you can view your histogram and if you trust your LCD screen, like I trust the screens on most of my cameras, then you will see your results right away and can make minor adjustments with your under/over exposure compensation scale. While you don’t want to actually overexpose your image, you’re simply using this dial to “recalibrate” the camera’s thought process so the camera “thinks” that you want to overexpose the image and will allow itself to open up the aperture or increase the shutter speed to achieve that properly exposed look, when in reality the camera is correcting the exposure back to normal or compensating for all that back and reflected light.
Reflected light also creates squinting and most people don’t like models with closed eyes. One method some pro photographers use to reduce the squint is to take a black tulle cloth, a cloth similar to sheer material that you can purchase at your local Walmart’s fabric section for a few dollars, and place it over their reflectors. Depending on the size of your reflectors, this won’t cost you but a few dollars. I do this with my California Sunbounce reflectors that come in various rectangular sizes and simply clip the fabric to the sturdy aluminum frame. It also helps to count to three to your subject so they will open their eyes wider.
Another trick is to wear black. Yes, you’ll sweat a bit more than wearing white, but your sweat is the indication you’re absorbing the energy (light and heat) away from the model’s eyes as she looks at the camera, thus giving her a comfortable place to look and when the shoot is over, just jump in the water and cool off—though don’t take your camera with you! rg sends!
