The Lifeblood of the Image

Light is the lifeblood of a photograph like blood is to our bodies, without either, we have nothing. As photographers, we rely on light to give us the ability to reproduce life in our subjects and images through the addition or subtraction of light.

We can manipulate this effect in many ways, including the selection of the proper light modifiers and for our light source to match our desired result. Ultimately it’s still-light that photographers control to produce lively, still photographs.

Still-light is about control, controlling how the subject appears through the control of light itself. This control can change the mood and story of the photograph instantly. As an example, utilizing a 7-inch reflector on a studio monolight with a 20-degree grid will direct light in a tight path, or swath, across the subject, thus creating a beam of light surrounded by dramatic shadows that brings life to the image. [Read more]

No Need for Racial Slurs by Photo Industry CEO

It’s no secret that I’m not impressed with Alien Bees or White-Lighting marketing hype or the quality of their products–simply put, the owner and CEO of the company, Paul C. Buff, knows my biggest beef is about their use of the word “effective” when describing watt-seconds of their products. I’ve more than once have asked Buff to join me on the Glamour1.com photography forums for an open discussion on this and other topics related to his products, he’s refused and countered back with false statements and libelous claims.

So far I’ve ignored his unprofessional actions, but was rather disturbed when he posted a racial slur about me on DPReview.com (in reference to another poster’s photo) and I quote,

“Now if he’d used Rolando’s body grease you would see more. But maybe he didn’t want greasy bodies?”

Describing a Latino’s body as greasy is not a smart move by any corporate CEO when Latinos are more than 40-million strong in the United States alone—many are photographers too. Being of Latin descent I take the latter remarks by Buff very personal and find it a rather off-color remark, but Buff doesn’t stop with just this Latino, he slaps our European friends and family too! [Read more]

Posing, the Body Language of a Photograph

Over the past six years I’ve taught almost 200 glamour, beauty and nude photography workshops, seminars and lectures from Maui to the Virgin Islands, in Europe, Mexico, Canada and throughout the United states and one of the most recurring questions is, “How do you pose a model?” Normally I’ll answer that question with a demonstration on how I pose the body in three pieces, from the hips to the feet, the torso and from the neck to the head—and of course everything of the body in those pieces.

As simple as that sounds, it would take a book to focus on the posing fundamentals, concepts and principles for successful photographs of models. This book should illustrate how the proper lighting, clothing and image direction help the scene and pose form a powerful photograph. There should be at least one chapter on correct communication to achieve the proper pose along with another chapter on how proper composition, cropping and compression within the image help justify the pose. [Read more]

Photographer and Model Intimate Relationships

As a professional photographer we should always treat our models like subjects, not members of the opposite sex. However, there are times in a model or a photographer’s career where we feel human and find ourselves attracted to each other—this is called life. Many photographers have dated/and or married models in the past and like other things in life, this scenario can create a perception that becomes a very touchy subject—however, people forget, like all things in life, relationships do exist in many work-associated environments—no different than a doctor and a nurse in a hospital or Hillary and Bill as lawyers.

While I don’t encourage relationships in the same workplace, a photographer dating a model, or vice-a-versa, does happen in our fields, probably more common than we care to admit and if you ever find yourself in this situation, hopefully the intentions are genuine and not fake. Falsehood dilutes the validity of our professions. Many photographers and models find their future together through the crossing of the two professions. Consenting adults come with all career fields, I’ve seen lawyers, doctors, photographers, models, actors, scientists, teachers, fireman, policemen, realtors, disc jockeys, politicians, and even sex therapists create successful unions while sharing the same or opposite occupation—after all, most successful marriages come from sharing similar likes while still being opposite of each other in other factors. [Read more]

The LAX Hilton FIRE Trip! Playboy is Digital!

I find myself on a jet headed back home from Los Angeles, for about 48-hours before I head out again, and decided it’s time to play catch-up on my blog—my apologies for the lack of content. Here lately my life is like a roller-coaster, ups, downs, peaks, valleys, shrills and thrills. In these past seven days my access to our email server went wild, our hotel caught on fire, I visited Playboy Studio West, experienced leaky pipes at 2:00 a.m., had a private shoot in Beverly Hills and capped it all off with a midnight arrival. Sometimes I feel like I’m in an amusement park without the cotton-candy, though I still get to throw the darts at a balloon and hope to win a prize.

Well let’s start with my recent trip to Los Angeles for Glamourcon where I taught two workshops and one seminar on photography and lighting. Glamourcon went well and you’d think having an event at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport (LAX) everything would be seamless, especially after experiencing destructive thunderstorms and damaging winds at the previous Chicago Glamourcon event this past August. Well the opposite happened. [Read more]

Professional Photographer or GWC?

Unfortunately in the United States and other countries there is no formal licensing requirements for photographers to prove their professionalism, thus anyone can purchase a disposable camera and print a few inkjet business cards and call themselves a professional photographer, or for that matter a corporate CEO.

This is a sad fact about photography in the United States and it’s often the culprit of negative stereotyping of photographers, especially in the glamour genre and it’s more prevalent today, thanks to digital technology and the Internet. While legit organizations like ASMP, APA, PPA, NPPA, etc., do exist, so do paper-printing, credential mills that basically are laughable at best.

Glamour photography is so popular today, thanks to the Internet and celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Lindsey Lohan, Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, etc. who are practically on the cover of every magazine, from Playboy to Vanity Fair. After all, celebrities put glamour photography on the map in the early 1920’s. [Read more]