If You’re Going Through Hell–Gannas

No, I haven’t abandoned my blog, my normal work schedule is seven days a week, 20-hours per day with no holidays in between. I’ve just been swamped with back-to-back, workshops followed with a private photography instruction client and of course this wonderful thing called life. Add to that, we’ve been working on Glamour1.com, updating software and the post-production of images for my next book while working on my house to sell it faster.

Over the past ten years I’ve bought and sold almost ten houses. Selling a home is a big task with all the inconveniences, both expected and unexpected, of moving from one location to another while still working to make a living. Add to that, the decision to sell the house this time was not based on my normal pattern of buying and selling but more on critical life issues—where is an angel when you need one? [Read more]

Style, The Manhood of Photography

Style. Some photographers have it, others don’t, many people don’t even know what style is and in photography ask five professionals and chances are you’ll get five different definitions about the word style itself. Established style however is a key ingredient that will identify a professional photographer from their colleagues and subordinate beginners.

Personally I define photographic style as the following:

Photographic style is a consistent, identifiable quality in a visual body of work that portrays the artistic personality of the photographer and the life-influenced reflection of what the photographer saw and felt during that depiction of time.

Normally photographic style is associated with those that have made it as the leaders in specific genres of photography. When one sees Playboy style images, few know that Ken Marcus influenced that style, though today it’s more associated with the current number one contract photographer for Playboy, Arny Freytag, Marcus’ former assistant. [Read more]

The Greatest Photographers in the World

The greatest photographers in the world are those that understand the three “C’s” of being a professional photographer, comprehension, communication and creativity. While you’ll often hear the statement, “The difference between an amateur and a pro photographer is the pro never shows you his bad photos,” that’s more myth than fact, though practiced by some.

Let’s look at the first fact, comprehension. A photographer today not only needs to comprehend how his equipment works, i.e., the difference between an F/stop and a bus stop, but how his market, client and even audience functions.

While understanding your equipment is core to this first fact, especially knowing white-balance, lens choices, aperture and shutter-speed settings and all the gizmos cameras come with today like image stabilizers and matrix metering, comprehension has evolved to peripheral levels. Comprehending your market, its demographics including buying power and the intended audience is also important to you and your client. There are so many research tools available that there is no reason to fail in this category. [Read more]

Life is What You Make of It

“Life is what you make of it” is a statement everyone has heard at one time or another, but I prefer to say, “Life is like boating down a river, you steer in one direction, sometimes on smooth waters and sometimes with rough waters, ultimately it’s how you navigate around its banks and obstacles that make all the difference in the world.”

I often like to think I’m the boat captain on that body of water, sometimes it feels like a Rhine River cruise, boring after the first few castles but in reality, it’s always a challenge to navigate the waterways and stay the course.

While experience is helpful in navigation, there is always much to learn on each trip. You’ll learn the short-cuts, the pitfalls, the safe zones, the dangerous curves and the safe water. You’ll find your passengers along the way are who they are, some real and some not, but ultimately your character will build through it all, and if you’re lucky, you’ll steer yourself in a positive direction. [Read more]