Posts
1) The people you meet
2) The places you go
3) The books & blogs you read
Today I want to show how the people you know can help your photography career to grow by leaps and bounds.
1994, I was hired to photograph Vanessa Williams for the first time. Before the shoot I was very nervous as it was one of my first celebrity covers. Before the shoot I did ton's of research on her and worked on my concept for the cover. She was in a play at the time called Kiss of the Spider Woman and wanted to capture her energy in this role. I decided to do a shot that felt like her role in the play. I had a spider net slide made before the shoot to use as a background and used a HMI 4k light as my main light. In my mind this was my shot but my clients were nervous about my idea and wanted a standard beauty cover. Whenever you have creative minds together you have to work to collaborate on ideas. In the end I shot my version and my clients. When the cover came out my client choose my version and it started a long great relationship with Vanessa Williams.
Our bond was formed on this day. Since it was my first time meeting Vanessa I wanted to make a great impression so I placed a bouquet of flowers in the dressing room for her with a simple note that read something like, "it's great to meet you and here's to a great shoot".
The next thing I knew I was being referred by Vanessa to other clients. From Vanessa I was referred to Lifetime TV, who became a long time client, then to Showtime, who became a long time client, then to Ebony Magazine, who ........you get the idea. Throughout my career this situation has happened over and over again. Every shoot is the chance to make a lasting impression so do your best every time you put your camera to your eye. Put the time into doing research before every shoot and look for ideas and inspiration so you can give your subjects something to work with.
To hear my ideas directly on how I decide what light to use, how to use it and how to find inspiration for a shoot check out any of these videos at the Gallery Store.
For Inspiration:
Successful: How I Turned my Dreams into Reality (introduction by Vanessa Williams)
$12.95
For Photography Education:
Ten Ways to Use One Light Source: $12.95
Through the Lens: $9.95
For Fine Art Collectors:
Learn more tomorrow about the "Places You Go"!
1 comment:
What a beautiful image. So captivating. I just found your site and am reading your blog while the One Light Source is downloading. I look forward to learning how to really work with my off camera lighting.
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