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Happy Valentine's!

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Shoot What You Love

What makes us stand out from the rest?  As photographer's we must look at something Warren Buffett calls, our competitive advantage.  What do you do better than anyone else?   Often the answer to this question can be found by doing what we love most.  That means instead of shooting the things you believe will bring work to your door, you focus on doing what you love and only that.  This is what makes you different than everyone else and will give you a long career filled with shooting great work.

Today is Valentine's Day and as many people express how they feel about love, think about what you really love about photography and put that in your work.

Always Dream Big!

For more information and inspiration check out PhotographyHelpStore.com.  There you will find downloadable video's to help you become a better photographer.

Goodbye Whitney

My first time meeting Whitney Houston was for a photo shoot with the cast of "Waiting to Exhale".  The shoot took several months to produce and was shot in a secret location.  When I arrived for the shoot my crew wen through security checks and bodyguards surrounded the exterior of the location.

Whitney was the first to arrive and asked my assistant who the photographer was.   When my assistant pointed to me, Whitney looked at me and said, "My God, a Black photographer!  I hear you're good but I need to see your music taste.  At the time I carried hundreds of CD's to my shoot's so I walked her over to my CD books and she started going through them and smiled and said, "we've going to have a great shoot"!  From that point on it was an amazing day.  It was my first time meeting each person in this image and today I am good friends with most of them.

At the end of this shoot all my subjects changed into their regular cloths but we were having so much fun then all ran back to the set and I shot images of everyone dancing together.  It was an amazing shoot and Whitney was so much fun to shoot that day.  I will always remember my time with her and that amazing day.

We will miss you Whitney!

The Beauty of Beauty

I have always loved making people "feel" beautiful.   As a photographer making people feel beautiful is the first step before you can make them look beautiful.  This is really the secret to my 20 year career as a photographer.  If I can make people feel beautiful then capturing that essence is the easy part.

Throughout my career I have shot for a host of clients ranging from beauty brands like Pantene, Revlon and Olay to financial clients like Wells Fargo.  The common thread that flows through all my work is the part you can't see, the feeling.  Creating a "feel good" atmosphere is very important for me, especially in my personal work.  If you want people to take notice of your photography ask yourself this simple question.  How do my subjects feel when I'm taking their picture?

Always Dream Big


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How to Shoot Tethered with the Sony a900 in Lightroom

There are pros and cons to everything almost.  Today many clients like seeing photographs come up on a computer monitor as the photographer shoots.  I've never really liked this trend but it is client generated and it can have, in my opinion, a negative impact on the shoot.  At the same time viewing images on a computer monitor helps the client see the moment as it happens and gives them a sense of knowing they have the shot.

Shooting tethered these days however can hinder the creative process and slow down a photographer shooting, resulting in missed images that may never happen again.  I have always loved capturing "the moment" and being tethered slowed down, or in some cased prevents you from capturing the moment.  When possible, I try to get away from being tethered, but in todays shooting environment this is very hard to do.  

Once upon a time studio photographers were connected to a strobe pack via the sync cord, then came the remote strobe triggers like the pocket wizards and they became the standard.  Finally we were free to more anywhere without having to worry about becoming unplugged.  Then digital came and we are again restricted in our movement.  Hopefully soon this will change and we will be able to transfer images in real time to a computer monitor without being tethered.  There is software available today to do this but its too slow to work in a commercial environment when we are shooting large files quickly.  

If you want to shoot tethered with the Sony a900 I'd suggest a few things.  First get a locking device to secure your data connection port.  I like the TetherBlock III because it's smaller than others I've seen and works great.  The cost at Samy's in Los Angeles is around $80.00, but it is definitely a must when shooting in this manner.  Secondly, you will want to read how we tethered the Sony a900 while shooting my "Fashion and Beauty" class for CreativeLive.  To view the notes which include images from my shoot simply click the following link.  How to Shoot Tethered with Sony a900.

Always Dream Big

For more info on becoming a better photographer check out any of the instructional photography video's at the Gallery Store. 

Shapes and Silhouette's

I have always loved the silhouette, especially in photograph's.  The silhouette seems to take on a different meaning compared to other images, and I believe it's because they leave much to the imagination.

At the end of 2011,  I put a list together of the top 50 photo contests for 2012.  One contest I am fond of is the Photography Masters Cup, which has a category for the silhouette.  Other categories include abstract, advertising, aerial, architecture, fashion, fine art, food, nature, nude, people, photojournalism, portrait, sports, still life and wildlife.  This contest also has a section for the professional and for amateur photographer.  There is something for everyone it seems.  If you have great shots just sitting on your hard drive it's like you never took the image if no one ever see's it.   Today send your best work out to the world via a great contest. You never know what will happen unless you try.

When searching for contests to enter be aware of all the rules and rights usage.  Some photo contest try to take control of your rights, so be aware of all the details before entering.  Also look to see who the judges are in each contest.  This is the first thing I look for because I want my work viewed by the best judges in the world.  If one of the judges is from a major gallery I'd consider that a big plus.

Good luck!

Always Dream Big



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