Trust me, I'm a professional

A personal 2012

2012-01-04T10:41:00.005-05:00

To start out 2012, I thought I would post some images I took just because I saw something that interested me. These weren't shot for my portfolio and they weren't shot because a client commissioned them. I shot these just for me.

So check them out, I hope you enjoy them. If you want to see more of my personal work, you can go to my website www.MarkHansonPhoto.com

To see more, go to www.MarkHansonPhoto.com and click on the Personal section.

How Evel Knievel made me a photographer/Everything Changes

2011-10-18T10:09:00.003-04:00

I remember the day I knew I wanted to be a photographer. I was probably in 2nd grade, maybe 1st, and my father had just come home from taking pictures at a golf tournament his company was sponsoring. He went down into his darkroom and let me come in to watch him develop the film and the prints from the past week. He had already chosen a few images to print and I watched as he got started. As he exposed the paper and then put it into the developing tray, I watched as a picture of Evel Knievel magically appeared! At that moment, I was hooked! I wanted to be a photographer.

I didn't really start taking pictures though until I reached 7th grade. That was when I started shooting for the yearbook. I loved it! I was taking pictures of cheerleaders, football games, other students, and everyone knew who I was and wanted me to take their picture. I continued to do this all through High School and college. I added weddings and local rock bands to the mix and eventually models. All this was shot on film. The Black and White, I processed myself and printed, the color I sent out to a photolab. I was shooting on 35mm cameras and medium format cameras. I would finish a shoot and rush to the lab or the darkroom, so I could see the finished product as soon as possible. If someone had a pimple on their face or there was some distraction in the background, you either had to live with it, trash the image or pay someone else to fix it, usually by painting on the negative or occasionally on the print.

Very few people were "professional" photographers back then. It just wasn't as easy to do. You couldn't tell if your shot was over or under exposed until you got your film back, and by then, if you had screwed it up, it was too late, you lost the shot and possibly cost yourself and your client a lot of money. Luckily that never happened on any of my shoots. My father taught me well and my exposures were always within the proper range. Thank you God!

Now, with digital, you can see immediately if you screwed up and you can fix it before you shoot another frame. This has opened up the door of photography to a much larger crowd. Almost anyone can say they are a "professional" photographer now. Anything you can't fix in the camera, you can probably fix with Photoshop. And because the pool of "professional" photographers has gotten so large and the technical side of photography is no longer as great a mystery, people who never would have thought it possible to be a photographer are giving it a try. Some clients are even trying it themselves. Looking for ways to save money, they try to do the photography in-house, turning a Marketing Director or an Art Director into their new photographer.

Many photographers complain about this, and I'll admit, I have complained once or twice myself, but it's not going to go back to the way it was. And now, more and more people everyday are getting to experience what I have loved since I was a very young child. Digital has been great for the art of photography. More people are able to take better pictures and different pictures and show the world completely different styles. Some are great and inspiring, others, probably should never have been made public, but that's a personal opinion.

If you want to be a "professional" photographer, right now, or in the future, or if you have been one for years, you better step up your game! Stop complaining about things you can't change and make better images, be a better marketer, embrace the changes and work with them instead of fighting them. Look around you and see what works, then do it and do it better.

Now with digital photography and Photoshop, everyone can be a photographer. If you truly want to be a PROFESSIONAL, be better, don't just be EVERYONE!

Website Photography

2011-10-06T18:18:00.001-04:00

Lately I have been doing a lot of website photography. Clients have asked me to shoot images for their websites and even make a video or two.

My most recent client for website photography was www.Dilworthcenter.org They asked me to shoot the staff as well as their building and filler shots for all the sections of the website. In all, I shot over 20 images plus the staff, I even shot the video they have on the opening page. That was the first video I did for them, back in 2010. I also shot another one for them earlier this year.

Most of the photos I've been shooting for websites are a complete departure from what I normally do, but it has been fun! It's nice to challenge myself to shoot a different way, to think differently about what I'm shooting and to produce results that my clients have been VERY Happy with.

So if you get a chance, check out www.DilworthCenter.org and let me know what you think.

My 2nd Short Film

2011-09-29T17:31:00.004-04:00

The other week I spent the day with a crew of great people who helped me bring to life a short film that I had been working on for months. I shot this all on the Nikon D7000. I love having the ability to shoot like this and give a "film" look to the video. It has me excited about being able to branch out into an area I have been interested in for years, but thought I would have to wait to really explore. I have always worked with a story in mind for most of my shoots, so moving into the world of Motion is very natural for me and lots of fun!

So here's my 2nd short film. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Some Brave Kids

2011-08-26T10:51:00.005-04:00

I had another opportunity to shoot for Flashes Of Hope, a "National non-profit organization that changes the way children with cancer see themselves through the gift of photography and raises money for pediatric cancer research." Once again I was blown away by how brave and courageous these kids are. They were a joy to take pictures of, and I encourage every photographer to participate and give, what is essentially, a small amount of your time for this worthwhile cause. For information on how you can volunteer, go to www.FlashesOfHope.org

Here are a couple of shots from that shoot:

Shooting for a Vampire Facelift

2011-07-12T15:55:00.006-04:00

A couple of months ago I was contacted to shoot the images for Selphyl's innovative new cosmetic and reconstructive procedure, nicknamed, "The Vampire Facelift". You can check out their website for an explanation :) The images are being used in Selphyl's national ad campaign as well as website and collateral pieces.

The shoot will be an ongoing project with before and after images as well as images shot for Advertising, such as the one I'm posting here. We've already started the first phase of the shoot, with 3 more to go. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with this great team of people and having my work showcased all over the country!

I'll post more from this project as it goes along. But until then, here is one of the first images from this campaign.

BTS-On location with Belk in Lake Lure

2011-06-08T10:42:00.006-04:00

Here is the link to the Behind the Scenes Video of my shoot for Belk.

http://vimeo.com/24799758

Check it out, it was a great time with LOTS of Dancing!

2 story tall prints and cow manure

2011-06-01T10:21:00.009-04:00

Back in mid-March I did a shoot for Belk dept. stores up in the NC mountains at Lake Lure.

We were shooting in-house promotional images, that would be blown up 2 stories tall, as well ad images to be used in their advertising.

Some of the shots were taken on a small pier and some were shot in a cow field. The shots on the pier were the most comfortable for me to shoot, mainly because I spent half my time laying in dried up cow manure for the shots we did in the field, you couldn't escape it, but you do what you have to, if you want the shot!

Overall, we had a great day, my crew did a great job and even, eventually, brought me something to lay on so I could stay out of the cow crap!

Here are a few of the final pieces we shot that day.

I'll have some behind the scenes video from this shoot a little later. So be on the look out for that!

Rack Room Spring Campaign 2011

2011-04-10T13:56:00.004-04:00

I recently did a shoot down in Ft. Myers Fl. for Rack Room Shoes. It was for their National Spring Campaign and it features real customers as the models. The shoot involved my crew and myself shooting all the stills as well as behind the scenes video and interviews. It took place over three days, and the Rack Room customers were able to experience what it's like to be models and they really seemed to have a great time. I think the fact that the kids were missing school for those three days, probably helped!

You can see a few of the images from that shoot below, as well as the behind the scenes video.

The BUSINESS of photography sucks

2011-03-26T09:16:00.004-04:00

The Day I decided that being a photographer was what I wanted to do to make a living, I didn't give much thought to the business side of my new career. I knew I loved taking pictures and making images and I felt pretty confident I could make a living doing it. I knew there were certain things I had to do to get jobs, promote myself, Advertise, show my book to some people. I could do all that, after all, I have a degree in Advertising, how hard can this be? DAMN was I off in my thinking!

Being a photographer is sooo much more than just showing your book and taking some pictures. To make any money and even be a little successful, you better know how to market yourself. Like I said before, I have a degree in advertising, I never went to school for photography or had any classes in how to run a photography business. I've been shooting since I was 11 years old and getting paid by people to take pictures since I was 16. My father owned his own business, so I had some idea of what it would take, but he sold his services and merchandise to the public, not Art Directors, Creative Directors and Photo directors etc.. Marketing to the public, I think, is a little easier. Put an ad in a magazine, newspaper, hand out flyers, use billboards, etc... Those things aren't going to work with the people I'm marketing to. And you definitely can't run a 20% off sale, because if you do, and by some miracle it works, you will never get prices back up to normal, not with that client anyway.

So what do you have to do? Make lots of phone calls (which I always feel like I'm annoying whoever I call, so I'm not very good at this), you send email promos (you and every other photographer), you send promos through the mail ( you and half of all the other photographers out there) and you try to get meetings (which are getting harder and harder to get).

All of these things combined are what you absolutely have to be doing if you want to get any work. And these days you should also incorporate some type of social media into your marketing plan. Twitter and/or facebook are your two standard ones to use, and even this, a blog. Anything you can do to get your name and your work out there, you need to be doing.

Computers and the internet have made it easier to market yourself to the people who hire photographers, but it has also made it easy for everyone, which makes it harder to stand out in the crowd. See my previous post on It's not what you know... to see what I think it takes to get to get the jobs. It also makes the actual act of taking pictures and creating images a small part of running a photography Business.

I got into this business to do what I love, take pictures, and ended up spending well over half my time marketing myself and doing things I'm not nearly as good at, or like half as much as taking pictures. But, if that's part of the deal, if that's what I have to do, to be able to continue doing what I love to do, I'll take it! (until I can find someone to do it for me!)

Flashes of Hope

2011-03-18T11:31:00.003-04:00

The end of last year I had the opportunity and privilege to shoot for Flashes Of Hope, a "National non-profit organization that changes the way children with cancer see themselves through the gift of photography and raises money for pediatric cancer research." It was my first time working with the organization but it was a very memorable day and an experience that I hope I am able to repeat sometime this year. I spent the day in the pediatric cancer wing of the Levine Children's hospital taking pictures of some amazing and inspiring children. Each one with cancer but each one an inspiration. None of the children had a bad attitude, in fact, each one was happy and smiling. I'm sure they aren't always that way, but in the short time I had with them, they were full of life, happiness and personality. These children have unbelievable courage and I was grateful to be in their presence. If you're a photographer and Flashes of Hope is in your city, I encourage you volunteer your time and takes some pictures of these amazing kids. They seemed to enjoy having their makeup and hair done and having their picture taken. The parents loved the fact that they would be getting current, professional portraits of their child. It was really a great day where I felt like photography, can and does make a difference in the lives of people.

So photographers, if you get a chance, shoot with Flashes of Hope and if your not a photographer but want to help children with pediatric cancer, you can go their website and donate.

Here are a few images from that day:

Before and After

2011-01-21T08:45:00.012-05:00

After posting my last blog, I started thinking that some of you out there, may want to see the before images, so you could compare the RAW images to the final images and see how much post work was done on them.

Each of these images was shot with:

Nikon D3

Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8

ISO 400

f2.8 (except for Robbie with the scarf, that was at f3.5)

All files were shot RAW and then processed with Adobe Bridge and Photoshop CS5

Let me know what you think, what would you have done differently, can you spot all the changes? (especially with the image of the horse)

Click on the images to enlarge them.

36 Degrees and a Horse

2011-01-05T12:16:00.003-05:00

I decided to do a shoot for myself the other week and once I had the idea in my head I had to shoot it as soon as possible. I hate having an idea just waiting to be shot spinning around. It consumes me and it becomes all I think about, so the sooner I can get it out of my head and into my camera, the better. That is why the title of this post is 36 degrees and a horse. The day I set to shoot this was one of the coldest days of the year so far (36 degrees), but I couldn't postpone it, not just because of the cold temperatures. Thankfully, the models, stylist and hair and makeup artist all were wonderful and willing to work with me.

Here are the results of our efforts. I think it was well worth suffering through the cold!

VA. Bride Magazine shoot

2010-11-19T15:50:00.004-05:00

Earlier this year I did a shoot in Lynchburg, VA. for Virginia Bride Magazine The magazine just came out, so now I can post those images for you to see. The images were all shot with the Nikon D3 with a Nikkor 70-200mm / 2.8 lens. As usual for me, there was very little post work done on these. I burned in the edges of the images and I upped the saturation.

Here are a few images from that shoot.

More Behind the Scenes

2010-09-22T10:25:00.005-04:00

Here is another look behind the scenes of one of my recent catalog shoots.

We shot this over 3 days. 2 days on location in the NC mountains and 1 day in studio.

So check out the video to see the fun we have on shoots, and if you haven't seen my website lately, check it out as well. www.MarkHansonPhoto.com

It's not who you know, it's who knows you!

2010-08-14T17:14:00.005-04:00

The other day I was on a shoot and talking with someone about our business and how we've been getting work. At the end of our conversation, my friend said "it's all about who you know". After he said that, I started to think about how many times I've heard that saying and how most people believe that it is all about "who you know". But in reality, it has nothing to do with who you know, it has everything to do with who knows you and more importantly, who likes you.

Think about all of the people you know, creative directors, art directors, buyers, designers, company owners and other potential clients. Now, think about how many of them really know who you are, and now think about how many of those really like you. I'm willing to bet your numbers started out big and slowly shrank.

After doing this for 15 years, I know a lot of people, and I have come to the conclusion that, unless they know me and like me, they most likely aren't going to hire me. That's not to say I have never been hired by a client that I hadn't already established a rapport with, that has definitely happened. I've had clients hire me just from seeing my website and the first time we talked with each other was when they contacted me to see if I was available to shoot a job, but that is a rare occurance these days. With so many photographers out there, most clients want to know who they are working with. Clients want to feel as if they know you, not just your work. Nowadays, by the time a client contacts me to discuss a job or a CD, AD or AB agrees to a meeting with me, they have already looked at my website, possibly checked out one or more of my behind the scenes videos, read my blog and may even be following me on twitter. They want to have a feel of who they are working with and feel confident, not only in your work, but that they can put up with your artistic ass for multiple days if need be.

So the next time you hear someone say, "It's all about who you know", you'll know that's not nearly as true as "It's all about who knows you"! So start establishing relationships, write your blog, get meetings, keep your twitter and Facebook accounts up to date. Let potential clients get a feel for your personality. You'll not only get more work, but you'll get more work from clients that you really enjoy working with.

Mexico, Swimsuits, Models, Not a bad job to have.

2010-06-03T20:17:00.009-04:00

I was down in Cabo San Juan, Mexico a couple of months ago shooting swimwear for Siempre Mujer magazine. It was a great couple of days, and a lot of fun. We had an incredible crew of people, and it paid off in some beautiful images! I can't wait to work with those guys again.

Here is what we created. (you can see more at my website www.MarkHansonPhoto.com )

Mark is.... Thoughts from recent clients about working with me.

2010-05-24T15:56:00.006-04:00

This is a video with some of my recent clients talking about their experience working with me. Hopefully they all say nice things!

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

2010-05-17T09:35:00.003-04:00

I was thinking about past clients and past jobs the other day, and as I was thinking, I started to think about all the jobs I've shot for free or for a discounted rate, all because of a promise, A "dangling Carrot" that my client had provided. I think I've heard all of the standard lines, "We'll give you credit", "It will be great exposure", "I'm sure you will get a lot of work from this", "If you can do it cheaper this time, the next time we shoot we'll have more money so we can pay your normal rate".
Well guess what happened each time I fell for these lines or ones similar? NOTHING!
Giving me credit in a magazine or on an ad where the client couldn't afford my normal rate never got me one phone call or booking. My clients who promised to pay my full rate on the "next shoot", either went out of business, or, if it was an Ad agency, they weren't able to keep their client, so there never was a "next shoot". So when a client, or potential client, approaches you "dangling a carrot" I have found that most of the time you will never get the "carrot".

I've talked to a lot of other freelancers and they all have the same stories about jobs they've done for free or for a discounted rate, all because of promised future riches. Their stories all end the same. They all wish that they had charged their full rate, because the promise of future work, never came to be.

I'm not saying if you have an established client, you shouldn't help them out every once in a while. You shouldn't make a habit out of it, but cutting your rate once or twice to help out a good client, can be a way of showing your appreciation for their continued business. If it's in your best interest, YOU can even offer a client or potential client, a discounted rate for the work you're willing to do for them. If YOU make the offer, then YOU stay in control of your pricing, not your client. These type of offers can also help you get or keep your foot in the door with a client. Just make sure it's really in your best interest, and not because of some "carrot" that's being dangled in front of you, or the promise of the "next shoot".

Behind the scenes for Design Arnold Brant

2010-04-13T12:10:00.003-04:00

Behind the scenes of my shoot for Designer Arnold Brant.

Behind the Scenes in Mexico for Siempre Mujer magazine

2010-04-13T09:16:00.004-04:00

Here is a short video with some of the behind the scenes happenings on my shoot in Mexico for Siempre Mujer magazine.

If your client looks good, You look good

2010-03-10T12:41:00.001-05:00

This is a philosophy I have had for many years. My goal is to always make my clients look good to whoever their client or boss is. Maybe it's an Art Director who needs the shoot to look great for the VP of Marketing, or an Ad agency that needs to look like a hero to their client, or a company that wants to make their customers think of quality when they see the final images. Whatever my client's reason is for needing to look good, my goal is to fulfill that need. I want the VP of Marketing to think the Art Director did a great job, and I want the Ad agency's client to think they are a hero, and I want the customers not to hesitate before going with that companies merchandise. The reason behind this is very simple. If my client looks good, then I look good, to everyone.
So always do your best to make your client look good. Go out of your way to deliver the exact images they need and deliver them on time, or early. Give the best advice and answers you can. Get the best team to work with you. Shoot some images that may be a little more creative than what you were asked to shoot (As long as you have the time and after you get the "safe shots" ) I think clients like to see those shots, even if they don't use them.
So always go into a shoot with the goal of getting some great images and making your client look good. Because what it all comes down to is this, If your client looks good, everybody wins!

Shoot After You Finish Shooting

2010-02-24T11:31:00.004-05:00

I recently had a great shoot for Espera Magazine down in Miami. It was a full day shoot and we shot a lot of great images. But while one of the models was still there I decided to shoot some personal work. I figured I had a great model (Alessia Andrade), a great location, the hair and makeup was already done and looked beautiful, and I had, what I thought, was a great idea. So I asked Alessia if she would be up for shooting this idea I had and she said she was. Not only did she agree to shoot it, she gave her all and did a fantastic job!
This isn't the first time I've shot like this. I've found that I can get some great shots when I just pull something together after I've finished another shoot or even during a long lunch break.
You should only do this during your lunch break, as long as the model(s) you're shooting are not the models needed in the first couple of shots right after the lunch break, and your client is okay with it. I NEVER shoot personal work if it is going to interfere with the job I was hired to shoot! Your client must ALWAYS be your first priority.
When you shoot like this, you don't always get something wonderful, sometimes everyone is just too tired, but a lot of times you do get something great. And if you have the time to shoot something a little fun, it keeps the models full of energy and you never know when your client is going to love what you did and want to use it!
So, if you can shoot some great images at the end of the day after you've already finished your client's shoot, go for it and see what happens. If you have a lot of time between shots and your client is okay with it, shoot some of the models that are sitting around. It keeps everybody energized and cuts down on the amount of time you need for your model to get "warmed up".

Here are two shots I did at the end of the day in Miami with Alessia. Let me know how you think they turned out.

Let's hear it for New York

2010-01-27T12:16:00.001-05:00

I just came back from 2 days of meetings in NYC, and as I always seem to be when I get back from New York, I am inspired and excited to get to work. There's something about NYC that makes me want to get out and shoot, bring my photography to a higher level. It could be the people I meet and the friends I see. The Art Buyers, Art Directors and Creative Directors all inspire me, either with their critique of my work or with their stories of jobs they are doing or have done. I have a great time seeing my friends that live in the city. We always have lunch or dinner at someplace new and just hearing how they're doing and what they're doing can be inspiring and interesting.
Last week I met with photo rep, Janice Moses. We met for coffee and discussed my work and her photographers and what she expects from the photographers she represents. I really enjoyed our talk and I left feeling like I had a better grasp of what I need to do to bring my business up to the next level. Between Janice and one or two of the Art Buyers I met with, I left NYC feeling like I had a slightly new direction in which I want to take my photography. I also have a renewed energy and focus for the business side of this wonderful career I have chosen.
So, Let's hear it for New York! Whether you love it or hate, it can definitely inspire you.

Welcome to 2010!

2010-01-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

Another year has arrived and everyone has hopes for a great year ahead. A lot of people make New Years Resolutions and they really stick with their plans for a few weeks or maybe a few months and then their efforts just seem to disappear. and I'm guilty of this as well, so that's why, a lot of years, I don't even bother with New Years Resolutions. No point in making them if you can't keep them. Then yesterday I read this blog by Donald Miller "Living a Good Story, an Alternative to New Years Resolutions" He talks about making stories out of what you want do this year instead of making goals. You're really still making goals, but in a slightly different and hopefully better way. So I have made up a few stories of my own, and we'll see how this works out.
No matter how these "stories" work out for me, I have a feeling 2010 is going to be a great year! I'm exciting about getting it started, about shooting a lot of great images and continuing to work with some Wonderful people and meeting/working with new people.
This will be an exciting year!

What inspires you?

2009-12-02T11:47:00.004-05:00

A couple of days before I left for my recent shoot for Va. Bride magazine in Richmond, VA. I started looking for things to inspire me, something to get me excited about the shoot and provide a catalyst for creating some great images. This time it was work by Mario Testino that did the trick. While looking at Mario Testino's work, some other photographers' work and even some art work, I started to think about what inspires me to create new images or even to get out there and shoot. Sometimes it's great work from another photographer, as was the case with this past shoot. It can give me an idea, spark that creativity that I need to be able to go out and create my own images.
Sometimes it's a location that gets the creative juices flowing. I see an incredible location and my mind will start to churn out all these different ideas about models, clothes, poses, angles, lighting etc.. It's a great feeling when something like that happens and then you get to go and shoot those images you were seeing in your head.
There have even been times when just a sentence from someone around me sparked an idea for a shoot.
I never know exactly where inspiration will come from or in what form, but I have realized that it can come from anywhere.

Where does your inspiration come from, what inspires you?
Even if you're not a photographer, artist, creative director, art director, photo editor, makeup artist or stylist. (was that list a little too long? I think I could have stopped sooner) Even if you have a 9-5 behind a desk, hopefully there's something out there that inspires you to go out and do something you love. If not, start looking around you. I'm sure something will take hold of you, and inspire you.

Virginia Bride Magazine

2009-11-04T16:14:00.003-05:00

Here are some shots I did for Virginia Bride magazine. We actually shot these awhile ago at Lake O' the Woods Plantation in Warren, NC. www.lakeothewoodsplantation.com It's a small little town just on the border of NC and VA. Nice Bed and Breakfast place, wonderful food. It turned out to be a really great place to shoot, I would have liked to have had another day there to shoot more than we did. We were actually scheduled to shoot at another location that I had seen pictures of that the magazine picked out, but when I arrived the day before the shoot, I really liked the feel and the surroundings of Lake O' the Woods and I convinced the Editor/Publisher of the magazine to shoot everything there. It actually didn't take a lot of convincing.
Here's some of what we shot that day.

Listen to the Professionals

2009-10-23T11:25:00.002-04:00

This actually has nothing at all to do with Photography. I just felt like bitching for a minute.
My wife is Clinical Supervisor at an outpatient rehab. She deals a lot with young adults (mostly15-21) that have substance abuse problems with alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription pills, etc..And occasionally I hear stories about the parents of these kids. It amazes me how often, the parents refuse to listen to the professionals they are paying to help their child get better. So many parents deny the fact that their child is an addict, or think that certain rules don't apply to their kid." Those rules are just for the really sick kids, not mine"
So here's a word of advice for anyone with a child that is in a rehab center, in-patient or out-patient.
LISTEN TO THE COUNSELORS, they know what they are doing! YOU DO NOT! if you were so damn great, and knew what was best, you wouldn't be in the situation you are in. Listen to what they tell you, do what they tell you. Even if you don't think it will work, DO IT. You might be surprised at the outcome.

I know it has to be scary to be the parent of a child with an addiction. I get that you don't want to believe this is happening to you or your child. I understand you have lost control and you feel like you need to be the one who fixes this. The reality is, you can't, you need help to fix it. Your child has a disease and you need experts in that disease to help make things better. Leave your ego at the door, and let someone else help.

I apologize for the rant, but it's just hard for me to believe how many parents want to fight the rules and go against the grain when they know their child needs help. Oh, and those who don't think their kid needs help....Your kid wouldn't be anywhere near a rehab center if they didn't!

I'll lighten-up on my next post, promise.

Siempre Mujer magazine shoot

2009-10-14T09:16:00.000-04:00

These are a couple of shots I recently did for Siempre Mujer magazine.

We spent the first 3/4 of the day shooting "real women", in other words, women who aren't professional models, for a fashion story about jeans. We were shooting in NYC on the corner of 4th and Jane St.Which I thought was great. We had a few stares, and it was fun just to watch some of the people watching us.

After we got those shots, we went across the street to Phoenix Roze, a very cool little jewelry store, to shoot the Contents page and the Style page. We did have a professional model for those shots. It was a little dark in the jewelry store so I ended up shooting at an ISO of 2000 so I could use the natural light that was coming in from the windows. Thanks to my Nikon D3, the images came out very nice, very clean!

After the shoot we all went across the street for some drinks, and everyone agreed we had a great day and a great shoot!

My first attempt at blogging

2009-10-09T12:29:00.002-04:00

Alright, so here I go, trying out this whole blogging thing. I don't really know why I decided to this other than I saw some other photographers were doing it and it looked like a good way to give clients, friends and anyone else who happened upon this a little more insight into me. I don't know how often I will update this, My goal is at least once a month. It could be more than that, but let's start out small and see if we can beat expectations.

You may have seen in the about me section that I mentioned having a wife and two daughters. You will probably see many pictures of them as I continue on this blogging journey. I thought I would go ahead and add a picture of them now so you would know who I'm talking about. Tammy is my wife, Alexa is my oldest daughter and Ashlyn is the youngest. They are all 3 blond hair , blue eyes and about as white as you can be (my wife puts sunscreen on them non-stop. She had melanoma, so she is very aware of what the sun can do to you), and I love them more than anything else in this world.

As I'm writing this, I'm coming up with more things I can write about, so that's good. Maybe I will be able to do this, and hopefully keep everyone interested and entertained. I plan on writing about my shoots, some behind the scenes type stuff, Travel, some family (if it's interesting or if I shoot some cool images) and whatever random, interesting things pop up along the way.

So stay tuned, and let me know what you think.