Before and After

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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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