by successfulbob | marketing, musician photography, photography, photography education, success education
SUCCESS!
This job started as a result of a personal project. I was trying some new art techniques on images made of musicians during live performances. Showed the results to Mark and he immediately asked if I would design his next CD release cover and marketing materials…
Six fold CD packaging design for Mark T Small started with a personal photo project
Apparently he made a good choice. Here’s an email from Mark.
“Bob – I think your art work is paying off big time. The media promo started Jan 1 and I am getting more looks than the last CD. Doing some radio interviews and getting some good action on the blogs. I really think that your work is making these people pick the CD up out of the pile to further investigate. Thank you so much Bob. The reporting radio stations start next week and I will keep you posted. I sent out 200 CDs for media on 1/1 and 200 CDs on 1/24 for reporting. Pretty crazy – I will keep you posted .
Thanks again Bob – best to Holly”
mark
Mark T. Small (a.k.a. – J. Wyman Burke)
Delta & Chicago Style Blues
www.marktsmall.com
I ask you… What personal project are you working on to stretch yourself? And, how are you working it into your business?
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography
Man the meal was awesome!
Got the recipe from my fellow photographer Jim Lersch near Branson, Missouri. (He does some top notch commercial work and a different way of photographing seniors… Don’t hesitate to see him speak or buy his educational materials) Man it was wonderful but I gotta tell ya Mushroom Risotto is not the dish to have as a side unless you cook it in advance. 25 minutes of stirring in the goodies will leave you with a cramp in your arm… The Pollo al Vin Cotta?? Freakin’ amazing!
Now how does photography fit in this post?? Well you know me and panoramas! Grabbed the Lumix GX7 and pano’d the all the food ready to go after the prep.
Panorama shot of the spread before the food was all combined.
My wife grabbed the camera and caught me at the stove in my apron. ( I think she kinda liked that….)
Don’t forget that memories pass in the blink of an eye. Make sure that you don’t forget to capture your own as well as your clients. Cheers!
by successfulbob | fine art photography, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
FAR AFIELD…
Some times I head to the place where others fail to look when searching for photographic inspiration. I feel that there’s a tendency for photographers to learn from other photographers who learned from other photographers. Ad infinitum. Can you say inbreeding boys and girls? And – what are the usual results of that??
I’d like to share one of my favorite ‘off the wall’ places to find inspiration for creativity, thinking different and generally sometimes to just be entertained. It’s the Monday Morning Memo and you can sign up for your weekly dish of marketing and creativity thinking. Read the memo and dare to proceed down the Rabbit Hole with the Indiana Beagle. (Think Harrison Ford with longer ears and four legs that are slightly shorter than the two legged version) See what happens when you embrace thoughts from one who is coming from a totally different world. Go ahead! I DARE YOU. MMM is where I found the quote that started this Sunday’s photo/art repast.
“Originality begins with ignorance.” Dink Weber
Four words. Powerful thought.
How many times have you and I created an image and been so excited by the fact we were able to make it… but it was really just a redo of something we have seen before?? Guilty! I say, I am.
When I start moving off the path of the tried and true, not regurgitating the work of another, when I play and experiment I find I sometimes, …sometimes I come up with something I can really call my own. Not often. But now that the thought is here I will try harder. And more often. Does that mean I don’t continue to stand upon the shoulders of those who have gone before? Of course not.
Photography is similar to music. On a scale there are only twelve notes. And it’s the way these notes are combined, with speed and repetition and layers of the same notes again and again… And then the surprise! A discordant note! Or a twist you weren’t expecting. That’s what separates the Master from the Journeyman. Our notes are color, shadow, light, hue, saturation, lines, composition,subject matter and position. Playing one off against the other in layers and different combinations until we are satisfied.
So let me ask. Do you aspire to be a Master? Or a Journeyman? Answer yes to either and that’s perfectly fine. But in order to be a Master you need to make mistakes. Lots and lots of them. Because therein is where you will learn the most, the fastest, but with the most doubt and pain. Are you willing??
by successfulbob | black & white, commercial photography, photography, photography education
UNCOMFORTABLE!
That’s how most people describe their foray in being in front of a camera. I believe that three quarters or more of my job is to get people to open up their real personality… And the only way to do that is to coach people through the experience and have them feel good.
I can do that. I know, because when I was working on a nude art calendar to raise money for the Sedona Arts Center people were SO comfortable that halfway through many sessions I would have to remind them to cover up while we were reviewing images.
Alberto Salas wanted a quick solid business portrait for use by the marketing team for Wells Fargo. He came with very specific instructions on the file format and cropping. But within that I think I caught the sparkle in his eye and by taking a slightly higher camera angle made him look friendly and approachable. The person in the photograph is looking up at the viewer making the viewer be above in a more powerful position. Think about camera angles when trying to sell what your subject wants to say. If you want to portray more powerful, strong personality take a lower angle so the person in the photo is looking slightly down at the viewer. Remember it doesn’t take much…
Alberto walked in the door, I set up the lighting, got him comfortable with conversation, created his portrait, retouched the image and burned the files to disk. And, he was done in about one half hour.
I choose a modified split lighting pattern. Note the shadow side of Alberto’s face. Shadow creates form and depth and what is usually missing from a non-professional executive portrait.
I highly recommend that you do the black and white conversion so someone is not tempted to push the grey-scale button that causes the loss of contrast in the image.
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education
MOVING STATUARY.
That’s what I call it. The closing party at Imaging USA was graced with models that held different poses while on lit podiums. It was an interesting exercise to try and capture images with the low ambient light and the glowing stands. I was surprised how well the Lumix GX7 performed in these conditions. I cranked up the ISO to 3200 and added a little bit of light with a small LED flashlight for some of these.
Captured as a vertical panorama in very contrasty low light conditions. There was one spot where the model moved during the capture but I was able to fix where the stitching went wrong. No fault of the camera. I was surprised it was able to do as well as it did!
ISO 3200 hand held almost dark room… Black and white preset on camera
ISO 3200 hand held almost dark room… Black and white preset on camera
