And they said” you need to take yourself more seriously”

Hi All in Blogland. Welcome to  another installment of the life of the growing photographer. Now, most of us go to our jobs no matter what they are to earn a living. Bartering is not as huge as it used to be. You do something for me I do something for you.  When I first started on my photographic journey I would do TFCD Time for CD of images. To me, it was a value of both of our times and I didn’t see it as time wasted. Fast forward almost 3 yrs and I can’t say I don’t still do TFCD but it is rare and it is for something I want to do meaning I don’t ask people. I put castings out and sees whose interested.That is really it.  Now I know some models I worked with who I have done TFCD with on about 2 or 3 occasions but I don’t ask these people to do that on constant basis. That’s extremely disrespectful  and honestly makes me think people assume that they ” got it like that”. I have learned in my life never ever take people for granted. Just because someone did something for you in the past, does not mean that it will be repeated. It seems people take me for granted and think I will always be there to do ” freebies” for them. How about no and ask me how much I cost? How about, I really should respect Jan and see what is going on in her life.  The reason why this has come up is because someone I did a shoot for when first starting out decided to take me for granted and figures I will do it again. I have done this at least 4 times for this individual. I am not doing again. The reason is because when I offered they forgot about me which means 1) I wasn’t important and 2) the project wasn’t that important.  So please tell me a valid reason why I need to bend over backwards for you now.  Now call me mean if you wish, but when it comes to this industry you need a tough skin and you need to be able to follow through. That means for everyone involved from photographer, studio, stylist, makeup artist, hair stylist, models, talent, art directors etc. Now it may sound as if I am spiteful. Not at all. My whole thing is” if the project was so important, the shoot would have already have taken place in case things needed to be changed. I don’t see that as unreasonable thinking but I digress. I forget sometimes people fly by the seat of the pants and while that’s works for some, it doesn’t work for me. I have things planned out so that when things may change while in production, nobody can claim I didn’t tell them where, when, how, what and why.  Photography itself is creative but the business behind it is just like any other business meaning papers, contracts and timing are extremely important and if you expect people to take you seriously, you need to take yourself more seriously.

Peace and your mama’s hair grease

” The Lull”

Hey All.  Right now I am going through what I call ” the lull”. This means that nothing out of the ordinary is occurring which in all honesty is a very good thing. These are usually the times I turn to art to get inspiration for future shoots.  It seems as of late people I have had regular correspondence with have decided to not talk to me. I am not upset because this usually means they are busy. I have not done anything to cause anyone not to talk to me so I am not going to blame myself. During times like this, I analyze alot of what people have said to me and promises that were supposed to be followed through on.  As it stands now, I don’t really have anything to do when it comes to working with other people. The communication has stalled and I am not one to constantly call or email to find out whats going on. There is a reason why I don’t know and it causes me  not to care. I have other things I am working on for myself, my family , my career and my life and as TD jakes said, we are attached to no one.  My moves in photography are slow and methodical. I have no need to rush anything. I’m just trying to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed. This lull I am in is a truly reflective state and now I only reflect on what has been given to me and what hasn’t. It has caused me to change the way I view people but that always was happens when you are going through a personal growth period.

Peace and Love

One Beautiful Model and an Unfortunate incident

Hi All in Blogland. Even though NYC had a snowstorm yesterday, today brought in some very dedicated people. Today I got to shoot with a beautiful 14 yr old by the name of Rayna. I of course got my team of Magali and Eve and I got to work with a wonderful young lady and her assistant, Shavonne of Truestyle. This young lady traveled all the way from Philly to style for me in BK. I may say, She was amazing and I am looking forward to working with here again. Today was supposed to be a kind of a Couple shoot. Unfortunately my male model had a car trouble and was unable to participate. I will need to reschedule with him because I hope to shoot him one last time. I will say my team is usually very cohesive and easy to work with and I think everyone did amazing. I am attaching some images from the shoot. I see big things for Rayna as she seems to be a natural poser. ID has some great girls.

Strength, Resolve and Friendships

Hi All in Blogland. Today’s post is coming from very different directions. Unfortunately this week a couple of my friends are going through serious issues with their families and my prayers and strength go out to them. During times of crisis and need , you begin to see who really values you and those that are fair weather.  When we are at our lowest points, the ones who want to help you out in to the light , you should look at very carefully. These people care for you and care for your well being. They don’t want to hurt, be sad, or fail.  They want to support you until you get back to where you need to be. Now with that said, don’t exactly take advantage of these people because that isn’t right nor is it fair. Be humble be grateful and be thankful. These are your true friends. Cherish them.

Nice day for a shoot

Hey lovelies. I got to shoot with my Lil Diva aka Bryanna Nicole. This  may have been my last time to get to work with her. She is on her way to basically take over the fashion modeling world one stilletto heel at a time. She is an amazingly beautiful young lady and somehow loves working with me. I cant complain. She is a natural. I also got to Work with a new Makeup artist Chrystan Bell. She is gifted and a sweetheart. I would recommend her to any photographer. Also my lil shooting was filmed by no other than sir Chuck Holliday for  THE NY.  Hopefully Chuck got some great stuff. Tomorrow I will be on a conference call with my marketing and PR manager to discuss my business formation so this weekend will definitely be full. I have attached some images from today’s shoot for your viewing pleasure.

Peace and your mama’s hair grease

I wonder….

The United States of America seems to be in a super tizzy over the whole election and the all the candidates. I honestly why shouldn’t we be. We are currently living in a 8 year oppression and a deficit that our four fathers probably would have never imagined.  Each candidate seems to be drilling in our heads “CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE” Ok ok  I get it.  We need change..DUH!!!!!!!!!!!! If you thinks that something new, you are sadly mistaken. Of course we need change.  We needed change from day one. We have our two front runners McCain and Obama.  Hillary Clinton is quite strong but she is still in 2nd place as this whole world knows, nobody pays attention to the runner up till the 1st place person fucks up. Right now the race is McCain versus whoever on the democratic side. Obama seems to be blazing a trail past Hillary racking up funds like nobody’s business yet no one seem to be questioning why or how these funds are filtering to him so fast. He was quick to jump on Hillary to show her tax returns when she put her own funds in. Is there really a need? I mean she was a lawyer and she seems like a shrewd business woman so why exactly cant she invest in herself and have to prove it to anyone? Also are the funds being filtered to Mr. Obama setting him up for a grand failure?  We all know money talks and BS runs the marathon but with all the money being filtered through, who exactly is really winning? Are there invisible forces at work basically swaying this campaign to be what they want? is there a hidden agenda? Now before you call me a conspiracy theorist, be realistic and think. Our country is suffering in a horrible debt crisis. Everyone who isn’t a star or billionaire is feeling the crunch. So no matter what the everyday man does, the money coming in to these campaigns are coming from the Super rich who in their own rights have their own agendas to protect.  You really think super rich want change? you think they want their tax bracket and breaks to change. I doubt it seriously yet the every state is jumping on the Obama bandwagon cause he is preaching change. Keep preaching because should he be elected, we all will have to pay for it for better or for worse.  I don’t dislike Obama because what he is saying is true but he needs to prove himself and as well as know actions speak louder than words. Giving people lip service is all what we are used to but how are you honestly going to affectthis “Change”. I like Hillary and I like Bill. No matter the scandals, the country didnt have a deficit and life was actually pretty good under that administration. I think Obama and Hillary need to team up and become the dream team super ballot. They could both effectively help each other where they are individually lacking.  I think that ticket would effectively super charge the country to Vote Dem  but thats a dream and it isnt going to happen. This thing called ego will be the downfall for that.  All I see is if Obama wins the candidacy, it will be his election to lose.

Peace

Sheila Frank and Shannon Sutherland show

Morning out in Blogland. Last night I went to a fashion and comedy show at the Broadway comedy club. It was funny and the designs were amazing. The fashion designer was Sheila Frank. She designed some amazing swimwear pieces which were on display last night. The hostess of the evening was Shannon Sutherland. She was extremely funny and to use her fav word, Fabulous. The evening began with comedy from 5 Comics from around the NYC area. They were:

Carmen Lynch, Aaron Kominos-Smith, Aaron Haber, Jerry Shack and Erik Rivera. The reason I was there was because one of the Model citizens I shot was participating in the fashion show Bryanna Nicole.

I am attaching some of the images from the show last night

 I had a great time.

Peace and your mama’s hair grease

Welcome to the Wild World of Internet Modeling

Afternoon All.  I write this blog after reading this forum thread on a more popular model and photographer networking site Model Mayhem. Now this site is no stranger to the infamous ” escort” question when it comes to getting to work with models of the Internet.  I will say from my experience , I have been asked whether someone can bring an escort, I say yes and usually let them know who else will be there. These days I don’t shoot without a Makeup Artist and sometime wardrobe and hair. This whole feeling of being safe on a modeling job still astounds me. We are in danger at any given moment of our lives yet we don’t bring escorts to our jobs or schools or even when we are walking down a city street. Now I know there are perverted and crazed photographers out there  but honestly for every one you hear about, how many don’t you hear about who actually shoot, shoot well and get the job done and model citizen go home unscathed.  In this particular thread, the model decided to test the photographer by asking if he allowed an escort. He explained he works out of his house and it would be too cramped. She felt this wasn’t a sufficient reason and cancelled the shoot. She then proceeds to ask if that was the right thing to do. Are you kidding me? You want validation for your decision that affects you and you alone. If that’s your test to see if a photographer is on the up and up , then more power to you. Now I am all for if you get a weird vibe from a photographer cause that means something is up, cancel away.  But to say that’s your test for every shooter out there, you limit your options. I will have to say that I am extremely spoiled. I work with professional models I find off the Internet as well as Agency models. The only time I have seen an escort is when their moms drop them off. The moms do not stay and I honestly wouldn’t care of they did. As suggested in the thread , check the photographers references. I dont care if anyone checks my references. call the agencies I test for and ask if their girls come back in one piece and if they had a good experience. Ask any model I have worked with. That is how you conduct business. I will tell you I have a makeup artist I work with regularly and when a model lists she has an escort with her at all times, its a deal breaker. Its not because I’m a perv or we gonna kill her, we came to shoot not have you babysat. When model get called for jobs, they don’t bring anyone but them, so why in this day and age it is now for their safety. Photographers have alot more to lose. Equipment for one which is expensive and has a pretty decent re-sale value. As I stated before, I’m spoiled by professional models. I  really don’t see the need to have someone there for your safety.  I have a whole crew makeup, hair and stylist for you the model. How much more safety do you need? Also, most photographers dont have separate studios outside their houses. So a photographer should just be happy go lucky you bringing someone in their house that they cant watch cause they are shooting you and this individual basically has run of the house. I mean honestly.

Your best bet in this day and age is check references and that really should be it. I mean they check reference when you trying to get a regular job right?

Ya feel me?

Riding the positive energy train.. wanna hitch a ride?

Morning all out there in the world. This morning has been good. I feel no heavy weights or burdens that would cause me not to be in a good mood. I will admit yesterday was a lil rough but it also showed me how much patience I actually have. I wont go into full detail about yesterday but lets just say had it happened to me maybe a year ago, I would have thrown a hissy fit and had a temper flare up the likes the world has never seen. Yesterday however was more frustration than anger though anger had a role. As with Life, it can throw you curve balls when everything seems to be going well and honestly you just gotta roll with it. Bitching and moaning doesn’t change anything much and only makes you look whiny. Bah on that. Life has shown that the problem will be resolved fairly quickly and things can go back to somewhat normalcy. I guess that’s why I woke up today positive and not stressed. I also had ideas pop in my head for styling for a future shoot and that has really gotten me excited. Also , my manager told me some great news that will help push he and her company even further and in way help all her clients so that’s also wonderful to hear. Even though Mercury is in retrograde( meaning communication, travel and anything to do with timing is off) still does not mean things cant not be accomplished. It may take time for people to understand and get everything they need before they can move forward.  I’m sending positive vibes out cause whatever you send out is what you get back. Can’t knock the laws of the universe eh? 😉

A lil R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Good Morning in Blogland.  We all know today is a big day. Fat Tuesday, Super Tuesday and the Giants( go NY) get their parade down Canyon way. Lots and lots of things going on. Today, NYC Transit decides to go crappy( which is not unusual) and has major delay and Train traffic. Do they tell us what happened? Nope. Not even a incoherent crackle over our lousy PA system.  So a plethora of “B” Trains come in but only two “Q” Trains. So of course People pack on cause go forbid it be the last train into NYC but I digress.  So As I stand there holding on, the trains does it stopping and lets people off and one young lady decides she needs to squeeze in behind me not fully realizing there was some at the door. Now , lets be honest. If you see someone standing just in front of the door at a diagonal on a crowded ass train, you should assume that someone that someone is behind them. Instead she moves back there, realizes too late and then I am stuck the rest of the ride with her freaking bag in my back. Now I’m thoroughly aggravated because as the trains lurches and stops and starts, her bag and herself are continuously in my back.  The train basically doesn’t empty out till 14th street. I got off the train with my mom, though it wasnt  my stop just to not to have okie folk heifer riding my back. Now before anyone says well its crowded, I know that already. I have ridden MTA all my damn life but you know how to stand so you don’t hit someone the train ride. Gimme a break.  The reason why I titled this RESPECT is because that something that seems to be lacking today in this world . First , MTA has no respect for its riders. You don’t tell people whats going yet you wanna raise the fare for crowded trains and lousy ass service.. Um NO. 2) people crowding on trains like it the last one god ever made. If you late, you already late. Let it go and wait.  3) At least say sorry for bumping someone. I mean Damn your mama didn’t teach you any fucking manners. ( pardon my french). But the lack of respect these days goes beyond my problems of this day. I have noticed in every facet of life. In our Microwave society where we need everything in 30 secs or less, have we forgotten how to be actual human beings. Now I know we are not perfect and we weren’t meant to be, but doesn’t that mean we forget how we were raised. Has the value system broken down so much that I now get surprised when a child says excuse me or thank you? I don’t know but when I was growing up , it was common courtesy. Now its a rare  a black diamond. You feel Me.

Peace and hair grease