Everyone Is Photogenic

The most common comment I get when I meet new clients who are preparing for a portrait is, "I'm not very photogenic you know."  My response is always, "Everyone is photogenic."  And I believe that with my very heart and soul.  I see beauty in many, many ways.

I also like to ask folks who say that, "What do you consider photogenic?"  They don't have an immediate answer.  People think what is photogenic are the faces and bodies you see in magazines.  Mostly fashion magazines.  These, unfortunately, give you a very distorted view of beauty and what is beautiful.

Look at the portraits of my hero Yousuf Karsh.  His iconic image of Sir Winston Churchill shows a very photogenic person.  His portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt - again incredibly photogenic.  But these two people are not what some would think of as a photogenic person.

I see every subject that comes before me in a way that they probably don't see themselves.  I like to let folks be themselves in front of the camera.  If they smile, great.  If not, that's ok too.  Getting to know the person in front of my lens is very important.

There is beauty in many things and many people.  I see it all the time and everywhere and like to show people how I see it in them.

The Las Vegas Trip

In June I had finally got to Las Vegas.  I had been planning the trip for more than a year and dreaming about it for a lot longer than that.  June may not have been the best time to go to Vegas because it is extremely hot in the summer there.  On average it was 40 - 47ºC most days!  Yeah, I know, a dry heat.  Still, very uncomfortable.

I brought the camera hoping it would turn into a photographic cornucopia.  Maybe if that was the soul purpose of my trek, but when you're there for the first time and dazzled by all the lights - creating art is the last thing on your mind!

It was fun initially.  Walking the strip, visiting a lot of the attractions and eating some great food.  I can say that the service and the food is the best any where I have traveled.  Our own city who prides itself on being a tourist attraction could take a few lessons on how to provide exceptional service.  And a few lessons on how a pleasing personality really can make the difference between great service and bad experience.

I guess I was a bit disillusioned as to what to expect in Las Vegas.  I had heard and seen the stories of the shows, the entertainment, and the lounges in Vegas.   Stories of high rollers, nice cocktail lounges with a great jazz singer or a comedy show in an intimate setting.  I came prepared for the look and feel of a classic Las Vegas.  It may have been there, but I didn't find it.

What I did find was a cross between Disney Land and Daytona Beach on spring break.  The streets were teaming with kids of just barely drinking age toting ridiculously large novelty drink glasses filled with grossly sweet concoctions.  Instead of lounges there were beer pong tournaments.  Instead of taking a nice walk along The Strip you had to run a gauntlet of, what appeared to be recently arrived immigrants stuffing cards advertising hookers and other pleasures of the flesh in your face.  And then there were the baby strollers being pushed around at midnight or later on the street.  I mean, who brings their small children to Las Vegas!?  The days of the $4.99 buffet are long gone.

Don't get me wrong, I had a good time.  The dinners I had at The Wynn and at Aureole in the Mandalay Bay were second to none!  The service was incredible!  The Bette Middler show was a close to a classic show as I would get (Oi Vegas she said!).  And The Beatles Love show was amazing.  As was Penn & Teller.  But I think I would have like to have been here when the mob ran Vegas.

I got to listen to some of the greats who used to play Las Vegas talk about the good old days in a documentary.  Steve Lawrence, Bob Newhart, Joan Rivers and Keely Smith from Louis Prima's show all were there when entertainment was king.  They told stories of how men couldn't get into a show room or restaurant without a jacket and tie.  Women wore their best to shows and lounges.  It was affair to be dressed for!  My mother-in-law told me when she first went to Vegas in 1959 it was very much like that.  It may sound a bit old fashioned, but I think it said something about the quality of the entertainment and the venues.  They played the lounges and the prestigious showrooms.  Shows went from midnight until six in the morning.  As Joan Rivers put it: if you blew up Vegas you would have taken out everyone in entertainment.

When the "boys" ran Vegas the money was made at the casinos.  Comping was part of the business.  Live entertainment was king.  There was no corporate mentality.  That is until Howard Hughes came in and started buying up hotels.  He bought the Desert Inn, The Frontier and the Sands.  Corporate mentality took over and now the coffee shop had to make money, the restaurant had to make money.  Every avenue in the hotel had to show a bigger profit.  More and more large corporations bought up Vegas and everything changed.

It was fun going to some of the classic casinos from the old days.  The Riviera (where the gaming scenes from the movie Casino were shot).  The Flamingo (Bugsy Segal's place).  The Saraha.  The Tropicana and The Golden Nugget.  But now I've done Vegas and I can say I probably won't be back.

Everyone should experience it.

The Classics

    I’ve always loved the classics.  Doesn’t matter what kind of classic.

    Classics in music.  No one ever can or ever will touch The Beatles.  Nothing in whatever form of music television or pop radio can.  I don’t care how much it sells.  And it’s not just The Beatles.  There are far too many to name here, but a few such as: Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Peter Frampton, The Guess Who, The Band, The Easy Beats (Google them trust me!), Sly and The Family Stone and The Who to name a very few.  If it wasn’t for what they did nothing would have come after in the shape it did.  They were the originators and the innovators.

    Classics in comedy.  George Carlin, Joan Rivers, Don Rickles, Bob Zany, Richard Prior and Steve Martin to name a few.  Their stuff was funny then; it’s still funny now.  Nothing else to say.

    On a more personal note, I love the sound of a classic guitar.  Can’t say I own many, but I do strive for those that deliver that tone that was delivered by the greats who handled those axes so long ago and some still do.

    And even more personal, I love the classics in photography.  Each of the names I mention here will be a link.  Click on them and you’ll see their work.  Or, more appropriately, feel their work.  Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Yusef Karsh, Arnold Newman, Helmut Newton and Annie Liebowvitz.  They didn’t just “snap” and picture, they created an incredible image.  There was some thought behind it.  They learned, what used to be, a trade.  They learned how to light.  They learned the quality and value that light had.  And most importantly they learned how to manipulate it and control it to achieve their art.

    There are many who are still creating skillfully lit images and photographs.  Greg Gorman, Robert Farber, Jerry Avenaim, Mary Ellen Mark, Joyce Tenneson and this brand new photographer on the scene, Joey Lawrence.  Their work is unique, untouchable and inspirational.  All of the above are who and what I turn to when I’m looking to learn and create inspirational images.  They are who I turn to when I create work for clients.

    There are many photographers today.  Purchasing a “good camera” has given many the impetus to hang out a shingle and be in business.  That’s what a lot of us did.  They don’t have to learn how to light or even use proper photographic techniques to achieve their image.  They carry their cameras like wild west gunslingers and the minute they see an image they draw and fire off plethora of frames.  It’s spray and pray.  They just put it on automatic (or one of the many fully automatic modes) and go!  The new term is “lifestyle” or “photo journalism”.  There are some out there that do it very well.  I appreciate and respect it.  But it’s not for me.

    In weddings the trend is to shoot fast and furious.  No set ups; no lighting.  Sometimes that works.  The battle cry is: “I don’t want to pose.”  In portraiture the subject is followed around like a movie star with an annoying paparazzi chasing them with a camera.  Images are no longer hung on walls for all to look at who come to the home, but displayed on electronic picture frames where the images change constantly so the viewer won’t be bored.  Again, I respect it, but it’s not for me.

    I believe there is no substitute for a well posed, well lit photograph.  I believe you don’t have to smile to make a great photograph.  I believe you can pose your subject and still make them look natural.  I believe photographs look best when printed on photographic paper and displayed in fine frames or in lush albums.  I believe in keeping a tradition rather than replacing it in favour of a new one.  I believed that classics will endure and their will be no substitute for a well crafted piece of art.

    Does this mean that I may become a dinosaur?  Maybe.  I’m ok with that.  I made a major career change in 1998 that affected me mentally and financially.  Now that I’m where I want to be I’m not going to compromise only to end up hating the work I produce.  I hope my clients – new and old – will like what I love to do.

Devaluing Photography

I've have admired this young photographer named Joey Lawrence (no not THAT Joey Lawrence)!  He goes by Joey L to avoid confusion I think.  He is nineteen years old and has been shooting since he was in high school and has developed some amazing techniques.  I didn't shoot like that when I was his age and I don't shoot like that now that I'm old enough to be this kids father!  But, I'm always trying to learn.

I purchased Joey's new learning DVD (http://learnfromjoey.com).  I highly recommend it, but you better have some relatively decent flash units to learn this type of photography.  Watch here as I try to put some techniques to use from the photographers I admire like Joey and this guy, Zack Arias.

In the business lecture portion of Joey's learning DVD he talks about taking on photographic work for free.  He says he's fifty-fifty split on how he feels about that.  Clients may sometimes ask if you'll work pro bono in order to build your portfolio and gain great exposure for your photography.  His thoughts are that, yes, sometimes that can work out for you, but you need to evaluate how high profile the job is and will it truly get you work.  The other half of this young man's philosophy is that if you take jobs for free you completely and utterly devalue the photography industry as a whole.  I am of these two minds also.

The one rule I always have to keep in mind is that I have NEVER got a job offer or a job from a photo credit.  In Sault Ste Marie no one has been able to offer me a high profile enough job to want to take it.  I do photography for free for the Sault Area Hospital foundation.  It's simple head shot stuff of their board members and foundation staff.  I hope someday to come up with something that will really attract attention to the foundation with some cool, creative photography.

Now, I know what some of you new photographers are saying: "Yeah, but I'm trying to build my portfolio and I need subjects!"  True.  But after three to six months, with careful choices of subject matter and set ups, you should have enough to show.  Now it's time to put a price on your work.  Pricing is a whole new subject and one far too large to post here.  But, if you have questions, give me a call and I'll see what I can do to help.

So, my advice to you?  Sooner or later the portfolio and sample building has to stop.  Sooner or later you're going to have to start charging for your work.  If you intend to keep on doing this and make a living at it, then you have to charge properly.  Even if you're a person with a full time day job (why you would want to take on another one I have no idea!) you should charge properly for your work.  If you do then we can all keep our jobs and we can all enjoys the benefits of getting paid for something we enjoy!

Great Advice On How To Prepare For Your Headshots

Photographer Jerry Avenaim is a great photographer and one that I admire.  He's very approachable and, as a photographer, can learn from Jerry one-on-one - which I hope to do in the new year sometime.

He has shot a ton of celebrities and works with a lot of folks in the entertainment industry.  In the link I'm going to provide below, Jerry discusses how to properly prepare for a headshot shoot.  In my opinion, it's great advice on how to prepare for a portrait period!

Anyway, here's the link to Jerry's blog posting.  Enjoy!

http://blog.avenaim.com/2008/11/13/actor-headshots-photography/

Photos From A CD Project

Our drummer, and my friend, Ed Young has graciously hired me to photograph him for his up coming CD project.  Ed is a wonderful musician and a great songwriter.  He's someone I admire greatly for his personality and his musicianship.

I enjoy projects like this because it wasn't like other commercial photography projects that I have been hired for in the past.  Don't get me wrong, they're all fun to shoot, but you are usually doing the job with an art director looking over your shoulder.  Which is fine because they sign off on the images as approved the minute you show them to them.

But photographing musicians, like models, is the ultimate in creative freedom.  Some will come to you with a concept idea, but then you're left to your own devices.  And that rocks!

Taking photos of musicians, live or studio type shots, are one of my favourite things to shoot.  It's too bad I don't get hired very often to do them.  I know some of them see it as an expense, where others see it as an investment.  I would have to agree with the later.  The band has spent tons of money (hopefully) on recording and getting their sound just right, but then they'll leave their professional image to the lowest bidder or to no bidder at all!

I hope I'll get a chance to photograph more of some of my favourite subjects.  I got some great ideas to shoot bands and musicians and I know they'll love it!

Posing For A Photographer's Art Can Be Theraputic?

As many of you know I have an art website at http://www.tremblayfinephotography.com.  Most, I find, the models who pose for this are strong and confident women.  They understand it's not about perfect bodies and gladly do it "just because they can".  Others do it as a challenge for themselves and consider it a theraputic milestone and face their fears.

I also do some Intimate Portraiture (some call it glamour or boudoir photography).  The clients who come to me for this type of portrait come for many reasons.  Some want to mark a milestone in their life (like weight loss or a new found independence).  I've had a lady who was going through cancer treatment and wanted to do this for herself and some who are cancer survives and want to celebrate.  A few do it for a certain someone special in their life, but most pose because it's for them.

Here's an article that takes an in depth look at using photography as a form of therapy. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/6255773/Posing-naked-for-a-womens-magazine-felt-brave-and-shocking.html

What Is A Winner?

A winner does it. A loser talks about it.

The winner is always a part of the solution to the problem, while the loser is always a part of the problem.

The winner sees an answer for every problem, while the loser sees a problem for every answer.

The winner says, “Let me do it for you!” while the loser says, “That’s NOT my job!”

The winner says, “It may be difficult, but it is possible.” The loser says, “It may be possible, but it is too difficult.”

A winner says, “I fell.” A loser says, “Somebody pushed me.”

When a winner makes a mistake he says,”I was Wrong”; When a Loser makes a mistake he says,”It wasn’t my fault”.

Winners see possibilities. Losers see problems.

Winners believe in winning. Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.

Are you a winner or a looser?