Beauty Shoot Quickie

On Saturday we had a beauty photo shoot in school.

It was very crazy but so much fun.

We had models going in and out.

Make up artists left and right.

And at one point our group did a closed set because we had a girl take her bra off.
(no worries, it was not a nudity shoot, she was just showing her back but our teacher said if he [the photographer at the time] wanted the shot, it had to come off.
and really i agree, the image would not have been as strong if you saw her strap smack dab in the middle of her back)

Anyway, so it was a very long day followed by another long day of fun because today was my dear mommy's birthday.

I will be back with some more on the shoot as well as sneak peaks.

Have a great Monday!

{LPS}

Photo Quote of the Week

A technically perfect photograph can be the world's most boring picture. - Andreas Feininger


So I have to apologize for being behind this week and for being short, but I've been so swamped with school work as well as freelance work (not to mention my work work) that I've hardly had time to sleep, let alone do anything else.


So my quick thoughts but very obvious and important message are as follows:


BE CREATIVE!


Keep it simple.


DO IT!


Yep that's it.


Be creative is obvious yet so important.


I know when I started out, I was so focused on getting my metering down and the composition and this and that


I didn't really pause to have fun. 


I didn't make myself aware of whether the image was even interesting,
(and trust me there were many a time i should have checked)


Keep it simple, don't force yourself to be creative.


Now this doesn't mean that if you aren't feeling creative or can't come up with something to just give up.


What I mean is to think back to formalism.


Change your angle, change your lighting, change your depth of field.


Try turning your camera 45 degrees, so you aren't vertical or horizontal but diagonal.


Think of colors and shapes and lines. Draw those out in your images.


Shoot with the light in front of your subject, behind, to the side, above, below and every where else in between.


Do it. Whether you feel like it or not. 


Whether you think of it or not.


Whether you can come up with or not.


It's like Forrest Gump says, "you never know what you're gonna get."


If you don't shoot it you won't know for sure.


And even if you do shoot it, you won't know what you're getting until you've done it over and over and over again.


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Ok so that wasn't very short.


But can you blame me, I just want to share everything I can with you. 


Hopefully this makes sense.


Lots of Love and wishing you an awesome Friday!


{LPS}

What not to do

When you are doing a photo shoot of four models and there will be no other photographer but you. . .


Make sure you 


a) have more than one memory card


b) if you're going to use only one, make sure it's ridiculously large 
(like 16G or more! actually i don't even know if they make them that big, hmmm. . .)


or c) if you only have one, take your computer to transfer files after each model.


---------------------------------------------


Yes, my friends, I did not do any of the above.


As a result, during the fitness shoot, I had to shoot in jpeg and I had to review photos after each model 


to delete obvious discard shots
(such as the occasional overexposure and such)


as well as delete others which did not seem like great shots.


That was heartbreaking to me.


I hate deleting pictures in camera because you can't really experience the picture and know what's going on, on such a tiny screen!


Actually I kinda hate deleting pictures ever.
(and I know hate is a strong word, but I just really don't like that delete button at all)


But at least now I probably won't ever do that again.
(knowing me though, it probably will happen but at least not in the near future)


I do have teaser photos for you but I probably won't be able to load them until this weekend.


Sorry about that but school is getting pretty busy between this week and next.


Thank you for stopping by!!! Feel free to leave any thoughts.


Have a great one!


{LPS}

Photo Quote of the Week

"I am not interested in shooting new things, I am interested to see things new." - Ernst Haas

I love this.

Mainly because it is the challenge I set for myself as an artistic photographer.

I challenge myself not necessarily to shoot new things, 

but to see things in a new light. 

I feel like I broken record with this subject but I guess it's just because it's a topic that's personal to me.

There are so many things around us to see.

And most of the time, we don't really see them.

Like the things we take for granted.

But when I challenge myself to these these things new, 

I feel I gain a greater appreciation, 

not only for the world around me, 

but for the art of photography, 

and the understanding of them both as well. . . 

Hoping my pondering leads to some pondering of your own, 

Have a great week!!

{LPS}

Sneak Peek: Headshot Photo Shoot

So here are my favorite shots for the headshot photo shoot I did on Saturday.

The first two are of one of the people I've enjoyed photographing the most.

She was so sweet and made my job so easy.

The second two are of my second client of the day who also a joy to work with.

She was very easy going and easy to work with.

(wow, my word of the day seems to be easy)

Anyway, here they are straight from the camera, with the exception of some cropping I had to do to remove unwanted equipment in the shot.

And here's one that I just totally love for her facial expression and background.

Have a great week everyone!!!

{LPS}

p.s.

Fitness photo shoot teaser coming soon!

Learning Lessons

So this past Sunday I received an e-mail from my photography instructor. She said she needed to speak with me.

I was scared.

She never told me what it was about, so of course I imagined the worst possible scenarios.
(i'd rather be prepared for the worst so if it happens, it's not a shock)

We scheduled our appointment for friday.

Yes, nearly a week of not knowing. I don't know how I made it through.

Anyway, when I finally met her, it was as I imagined.

Only, more shocking.

More than one member from my crew had complained I was bossy and pushy during our "shoots."
(we've only done practice ones with each other so far, so i don't count them as real yet)

And even one person from another group had told her the same thing.

While this may seem as very ordinary in the sense that there are many people in this world who are this personality, I am not one of them.

On the contrary, I am reserved and avoid drama.

So, I have been careful about not telling people what do when it is not my turn to shoot.

This italized part is important.

When I am not shooting, I am an assistant.

I shut my brain off and do as I'm told or as is needed.

When I'm shooting, you bet your rear I'm telling you what to do.

As photographer, that's my right.

If I need something done, that's what an assistant is for.
(And they know this too. It's part of the real world lessons our instructor teaches.)

Now I also want to clarify that I'm not disrespectful.

I don't mistreat my crew members!

So I am very confused as to what they are referring to.

Even more so because some of the things I was told about, those same people told me the opposite.

Some people who said I was telling them what to do, told me that I was helpful or had asked my opinion.

Not to mention the fact that everyone in my group has been very friendly with me. I haven't once picked up negative vibes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ???

I just don't know what is going on.

I know I have been careful to make sure I wasn't telling people what to do.

But if I saw a fellow crew member struggling I would speak up and offer a suggestion.

If I was asked, I spoke.

If I wasn't, I asked for permission.

I know sometimes I can say things and they sound completely wrong from what I intended it to be.

Maybe that's my problem.

-----------------------------

Tomorrow is our first photo shoot with actual clients so I'm very glad my instructor decided not to keep brushing the students off as having a personality clash with me
(to further illustrate my side, she had ignored the first two complaints as such, as she couldn't believe I would actually be behaving in such a manner, but when the third person spoke she thought maybe I wasn't aware or maybe it was possible it was happening)

But back to the point, I am glad I am aware so I can be even more aware tomorrow.

It was never my intention to be bossy or come off bossy.

I'm sorry if I was misunderstood.

Tomorrow I will keep completely to myself and I will kill with kindness.
(not literally of course)

It's the only way I know how to handle this.

*Sigh*

So, I have to ask, what do you think about this situation? How would you handle it?

I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling lost and confused.

{LPS}

Fitness Photo Shoot

Ok so here are some final shots of the photo shoot I went to a few weeks ago. 


I was a bit disappointed in the shots I had because many were well composed but a little soft. 


But I'm not complaining because at least I had an opportunity to shoot.


So with out further ado. . . 

Comments? They're always welcome. 

Oh, I almost forgot. 

The guy who is in charge of this photo shoot called me today. 

He asked if I would be available to shoot for him this Friday!!!

So, if all goes well, I'll be doing some shooting all on my own.

For time scheduled specifically for me.

I don't get those very often right now. 

So yay!!

Have a great one everyone!

{LPS}

Sneak Peek: Fitness Photo Shoot

So here are some teaser photos from the photo shoot I assisted in a couple weeks ago. 

They're a little dark since it was the end of the day and I usually rather go darker than lighter anyway since darker is a problem that can be fixed. 

I'll post the edited images later. I might even post them before and after style. 

Let me know what you think and remember they are straight from the camera.

Have a great week!

{LPS}

Photo Quote of the Week - Among other Thoughts

You can't photograph your thoughts.
- Stephen Johnson


I say nay to Stephen Johnson. 


You CAN photograph your thoughts. 


Photography is all about photographing your thoughts!


It's the visual expression, 


the physical embodiment, 


the.tangible.of.your.thoughts.


You photograph what you see.
You photograph what you hear.
You photograph what you smell.
You photograph what you taste.
You photograph what you feel.


You.photograph.what.you.think.


But you all know that.


Isn't it one of the reasons you enjoy photography so much?


I know it's one of my reasons.


Anyway, speaking of thoughts, here are some more of mine. 


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I have been MIA yet again. 


Life has been quite the busy bee for me these last few weeks. 


But i start school on monday.
(nay, bring on the summer once more i say)


So I hope to get back into a working routine. 


You know, for someone who was never a fan of the day to day routines,


I sure have grown to love 'em.
(sigh)


See you on the other side of the lens!


{LPS}