321

321? Yes, this image explains why 321 is so important. 

A client at Nestle called me and asked if I had an image that I had retouched for them over three years ago (Top, their original. Bottom, my version). Without even looking, the answer was yes! I knew I had it because all of my work is saved to three different places on two different kinds of media and one is kept off site. That's dpbestflo's advice and it helps me to keep my clients happy. In this digital age we need to take equal but different care to assure that our images are archival. 321 is the best way that I have found so far. Oh - for me 123 means 2 huge hard-drives and DVD's.

How else are you going to learn?

I left RIT with a 4 year degree in photography and headed down to NYC. My great friend (to this day) Mark K. told me that he would get me work when I got there and he did! I began working as a 3rd (4th?) assistant. College was not a great help in NYC studios and I began to get my true schooling at the hands of photographers like Joe Toto. That's Joe sitting in as model on one of his own Ragu shoots. See the beautiful Rembrandt lighting? That was Joe all the way. 

I currently teach studio photography at WPUNJ. One of the lighting styles that I teach is Joe Toto's Rembrandt portrait lighting. I also teach Jimmy Moore's beautiful Umbrella Beauty lighting (although I miss his Huge Ascor strobe and Sun Gun head). 

The fact is that even now in 2014, I still teach my students not to become photographers (though some do) but to become photo assistants. That's where the real learning comes from.