Wolves vs Lions

Okay, I'm old. But I love hanging (for limited amounts of time) around with the bands that Wolves vs Lions designs shirts for. This band is Ender plus there were some shots of friends of the company. The shoot was fun and we got 12 GB of great shots. Remember: if it's not fun, it's not worth doing......

It's only Rock 'n Roll but I like it...

I did two shots this time for the Wolves vs Lions T-Shirt company. This is the band Sirens who use band shirts designed by the Wolves vs Lions folk. Here they are wearing Wolves vs Lions' own designs. We shot this image in the woods and a second in a garage while they broke up computer equipment (I'm not sure why). I got punched in the eye a few weeks ago as I shot this band by a whirling idiot. At least I was able to keep the camera safe. If you live anywhere near northern NJ, go see this band. They drive hard and I like it. Just watch out for the "dancers".

Pharmaceutical Still-life

Why would a food photographer find himself shooting still-lifes for a pharmaceutical company? In this case there were a number of good reasons.

1) They agreed to my price so I could be a happy shooter.

2) The art director was a friend.

3) Food photographers can shoot everything very well and

4) No one else wanted to book me that day.

We drove out to Pennsylvania in the Taurus with the gurney full of studio equipment. We stayed over night so that we could get an early start the next day and shoot all day in a corporate conference room. We ate well. I have known Clint, my friend from Morgan Design, for many years. We were able to be totally comfortable for the two days that we were together. So there it is: One day + shooting, one day retouching, a happy client and money with a camera. What could be better than that?

Portraits

This week it has been corporate portraits. 68 of them over two days on location. Each lit, cleaned up, retouched and placed (by me) in a powerpoint presentation to be ready tomorrow for the foreign heads of this company. They are flying in to see the American company they recently purchased. We used our gurney to move our studio to the corporation, set up in a conference room and shot on Friday and Monday. The people, all of them, were great. It really is an amazing company. They work very hard, for very long hours but they are all very nice at the same time!
Here is a hint for present day and potential commercial photographers: Learn the software. As much as you can. To shoot, I have to be an expert with Photoshop, Lightroom and CaptureOnePro. I have to have a passing ability with Illustrator, InDesign, and Quark, and I have to know Word, Powerpoint and Excel so that just like this portrait job, I can be as big a help to my clients as I can. Commercial photography is a service business. Service: the best photography, every time, and anything extra to make your clients life better. It's a great life!

It's nice having a history in this business

I moved to NYC in 1975
Although I had a BS degree in Photography from RIT, I knew that I really didn't know anything about NYC commercial photography. Therefore I was a freelance assistant for many great photographers to learn the "business". The Mark who graduated with me and dragged me (thank you) to NYC (He got me my first assistant job), is still my friend today. We've had our ups and downs over the last 35 years, but we're pretty even now, and getting along well. That's cool!

One of the 10 photographers I assisted regularly back in the mid 70's was Mike Harris. He shot lots of food and drinks for big advertisers. I built sets, loaded film, moved lights, all the things assistants do for photographers. He was always a nice guy, and a good boss.

We kept in touch with each other after I started my own business, and have even shot together occasionally. My expertise in digital has brought us together as peers but still as friends. It's nice.

That's what I mean about having history. I have a number of colleagues, some peers some previous employers, who continue to be good friends after all these years. We share information and knowledge back and forth, share our lives as they are today, and just relate on all levels.

And that's why it's nice having a history in this business.

New photographers remember, be nice. You're developing relationships that can benefit you for the rest of your life.