I discovered Nick’s work a couple of years ago. Surfin’ from link to link, I stumbled upon his opening page and the image there of a woman with some amazing flare engulfing her. I immediately liked that shot, so I took some time to look around his site. simply wonderful imagery. Easy to get view, with a sensibility that was so accessible that I bookmarked it immediately.

Every one of my workshop students know his name as it is one of the dozen or so that I through out as being totally involved with making great pictures with light. Nope… not tons of strobes, as Nick seems to use a lot of natural light, and bounced ambient with great success, but light that wraps and flares and seems so integral to the communication ability of the image.

Yeah… I’m a fan. Heh.

So when I heard that he was coming out with a book of travel photographs, I emailed a congratulatory note to him. I mentioned that I would love to review the book when it came out and he emailed back that an advanced copy was on its way. Even cooler!

I gotta tell you that if you are interested in travel photography, or photography of people in environments, you must get this book. It is available now on Pre-Order at Amazon, and at a price that is simply irresistible. Man, those Amazon folks make the pre-orders really attractive with a huge discount.

Before I continue with the review, I would like to thank everyone for the great response to the workshops. Santa Cruz is nearly filled, and West Palm Beach is filling nicely. I do have some openings in New Orleans and Omaha, so if you know anyone who is interested in a workshop this year – one that actually teaches a ton of stuff you will use – send them on over to Learn To Light for more information.

A few important links That you may have missed:
A Sense of Urgency: Are You Demanding More of Yourself and Branding Your Photography Business, A Realistic View right here at LE.
Heather Morton has two great pieces in a row on Branding and the issues of working in another city. In Canada they call it the “Tall Poppy Syndrome” – refer to it as the “Out of Town Expert… on steroids”. My buddy Kirk Tuck has a post on building the perfect camera for himself… ah that it were that easy, and Seth always has something great to say. This point of “Looking Successful” is something to think about.

On the personal front, we are all moved in to the new studio, the office is setup and everything has been taken from the boxes and carefully arranged (LOL) in my work space. I am antsy to get in there and start shooting some food and still life soon. Probably after this weekend in Houston. I will do a walk around with a video soon so you can get an idea of how the studio lays out and what the work flow there looks like.

Please don’t hesitate to offer an article idea or to ask questions regarding any aspect of Lighting Essentials focus. We are ready and able to answer most questions you have as an emerging photographer.

Well, take the jump on to Nick Onken’s new book, Photo Trekking.

Photo Trekking is a different sort of travel photography book. From the outset you notice the landscape layout and the large, oversize images. Mmmm… big pictures! I like that! The printing is very nice, and for a photobook, that is really important.

But it is the content that is mixed with the images that set this book apart from a lot of other travel photography books that I have seen. Content that is real, easy to follow, and conversational… as if Nick were standing there telling you about traveling all over the world shooting known and exotic locations.

The table of contents shows how in depth the book really is: From Preparation to Tips to what to do After the Shoot, the information is delivered in easy to understand bites that don’t necessarily have to be done in order. Each chapter stands on its own. And that means you can read it any way you want. If you want to start with the Tips for Taking Great Travel Photographs chapter, go right ahead… it is self contained and full of great tips, tricks and professional working methods that are sure to increase the quality of your travel photography.

Nick starts by giving a real world evaluation of travel photography today. He cautions the unprepared and slowly guides the beginner through a potentially challenging maze of potential roadblocks. Traveling around the world, with bags and bags of camera gear is part art, part alchemy and a whole hell of a lot of planning. At every turn Nick takes the lead and tells the novice how to prepare and be ready.

This information is well stated and laid out through out the book as it relates to the different chapters, and I found that refreshing. Sometimes we need to be told a few times how something works, and keeping the challenges mixed with the fun of the imagery reinforces the serious side of such a fun lifestyle.

Nick Onken loves to make photographs.

And that truth is on every page, from setup shots and tests for his book, to once in a lifetime moments that are captured with his unique style, the imagery simply rocks. The larger size landscape images make such a great presentation.

Preparation is a fantastic chapter. Nearly all you need to know about preparing yourself, your gear and your mind’s eye to get the most out of a photo shoot on the road. Much of this advice is practical for the shooter who simply stays near home, but it is even more important for the ‘Trekker’ who may find it a bit difficult to get a sync cord in the middle of a Tibetan village in a snow storm. Funny how a $6 piece of gear can take the whole shoot with it when it goes.

Onken stresses the vision of the photographer. How to nurture it, press it, push it and develop it into a style that is unique to your shoot plans. Planning Your Images in Advance (heh, LE Workshop students… you have heard a bit of that before) and delivering them when the moment presents itself is one of the most important take-aways for the photographer who bought the book with hope of increasing the quality of their work.

The Tips Section is the one that will become dog-eared first in most folk’s books. From time honored suggestions of rules of thirds, through color and juxtaposition to the use of lens flare, there are some eye opening ideas and images that reflect the concepts.

Whether you are a newbie to digital photography or a long time pro, there will be something for you in this chapter. Nick presents it tightly, with examples and challenges for you to consider. One of the things a lot of photographers will like is the little personal commentary throughout the book giving the reader a glimpse into what he was thinking and doing at the time the image was taken. This insight is remarkable.

As a photographer as well as a designer, I must give kudos to the design team on this book. Beautifully arranged, with just the amount of white space and ‘air’. All of that leads to a more enjoyable read, for sure.

In the final chapter, Nick goes into detail on marketing travel photography, the creation of web sites, email campaigns and portfolio design. He uses his own portfolio and bound books to show how photographers can begin to market their travel work to ad agencies, NGO’s and magazines. Well presented and concise, the information is rock solid and easy to manage.

All in all I found the book to be an excellent addition to my collection. If it has a drawback it is that it makes you want to run off to the wilds of Argentina or Africa or… well, you get the picture. While some of us may have to settle for that cool road that goes from Sacramento to Mariposa (49), or a trip up the Eastern seaboard on the smallest two lane we can find, others will be inspired to pack it all in, grab their gear and go. Just go.

I recommend this book to any and all photographers who are interested in photographing people, developing a style, working on location or simply wanting to get a creative kick in the ass. Nick Onken’s “Photo Trekking” will deliver.

I would be remiss if I didn’t direct you to Nick’s new website – www.nickonken.com and his not to be missed blog at www.nickonken.com/shoptalk. Two sites that will inspire you as well as entertain.

Thanks for dropping by. You can follow me on Twitter – Nick too – and I hope you tell your friends about Lighting Essentials.

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Content is King

In preparation for the Social Media Marketing article, I came to the realization that most of us have trouble figuring out what to say about ourselves, so I decided that we first need to talk about content – both on the website and in the portfolio. Whether your printed portfolio, your own website, tweeting, using a fan page, blogging, or any other content outlet, we need to focus on the #1 rule in creating an enduring web-based marketing strategy: Content is King. Yes, I consider your printed portfolio part of your web-based marketing strategy. Since we rarely show our portfolio to anyone who hasn’t already seen our website, it becomes part of the overall web-based strategy.

Your target audience falls into two distinct categories: prospects and repeat business. Let’s address these demographics separately.

Repeat Business
Existing clients are relatively easy to market in 2010. In fact, they are easier than ever. All you need to do is open a media channel to them and then provide interesting photos and bits of written content that let them know you’re active and progressing in your craft. They want to know that they’re working with someone who is consistently producing quality content and social media is the best place to keep them informed of your work.

The flip side of social marketing to your clients is that you need to be watching their channels and occasionally providing positive feedback to their content. This way they will know you’re staying in touch. Don’t be sales-y on your comments, be genuine. Keep an eye on their business trends and send them the right marketing messages.

New Business
New business is a totally different endeavor. Attracting new business through a fan page or twitter is much more difficult because there is so much competition for the attention of your client and there’s no direct way on these networks to reach out and impress the prospect with your style and expertise before they begin to follow you. Yeah, the best content in the world is powerless if nobody ever sees it.

Another very interesting fact about social media is that prospective clients hardly ever follow you. From my conversations with other photographers and my own experience, most of our followers are other photographers, friends from outside the industry, or existing clients. When I started on twitter and my fan page, I expected mostly potential clients to follow me. In reality, it has been other photographers who are following and contacting me through Facebook or my own website. I don’t feel as though putting the work into these media outlets is wasted energy, but it is something that should be understood and analyzed before making the commitment to social media. Eyes wide open.

The most effective way to engage a prospect is to show them that you’re constantly updating your content with stuff they find interesting. They need to understand that you’re a working professional and that you are an approachable and knowledgeable individual.

(There is more from Daron after the jump, and you must read his entire article. I just had to jump in with a few items before we leave the front page. Workshops are going great, and I do have openings in Omaha and New Orleans which we will see a ton of push on. I am so excited about bringing the concepts of great lighting and professional photography to those areas.

We are working toward a seminar titled Going Pro NOW with Selina Maitreya, Jack Hollingsworth and myself. I am excited like crazy about this project. The price will be wonderfully affordable and the seminar will have you ready to embark on a professional career, or fine tune where you are going currently. We are planning three cities at this point: Seattle, Chicago, Boston. If there is anything that has you stymied and think this seminar should address it, let me know so we can look at making the seminar the most informative you have ever attended. NOTE: We will not be addressing tax, licensing, incorporation and similar issues that are best left between you and your accountant.

One last thing. This week promises to be a big one for LE. We have a review of Nick Onken’s new book which will launch Tuesday and an article on the touchy world of model releases sure to bring a lot of controversy… heh. That’s me. Shaking the hornets nest!

So on with Daron’s great article on Content for your Portfolio.

Portfolio Images
Choosing images for your portfolio is very tough. I have been doing this for 20 years and still sweat the correct images. Occasionally I even totally miss the mark and show the wrong printed portfolio entirely. It’s a tough market and you have to communicate with your reviewer.

When I am preparing to show a book, I gather as much information about the client as possible. I will read their publications, Google them and see who they work with, and make phone calls to contacts in the industry who I know have worked with them or may have some experience to share. Once I have a good idea of what type of work my reviewing art director sees on a regular basis, I attempt to figure out what they like. Remember, if they are reviewing your work, there’s usually some type of opening.

Now that I believe to have a handle on the needs of my prospect, I attempt to build my portfolio around that assumption.

I will pull my strongest images that I feel meet their expectations from my archives. I will mix in different types of images that show my strengths and style as a photographer. In fact, I try to use mostly images that didn’t have specific art direction- ones where the entire concept is my vision. I feel that this communicates a stronger sense of my style than showing images that were closely directed by another creative professional. I also like to show a good number of paid work mixed in with my personal work – if the paid images are strong enough, it is a much smoother conversation when the AD starts asking who you were shooting certain images for. They do ask.

Once I have about 50 images, the goal is to cull them down to the strongest set of images that work and flow well together. For general commercial relationships, I prefer to show 24 images – but when the style or scope of your reviewer is much narrower, it’s best to show less unless you really have the depth of work.

You can’t show a weak image in your portfolio. I can’t say this enough. Your book is only as good as the weakest image. Missing the mark with a client and showing a bad image are two different things. Showing them images that aren’t what they’re looking for may mean that they’re not going to hire you, but if they’re solid images; they may refer you somewhere else or remember you in the future. This has happened to me more than once.

Once you have strong images selected, it’s time to figure out what order to display them and which images won’t fit into the lineup. There might be some great images that just don’t work with the book your displaying. That’s fine. If you present yourself well, your reviewer will take the time to visit your website and see what else you have to offer. I tend to put images together by category then find smooth transition images within those set. These transitions my be through mixed-subject images or through color palettes. Looking at the images and analyzing them should give you a pretty good idea of what flows and what doesn’t.

There has been a lot of talk lately about choosing a color palette for your work and shooting within that palette, creating a strong body of work with a concise feel. I couldn’t disagree with this approach more. In our markets, we may need to show work within a very wide array of subjects and styles, so tying ourselves to a specific palette will make creating this diverse portfolio very difficult.

Printed Portfolio
There is debate over what makes the best presentation, some AD’s are adamant about not using presentation books with poly sleeves and others are annoyed by buckles and latches that are on the more expensive presentation books to make them fancier. Choose work that speaks for itself and you won’t need to buy an expensive case and minor peeves of the reviewer will be forgotten by the third image. In my early days, my book was an 11×14 Oriental Seagull box. I got a lot of jobs with what was in that box. I doubt the box itself lost me any work.

I would love to have a hardbound book of my work that I show to prospective clients, but my work changes so often and I tailor my book to each reviewer (I haven’t showed the exact same book twice in the last 15 years) – I am just not willing to invest in a custom book for every presentation. I have two books. One is 8×10 and the other is 11×14. Both have the poly sleeves.

Portfolio Presentation
I strongly prefer to have a face-to-face review. I consider it a job interview – with a resume of photographs rather than a written history of your experience. I like to be available for any questions that may arise and to watch the eyes of the reviewer. It’s important to use this opportunity to present yourself as the professional that they will be both working with and sending to their clients. You must be a professional that can walk into any situation and make it work when their reputation is on the line.

Hopefully you will be asked questions about images. I personally love this type of review. An anecdotal story about how an image came together or the opportunity to drop names of previous clients can really help close the deal.

Thanks to Daron for sharing this solid information. For a look at Daron’s work, visit his site and blog at DaronShade.com – there is a wealth of information there.

For more on Going Pro, visit that area on Lighting Essentials and let us know what you think. To follow me on Twitter, click here. To follow Daron, here ya go!

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Today is something special: an interview with Selina Maitreya, Portfolio Consultant and Photographer’s mentor for nearly 30 years. Selina has been a photographer, a photographer’s rep and a champion for style and substance in photographer’s portfolios through her consulting practice, articles and books. Both of her books are among my favorites: “Portfolios That Sell” and “How to Succeed in Commercial Photography”. The first book is out of print, but there are a few copies here. The second book is available here.

I am so proud to bring this interview to you. In it Selina and I discuss style, the various ways photographers can show that style, what should be foremost on the minds of photographers and some wonderful stories of the business. It is nearly 45 minutes long, and full of insights that will stay with you for awhile.

From the 1portauthority.com website:
“You have a story to sell.
We have a job to do.
Port Authority is all about boosting you up onto the pedestal of industry acclaim. We love nothing better than to raise the velvet curtain on your professional success. You may very well be a photographic genius (all of our clients are). But haven’t we all known geniuses bunkered down in their basements with aluminum foil over the windows? A legitimate choice. Although, if you’re reading this, we don’t imagine that life in a dark basement with a stockpile of expired film is your preference.”

Before we take the jump and listen to Selina, a mention of our next set of workshops for the Summer and Fall. We love to take the workshops to places some other larger workshops don’t go, and there are some fun places to visit in this next round of workshops.

SEPTEMBER
Phoenix, AZ, September 19, 20
Saint Louis, MO, September 26, 27

OCTOBER
Mexico 4, 5, 6 Special Three Day Workshop
Detroit, Michigan 10, 11
Boston, MA, 17, 18
Boise, ID 24, 25

NOVEMBER
Las Vegas, NV 8, 9, (Sunday-Monday)
Toronto, CA 14, 15
Pittsburgh, PA 20, 21

More information can be found at the workshop page, Learn to Light.

Now on to the interview I recently did with Selina Maitreya.

Selina and I spoke by phone, so I am presenting that audio file for you to listen to or download and stick in your iPod for listening to whenever you want.

Selina was the first photography consultant in the country. Starting as a photographer she went to New England School of photography. After a mishap with her car led her to working with Al Fisher, the noted commercial photographer. Her position as a
Rep for Fisher also gave her a chance to take Al’s work national.

After a few years, she began working on portfolio reviews for $25 per. As with most things, those prices have risen, but you can find more about her work on her site, 1PortAuthority.

Her first book, “Portfolios That Sell” is out of print, but there are a few at Amazon. And, BTW, I have purchased two of them for giving away on the site, August 8, my birthday. More on that later.

Her second book, “How to Succeed in Commercial Photography” is a very important read for any one starting out, or struggling with the mid-level plateau that can confound us.

“Photography is a mix of science and magic, and there should be discussion of both.” – Selina Maitreya.

Here is the interview. Please feel free to download it and save it to your iTunes or whatever MP3 player you use. (Right click – Save Link As). Enjoy. (BTW… you may want to get a pen and paper to make some notes… it’ll be worth it.)

In the third part of the interview, Selina mentions her upcoming DVD set – 12 hours of information – “12 hours of everything I know about defining vision and selling and marketing commercial photography successfully”. We will have those here at a nice Lighting Essentials / FOS (Friends of Selina) discount, so watch the front page for more information toward the Fall. The DVD set is due to be released in September.

You can contact Selina for Photography Consulting at 1PortAuthority, and for her spiritual site, see Selina Maitreya.

You can follow her on Twitter and send her a nice email here. Be sure to thank her for her time and wonderful information if you decide to send her an email. And be sure to sign up for her ONEVIEW email newsletter. Photographers can subscribe for free by going to the PA web site and on the bottom of the main page is a link to subscribe to ONEVIEW. Currently there are over 8000 photographers subscribed.

I hope you enjoy this interview, and remember… Show Up.

Show up as an artist. Show up as a business person. Show up as a brand.

Be ready and be strong, make a commitment and get it going.

For more on Going Pro, see these posts. See you next time on Lighting Essentials.

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This is the third post on going pro in the past few weeks. I will be working on some more for August, but after this post we will be back to some image work. In this post we will discuss planning shoots, finding talent and a few presentation techniques for portfolios. More on that after a few paragraphs.

I need to make some changes here. I want to add some video, and also create meaningful posts that will help photographers wanting to move their work up a notch or three. Ideas are welcome. We don’t discuss gear here much, but I am planning posts on small flash modifiers, a “tool kit” for shooting on location, and shooting tethered.

I am working all July on new content, and shooting new stuff for the site. I want it to be fresh and interesting. There are all kinds of sites out there that follow all the same folks – and that’s great. There are some wonderful sites and shooters wanting to share what they do. I hope you visit them as well. I just don’t want to waste your time and viewing with links to the same places that other people link to.

Upcoming workshops in Memphis and Seattle are booking and have only a few spaces left. We are doing a workshop devoted to the Nikon CLS System and shooting on location, and I am doing my first “Advanced” workshop in Phoenix this August. It will be a slamming big workshop and is open for experienced amateur shooters only. That one is not for beginners. Watch the Learn to Light site for more information.

Previous posts on going pro are here:
Preparing Yourself for “Getting Out There” as a Pro.
How You Shoot What You Shoot

So now it is time to start shooting for our portfolio.

Create a Portfolio Shoot Schedule.

It is time to plan and book some images for your portfolio. And while I do believe that at some point shooting ‘for the book’ is not necessary, at the beginning it may be. You have limited time to produce and shooting all week is generally not an option.

Some photographers feel that shooting expressly for a portfolio is something that limits you. I feel that while that is true for photographers who already have portfolios and have been shooting for a number of years, it isn’t true for those who have never created a portfolio. If you are a good shooter and planning at some point to make that jump, it is a good thing to begin to plan your portfolio.

Using the image collection from the post on How You Shoot for inspiration, pull some shots together to shoot.

“Yeah, Don, that may be easy for you to do, but I don’t have the resources of a long time shooter.”

True, you don’t. But you may have more resources than you think you do.

Let’s say you want to do editorial portraiture. OK, we need to look at the images you have chosen. Maybe you have chosen a ‘candid’ approach in your images. Let’s look at how you can go about getting some work for your portfolio. I promise not to mention family as I know exactly how hard that can be. I really do.

1. Are there some small businesses in your area? Introduce yourself and ask if you can do a portrait of the owner in his/her place of business. Make a time, plan a shoot and execute it. Get an image that they love, and get one that YOU love.

2. Approach the local Chamber of Commerce and ask if they would allow you to take some shots of the board, or members who have won awards. That could be good for a few interesting portraits.

3. Church. Ask if you can be involved in photographing the guest speakers, or the band, or the church leaders.

4. Your boss. Does your company need some interesting shots of executives or top salesman or staff? Do it on your own time so you will be able to show them in your portfolio without problems of ownership.

5. Dance and Drama schools have people who need photographs.

6. Coaches at Gymnastics, Ice Skating and Hockey rinks, and other sports teams may want a photograph of themselves for their website.

There are many other places to find people to photograph. Be confident and be sensible. If you have a big production shot planned, maybe it would be better to use a talent from Model Mayhem, One Model Place, MySpace or even Craigs List.

If you are working toward a food, still life, or product book, the items are easy to pick up and shoot. A studio the size of an average apartment living room could work for that.

Architecture and environments can be found almost anywhere. Talk to a realtor friend and work out some shoots of empty homes, furnished condos and landscaped yards. These are much easier than the people shooters challenges. People shooters have to deal with other people. Sometimes they don’t show up, are late, are confused or unable to relax when being photographed.

Once you get your plan together, and your subjects on board, you have to create the image.

The Concept.

The Moleskin, or a similar sketching book, is a very popular tool for planning a shoot. I also use a Flip Video camera and a P&S camera that is nearly always with me, to record a place or location that catches my eye. Going back to those images and pulling out the Moleskin lets me plan out the shot and make notes while I am thinking about them.

I sketch ideas for designs, websites and photographs whenever I am waiting for something or in a position where I cannot get online or onto a laptop.

The shoot.

Time:
Allow plenty of time. Time can be an enemy when you are working on a shot. The sun sets faster, and the makeup artist takes longer. It is a fact of nature. Deal. If you can go to the site earlier and get things put together first, that is a great tool for keeping the shot on or close to schedule.

Gear:
Have the gear ready. Fresh batteries, clean lenses, fresh cards or media, stands at the ready and your ‘kit’ ready to go will take some stress off as well. Have additional items that you could possibly need like tripods, booms and different modifiers at the shoot. Not having something you need to make the shot can drive you crazy so take everything you may need.

If you have scouted the location, done a test shoot or position shoot, and KNOW what you will need, then take a minimal kit. If it needs something, have it in pairs if possible.

Team:
If you don’t need someone, that is great. I usually do need an additional pair of hands, some muscle, someone to move things and bounce ideas off of. And I enjoy working with others who love images. Makeup artists, wardrobe and food stylists, hair designers and talent all combine to make a shoot with me. We have fun and we work hard.

The Edit:

Editing was covered last post, but I will go over how I do it again.

I move all images off the cards to drive A, then back up that to drive B. Only after verifying the images have been saved on two different media do they get erased.

With the image in Bridge or Lightroom I do a very fast edit. I go as fast as I can and make no evaluation other than “does it look good” – not great – just good. Tagging or starring them or whatever, I will go through the shoot in only a few minutes. That is the initial “gut” edit.

I will then go through the edit again. Looking for the images that I like and being pretty interested in the ones that catch my eye quickly.

The third edit is the brutal one. Very tight editing is what is called for. I look at the image and think about the Post unless I had already known what I was going to do in post before I shot it.

EDIT: NEW.
This post by the designer of Dan Winter’s book, “Peridocal Photography”
This is a wonderful look into the design process, and a lot of that can be used to help you visualize how to lay out your portfolio. Find it here.

The Presentation:

Here is where testing and challenging the eye can become a process that can bog down. There are literally millions of ways to crop or show an image, and thousands of ways to show it well. You only have to find one – the one that works with your style.

Let’s look at a couple of my image and see how they can be shown to create different effects on the viewer.

Full bleed images are popular. They command the page, and make create a very large target for the viewer. The bleed takes the eye off the page and presents a ‘natural’ border to the images.

Images with a small border seem to be ‘classic’ in presentation. The small border contains the images and provides an edge for the eyes to be constrained as well as a “palette” for the image to sit above.

A small image on the left, and especially in this case a nearly monochrome image, can pull the eye from the color picture on the right because of the size relationship. This has to be done with care as sometimes it wont work. You will have to find that right mix for your images. However, when it does work, it can be amazingly effective.

The small image on the right can pull the eye because of the color and border contrast. In this case the eye doesn’t escape off the right side of the page, but rather gets trapped with the small image.

The black background presents a very negative space for the images to live over. The small black border can create a dramatic presentation at the edge of the image.

Similar to the small image on the left on white above, the small image against the black draws the eye. But in a different way. The image seems more dramatic with the heavy contrast of the black background.

The black page on the right has a small image floating in the space and the color really draws the eye.

The two small images in the black background seem ‘special’ – precious almost. The large black background border makes the images pop. Both seem to be of equal importance and pull the eye with the same weight.

Here are a couple of challenges for you.

1. Shoot one image this weekend that you actually want to put in your portfolio. Shoot it FOR your portfolio, and develop it out through the post and presentation of it.

2. Take a few images you have in can and print them with different backgrounds and borders… see how they look to you and if the presentation changes the feeling of the image at all.

3. Do the above to a couple of images and find out how they look together as a book presentation.

Thanks for visiting. Follow me on Twitter, and if you are thinking about a workshop this year, we have our 2010 Workshop Schedule up at Learn to Light.

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Creating a Portfolio: What you shoot vs How you shoot what you shoot. Three exercises to sharpen your attention to style.

One of the most difficult and challenging things we deal with as photographers is style. It is a defining point of our work. It is one of the things that will set our work apart from the other photographers out there. Style will be our calling card, the incredibly complex nature of our style will be the simplest thing people see. Our work.

And yet style cannot be taught, nor would you want it to be. It shouldn’t be contrived, forced, manipulated or fake. It has to be authentic. And that can be one of the biggest challenges a photographer can face.

Let’s get a few things out of the way first. You must be a shooter first. That means that the technical stuff isn’t getting in the way. You can light what you want, and can create a shot under duress and deliver an excellent result every time. Well, if not excellent then really really really good.

First we have to discover what it is you love. That may sound easy, but it can take a lot of personal introspection to find that inner driving point that makes it all come together. We will look at a few ways to get yourself directed toward the kind of work that you really love to do. And doing what you love is such a great way to make a living as a photographer.

Before we continue on with how to start creating a portfolio with style, I would like to mention the workshops and how well they are doing. Our next workshop in Chicago is full and we are booking for a very special workshop in Memphis. You may want to also check out some of the previous posts here on Lighting Essentials.

Preparing to Get Out There as a Pro
Adding Texture to a Photograph to Add Drama
Mixing Ambient and Strobes for Portraiture
Make Your Own Reality

The next workshop with openings will be in Memphis. It is going to rock. Two full days of photography, shooting, teaching, shooting, editing and more. Full immersion therapy for people who want to learn to light. Come on over to Learn to Light for more information.

What do you shoot? Are you a glamor photographer or an editorial portrait specialist? Do you like to shoot landscapes or still life or architecture? Or is fashion your focus? Let’s get started.

If you already know what you want to do, that’s great. Are you doing it? If not, what is getting in your way and preventing you from doing what you want to do? Take the time to note what you are doing to sabotage your images from getting made if you aren’t currently making them.

Is it time? Could you cut out some television, or weekend projects? Could you get one shot a weekend done while still spending time with family or obligations? Can you plan very tightly to keep yourself focused on a shot per weekend?

Is it money? Are there ways to do what you do without spending money? Portraiture or street shooting shouldn’t cost at all? Can you find people and partners who can work with you to get what you need without spending money? Are there ways to piggyback tripos out of town with a few hours or a day shooting?

Is it gear? Naw… that doesn’t fly with me. If you have a camera, you can make photographs. Now, sure… you may want to create rockstar shots with 12eleventy lights and trestles and gaffers and grips. Well… that ain’t gonna happen. But if you have a camera, you can use available light, bounce cards and great ideas to get to done on the making pics thing.

I am going to add some images of mine so you can see how a certain style can carry through subject matter and time frames.

Simple subject / background relationship.

Are you lacking ideas? Well, this is a tough one. If you are unable to find ideas to make photographs, then you may find this a difficult business to work through. However, if you need to prime the pump so to speak – and we all have to do that at some point – hit the bookstore, grab a coffee and start looking at magazines. Look at magazines where the interest focus is NOT what you are interested in. You want stimulation? Try magazines that you have not much interest in… then when the image captures you… BAM! That is a great idea… right?

This list will be your first challenge. Inertia. Getting moving. The first step. Work on it. Share with us how you moved through the challenges you had.

Now we have to separate a few things out. And this is where it gets really important for the individual photographer. Your subject is not your style.

I’ll say it again. Your subject is not your style. Your subject is your subject. It is what you shoot. It is your choice to aim the camera in the direction of what you like to photograph is a personal choice. A choice of subject.

How you shoot it is your style. What the image looks like is your style. How it engages the viewer and creates an emotion or reaction… that is attributable to your style. You could be a classic fashion shooter or a classic architectural shooter or a classic portraitist. Classic means you have a style that you apply to what you do. If you are wild and crazy, and that look carries across the subject matter, then you have a strong style. You will be hired for How you Shoot What You Shoot, not just What you shoot.

Let’s look at a few ways to decipher your work, and some methods to get started. When you are starting out it is hard to see things with a perspective. Maybe we can jump-start this process.

Simple Subject / Background relationship

Exercise One:
Get 10 magazines – ones you don’t want to keep anymore. Or head to the doctor’s offices. Ask for some months old magazines. These should be within the genre of subject matter that you like to shoot. Not random magazines rather the ones that have the subject matter you like to shoot.

Glamor:
FHM, Maxim, Playboy, Esquire, and more like that.

Architecture:
Metropolitan Home, Architectural Digest, Home and Garden, Sunset and more.

Portraiture:
Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Forbes, Wired, Esquire, Men’s Health, ESPN

Fashion:
W, Vogue, Bazaar, Nylon, Details, Wallpaper, Z

Now that you have your magazines, go through them at a rather steady pace. Don’t stop and stare, just go through them with a steady turning of pages. All of them. One right after the other. Spend no more than one second per page. Do it with no interruption.

Now take a moment. Do you remember some images? Did some of them simply stand out to you? Good. There had to be a dozen or more that really caught your attention – even though your attention was not to be had at the moment.

Subject / background with separation using DOF

Think about how powerful those images are. You looked at literally thousands of images in a very short time… and yet some of them stuck out and were remembered.

Shuffle the magazines and start again, but this time at your leisure. Tear the pages out. A boxcutter or Xacto knife works better if you want a clean edge. Simply tear them out and without editing the choices. Make no judgements if you can. If you like it, it gets cut.

Put the pages in a folder and let them sit for a week. We want fresh eyes when we go back to the next part of the exercise.

A week or so later. Go through the images in the folder and pull the ones you like better than the other ones out. Go quickly, we are looking for a rough edit. You should have about half or so in the new stack. If you have more than that, do it again with the new stack.

Now that you have that new stack, you have to edit it down to 20 images. Twenty. Your favorite 20 images from that big stack. Don’t analyze the shots at this stage, just pick the images you love. Be ruthless. And if you end up with only 18 shots, grab another couple of magazines and repeat the process above. We need to get to 20 images that you would be proud of having shot.

Lay them all out on the floor and step back. With a notepad write down what they have in common. Are they one light shots in the studio? Or wild and free looking shots in urban locations. What about depth of field? Deep or shallow? Lens choice – are they predominantly long lenses or wide angles? Do they have a natural light feel or are they multiple lights with lots of modifiers? Big lights or small speedlight type of work. Are the shots tightly composed or more loosely presented. These are decisions you have to make as to how you would have done the shot, not necessarily that the shot was done that way.

Subject / Background separation by color

These questions will start to lead you to the traits that make up the style of the work you like. Now before you start thinking this is ‘copying’ someone else’s work, it isn’t. It is inspiration, food for thought, a point of departure… it is a place to help you start to see what you like in the work you want to do. These images will represent a style of shooting the subjects you want to shoot. It may be a great lead for you to start to think about while you are creating your shots. It is your little, tightly edited set of images for inspiration.

Excercise Two: Noticing Style.

Here are some shooters who I believe have real “Style” with their work. You can see it in the way they approach a multiplicity of subject matter.

Sean Kernan
Fred Kenner
Patrick Demarchelier
Arthur Elgort
Tim Tadder
Dave Hill
Nick Onken
Chase Jarvis
Jake Chessum
Kate Orne
Lydon Wade
Zachary Scott
Sasha Waldman
Bob Stevens
Jeremy Cowart
Raymond Meir
Andrew Hetherington
Steven Klein
Chris Buck
Dan Winters

Now this is a short list for sure. There are more and I know I have missed some of my favorites. Yours too. But this gets the work going on determining what elements work for their style.

Kristi is separated from the background by DOF

Get that notebook again and lets look at some things we need to evaluate in order to see what tools and surface elements are being used to create the style. (Whoa… don’t get ahead of it now. I know some of you already know that using specific tools and such is NOT style… but it is some quantifiable. The eye is the eye… timing, gesture, moments the ability to conceptualize. That stuff we aren’t getting into at this point. That, my friends, is up to you.) This exercise is NOT to get you to copy anyone. The styles above are all over the place. so there is no one way shown.

But each have a great sense of style to their work. So what we want to do is look at how others create style, and think about those things when we are shooting OUR work. Not copying the styles, but modeling the approach to A style. Get it?

Lighting:

• Natural
• Appears natural
• Dark and Moody
• Single Light
• Multiple Lights
• Location Heavy
• Studio Heavy

Add any additional criteria you want to add.
Note all things that are the similar in the work.

Composition:

• Classical
• Funky
• Off Kilter
• In Close
• Far Away
• Horizontal Prominent
• Vertical Prominent
• High Angle
• Low Angle

Add any additional criteria you want to add.
Note all things that are the similar in the work.

Post:

• Heavy Post
• Medium Post
• Minimal Post
• No Post.

Add any additional criteria you want to add.
Note all things that are the similar in the work.

At this point it is important to note that we are not caring about subject matter. We are looking at ways photographers create a style. It may not be a style that you are interested in or it may be such a blast that it makes you want to shoot like that. Cool. You can’t copy, you can only work through it as an inspiring model.

Pat in a leather jacket from 25 years ago. Subject / background separation

Imitate. Assimilate. Innovate.
– Clark Terry, jazz trumpet player extraordinaire.
More on this later in the posts.

And that is so true. Taking the time to do this with a couple of the names above is a great way to see how photographers work within parameters they set themselves. Don’t do all of them, but do a couple for sure. I suggest that you use one or two of the photographers you love. And do one or two of those shooters who may not be your cup of tea. It is a great exercise. Sharpens the mind.

Working with the above exercises will get your brain pumped.

Horizontal image, subject against a background separated by color.

Exercise Three: Your Work.

Now pull out your images. 4×6 prints made at Walmart or Costco would be fine. I don’t do this on a computer – I would rather do them where I can get a lot of them in my view. Spread ‘em out on the table. Stand over and look for patterns and shapes and nuances and color and positioning… look for your style… even if it is only emerging. Create groups of images according the ‘style’ that you see represented there.

Next, put all of your favorite images in a set on one side of the table and then repeat exercise two (above) with your work. What makes them your favorites? How would you add to them? How will you think about your work as you continue on with your portfolio work. Make the notes and work them in your portfolio.

Creating images with style, your style, can help people get a handle on your vision, your way of working and your own ‘look’. This personal style will also be a great way of showing prospective clients that you deliver work that they know will be of the highest quality.

Here is a post from Robert Wright. This paragraph is right on the money.

“So apart from the efficiency aspect of being able to deliver 200 (? I have no idea the size of this cattle call) culled photographers to 50 editors for example-because, we really are doing them a favour-the magazines, getting their editors all on site on two days for a blitzkreig portfolio review-they are going to come away with something don’t forget-I just don’t get it. Yes, it is highly efficient to be able to see 14 editors in two days, literally, something that would take weeks or months to do conventionally-now. But do you really have a portfolio that is suitable for Business Week, ESPN, Field and Stream, Popular Mechanics, NYTimes Style, Lucky, Prevention and Redbook? Does it make any sense? So right there, out of 32 publications represented, just how many are you really suited for? And if you respond, ‘all of them’, then I think your portfolio needs some cutting…”

I really think you need to read this post by Wright in its entirety. All of it.

See you next time.

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