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The worst thing a photographer can do is appear flustered or confused. Once the model, makeup artist or stylists see that, you have just driven off a cliff. The model will clam up and get nervous. Your team will turn on you. And that’s when things start to go horribly wrong.

Being a photographer, is like being a pilot on a commercial flight. You always want to seem calm, cool and in control, even if you just hit massive turbulence. If you appear completely in control of the situation and keep the demeanor that you know what you are doing, the model will usually open up and give you exactly what you need.
Also, it’s good to have a couple of lighting recipes that you KNOW will work and have tested many many times. If you’re trying a new lighting technique or using new equipment and it’s failing, you can quickly fall back on something you’re a master at.

And NEVER EVER give the impression you were struggling.

Photo from my shoot with Grammy-nominated R&B Artist MARIO.

Lighting was natural window light from the left with a silver reflector on the right as fill.

I directed. filmed and edited this film.

This film played in several small film festivals and screenings in San Francisco. It also was played on local television stations in San Francisco.

***Technical Details***
Shot on a Bolex camera (The camera was not working properly which is why there’s that spot on some of the shots)
Kodak 400 BW film
All sound created in post-production… No sound recorded on location.
Edited in Final Cut Pro

The first and most important part of the shoot was casting the right model. The guy in the picture is Daniel and I felt he could convey a strong and powerful image without being aggressive looking.

I knew exactly how I was going to light it before I started shooting. Anytime you want to make someone’s muscles and figure really “pop”, you use rimlights. Rimlights are just lights on either side of your model, behind the model, aimed at the side of his body. This will really emphasize every curve and angle on a person’s body. And finally, I added one light in a big umbrella right at camera position. This light was just to fill in shadows, so his face and chest don’t go completely black.

Oh, and this image is straight out-of-camera. No retouching. I didn’t even have to open it in Photoshop.

Trade headshots for nanny service
Trade logo design for candles
Trade photo shoot for hip hop beats
Trade event photography for gift basket with jock strap and other “sexy” mens underwear

Believe it or not, artists live in the same world as everyone else and we have the same responsibilities and bills as everyone else. We don’t live in some magic dimension where the currency is smiles, rainbows and glitter. I have to pay for water and electricity just like everyone else. Maybe when it gets shut off, those candles I traded my services for will finally get some use! I don’t ride a unicorn to work. I drive a silver Toyota Corolla that runs on gasoline which costs actual money. When they invent cars that run on hopes and dreams, I will be first in line at the dealership! If I try to pay my landlord with pennywhistles and moonpies, I will be living on the street.

Now the next logical argument in a long line of bullshit is, “Well my *weird shit* is very valuable–so valuable, you should be honored that you get a chance to trade your services for my *weird shit*” And my reply to that is, indeed, if your *weird shit* is so valuable, offer it in exchange for services from your mechanic, attorney, dentist or even your dry cleaner. Go on! Try it! Try paying for groceries using candles! Try sending a gift basket of men’s underwear to the power company!

And the last pathetic argument in the long line of bullshit that most artists have to hear is, “You’re all about the money! You’re not an artist, you just want to get rich! You’re a sell-out!” I can tell you that most of the artists I know don’t dream about getting rich. We dream about one day being able to quit our soul-sucking, depressing, dead-end day jobs and being able to eek out a living just doing what we love doing. And an artist that’s not starving or constantly stressed about having enough gas to get to work tomorrow is going to do a much better job for you because they can simply concentrate on your project.

So next time you need to hire a photographer, graphic designer, sign painter, composer, makeup artist, layout designer, storyboard artist or other creative person, save the *weird shit* and make a fair monetary offer.

But if you are still not sure about what camera to buy for your jump into photography, I will tell you right now…

The best camera for you to buy is A) the best one that you can afford and B) the one that feels right.

The best bit of advice I can give is to go to Best Buy or Ritz Camera or whatever and get your hands on as many of the different cameras as you can and hold them and play with all of the buttons and menus and features and see which one really feels right in your hands. Are the menus and features laid out in an intuitive style? Remember, when you’re on a photo shoot with a bunch of models and makeup artists and assistants and stylists, you don’t want to be trying to figure out how to work some feature on your camera. Not only will you waste a lot of time, but you will look like an idiot in front of your team. Using your camera should be just like driving a car, it should be second nature, so you can focus on getting the great shot, not trying to figure out the technology.

The second most important factor when deciding what camera to buy is to buy the best model you can afford and then be done with it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you need a “pro” top of the line (expensive) model camera to create pro photographs.  What’s much more important than the model number of your camera is getting better lenses and I will write about that another time. But no matter what camera you get, another, fancier model will come out soon so there’s no use obsessing over it.

I heard that Kurt Cobain bought all his guitars from pawn shops and never paid more than $100 for each of them. I don’t know if that’s true but it sounds accurate considering he would destroy them onstage at the end of each show anyways. But the point is, he knew how to make that guitar sing and whatever guitar was in his hands was just a tool for him. So your camera should be the same. No matter which one you buy, it will have it strengths and idiosyncracies. So just learn how to use that piece of gear to accoplish your vision, just like Kurt Cobain would.

Nikon vs. Canon

This is old question that gets argued to death on so many message boards. Again, choose which one feels right. You can create great images on either camera. When you go for real photography jobs, they aren’t going to hire or fire you based on which system you use. I can tell you that Canon is a little bit ahead of Nikon in terms of technology. Canon tends to bring out higher megapixel cameras before Nikon. Also, Canon gear tends to be slightly less expensive than Nikon. However, Nikon makes much better lenses.

As for me, I shoot with a Nikon D90.  When I originally bought my first digital SLR, I tried both systems and I just couldn’t get used to the feel of the Canon cameras. They just didn’t feel right in my hands and I didn’t like the way the menus were organized. That’s not to say that buying a Canon is wrong, it just wasn’t the right fit for me. When I got my hands on my first Nikon DSLR, it just felt perfect. I liked the way it fit in my hands and I could start using it right away without looking at the manual.

Also, Olympus makes some GREAT cameras. Pentax and Sigma make good cameras too. If you are buying your first SLR you probably want to stick with either Nikon or Canon though because of the best selection of lenses and flashes.

So yeah, I use a Nikon D90. You might know that it’s not a “professional” model camera. But I don’t let that stop me from creating pro images.