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Do Today’s Photographers Fear The Shadows?

Granted know one wants a BLACK SHADOW on one side of a person or object within every single Vertical Perspective Image but I think we’ve gone a bit over board now!

I believe to a certain degree, myself included, we have slowly become Shadow Phobic.

I recall like it was yesterday my first “decent” camera purchased while still in high school. It was a Minolta SRT-102 fully manual, metal frame, 35mm that could actually flash sync at a whooping 1/60th of a second! For 1974 technology, it was no slouch and allowed me to photograph solely in Black & White using many different types film while developing all my own work.

The wonderfully strange thing that occurred during this period was my ability to “ see” in black and white! I looked at images as groups of geometric shapes of light & dark and found myself using shadow to give skeleton to a frame and light to provide it with flesh.

Should a Professional Photographer Give Away Their Copyright?

Certain unique situations a client will call for the transfer of copyright / ownership of the photographers work. In these cases the professional is amply compensated, many times monetarily, for the sale of their copyright. I will cover these situations in a future discussion but for now; let’s look at the majority of commissioned photographic projects:

I hear this all the time … (voice of client)

I want ownership / copyright to all my photos
I want to be able to make my own prints
I want a CD or DVD with all original photos
DO YOU REALLY? … ARE YOU SURE? … NO NO.. ARE YOU REALLY SURE?

Let me ask you something:

Q: Would a photographer or any other creative that was truly passionate about the work they do for you, your organization, product or event, be inclined to give away ownership to their creative work?

Musician Album Cover Photographer & Designer West Palm Beach, FL

Well as a photographer for the better part of two decades, I have photographed many interesting people. One of my FAVORITE projects is to work on is a fellow artists vision / inspiration. Not being stifled, bond by so many rules and guidelines, allows my creative juices to flow! * I LOVE IT *

About a month ago, Samuel Gali, (musician, composer, pianist) approached me after searching for a professional musician style photographer that could not only give him the IMAGE that he was looking for but have the ability to complete his project from start to finish.

His project was a complete Press-Ready 6 panel DigiPak as seen in your local music store. This album cover project not only included a studio photo session but direct work with Layout, Design and Replicators requirements. Having magazine and advertising agency background doing paste-up, layout and front cover work, it’s by far my passion to create final production pieces!

I love photography but still consider myself a PHOTO-ARTIST more than a “Photographer”. I just love love love getting elbows deep in Photoshop, In Design, Illustrator and other instrumental packages to create final production pieces for my clients.

As a professional musician photographer whom has worked on instrumental albums, singer song writers albums as well as music producers promotional materials, I find myself very “in-tune” with the “artist”.

Their IMAGE is absolutely critical and the professional photographer they commission to capture it is as important as picking the right first song on their album! Artist realize that their IMAGE can be made or broke by a photograph; It’s that important.

During my sessions with artists, as a rule, I ask that an they bring a demo reel with them that can be played throughout the studio to give me a better feel for who they are. Let me just say, GALI’s ( IS ) an amazing, let me repeat AMAZING musician, composer & pianist,!! All I can say is; Wow! The sound that filled the studio was unbelievable!

Having been selected out of many Professional Photography & Design Studios to create his first (signature) CD /DVD combo DigiPak music album was an honor for me. Thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to your up and coming second album.

Look for GALI’s album to hit stores by the beginning of next year and his first release on itunes is coming very soon! If you like masterful piano with a Jazzy, Modern Sound, you’re gonna love his work!

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Do I Need a Professional Photographer?

The following was inspired by a Poll introduced by @photojack on Twitter. The question posed was a simple one with a not so simple answer:

What Word or Phrase would you use to best describe the Photography industry today?

My answer was simply “ IN FLUX “ as I believe more than ever, that the amateurs in the industry are being weeded out daily and the professional photographers, passionate about their profession, like cream, are quickly rising to the top.

The introduction of digital technology has brought into to the market many part-time “shooters” that are directly competing with the full-time professional photographers. No studio expense, cheap equipment, many times no backup cameras, lens, lighting and charge a fraction of what a true full-time professional has to charge to make a living, all while providing mediocre photography at best.

During this “ FLUX “ the number of projects that I take on per month that are “re-shoots “ for clients that chose to use one of these part-timers has quadrupled from 2007. Most ask for a reduction in my rates as they indicate they already spent “X dollars“ and are over budget… and I simply say … (well, I’ll let you fill this in later)

Back to the question at hand “Do I Need a Professional Photographer? “