Today marks three years since I did my first formal photoshoot, so I thought I’d do a little retrospective post. You can click on any of the galleries in this post to view the full size images.
I’ve been a longtime lover of photography. I’ve always had a collection of great coffee table books. My wife and I would travel frequently for business and whenever we traveled, we’d always attempt to take in a photo exhibit or two before we headed for home. But I never actually took any pictures. That is until three years ago.
I’ve always thought it would be a great idea to take up photography, but I just never did. I had recently immigrated to the US from Canada and was having troubles connecting with a community here. After unsuccessfully trying to connect with other videographers or film makers, I thought that maybe I’d try joining a photography group. I had done video production with DSLRs over the past ten years, but had never used them to take pictures. I had the tools I needed, so I thought why not give it a try.
So I went out on the streets of Boulder and asked random strangers if I could take their picture. I was terrified. I’d have to walk a couple blocks to work up the courage, but then I’d ask somebody. And everyone who I asked said yes! They played with me and we all had fun! Wow! That was a crazy day. It was traumatic and exhilarating!
I needed to shoot again. Unfortunately, my wife does not allow me to photograph her… ever! She’ll have none of that. So I went online and looked for a photography Meetup. The first one I could find was a swimsuit and lingerie photography Meetup in Denver.
I went. I sucked!
I was so nervous. I really didn’t know how my camera worked and I have never directed a model. Until that point, the most direction I had given someone in front of a camera was, “Say cheese.” And I was surrounded by seriously talented photographers who had been doing this for years. I was intimidated. I fudged my way through the shoot, usually shooting over other photographers shoulders, so I didn’t have to actually direct any of the models.
It was traumatic and exhilarating!
Unlike video production that takes a crew, tons of pre-production planning and even more post-production work, I got to see the results of my work right then and there. It was instant gratification! I was hooked! I needed to do more. How would I do that?
I was headed back to Canada the week after and looked for Meetups in Toronto. As luck would have it, there were two scheduled for my last weekend there. These were studio shoots and not natural light. Here’s one of the shoots, which was a black on black exercise. [The woman with the red hair was a costume person that stepped in for some test shots.]
Strobes blew my mind! With video production, you use continuous lights. You know you’re going to get exactly what you see. With flash photography, you create an image in your mind and set up the strobes with various modifiers to create the look you want. But the thing is, you don’t know what that light is going to look like until that flash goes off and you see the image in the back of your camera. It’s a skill! You need to know a lot about the properties of light, how it behaves, and how to modify or manipulate it to get exactly the image you’re looking for.
I looked for any opportunity to shoot. I did my first workshop with Don Hales on May 19th. It was a boudoir workshop. I knew I did not want to shoot landscapes, still life, or animals. My first career was as a classical ballet dancer and my second as a massage therapist. So of course, I love the human body. That’s what’s interesting to me. [You can click the any image to see it full size.]
Three days later I did his single light workshop. Once again, mind blown at the incredible things you could do with strobe. Don is an incredible talented photographer and an excellent teacher. Not to mention the fact that he is an effusive, caring, goofy, wonderful human. I had found a mentor. These pictures were either not edited or edited badly because I had never had to edit images before.
I was hooked! Like an addict, I needed my photographic fix. I took every opportunity to shoot anybody, any theme, genre, or style. I went to every available Meetup and connected with some Facebook groups like Sunday Night Meets. In the process, I met some wonderful human beings. I still shoot with some of the models and photographers I met at those first events. If you’re just starting I suggest you pay for workshops or attend group shoots. It’s a great networking opportunity and will accelerate your learning dramatically. Below is an album with some of the images I captured in those first few months.
Now I have to admit that even though I had only been doing photography for a few months, I did have a head start with all the videography I had done. I understood exposure and composition and had an affinity for the cinematic.
Again the reason I started was to connect with a community. So I took it a step further and I started my own Meetup group to connect with like-minded photographers and models. It’s been a wonderful way to connect with a creative community. Although I’m usually too busy organizing to shoot at these events, here are a few images I managed to snap.
If you’re interested in joining my Meetup group, I’m currently managing a Portfolio Building Meetup and a Boudoir and Swimsuit Meetup with regular events.
Sometime that fall, I became a resident at RAW Photographic Studio where I do about 90% of my shooting. It’s a community of about a dozen exceptional photographers who are always incredibly generous with sharing their knowledge.
This year has been a year of exploration. Because of the work I’ve done with videography, I have a bit of a foot up on the learning curve. It takes a while to really get to know your camera, but my biggest exploration was in understanding light and the way it behaves and how you can modify it. Getting exactly the right light always seems elusive. It’s like hunting wily prey. You get glimpses of it once and awhile, but it always seems to elude you. But I am getting closer. More and more of the images I take happen on purpose rather than by accident.
Most of my shoots this year have been exercises or challenges for me. I focus on a particular style or genre. I play with a lot of different lighting setups. They are not meant to be finished pieces, just etudes. These exercises prepare me for the times when I invest in doing a styled shoot. For example, I experimented with 40’s Hollywood-style lighting in several sessions before actually styling a shoot and doing the real thing.
People have been telling me right from the beginning that I need to develop a style. I’ve always been a generalist, so I don’t know if I have a style. I love the human body. It’s absolutely marvelous in every way. I tend to like pictures with lots of shadow because they give a lot of depth and dimension to a two dimensional medium.
The RAW Studio is definitely known for it’s boudoir photography, so I’ve sort of fallen into that. I have friends that are shocked by my images and don’t understand why my wife is so supportive. Nudity doesn’t phase me. I’ve done some nude modeling myself. And after a career in dance, two decades as a massage therapist, and spending time in naturalist communities in North America and Europe, nudity is really quite normalized. Why wouldn’t you want to be naked? I have to admit however that as a photographer I struggle with the boundaries between sensuality and art and the erotic and sexual. Both can be beautiful and have value. I’m just not sure where my boundary is yet. The photo shoots themselves are technical and never seem very sexy, but the final images give a completely different impression.
What’s next? I want to try everything. I’ll definitely continue exploring fine art nudes and even do some nudes in nature once the weather warms up. I’ve shot a lot of boudoir, but I’m not close to having that genre dialed in, so I’ll make opportunities to do that more often.
Most people who contact me want pretty pictures. And while I love pretty pictures with beautiful people as much as anybody, I’m more interested in creating more “artsy” images. For example, I had an opportunity to take part in a light painting shoot and would love to play with that more.
I would like to work with more dancers. Dance is naturally photogenaic (I’m making up that word) and conveys a sense of structure and line that I love. I’ve connected with a wonderful group of aerialists who I’d love to collaborate with some more.
I’ve really enjoyed working with couples. The relationship and interaction between two people is quite magical, whether they are friends or partners. So I’d like to work more with groups of two or more.
I’ve pretty much confined myself to the studio this year to really explore the use of flash. This coming year, I’d like to work with natural light, which I am not particularly comfortable with. I’d like to do more indoor and outdoor lifestyle shoots.
Photography is a passion and I do it as a creative outlet rather than as an occupation. This allows me to be selective in terms of who I accept either as paid clients or as trade clients. Photography is expensive, so I’ll probably do less free work this year so I can pay for my hobby. But if you fit into one of those groups above and want to engage in some creative experimentation feel free to contact me. I’m always looking for creative models to collaborate and play with. Sometimes the results are stunning and sometimes a little less than stunning, but the process is always fun.