I love the photograph but what do I do with it?

I get this question sometimes, when I am talking about my photography to owners of companies who are, understandably, more concerned about making payroll than discussing where art and commerce intersect (that's marketing at its finest, folks!). I also get it from graphic designers who are used to responding to orders from their clients.

Yes, I get that not every photograph has to be a museum piece. Sometimes, a product is just a product. But, shouldn't the photoshoot be the best value that you can get?

I don't mean "spend as much as you can." That would be silly, self serving, and, ultimately, deadly for my business.

The value, as any entrepeneur can tell you, is not just in the final object (photo, product, whatever). It is in the process, in the plan, and in the execution.

Many times, the story I have been told runs like this: "We did it ourselves. Twice. And, it was okay but...[retouching fees, didn't look quite like x...] "

Or: "We found this picture online. It was short money. We put it on the cover of our brochure. [So did our competition, it was too generic, it wasn't our product/people/service]."

Even worse: "We downloaded this picture from someone's photo sharing site. And, now we have a cease and desist letter, plus a court date."

So, you love the portfolio, but it isn't quite your product type/looks real artsy/looks expensive. That's okay.

What you do with it is use it as a conversation starter. Find a photo that is nice and ask the photographer the key question: "If you were going to photograph my product, how would you approach it?"

If the photographer asks about the goal of the photograph, the value of the image to you, your company and your potential customers, you have someone who will collaborate with you and work the intersection of art and commerce to your advantage!

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The picture of the custom built motorcycle above was created in an iron fabrication company down in Rhode Island a few years ago. We used a combination of light sources to get the nice highlights, including a 12' by 12' silk on two high boy stands on the camera left. On camera right was the biggest softbox I had in my collection. Various white and silver cards were distributed around to keep the highlights clean. A smoke machine gave us the atmosphere in the background and the light streaming in through the windows was courtesy of Mother Nature.

It's just a simple Product Photograph!

Well, yes... and no!

A product photograph, from our little photo studio, just outside of Boston, is almost always a combination of collaborative thinking, careful interviewing and preplanning.

This beautiful, art deco style lamp would look good on almost any background. However, looking around the show room during our initial conversation with the client, we quickly decided that the image needed to carefully reflect an old world warmth and quality.

Back at the studio, we pulled out a canvas background we had created a while back. It consisted of an application of a material called Instant Rust. I had remembered that the application had turned out with a nice, painterly quality that reminded me of the old masters' paintings of bowls of fruit and other still life compositions.

The lamp itself, with its round top, projected a warm glow that we needed to imitate in the shot. Also, with all that chrome, we needed to figure out how to create smooth, uninterrupted highlights.

The set was built in a small room, with the 4'x8' canvas swept out across the floor. A strobe head with a grid and warming gel was targeted on the background and adjusted so that the light looked like it was coming from the lamp. A second strobe, shot through a 3'x6' sheet, became our main light to the right of the camera. And, a large white card was added on the left to give us the highlight on the left side of the shaft. Some time was spent balancing the exposure for the incandescent bulb in the lamp and the strobes.

There was a conversation about the light switch. Do we show it or not? Since it was, ultimately, part of the design and usability of the product, we included it.

Meet NESSC

Meet Gabe. Meet Dr. Raynhem.

Soon, there will be a new web site for Dr. Raynhem's practice, along with new collateral pieces featuring images like this one, showing the staff as real people, interacting with each other and with the patients.

This was a fun project, made all the better for the fact that we had worked together on Dr. Raynhem's first marketing projects two years ago, when we turned her kitchen into a medical office for the day!

This project also gave me an opportunity to work with Margina Dennis again. She is a very talented hair and makeup artist and an asset to any shoot.

The third Monkey

This here is Alison Beach, military, law student and actor at the Footlight Club.

She and the two previous portraits are for the Footlight Club's All in the Timing.

Industrial Lighting and Adapting Photography

So, there we were, in a dark room, with a gazillion volts of electricity stored in huge banks of batteries. High voltage signage everywhere. A deep hum, charged with menace, replaces the whir of ventilation fans from the data center we were just shooting in.

We went from brilliant flat lighting to almost no lighting at all. And, the concept called for shooting into a dark cabinet, while the technician does... well, whatever they do in there. (When I asked him, he said, "Mostly, we try not to get zapped!")

I looked up and saw three different tubes of flourescent lighting, two tungsten cans and something that may have been a mercury vapor.

I looked at my assistant, who shrugged back at me, and I said, "Get the secret weapon!"

Under the technician's careful supervision, we tucked it back in the cabinet and plugged it in. Added a couple of gelled lights and reflectors around the outside and started shooting.

So, what is the secret weapon? An LED worklight from the hardware store.

Perfect for those hard to reach, tucked in spaces, to add dimensionality to any photoshoot!

Reception this Saturday

If you happen to be in the Boston area this Saturday evening and are looking for something to do, stop by the Footlight Club in Jamaica Plain between 6 and 8pm and say "Hi!"

The Found on the Beach series has found a home for the month of February at Eliot Hall in the Footlight Club, 7A Eliot Street.

I created The Found on the Beach limited edition photography portfolio after being inspired by a lifetime of exploring that magical transition zone where water meets land.

"Inspired by shape and texture and informed by delicate light, these images will bring you back to that first moment when you held a shell up to your ear."

Sounds like a lot of art-speak to me, but people seem to like these pieces enough to use them as the cover of a couple of jazz cds and to take them home.

So, stop on by and share some grog, maybe some tasty snacks. I will also have a some Found on the Beach books for signing. There are also a few Reflections at the Footlights books available (that was my portrait series at the club).

Hope to see you there!

Restaurant Symetry

A while back, I had the privilege of creating image for the Fireplace Restaurant in Brookline.

This was one of my favorite images from that project.

Winter is here... Wish I was there...

As the winter days get shorter and shorter, I find myself working on a new portfolio of images from my various hospitality projects. And, I really want to be there now.

So, the new portfolio is tentatively titled, "Being Here..."

More as it happens.

Blondie in the Village

Can't believe I am running out things to say about this event. Well, not so much running out as having other things going on.

Between clients, the Jamaica Plain Arts Council, which I am a co-president and web dude, and now Jury Duty, it is hard to keep on track on the blog.

So here is just a couple more cool pics from that series.

A Night in the Village Remembering

This image was created on Halloween 2001. We followed this couple for about 7 blocks.

There was plenty of cheering and not a few tears from passers by and fellow costumed characters.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 5

For a suburban kid who moved to Boston, because he wanted to be in a big city (Boston is more like a big town to me), this place was nuts.

Over the top and totally out there.

For a photographer, a person who is basically a voyeur anyway, it was heaven.

Outrageous behavior and outfits, visual puns and Clinton masks were the flavor of the night.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 4

So, totally in the moment, Greg and I started a dance. He watched me and where I was aiming and moved to position himself behind and to one side of my intended subject.

I would approach a person, a character, and make suitable noises. 99% of the time, the people would pose or laugh and say "sure". A couple of times, I got a suspicious look or a head shake. But, almost everyone was out with their best work, ready, willing and wanting to be seen.

And, I was happy to oblige.

That year, we shot 10 rolls of black and white film.

Editing was exciting.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 3

We skipped a year due to a scheduling issue but were right back at it, better prepared and totally jazzed.

Armed this time with my new Nikon F5 and a wide angle lens, we hit the streets, looking for adventure and new images.

This time we had a better idea of what we were looking for. But, I still had a nagging problem. I had no idea what I was creating this body of work for. In a way, it was a handicap, mentally.

In another way, it was supremely liberating.

As I have said before, I love the challenge of getting into a client's head to see what exactly they are looking for... even when they can't describe it fully themselves. That, to me, is fun and has been lucrative for me, so I guess I have been successful at it.

This time, there was no limits, just create what I felt at the moment.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues 2

In the days of film, the moment of truth was opening that envelop from the lab and shaking out the contact sheets.

Sometimes, you are reaching for the loupe. Sometimes, you are reaching for the malox.

Of course, as a professional, we endeavor to have more loupe moments than panic moments. That is one reason why we always shot so much film on each shoot. Our mantra of "Just one more roll" was for the sanity of ourselves and our clients, who would rather we didn't say "The film was ruined at the lab."

[A little known trade secret is that some photographers used that excuse even if they, themselves, caused the film to be toasted. Not that I ever used that excuse. But, in 14 years of shooting film, the lab did munch 2 rolls. Really! They did! But, they were very nice about it and, luckily, I had backup rolls. Besides, 14 years, thousands of rolls and only 2 ever got et? Not bad!]

The first sheet came out and, as dramatic as I would like to make this, I can't. The film was a little thin, but otherwise perfect.

I was hooked and would be for the next 6 years.

A Night in the Village, The Story Continues

That first year was one of those personal challenges that was more mental that physical.

However, it also took its toll on our bodies.We walked over all over those 12 blocks, carrying a bag of film, spare batteries, and a charger for the second flash. Occasionally, we had to stop for a breather and a refresher.

By the end of the night, we had exposed 12 rolls of 120 film and imbibed a fair number of beers.

By two am, we were wiped out and ready to recover the vehical.

But, this wasn't the end of our adventures...

A Night in the Village, the Production Part 3

Now, I am standing on a street corner, with a rental camera around my neck.

Greg is waiting, with various degrees of patience, for my direction.

And, out of the gloom and flash of taxi lights, Golden Boy comes walking toward me.

"Dude, great costume! Can I snap your picture?"

And, so it began..

Stay tuned!

A Night in the Village, the Production Part 2

So, I panicked.

Just so you understand my problem, up until this point, I had been strictly an assignment photographer. In other words, you give me an assignment and we will set up the production. Location scouting, casting, makeup, stylists, assistants, equipment rentals and research all go into the mix.

Lots of prep, pre planning, thinking, consulting, so that we can create the perfect image for our clients.

That evening, I was staring at a completely spontaneous shoot. I didn't know anyone. And, no one knew me. And, we didn't have a location. Or, rather, we had 12 blocks of locations.

Plus, mixed light sources, moving subjects, moving vehicles, cops, a few roving gangs, partyers, players and, of course, a bunch of people dressed in every way you can imagine.

Chaos!

To be continued...

A Night in the Village, the Production Part 1

The first Halloween, I went down to my buddy Greg's place, in NJ. We met up there and packed up a rental autofocus medium format camera. This was a few years before I made the digital switch.

I threw a flash on top and Greg ran around with a second flash radio slaved to my camera for an accent light. It was my standard lighting setup of the time, only made mobil.

We hopped in his rag top Jeep and made the 5 mile run to the Big Apple in just under 45 minutes. We parked, got out and walked to a street corner and Greg turned around and looked at me.

"Well? Now, what do we do?"

To be continued...

A Night in the Village, the Beginning, cont

A case of Labatts, some great movies, long conversations and laments about creation.


Sitting on the porch steps, watching the local skunk make his rounds, the photographer's friend, who lived in New Jersey, said, "Have you ever seen the Halloween Parade through Greenwich Village?"

"Why, no,"" said the photographer innocently. "What is that?"


In a nut shell, the parade carries on a 30 plus year tradition of celebrating the unique culture of Greenwich Village, in New York City. Which means that it is artistic and grassroots based. And, a half a million people show up to see it and party.


It is also where people go to get their freak on and they are accepted for the individuals they are. Drag queens get to strut their stuff next to kids dressed as Sponge Bob. And, it all works together.

It is the perfect place for a voyeuristic photographer, who has a hard time approaching people on the street to take a picture.

Heck, these people want to be photographed!

A Night in the Village, the Beginning

Once upon a time, a photographer was told that he should always have a personal project going. This would help him to stay fresh and creative.

He heard the advice but didn't know what to do. There are so many ideas in the volumes of sketch books. Any one of which could make for an interesting (at least to him) series of images. But, most required a lot of preproduction and cash to put together. It also meant a lot of work. That, along with satisfying the current client roster, meant that the personal project languished in the pre- pre- pre- production stage: "Wouldn't it be neat if..."

One fateful night, over a few liquid libations, his friend, who lived in New Jersey, said, "Have you ever seen the Halloween Parade through Greenwich Village?"

to be continued tomorrow!