A MENTOR’S JOURNAL
THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE SUCCESSFUL YOU CAN BE.
“YOUR LIGHTING SUCKS”- MY GUT WAS CRUSHED!
OK, she didn't exactly say that, but it is what I heard. I was standing in her little office - 'her' being the art director of a major retailer in Los Angeles. The transparencies were scattered over her lightbox and she was looking at them very closely....
FINDING THE PERFECT PLACE IN A SEA OF CHOICE
We sat outside at a little cafe on Coronado Island. It was one of those simply awesome days with temps in the high 70’s, and a soft breeze off the ocean. To my left was the grand old Coronado Hotel. To the right a huge expanse of sand with surprisingly few...
MY RULES FOR SHOOTING FOR FREE
Do I want to do this photograph? This is very important to me. If it is something that I think could be a great piece in my portfolio, then it gets consideration. Have other photographers been paid for this same shot? If so, then why are they not wanting to pay me?...
WE BECOME WHAT WE FOCUS ON… NATURALLY
There is an old saying: "I'll believe it when I see it." That's a problem, you see. Because if you don't believe it, you will never see it. It is out of your field of vision. You cannot focus on what you cannot see. And our brains want to make damn sure we...
THAT TIME I NEARLY LOST IT IN FLAGSTAFF
"It's not working", I exclaimed to the smartly dressed consultant I had hired to tell me why it wasn't working. "I know the work is good", I was starting to whine a bit here. (Not proud, just truthful.) It was the early 80's. Big hair, wide belts, and mullets. I was...
THERE IS NO GOOD TIME OR BAD TIME… THERE IS JUST NOW
I was sitting in a local pub listening to a photographer explain why they were upset at the way their business was starting out. He was pouring out about how there was no work in his town and how impossible to get anyone to look at his book. When I asked...
ON GETTING A DEPOSIT…
ON GETTING A DEPOSIT… Do it. Or risk more than just the time you have given to the gig already. Back in the day, I got fed up working with the advertising agencies in my city. They started making a habit of 60 - 90 - 180 payment schedules for photographers...
Is Curiosity a Vital Element for Photography?
Is Curiosity a Vital Element for Photography? I think it is. The incredibly important book "The Americans" was created out of Robert Frank's curiosity about America and what the Americans were up to at that point in time. What many of us took for granted,...
WHAT TO DO AFTER A NEGATIVE PORTFOLIO REVIEW
WHAT TO DO AFTER A NEGATIVE PORTFOLIO REVIEW Hey, it happens. It happens to all of us at some point. We are not going to please all the people all of the time. Ever. So we will have negative reviews and portfolio showings. It may go something like this....