Chapter 137 - June 3, 2014

Welcome to the past. This is the blog where I talk about the past. I kind of fixed things up. I put in pictures from the past and I took the past blog and put in pictures from the present. Am I making sense? Anyway, I messed things up. But I'll go on. I'll talk about the past. Speaking of Past, I want to say hi to my friend Bugs and his wife and family. They're in Australia.

You know, when I was shooting in the past I used to pay close attention to light. It's so important to look at your subject. I mean take a step back and really look. Lighting is so important. So many people just go on shooting without really looking. Anyway, that's my opinion. I used to do that all the time, look at the light and the subject. I guess I still do. It's automatic. I remember, I used to get up really early to get sunrise then I'd take a long break in the middle of the day (which used to piss off the client) and then I'd go back to work in the evening to get the good light. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I would sometimes go windsurfing in the middle of the day. But we won't talk about that. (That would really really piss off the client.) The point I'm getting at is, you've got to shoot with really good light if you want to make a really good picture. It adds another element to the photograph.

The other thing I used to think about was location. Remember, location, location, location. It's actually really important. It sets the mood for the whole photo. At least that was my excuse to go to the Bahamas. But really, it's important to shoot in a magical place where everyone is happy. A place where someone looks at the photo and wishes they were there. You sure as hell can't get that from a studio shot.

My friend here was reading back to me what I wrote, and I forgot to mention something. I was in New Mexico shooting a commercial job. We got up at 4 am to drive an hour and a half to the location for sunrise. I got the feeling I was a bit extreme when the creative director came out and said to me, "This is insane! What are we doing here?" We kept doing that for about a week. We even called room service on the way back after sunset. Maybe it was extreme. Good photos though.

I feel like an old fart talking about the past. But one other thing that's so important about creating a good photo. You have to pay attention to hair and makeup. It can make or break a fashion photo. Especially hair. You have to have a good hair dresser. But you know what? keep it simple. Anyway, I'm gonna leave it there. I'm gonna include some pictures on my trip I did across America. They are recent photos. I don't do fashion anymore. I don't think anyone would understand me right now. I could do comedy shoots. Anyway, here are some photos and here's a link to my blog where I talk about the present. The drawings are from the past. Everything is mixed up, but you know what? What isn't these days. Talk to you next week. Love, B. Nice