The Cool Waters Band. Promo shots for their reunion show in December.

WTF?

And some shots of my dear photographer friend Ken Cravillion and family. We did a mutual family photo session on Sunday. I’m stoked to see what he shot of my family!

Ken, working his magic. He’s truly one of the most talented photographers from Northeast Wisconsin. I’m so glad he shot our long-overdue family photos! I think we’re due for some Vinny’s!

~dave

ANNOUNCING THE GET REAL WORKSHOPS!

I’m excited to share the news that I was asked to help out with The Get Real Workshops in 2010 (dates to be announced soon), alongside some talented photographers including Bambi Cantrell, Zack Arias, Dawn Shields, Joseph Dallas, Chuck Arlund and more! The inaugural workshop however, will be held on December 7th and 8th in Columbus, GA featuring Zack Arias, Bambi Cantrell and Joe Dallas.

The Get Real Workshops are extensive two day educational programs which include practical lessons on improving your business and photography. The syllabus for each workshop is handled by two or more photographers, often including guest speakers for extended evening programs. These workshops will be less about buying the latest action pack and more about honing your skills to become a better business person and photographer. The workshops include live model shoots, image critiques and hands on training for posing, lighting and composition. Depending upon the instructors, the syllabus from workshop to workshop will vary slightly. All the workshops include The Get Real business program that discusses principles that will help you examine your business, persona and identity to help attract the right kind of clients for you.

More information on The Get Real Workshops and class registration can be found HERE.

I’ll keep ya’ll posted on the 2010 dates in which I’ll be speaking! On a side note, I will also be leading another photography group discussion/shoot in the next few months in the Green Bay area. More details soon!

We finally wrapped up the Matter shoot this week. I’ll try my best to get some behind the scenes video up next week, along with a closer look at the lighting/editing process and a recap of the shoot. Without further ado, below is a link to the slideshow containing the final six photos we are delivering to Jordan at Matter.

Enjoy!

(click on the image to view the slideshow)

Special Thanks:

Jordan at MATTER
Our models Amanda, Nora, Jenny and Amy
Harley Davidson of Appleton
Vicki and Jeff at Goldin Recycling
Robert Ebben
Rachel and Lydia at A Boutique
Amy Kaminski at Avenue Hair Design
Brett Stoddart, Steve Wagner, Robert Buettner
And yes, Zack Arias for kicking my butt.

~dave

Last night we wrapped up the Matter ad/product shoot. Everything came together great and everyone involved did a killer job! Especially for hauling all our gear to two locations and hanging with us until midnight. Now that I have a pile of shoots in the queue, I begin the slow and painful process of playing catch-up. Which involves the edit-down from this shoot. I will post the final images and a wrap-up on the blog later in the week.

Here are a few still captures from the 5D Mark II video Brett shot last night.

More to come..
~dave

(5D Mark II video capture, via Brett Stoddart)

We jumped into the Matter shoot this past Thursday, shooting the first two shots in a series of final images we will deliver to Matter. This was day one of two separate shoots. For the most part things went very well, albeit we messed up a few things and gained some learning experiences along the way.

Of the things we screwed up whist shooting in a junkyard at night:

1. Don’t wear sandals (Brett).
2. Don’t wear a white t-shirt (Trevor).
3. Don’t wear nice jeans (me).
4. Bring insect repellant.
5. Have enough gasoline for the generator.
6. Remove your lens cap before you shoot. I do this on EVERY photo shoot.
7. Put it back on after you are done shooting amidst a virtual sand storm.
8. Handle freshly cut sod with gloves. Your hands WILL turn coal black.
9. Bring more flashlights.
10. Make arrangements to obtain all the gear you need BEFORE the day of the shoot.

With a larger scale shoot like this there are always mistakes, learning experiences and hurdles to overcome. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was functional and we got the shots we needed on the first round. One of the biggest logistical headaches has been acquiring the resources needed to get the shoot off the ground. Not everything has come together as we would have hoped, but we figured it all out even if it was at the eleventh hour.

Gear was another hassle. This is probably the most equipment we have traveled with and set-up for a single shoot. Because we are shooting at night, scene lighting is really important. Which requires us to use a generator, work lights, laptop and power for the product we are shooting. As a result, set-up and tear-down takes up a large amount of our time.

We have also found that shooting on-location with a laptop in hand has been invaluable. Because some of our images will be comped together from shoots spanning two days, seeing the files and the lighting attributes in the photos are key to the success of the final deliverable images.

Here is a look at what we are working with:

We are really trying focus our concept for the shoot along the lines of showcasing the lights with a renewable energy (“green vs. waste”) theme. We need to constantly remind ourselves of that, as it’s all too easy to shoot a nice portrait of a model just holding a light. More importantly than anything technical, we need to deliver an image that makes a statement. An image that stands out, going above and beyond a nicely lit shot.

We head out in five hours to shoot the second half. We will be working with two models, a clothing designer and a stylist, shooting at two rural locations. Now if I can just remember the insect repellant..

More soon.
~dave