These two objects may seem to be very closely related, but they so radically different in their function. It is important to understand that you are one of the two. Everyone is.

The function of a thermometer is to gauge the temperature in a room. As the temperature goes up or down the thermometer reflects that. It accurately displays the atmosphere around it.

A thermostat sets the temperature in a room. This is the device that sets the atmosphere.

Which are you?

As a photographer you will run into all kinds of situations where melodrama and emotion can run rampant and destroy the shoot environment. The question is whether or not your actions and mindset reflect the chaos or control it. Do you set the tone or are you an accurate gauge of it?

Being a thermostat has its responsibilities. You may be the actual cause of the chaos. If you are melodramatic or unprofessional you can drag the thermometers along with you. They will reflect the mood that you set. When things get crazy ask yourself why. Are you the cause or the solution? Are you a part of the chaos or a part of setting a new and more productive tone?

During one of the TV series that I produced one of the cast members was causing all kinds of trouble from the start. She was always ready to bring new drama and trouble to the set. She constantly complained about small problems that she could easily overcome and manage. On one occasion she showed up in the makeup room and the makeup artists were running a little behind. She turned a minor issue into an explosion. All she needed to do was wait a few minutes for her turn. Instead he turn her minor inconvenience into a mess where she was more interested in placing blame and exposing the fact that things were running a little behind than working things out. She was setting the tone. She was being a thermostat. She was making the atmosphere too hot. A few others immediately jumped into the fray and reflected the temperature in the room until someone stepped in and cooled the situation down.
There are four possibilities with the option of being a thermostat or thermometer – two as a thermostat and two more options as a thermometer.

Thermometer
• Reflect a negative atmosphere
• Reflect a positive atmosphere

Thermostat
• Set a negative atmosphere
• Set a positive atmosphere

It is a fantastic thing to be a thermometer in a positive atmosphere. As you reflect that positivity the room temperature stays positive. You have no effect on the room, but you are a part of the positive environment. Being a thermometer in a positive atmosphere is not a bad thing at all. The negative flip side is pretty obvious.

Thermostats set the tone. It is fine to not always be actively setting the temperature though. When the temperature is right a thermostat does nothing. If the environment starts to change it kicks on and regulates the environment. It is there waiting to kick into action when needed.

An honest self assessment may not be comfortable. Think about the environment where you spend most of your time operating. Is it full of drama? Is it chaotic? If so then you are not setting a better tone. So many times I hear people that say “I hate drama, but it surrounds me.” Does it really? What is the single constant in all of those situations? You. It is somewhat funny how people will melodramatically express that they hate drama or angrily speak of a negative relationship. Set the tone.

What if you have two thermostats in one room? If they do not work together they will battle each other until they wear out and break. What happens to a broken thermostat? It is replaced. It is best to try to work in conjunction with other leaders in a situation. Try cooperating and if that won’t work understand that the situation may be beyond control. If you try to control an uncontrollable environment you will wear yourself out for no gain. It is best to remove yourself from some situations all together.

Keep in mind that “it’s not my fault” and “it was out of my control” are the battle cries of the melodramatic. If those words are exiting your lips often you are not a thermostat. You are a thermometer.

As a photographer it is your job to control your set. It is your responsibility to keep things under control on your set. If you aren’t the thermostat you are at the mercies of too many outside influences. Those on your shoot need to understand that you are ultimately responsible for a successful outcome. Set the tone before the day of the shoot. Let everyone know what the temperature will be in the room and that you won’t be working in an environment that isn’t positive. You won’t regret it. Set a positive but professional tone and your final images will reflect the environment that you set.

What is a muse? A muse is the source of an artist’s inspiration. An artist often falls in love with their muse because they are so deeply moved by that subject. What I want to discuss is what part of the artist is deeply moved by a muse.

I have come across many photographers that seemingly fall head over heels for so many of the models that they work with. They gush about how the latest model is just so stunning and unbelievable. They are perfect in so many ways. “You just won’t believe how perfect.”

Really?

Most of the time that model is deeply moving a part of that photographer, but it is rarely the seat of creativity that is stimulated. A muse is not merely a source of physical arousal. A muse stirs within an artist something new and something far deeper than anything found in their trousers. A new world of images and visions flood the photographer’s creative heart when a muse is encountered. Muses are not something you run into often. I think THAT is the ultimate judge of whether you have found a muse. Do your images of that model make both you and others reevaluate your talent?

I can only name a few models that have honestly truly moved me to new heights of creativity. I can think of many models that had truly stunning beauty, but only a few that changed my talent simply by working with them. It isn’t easy to find a true muse. You tend to stumble into one and might not even recognize how special that subject is immediately. You might think, “Wow!” but you might not understand how your photography has changed right off the bat. It may take a second shoot where again you and others all see a marked, clear and obvious difference in your images. Your muse won’t just move you. Your muse will move others through your creativity.

I have been shooting for around twenty two years. If I were to count on my fingers the number of true muses that I have had in my life I would be left with one hand uncounted and a good part of the other hand also unused.

Long for a muse. They are special and they change your creative life. If you are familiar with my portfolio and can picture certain images, think about why those images come to mind. How many different models are there in those images?

It is clear to me that the most powerful creative tool you will ever have at your disposal is not a camera, a location or lighting. These things are all critical to great images. A true muse has no equal. When you do find that special muse you have found the reason that you shoot. You have come across inspiration and something that moves you into a new visual world. It can’t be faked, planned, manufactured or purchased. You can spend your life trying to emulate what you found in a particular muse and that is a wonderful part of photography, but when all is said and done value the special gift of a muse. Enjoy the new creative world where you can adventure. Nurture that relationship and glean from it every drop of creativity that you can.

Don’t think that falling for every model is the same thing. Aim higher. A muse is so much more.

There is no real way to define what a photographer’s style is. You can identify characteristics of an individual style, but I don’t think that I have ever heard any style completely defined. A style is as unique as a snowflake. Can you tell me how one snowflake is so radically different from another? It isn’t…yet it is.

The ultimate question is what is YOUR individual style? How do you develop it and refine it?

When I started shooting 20 years ago I used to look at my work and think it had no style. Sometimes black and white, sometimes color, sSometimes higher contrast and other times flat. No discernable style. At least that is what I thought. A few clients came to me and made comments that opened my eyes to what my style actually was. I like to shoot very clean images. I gravitate towards beauty crossed with both fashion and glamour.

While I struggled trying to decide what style I would settle on, one emerged on it’s own. Others could see it before me and the same will go for you. Your style will emerge. You DO have a style. You don’t need to adopt one. Just shoot and it will emerge. Don’t make the usual mistake of trying so hard to adopt a style that your lose what is uniquely you.

Look at photography books and magazines that show the kind of photography you like. Shoot images similar to what you like. Don’t be afraid to fill a folder with pages that you have torn out of magazines and keep it in your camera bag for inspiration when you shoot. You are not copying a shot that inspires you unless you are truly copying absolutely every element in the shot. Take a shot that you like and tweak it. Make it your own. Your style reveals itself.

Some people like black and white and shoot it almost exclusively. Some people have embraced the whole tattooed pinup model genre. Even within those types of shooting there are subtle, but clear differences from one photographer to another. Look at your images. What do you see that you genuinely like? What do you want to improve?

If you spend the bulk of the time looking deeply into your images and the images of others you will find elements that you like. There are poses, lighting techniques, colors, tones and shades, expressions that ring true to you. Experiment with those things and your style will emerge. You already have a style just allow it to come out by not giving up. Pick up that camera and fire away!

On a typical photo shoot, there are a lot of different elements that come into play.   Lighting, styling the set, posing the model, crew, staff clients and–oh, by the way–your equipment are only the tip of the iceberg.  Personalities can often be the greatest obstacle to achieving a great results.

How many times has it happened?  A model walks in the door looking pretty rough and immediately begins sharing her drama about her horrible boyfriend or how late she was up last night partying.  How many times has a makeup artist slowed the process of a shoot by chatting away about the latest unrelated melodrama? 

The most common mistake I see with many photographers is inaction.  The fear of controlling your set is crippling.  Photographers must understand this simple principle:  the images created are your responsibility.  You are accountable, and ultimately it is you who needs to control the outcome of a shoot. 

Keeping a reasonably professional environment does not make you a jerk.  You are not the makeup artist’s therapist.  You are not the model’s counselor.  The MUA and model may want you to play a violin while they cry about life’s troubles; but you are a photographer, not a violinist.  You are there to capture images with impact.  Ultimately everyone is relying on you for those images.  No client will say, “Oh, these images aren’t very good, but it’s ok.  The model broke up with her boyfriend the night before.  It’s not your fault.”

Furthermore, you are not on a set to entertain a model’s boyfriend or even her parents.  I have personally run into several circumstances where a meddling mother was interjecting her own opinions while she watched a shoot.  She started directing her daughter while on set.   Because of this distraction, I had to ask the mother to leave the set.  I was not being a jerk but, rather, was taking responsibility for doing my job.  The mother’s intrusion was affecting the shoot.

The key to everything is not WHAT you do, but rather HOW you do it.  First, I casually warned the mother in a light-hearted way.  “All right, Mom!  I can do a shoot with you later, but right now let me do my job.”  That caution said with a smile and laugh is a great beginning.  Next you say, “All right.  I know this is fun, but I need you to let me do my job.  I am the one looking through the camera. “  Then comes the final, more serious warning–“Mom, I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you get involved again.” 

The same goes for boyfriends or whoever.  Have you ever had a makeup artist become too opinionated on set?  Just say, “Hey!  You can always buy a camera and do this yourself, you know.  You did a great job with the makeup.  Let me do the same with the photography.”  Said with a smile, these comments can solve a lot of problems.

Now, back to the model with the boyfriend drama…Just say to her, “I’ll be happy to listen after the shoot, but right now I need you to focus on what we are doing here.”

Taking immediate control of a set in a nice way does not mean that you are being harsh.   It doesn’t mean that you don’t care or aren’t a nice person.  It does mean that you are concerned about the images you are responsible for creating.

There is time for the personal stuff when the lights are shut down.  Until then, focus on the task at hand.

There is no real way to define what a photographer’s style is.  You can identify characteristics of an individual style, but I don’t think that I have ever heard any style completely defined.  A style is as unique as a snowflake.  Can you tell me how one snowflake is so radically different from another?  It isn’t…yet it is.

The ultimate question is what is YOUR individual style?  How do you develop it and refine it?

When I started shooting 20 years ago I used to look at my work and think it had no style.  Sometimes black and white, sometimes color, sSometimes higher contrast and other times flat.  No discernable style.  At least that is what I thought.  A few clients came to me and made comments that opened my eyes to what my style actually was.  I like to shoot very clean images.  I gravitate towards beauty crossed with both fashion and glamour.

While I struggled trying to decide what style I would settle on, one emerged on it’s own.  Others could see it before me and the same will go for you.  Your style will emerge.  You DO have a style.  You don’t need to adopt one.  Just shoot and it will emerge.  Don’t make the usual mistake of trying so hard to adopt a style that your lose what is uniquely you.

Look at photography books and magazines that show the kind of photography you like.  Shoot  images similar to what you like.  Don’t be afraid to fill a folder with pages that you have torn out of magazines and keep it in your camera bag for inspiration when you shoot.  You are not copying a shot that inspires you unless you are truly copying absolutely every element in the shot.  Take a shot that you like and tweak it.  Make it your own.  Your style reveals itself.

Some people like black and white and shoot it almost exclusively.  Some people have embraced the whole tattooed pinup model genre.  Even within those types of shooting there are subtle, but clear differences from one photographer to another.  Look at your images.  What do you see that you genuinely like?  What do you want to improve?

If you spend the bulk of the time looking deeply into your images and the images of others  you will find elements that you like.  There are poses, lighting techniques, colors, tones and shades, expressions that ring true to you.  Experiment with those things and your style will emerge.  You already have a style just allow it to come out by not giving up.  Pick up that camera and fire away!