What is qi?  In Chinese
philosophy there two types of qi – Living Qi and Killing Qi.  The Chinese believe that everything has an equal
opposite, and this keeps things in balance.  For every yin there is a yang.  Think of it in terms of a magnet.  Every permanent magnet has both a positive and
a negative side or opposing poles.  Where
there is a north pole there must be a south pole.  If a magnet has a North Pole side and a South
Pole side what happens if you slice the magnet in half?  Do you get one half that is a North Pole
magnet and one South?  No.  You now have two magnets with both north and
south poles.

The Chinese described a place with a lot of Living Qi would be a place
with a much fauna and a place void of life has a great deal of Killing Qi.

As a photographer you have your own individual photographic qi.  There is a natural area that you are drawn to
shooting where your truest and purest of talents can grow.  It may be glamour, fashion, nature, athletics,
or absolutely anything.  It is not just
what may be initially fun.  Look deeper.  Somewhere inside there is a particular area
within you where an almost spiritual sense of rightness lies when you are shooting.  The true measure is not the question “Is
this the most fun to shoot?”  The
truest judge is the question “Is this where the purest creative energy in me
flows?”

The reality is that making a living has very little to do with qi many
times. I am often referred to as a glamour photographer because of success with
so many swimwear catalogs or calendars or with my images of Brittany Lee and
Maxim.  Shooting glamour is fine with me,
but standing in Joshua Tree National Park I know I am where everything in me
belongs. When I am there I experience some kind of “rightness” with
things.  It is as impossible to explain
as the color orange is to a person blind since birth.  It is where the creative center of me resides.

I shoot glamour well.  I enjoy
fashion and beauty images even more.  Shooting
“pretty” has always been something I have found pleasure in and I
have been able to make a good living doing it.  Photographing models in dresses and gowns in
beautiful locations or any shots showing a clean beauty make me happy. Still there
is an intangible something triggered inside when I am in Joshua Tree National
Park or in some areas of Death Valley.  It
is where my qi truly lies.  My creative
waters run deepest in that dry and desolate environment.  For me the colors are more vivid there and the
smells and sounds pull me like a magnet.

Where does your qi lie?  If you
don’t know then I suggest that you take a journey within you to find it. Clear
the daily clutter in your mind when possible and explore different areas of
photography and challenge yourself to stop thinking and start feeling something
deep inside while you shoot.

I believe that since everything has an opposite to create balance
within every photographer there must also be a killing qi.  There is something that sucks the creative
life from you and leaves you spiritually and creatively desolate. There is a
certain something photographically that destroys that positive energy you find
in your creative center and has a devastating effect. Something inside you seemingly
dies when you shoot this.  Avoiding that
is as important as experiencing your own Living Qi.

Many glamour and fashion shooters get confused that the feeling they
may be feeling in their trousers is some sort of spiritual tickle saying “This
is where your qi lies.”  Perhaps
glamour or fashion are your purest life calling. In that case it won’t be your
blue jeans that are tugging at you to keep shooting.

Life is full of noise, both audible and visual. This static can kill
that little voice inside. That voice does not necessarily loudly call to you.  It may not be screaming at you that you simply
must shoot what ever it is. It is simply there in the moment. You will be able
to feel that energy.

It is a rewarding thing to find your creative center.  Qi is as wonderful in life as well as on a
Scrabble board.

more

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.

more

more

more

more

http://fusionextreme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Building-Your-Website.pdf

If a password is required to open this document please use FusionX

more

I was around 12 years old when my sister invited me to tag along while her boyfriend shot pictures of a sunset at one of the many lakes in Orlando. I went along and was wide eyed at the whole experience. He set up his camera on a tripod and let me look through the view finder. I remember being surprised at how cool things looked through the camera. He was shooting slides. I just couldn’t understand why anyone would do that. Pictures are easy to get and they are bigger!

Several days after the fascinating experience something happened that I think altered the course of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I look back I can clearly see it. He showed me the slides and I was blown away by how the shots were so much more beautiful than the actual scene was that day. Then my sister’s boyfriend made a decision that seemed like nothing to him I am sure, but it meant so much to me. He gave me a slide of the sunset.

I can’t explain it, but I felt like I had something very valuable in my hand. I use to look at it in fascination. How could a moment in time be on this little square in my hand? How could that work? This exact moment will never happen again, but I have it in my hand. It was like I could see into the past. I don’t know why photographs printed on paper never had this same impact on me. Maybe because they were snapshots, but this was more. There was magic in this little square. I held something powerful. I held time.

Tick tock tick tock. You will never get that time back. Time truly is the most valuable resource that you have. Money and physical wealth can be replenished, but time is gone forever. Tick tock tick tock.

A woman will never be as young as she is now. As a photographer you hold that immortality in your hand. She will always be young in the image you just shot. Come back in 10 or 20 years and meet her again. She will have more experience and more years behind her. She will have a different kind of beauty, just as beautiful, but different. Now look at that image that you shot. There it is – unchanged. There SHE is – unchanged. She will be that way for as long as that film, or as long as those pixels exist. She is forever young.

Photography is something to love, but somewhere inside hold a place for a certain reverence for it. In some ways it is one of the most god-like things that a human can do, perhaps second only to creating a new life. There is nothing more powerful than that, but you do have the ability to stop time. You can make a perfect moment last forever and you have the ability to offer someone a tiny piece of immortality with a simple click of the shutter.

Shooting is getting easier and easier with the advent of digital photography and photographers get lazier and lazier as a result. Please challenge yourself to capture images worthy of the immortality you hold in your hand. That little noise that your camera makes seems insignificant, but it is a piece of eternity happening in your hand.

Tick tock tick tock. Click.

more

more

more

Lighting – Check!

Model – Check!

Location – Check!

Checklist complete? No. One of the most important parts of a photoshoot is the makeup artist, often referred to as an MUA. Without a makeup artist a shoot can still be a “good” shoot. If “good” is your goal then you might be ok without one. A fantastic shoot needs a great MUA.

A bad photographer can get lucky and shoot something good. A bad model can be made to look amazing by a makeup artist. Bad makeup can’t be overcome. A great makeup artist makes everyone look so much better. Working without a makeup artist on a critical shoot is like going to a surgeon without the anesthesiologist. The results can be pretty painful.

Many times inexperienced models won’t like what a makeup artist does. “I don’t look like me!” I want to reply with “I really don’t care. I am not trying to make you look like you. I am trying to make you look better!” A model’s job is to model the clothing, makeup and style set aside for them. In Europe models are called mannequins because they are something to hang clothes on to make the fashion look good. This may sound cold, but it truly isn’t. The model is already chosen because they are the current “ideal”. It is their job to model what is given to them in the best possible way. It is the photographer’s job to capture the image in the best light. The makeup artist is an enabler. They enable the parties to perform at peak while the shoot is happening.

It is important that a photographer supports the makeup artist on the shoot. Photographers many times are willing to back down and pander to the pretty model allowing the final result to suffer. If you are on the same page with the makeup artist before they start then it is up to the model to get on board. The model does not get get to choose the lighting. It isn’t their job. Why would it be ok for a model to choose the makeup style?

Backing the work of your makeup artist does not mean that you can’t suggest changes to the makeup. How you do this is a key. You can look at a makeup artist’s work and make constructive suggestions in a positive way. “That looks great! Let’s go darker with the lips.” Don’t say, “Those lips aren’t what I am looking for at all.”

Your makeup artist is on your team and they can be a fantastic resource as well. My favorite catalog shoot that I have ever done came as a direct result of a makeup artist’s referral. Establishing a great relationship with a makeup artist or two is very important for your business as well as for your creativity.

Not all makeup artists are good makeup artists. Even if their makeup skills are great they may be a bad makeup artist. How many times have I run into makeup artists that radically slow down a shoot because they are more interested in chatting away than completing the job? The model sits in the chair and the Jerry Springer show begins as the makeup artist and model begin complaining about boyfriends, jobs or whatever. A good makeup artist has the same goal as you – the final image. The counseling and whining can be done elsewhere. A good MUA sees a shoot a shoot as a job and not as a social opportunity. They do the shoot, clean their brushes and kit quickly and leave.

Also, sometimes makeup artist hit a stage in their career where they become too opinionated and get too involved in a shoot. Their assistance is nice, but the shoot is the photographer’s responsibility and the photographer can’t lose control of the set. If the makeup artist wants to take over a shoot they need to purchase their own camera and change careers. Everyone has a job to do. Stick to it!

One more issue is a key. If a makeup artist’s kit is not clean, appears disorganized and messy it is a poor reflection on their cleanliness in general. Who wants makeup put on by someone that is not clean? Are the brushes as nasty as their kit? “Is that pink eye shadow going to give me pink eye?”

I am very loyal to makeup artists that show loyalty. I don’t expect them to only work with me, but I expect them to show up on time and act professionally, like everyone else on set. Showing up on time and readying a studio, having the model show up on time only to have to wait on a makeup artist is not a good thing. They should be there on time, unpacked, set up and ready to go when the model arrives. How late woud you be to a regular day job? This IS a job. It can be fun, but it is a job.

If you find a makeup artist that you can truly become a team with you have a true leg up on the competition. Your work will be better because in so many ways the makeup artist is the most important person on the set. The model’s weaknesses and your weaknesses can be covered up by a quality MUA. They make over more than just the model. They can cover up the flaws of a final image.

Complete your set. Complete your shoot. Take the time to use a quality makeup artist.

more