Stu Stu Studio

Did I mention I have a studio?

Yep. In Fullerton.  It's become sort of a photographer's co-op, with people at all levels learning and sharing and growing.  It's freaking exciting.

So I met up with some others there last night to learn about studio lighting (since I have never touched a studio light in my life!) and got some quick shots.

The whole studio environment is so new to me, but I do have some quick thoughts about it I wanted to share.

It's all about composition and lighting.  Like, ALL about composition and lighting. Because the background is gone, the focus is squarely on your subject.  This freaked me out a little bit.  I generally like to incorporate the environment and have subjects interact with their surroundings.  So, having no surroundings threw me off.

The lighting.  Dear God.  This shit is even more technical than I had thought. I swear to God, there was a point where Marcus metered in nine different places for one shot.  WTF. Nine places.  One shot.

So, yeah.

I come from a place where I like to just have my subjects play and relax and be themselves, and here, in this new place, it seems I'm going to have to plan.  Hmmmmm.  It's a little addicting, having complete control, however.  Being able to move lighting, change lighting, move backgrounds.. I can see why photogs enjoy that part of it.  Control freaks, pssssshhhh.

Anyway, I'm so new to this, but I am pretty proud of some things I got last night.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Pluggin away.

Ordered the Ringflash, got a bajillion new business cards in three different styles, got the promotion postcards for the Te Ao Maohi event on July 10th, meeting Joelle and others at the Fullerton studio tonight for some lighting discussions, prepping for Sunday's OC Shoot This event....

Lots going on backstage in the Intuitive Workshop.

Stay tuned.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Real talk.

Listen.  There is bad photography.  There are bad photographers.  There are photographers with incredible technical skills and no people skills.  There are photographers with wonderful people skills who couldn't compose a shot with the rule of thirds printed out from wikipedia.  People have different skills, for sure.  But by FAR, the most important skill a photographer can have is self awareness.  To have the intuition to know yourself, and adjust your actions and you words accordingly.  If you think you're amazing, and you just plain aren't, well then that's a problem.  For you.  If you think you're terrible, but are actually quite good, that's also a problem, from a business sense. The same principle applies to business sense, by the way.  You cannot expect to run a business and act and speak as an amateur.  If you want to charge people money, you can't whine and complain about something your kids are doing to your PAYING CLIENTS while expecting them to take you seriously.  You can't do eight different things half-assed then wonder why none of them are successful.  If you are completely unaware, and have no sense about your own abilities, you will fail.  No question.

How do you obtain self awareness? Through a combination of humility, intelligent discussion, and being open. If you are incapable of any one of these things, your process will be stunted.  As will your artistic growth.

One of my biggest pet peeves with the portrait industry right now is copycats.  Everything looks the same.  And I think it's a symptom of lack of self awareness, on many levels.  For one, there are master photographers out there with a specific style and voice who are open and willing to share their knowledge and skill with those who want to learn.  This is a wonderful thing.  And the freeflow of knowledge is an important and vital thing in a creative industry.  The flaw, however, is that so many photographers are not aware of their own ability, and even more tragic, their own voice and point of view.  So they take classes, pay for seminars, read books, blogs, beg other professionals for tips and tricks.  When what they are really seeking is an actual voice.  Because they have none.  Nothing identifiable as their own. You wanna waste your money and your time and your effort trying to be a watered down version of someone else?  Go for it.  But don't expect anything in return.  Certainly not my respect.  Certainly not the label of "artist" or "professional".  There is a massive difference between inspiration and just plain copying.  And it's apparent.

Every day I get closer to finding my own voice, my own perspective.  But I can, at the very least, say that I am always myself.  I have never once, not ever, seen something incredible and tried to copy it.  (Oh, how do you do that? I wanna do that!)  Never once asked someone how to do something so I could try to do the same.  I am aware of my own abilities, my own point of view. And for that, I am proud.  

Journaling.

I'm just going to take a second here in the midst of editing 7 photoshoots to talk about something.  Generally, in photography, I prefer to be documenting something.  My preference is to be able to choose my subjects, my timing, my everything.  To create something that is all from me.  But in photography as a business, large parts of that equation are removed.  I don't get to choose my subjects, they choose me.  I don't always get to choose my location.  I don't get to choose what they wear or how they look when they get there.  And that can be frustrating, to a point.  But somehow, over the last year, I've discovered that I'm okay with it.  Here's why.  Family photography and portraits are just a different kind of documentary. When done correctly, they tell a story.  They reveal who this family is, how they interact with each other, what their lives are like.  And I've realized (somewhat in context with my own family) that the honesty in that is sometimes more important than setting up a shot.  It all goes back to the integrity of the image.  And it's why I have a really difficult time accepting props and external... junk in a photo.  Because it's not a documentation of who these people are. 

Saturday at the beach was an affirmation of this.  Families came and went, each with their own dynamic and spirit.  And, as I am spending these few days editing their photos, I'm seeing how personally specific they all are.  It's such an interesting balance of a photographer's style and the subject's spirit.  Sometimes people get it wrong.  Style can't overwhelm the spirit, or you end up with something that's not genuine.  And that personal, honest journalistic quality is something that's so important when photographing families. 

In two weeks, I will be photographing a family who has never lived together until now.  When their child was a few weeks old, the dad was deployed to active duty. It's been three years.  Their son is now three, and his dad finally came home, and they are now getting acquainted for the first time.  My photos of them will be the first photos they will have as a family.  I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.  But, years from now, when their son is grown, and he looks back at my photos, what will he remember?  What will come to mind about how he built his relationship with his father?  Those are all things I keep in mind when documenting families. And all reasons why I've changed my perspective on portraits in general.

Vision.

The thing about vision is, you don't know if you don't have it.

By vision, of course, I mean an actual creative aesthetic, a premeditated purpose and intent with what you are creating. (Not just how your eyes see)

The same is true about style (see my previous post).

If you don't know you don't have something, it would make perfect sense that you believe you are operating under full capacity.  You plug along, playing with your little toys, thinking, "Oh, isn't that cute?", "Oh, I like the smile in this one."  All the while, never realizing that you are creating something with no emotion, no impact.  Sure, you can say you are, but then again, you don't have the vision, so your opinion is not fully informed.

 You can't learn vision.  You can't buy vision.  Vision isn't a Photoshop plug-in. 

Vision is having an understanding of who someone is, their tastes, how they see the world, and being able to create something in line with that.  True photos are not one size fits all. 

That's why I just can't believe how some people can buy all kinds of exterior crap, massive setups, fake backgrounds, silly props, etc. etc. etc. I'm not saying SOME of those things can't be an enhancement, at times.  What I'm saying is, that everything in a photo should speak to the purpose of the photo.  If you put a pair of bunny ears on a kid and tell them to hold a giant easter egg, what does that say about the child?  Absolutely nothing.  It says that you told them to put on a pair of bunny ears and hold a giant easter egg. And that's it.

But being with a new mother in her home, seeing how motherhood is changing her, understanding her view on the child that is in front of me, THAT informs a photo. Trying to create a photo that captures the intimacy and wonder of an ultrasound, and being successful. THAT is what I remember about good photos.  The feeling they exude.

As I mentioned before, I want to be a witness.  One of the things I love about photography is it's ability to capture.  And, if all you're capturing is something fake and forced, then what a waste of this art. 

I hope to always, ALWAYS be a witness to this artform rather than an outsider.

Style and taste

Recently, I've been thinking alot about style.  As in, one's style of photography, one's style of interacting with people, one's own personal style.

Style and taste are not mutually inclusive.  They are tangents of each other.  You may have bad taste, but a style specific to you. 

Anyhow, I suppose I'm in the process of defining my own personal photographic style.  It's not about being pretentious, or condascending.  It's about a definition, and understanding that yes, there is such a thing as bad photography.

I can't say exactly what my style is, yet. 

But here's the thing. 

If you like the photos you can get at the mall, my style is not for you.

If you think a muslin backdrop is pretty, my style is not for you.

If you want photos of your kids holding props and wearing funny hats while someone shakes a rattle, my style is definitely not for you.


So, with that, I will try to explain what I am about. 

I want to be a witness.

I don't want to be the cause of an action in a photograph, I want to be a testament to that action's existence.

It's a struggle, to be sure, because it's so easy to want to control everything and force a photo.  But that's not what I feel makes a good photo. Definitely not what makes a great photo. 

So, if my style makes sense to you, then cool.  Let's go.

If not, have fun at the mall.  Pick me up a Cinnabon.