What Successful People Do On the Weekends

Mid-December paddle in the snow and ice of Hemlock Lake

Before I worked as a full-time professional photographer and opened my studio, I worked as a part-time photographer, and devoted most weeknights and many hours of the weekend on my part-time profession. My weekday hours were filled with my duties as an environmental scientist (12 yrs.) or software quality manager/engineer (12 yrs.), which were my two careers in Corporate USA.  My fellow photographers were never surprised to get e-mails from me at 2am from my home studio, then followed up by at 7:30am e-mail from my corporate job.

Digital Photo Restoration

A client that I had done portraits for two years ago came to me with a beat up photographic print of his wife's parents that they wanted restored.  It was the only print of this photograph that the family had, and it was a treasured heirloom.  They were from South America, and although the print only was estimated at 50 years old, it was hand-colored, textured, black and white print.  They wanted the retouched print to be as close to the original as possible.

The print had various amounts of surface damage, but had no major tears or missing pieces, which significantly increases the level of difficulty during restoration.  But because the print measured at least 11x14 inches, it was also too big to be scanned all in one piece, so that notched the level of difficulty right back up there.

18-Mo. Old Toddler Photos

Every once in awhile, you see a child and think, "She must have everyone she meets wrapped around her little finger."  Mattingly is one of those special children.  She's an adorable 18-mo. old little flirt who recently came in for her third visit to the studio.  

Open House - Luke Photography Studio

This past weekend was the official grand opening of the new Luke Photography studio.  While arranging for the catered food and shopping for supplies, I had visions of taking 98% of it home and eating cupcakes…delicious, alcohol-infused cupcakes…for weeks.  But we’ll get to that momentarily.  Don’t let me forget.

Over 250 postcard invitations were printed and mailed out to family, friends, existing and potential clients.  I also walked through the village near my studio and hand-delivered many more to other businesses that might benefit from cooperation with my studio.  I even lured people with the promise of out-of-this-world cupcakes made the W.C Fields way (“Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker”).  The cupcakes were delivered an hour before the opening, and after tasting one, I didn’t care if anyone came…I could have eaten all of them.  Bailey’s Irish Cream in the icing, Jameson whisky in the ganache in the middle…do I need to say any more?

Customer Waiting Area

The first guest, a former client, was the first to arrive, promptly at 1pm.  It steadily picked up until a steady throng of people were coming and going for the next three hours.  My daughter and her friend were keeping a tally of the guests, and she happily told me at the end of the afternoon that the total number of guests more than doubled what I expected.  And they came bearing gifts of wine, champagne, flowers, house plants, and duct tape.  You have to know my nickname of "MacGyver" to appreciate the duct tape gift.

Main Shooting Bay and Head Shot Booth (behind column)

Many guests commented on the nice color scheme in the studio, from the waiting area to the vintage Hollywood changing room to the Preview Room, where guests get to see their images on a 7-ft. wide screen.  It’s a nice extension of our own home, where my wife and I collaborated on the whole color scheme of our home.  Many visitors to the studio mentioned that it is such a warm and inviting space…somewhere where they would feel comfortable right away.  And they liked the fact that each person that uses the dressing room gets their name on the door.

Daylight Shooting Bay

I think this is important for people that are coming in to have their portraits taken.  It gets them to let their guard down and be themselves, which is important.  I don’t want to take a photo of what people look like…anyone can do that.  I want to take make portraits of who people are, and you can only do that if they are comfortable with who you are, and where they are.  And if they don’t feel comfortable, then I could always duct tape them to the chair. I have a new roll...

Preview Room

Larson 4x6 Softbox Modification

If any of you have used the Larson 4x6 softbox, then you know how amazing the light is coming from the front of this beast.  Throw a monstrous light source in front of anyone or anything, and you can make them look amazing.

However, if you've used this beast, you also realize how big it is to use, and how much weight it can add to the front of your studio strobe.  I've only used it a couple of times, and it's already slipped off the front of my White Lightning studio strobes.  There is alot of weight cantilevered off the front of the strobe head.  I thought to myself: "Wouldn't it be nice if I could mount the soft box...the biggest, heaviest part of the whole apparatus...right on the light stand, then mount the light to it"?  Well, now I can.

After a quick trip to my home-away-from-home...some of you refer to it as Home Depot...I came a way with a very inexpensive solution.  Everything I needed was in Aisle 8 Plumbing, the official sponsor of MacGyver Corner here at Luke Photography.

Here are the ingredients to this recipe:

•  1/2" galvanized floor flange
• 1/2" to 1/4" galvanized bushing
• 1/4' elbow
• 1/4' x 2" steel pipe nipple

You'll also need 1/4" steel machine screws, lock washers and nuts to fit the floor flange to the softbox mounting plate.

Assemble the pipe components together as tightly as possible, then lay the assembly on the softbox mounting plate (disassemble the mounting plate from the softbox first) so you can determine where to drill the holes in the mounting plate.  When the holes are drilled, mount the new apparatus to the mounting plate using the screws, lock washers and nuts.

Re-assemble the softbox and mount it on the light stand.  Then mount the studio strobe into the mounting plate as normal.  The only thing left to add is a safety strap to keep the strobe from dislodging from the mounting plate if it gets bumped too hard.

Making this modification solves two issues:

1. It brings the center of gravity of the light stand several inches closer to center of gravity of the softbox, making it more balanced.
2. It takes most of the stress off the spring-loaded mounting clips on the front of the strobe, thereby prolonging it's life. 

It also opens up the possibility of mounting any strobe....think Quantum or any hotshoe flash...in this huge softbox.  For all you Strobist fans, did you ever think you'd be able to throw a 4x6 softbox on a Nikon SB speedlight?

It only took about $7 in parts and 15 minutes...and now I can make anyone look amazing....safely.

The Birth of a Photography Studio

After 3 weeks of blood, sweat and a few tears, the new Luke Photography studio is nearing a point where it will be ready for occupation.  And unlike the Occupy “Insert City Here” movement that has fizzled out in various cities across the country, this one is here for the long haul.

The changing room has been built and is awaiting the finishing touches.  The wall along the north-facing windows has been extended, so that standard-width backgrounds can be hung from it, to take advantage of the natural light from the windows.  The floor has been installed in the shooting areas.  And most of the painting has been done.  The waiting area was finished off with a new couch and coffee table, and will be receiving new prints for the walls and some comfortable décor touches.

Next week, the changing room will be finished in a vintage Hollywood theme.  The work island in my office will be completed and stocked.  And finally, the sales room will be readied for the final touches.  Next weekend, furniture from the current studio and office will be moved in, and all the photography equipment will be following shortly after.

A new friend that I met in New Orleans sent me a congratulatory greeting card that contained a Home Depot gift card and several band aids.  The band aids have been used up, as has the gift card, which was used to help pay for the wood for the cabinets in the work isalnd.  There will a storage cubbie in my work island that will be forever known as the “Slye Spot” as a thank you to Kiera for her thoughtful gift.

As I told one of my new building neighbors: the good thing is that I can do all this renovation work.  The bad thing is….I can do all this renovation work.  Most of the heavy work has been done.  Now onto the finish carpentry, which will require fewer band aids, and a lot less sweat.  Then I can sit back and start the work that I was meant to do: create great photographs.

  

Watching Paint Dry...Nauseously

On and off for two weeks I‘ve been spending time painting several of the walls in my new studio.  Because I still have jobs to shoot and orders to fulfill, I can’t spend all my time there getting things ready.  So I pick and choose the days I can get there and try to make the most of the time that I do spend there.  Which makes me all that much crazier when I feel like I’ve wasted time.

I was planning on the walls in my waiting area reflect the nice warm, inviting, chocolately brown that is prominent in my logo and web site and is consistent with my branding.  As such, I proceeded down to the local Home Depot paint aisle and picked out a fantastic shade of paint called “Shaved Chocolate”.  Now….seeing that there was the name “chocolate” in the title of this latex-infused pigmented wonder, you’d assume that the resulting painted wall would be a reasonable facsimilie of a chocolate-like color.  I don’t know what corner of the world you are reading this from, but I have to assume if we all picked out a color that resembled chocolate, we’d all be pretty close.

As I watched the paint dry, I prayed to the God of Sherwin Williams that the color of the wall would indeed look better as it dried. Boy was I mistaken.  For what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a color that was not Shaved Chocolate.  If I had to describe it to my friends….and I did…it was Infant Diarrhea Brown.  Now, for those of you without kids…Infant Diarrhea Brown would never be mistaken for Shaved Chocolate.  No matter how late in the night the Infant Diarrhea Brown presented itself and no matter how badly you pleaded with your wife that it was ‘her turn’.

After assessing the situation, I knew that not only would my customers not like it, but it may cause many of the younger parents to rush out screaming with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  One of the great things about paint aisles in big box stores is that they will often take back custom mixed paint that didn’t quite set the buyer’s world on fire.  Over a year ago I purchased a gallon of one such paint.  It was dark brown paint that I plucked from the Shelf of Mis-Fit Paints for $5, knowing that I could use it to paint backgrounds for my studio, or somewhere else.  I precisely mixed in 14 Dixie cups full of this dark brown paint into what was left of my Infant Diarrhea Brown paint, magically transforming it into….Shaved Chocolate.

As I happily covered all evidence of the…let’s say it together…Infant Diarrhea Brown, I was pleasantly surprised at how perfect the color was.   So I watched it dry.  Just to be sure that it stayed perfect.  And it did.  And now I can move on to another area of the studio, with the knowledge that I need to stay away from colors that resemble anything you might find in a diaper or regurgitated on a bib.  That being said, I may have to rethink the choice of Split Pea Soup in the sales room.

Creating a Photography Studio

It's finally here.  Twenty-five years in the making...and I finally have my first commercial studio.  Well, not yet.  What I have now is an open office area painted a horrible dark olive green that was formerly occupied by  Country Wide Home Loans.  You know Country Wide...one of those mortgage lending companies that robo-stamped mortgages and helped ease us in the the Great Recession.  A very dubious honor for the future World Headquarters of Luke Photography.  Maybe my first call should have been to have an exorcism performed.

What the studio "does" have is potential.  There are two offices in opposite corners of the room.  The one with the windows overlooking Donnelly's Pub will be my office, natch.  In the opposite corner is an office with no windows that will work nicely as a sales room for reviewing my customer's images with them.

There will be a large area (Shooting Bay #1 in photos) that will be my main shooting area.  There will be another area (Shooting Bay #2) that will be a natural light studio, and at least two other walls that will be used as backgrounds to shoot against.

These photos are from Day 0, when I got the keys from the landlord.  Within an hour, I actually started priming the walls to get rid of that excruciatingly ugly dark olive green paint.  Within a week, the painting should be done.  Within two weeks, the furniture should be delivered.  Within three weeks, the hardwood flooring and any construction that is needed should be done.  And within four weeks, I should be shooting in the new studio.  A Grand Opening-Open House is scheduled for Saturday, April 14th.  That is, unless an exorcism is really needed.  Then I'm calling 1-800-EXORCIST, and postponing the Open House.

Western half of studio. 

Eastern half of studio.  The landlord won't be staying.

Stay tuned as more progress is made.

PPA Craftsman Degree in New Orleans

Ever wonder what a 5'10" penguin looks like?

Last week I returned from the city of New Orleans after taking in the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) national convention.  I spent four glorious days in The Big Easy with several other photographers from Upstate NY taking in the warm temperatures, friendly people, outrageous food…and some inspiring classes and awesome trade show.

The reason I was there was two-fold.  I was also there to receive the Photographic Craftsman degree.  PPA members achieve the degree of Photographic Craftsman (Cr.Photog.) through their commitment of service to the profession as an orator, author, or mentor.  By giving back to the industry, these PPA members share their knowledge and expertise with those who wish to improve their skills and stay successful in business.  For me, it was a nice end to a whirlwind of speaking engagements that started less than 2 years ago.  But the thing that I like most is that it indicates that I am an ambassador of photography.  It was also a nice occasion to put on a tuxedo and look like a 5’10” penguin.

All in all, it was a great four days, made even better by the fact that we could sit on a balcony…In January…at 7pm drinking adult beverages while it was 12 degrees here at home.  My wife was “not” happy about that.  And after four days of eating alligator, catfish, crawfish, gumbo and jumbalaya…the cold cereal I had on my first morning back was…..pitiful.

Good friend and mentor Deb Woodard also received her
Photographic Craftsman degree in New Orleans

Say Hello to My 'Lil Friend

Children's Portraits at Luke Photography

Sometimes there are singular moments that define your career.  Hopefully they are positive, not negative moments.  I experienced a moment like this this weekend during a session with 1-yr. old Michaela, who I first photographed as a newborn.  Well, that's not really true.. She was in the studio during her mother's maternity shoot, but I'm sure she had other things on her mind, what with all the packing and getting ready for the big move, which was to come three weeks later.

I've now photographed 'lil Michaela four times in her first year, and it became obvious that she had somewhat become accustomed to me.  During her most recent session she was very active, as most 1-yr olds are, once they've figured that their legs are made for walking.  Come to find out, the only time she was content to sit still was when she came over and sat on my lap when I was sitting on the floor following her every movement with the camera.  She even sat there while I gave the camera to her father, and I scooched over in front of the lights for my big moment in front of the camera with my newest 'lil friend.

I've always been good with children, and they always seem to like me, but this is the first time during a session that one of them preferred to be with me behind the camera instead of in front of it.  As I felt her little hand reach up and touch my cheek...this singular moment...made me glad I do what I do.

A Photographer Should Be In Every Photograph

Team Building at Luke Photography.
This is where I literally and figuratively put myself into my photography.

I saw a question recently that struck home with me….and I think the answer should be blatantly obvious to anyone in any creative field.

“What’s more important as a photographer… to remove yourself from the photograph, or to make the photograph about you as a photographer?”  - fashion photographer Jay McLaughlin

Beach Photography Quiz – The Lightning Round

One of my recent high school seniors, Becky from Churchville-Chili, requested that we photograph part of her session on the beach at Lake Ontario, because she likes to spend time there with her friends.  I was happy to oblige, because I don’t get many requests to shoot on the beach.  We scheduled her session for later in the day, so we could finish at the beach near sundown.

As we were driving north to the beach, I could see some nasty-looking clouds ahead.  About 5 minutes from the beach, the clouds unleashed a new challenge in the form of lightning bolts out over the lake.  Several questions popped into my head:

       1.      Does she still want to hit the beach?

       2.      How desperate am I to please this client?

       3.      How many shots can I get in before the lighting gets in a shot of its own?

“So the Man Says to the Duck…”

 

The greatest thing about having babies enrolled in my Lifetime of Memories program is that I get to photograph these children up to four times in the first year of their life.  Patrick Luke of Luke Photography, recently photographed one year old Zachary, who I’d photographed as a six-month old.  Between these two sessions, he had surgery to correct an issue with his eyes which caused double vision.  He was quiet and well-behaved during his six-month session with double vision, but he was downright giddy during his year-old session.  I’m guessing that he finally got a good look at what my face looked like…and he couldn’t stop laughing.