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.

Photo Chosen in Top 10 of Project 9.11

On September 11, 2011, I was one of more than 40 photographers that took part in Project 9.11, sponsored by the Professional Photographers of NY State (PPSNYS).  The project was merely to capture a day in the life of people on the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.

One of the photos I took and submitted was chosen in the Top 10 of the more than 400 photographs that were submitted.  The photo shows the detail of mourning bands on the badges of several officers lined up in formation.  It was taken at a memorial service held by the City of Rochester to honor all the first responders....police officers, fire fighters and emergency medical technicians....that lost their lives rushing towards the disaster as everyone else was running away.

The Top 10 photographs are shown on the PPSNYS website, and are all truly works of art.

A winner will be selected among the Top 10 and will be announced at the Photo Northeast Convention in Woodcliff Lake, NY in March 2012.

The other photos I submitted for the project are shown below.

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

See the Light, Not the Camera

I just saw a really great quote about photography, and it really resonated with me, especially after the last session I just shot:

Beginning photographers think about cameras.
Intermediate photographers think about composition.
Advanced photographers think about light. 

The photography industry has been bombarded with new photographers in the last 5 or so years, now that digital cameras have come down in price, and produce such high quality results.  Now stop right there if you think this article is going to lambaste all those new photographers.  Let's get beyond that.

1-on-1 Training

I received an e-mail over a month ago from a photographer that attended an all-day seminar I gave during the May 2011 Super Monday program I put on sponsored by the PPA.  She enjoyed the class, and really wanted to get a little more education under her belt.  She was getting nowhere with other photographers in her area, so she wondered, if she drove the 2.5 hours to my studio, would I give her an all-day, 1-on-1 training.

The DoubleTree Hotel Knows Customer Service

I was in the middle leg of a three-part trip that took me from my home in Rochester to NYC for the day, then an evening flight to Chicago, where I was to meet a client the next day.

I had to wake at 4am to catch a 6am flight to LaGuardia.  I ate two bagels when I landed.  Breakfast accomplished.  I worked all day...skipping lunch...at a client's location, then proceeded on to what is normally a half-hour drive to the airport to catch my flight to Chicago.  After two hours in traffic, I got to the airport, ran through security, ran through the terminal, ran to my gate and was the last one to board the flight.  The plane pushed away from the gate at 7pm, and we didn't take off until 8pm.  For dinner, I had a wonderful can of ginger ale as I sat cramped in my seat, elbow-to-elbow with my seatmates, with my underwear giving me a screaming wedgie.

Free Generic Photos on Your Website Cost More Than You Think

Sure...using free or low-cost stock generic images on your web site can be quite a cost effective means of adding content to your website,  but like the old adage says, "You get what you pay for".

The New York Times published a recent study by Jakob Nielsen, a web site consultant and author of several books about web design and user interface.  The research showed that most people that browse web sites ignore royalty-free or generic images that were purchased from stock agencies.  Not only that, but the images only added clutter to the page and didn’t necessarily help from a business standpoint.

Just a Pinch of Light - DIY Grid Snoots

Chefs who cook without recipes go on instinct, knowing when to add a pinch of ‘this’, or a pinch of ‘that’.  If a newbie cook were learning from them, they’d ask: “how much is a pinch”?  Almost always, the answer would be: “it’s just the right amount, and you’ll know if it is too much.  Like the kid who gets his pudgy cheeks pinched by his scary Aunt Betty, too much is too much.

Photographers cook with light.  As you get better and better at it, you start realizing when and where you need a pinch of light to set your image apart from everything else out there.  Often, an umbrella or soft box over your light source will add too much light.  Like the kid with the pinched cheeks, you’ll get all irritated and run screaming into the other room.