The constructive THREAD

I was wondering if it was even worth it.
I was wondering the same thing, if we have to do this trouble of posting etc it can just as well be in a nice and happy atmosphere...

So in a nutshell. Dont just shoot randomly. Plan your shoot and shoot with a purpose, even if that purpose is just to experiment.

Correct. As Seagram & Mark have mentioned already, about sourcing the right people all round to work with, as well as a concept in your mind when it comes to the finished product.
Experiment as much as possible, itl only give you more experience and latitude. Just have an idea what youre doing before just shooting anyone or anything for the sake of shooting.

I was wondering the same thing, if we have to do this trouble of posting etc it can just as well be in a nice and happy atmosphere...

+1

I get mailed all the time by random people from this site and others, and always try help them with advice info etc etc... Out of all of these people, maybe three have replied with a thanks. Not surprisingly, I also know these people from the forums here.

I recently got a message here, that read verbatim like this:

Saw you posted about the portable Jinbei battery pack in the forums. How much is it, and where can I get it from

J

No hello, my name is Jack, I hope you dont mind me asking... blah blah...
Never met this person, dont even know what J stands for, and the thread in mention was 3 years ago... I didnt grace it with a fuck off & die...

/hijack

The new, Kid Rock album is AWESOME.

/positive

/work

Here's one secret from Gerry: Skin-processing takes time, and if you do the face, you have to do everything. The most difficult thing to process are hands. hands take 3 times the tme to process than the rest of the body combined. Solve the problem: let the models wear gloves.[i][/i]

Sis Gerry - and i have such pretty hands :(

Ok.....

uhm... constructive thingies for shooting....

hmmm, my opinion.....

I don't really work with anyone unless they have a good portfolio - cause what you have i will get.

I won't do TFCD if you don't have something in your portfolio that I want - and i won't pose for my hourly rate if you have something in your portfolio that can destroy mine LOL.

So Portfolio's for me first.

Make-up artists... those that know me knows i don't shoot without. No model should, and no tog should either - its a combination of all 3 that makes a good photo.

MAIN THING: PLAN PLAN PLAN.

i hate these unorganized shoots where there's always these awkward moments of silence where i think to myself WTF does this guy want (0 0)

PLAN WHAT YOU WANT!!! HAVE DIRECTION FOR YOUR SHOOT.

Yes sometimes a play session can be fun and result in a good photo. But im for planning!

Ask the photographers what they want from you - and tell them what you want from them. So also with the make-up artist. That way everyone leaves set with a colgate smile....

And its fantastic leaving a very productive shoot :) so make it your aim!!

constructive thingies for shooting....

Now there is a couple of straight shooting facts that will have many a aspirant photo grabber think twice about.

Thanks all for contributing so far. Keep it coming and all will learn from this in some way.

[quote=]Take proper makeup pics for your makeup artist, and then try and bargain with her to get a bit of discount on her fees. The better pics you produce will make everybody more excited to work with you and your makeup artist.

Take time to show the makeup artist the raw pics and explain why her makeup works or not. This will help her as well. Be prepared that she might tell you why your photography does not work. This will typically help you a lot... live and learn.[/quote]

*Thumbs Up*

Absolutely work with people whose work you love and respect. you grow with them.
Try not to get freaked out if your "planned" shoot goes pear-shaped. Relax and everyone will relax around you and then get some ideas going together. A lot of shoots, even the most well organized, go south and often if you chill you'll find you end up taking some of the most original images of your life. Always be open to other options on shoots, especially locations. Shot for the cool thread Arch.

Pay the makeup artist!!! *puts the spoon down* :-)

Communication is key. make sure everyone knows where to be and when to be there and how to get there. have a list of everyone's cellphone numbers - their email address or facebook profile will give you little joy when they are already half an hour late and you have no other way to get hold of them

and +1 on Haniki's planning. sure sometimes the spur of the moment stuff just happens and its mind blowingly awesome but my pics like that are from shoots with togs and models that i have worked with numerous times before and have complete faith in. so often i've worked with someone new and they say:
'do something awesome!!!'
'mmmm, k, but what sort of look are we going for?'
'i dont know, just do something amazing!!'
.......that doesnt work, my awesome might be very different from your awesome, have a plan or a rough idea of what you want, even just one reference pic can help

oh and +1 on showing the mua the raw pics

Oh this feels so gay... but here goes... lol

Plan your shots to a T and if you think you've planned enough plan some more... and when you are sure you've planned enough, plan some more.
Yes, shooting just for the sake of shooting is a great feeling, but the results, most of the time.. not so great.

Like Sean said, be prepared for things not to go to plan and just go with the flow, guide the process, don't go all ballistic because it's not exactly according to script.

Togs learn to accentuate shapes with light, learn to sculpt with light.

If you see a nice pic and you want to know how it was done comment on the pic and ask the tog/mua right then and there the questions you want to ask, you will be amazed how ready these artists are to share their knowledge, if you ask the right questions. Yes, some won't answer, so what, there is a lot of artist with similar work thats dying to talk to you.

Except a simple fact... everything has been shot before... but it hasn't been shot by you. It is your unique vision that some people will love and others not, it is your job to learn to shoot in such a way that more people love your work, the bigger the audience the bigger the rewards.
I used to be a waiter in Hatfield square, when guys like Pieter Smith, Theuns Jordaan, Dozi used to do the rounds, singing at the different pubs, now most of them are household names. Then they where lucky to get R500.00 a meal and a few beers for the night, now the earn a lot more.

Business advise: Split your personal income and business income ASAP. If you haven't done so already. The business has its own identity and investments, so should you have.
Look at how other fields do business. Singers has managers, your local corner shop has manager etc. Why do we as tog insists on doing everything ourselves. As soon as you can afford it appoint yourself a business manager. That person is there to market you, get your admin sorted etc. You pay that person a salary and maybe share profits. You are the talent, your job, your focus should be to do what you do best, leave the business to the people that was born and bred to do that, if you appoint the right person he/she will pay for himself.

If you have a business that carry stock, stock gets old and holds back capital. If it is 3 months old, mark it down... six months old... put it on sale. 12 months... auction it. 24 months... give it away.... for karma points.

Now before I feel totally gay and need to wear a tutu... Sorry Archi, nothing personal.... beatch!!!

nothing personal...

no problems, I think this thread is turning to the up side of positive.

OK, another point I would like to get across is the giving out of unedited high resolution pics. Its one thing when a model wants to play with the pics and do some editing herself, and its another thing when the model does not like the way YOU have edited the photo.

And its entirely another story when she takes those pics to another photographer to edit them for her.

In all the cases she will typically post them on a networking site and even tag you... and your credibility goes down the drain because those pics will typically not display your skills.

So is your "name" worth that unguarded moment?

FEED THE CREW.

Else you soon end up with a very grumpy bunch of people unable to perform at their best.

Great thread! My nugget for today...don't be scared to move around and look for different angles and perspectives when shooting.

Often you have a concept for a shot in mind. You arrive at the location, and decide on the position to shoot from. Everything is then set up based on that decision. That's your shot! BUT often you could produce a much stronger shot if you take the time to move around, not only horizontally, but vertically too if possible. You'll often find a really amazing shot by working more fluidly and not rooting yourself to one spot...

FEED THE CREW.

When there is budget for it... probably my 2nd best reason for loving commercial/bigger budget shoots (besides being paid decently) is that there is ALWAYS a budget for foood!

Oh let me not forget to mention that GQ always gives budget for food for shoots. My tummy thanks them. :)

This probably will never be read by the relevant people, but anyway...

When you apply for membership to MM.
When asked where youre from... dont type Potchefstroom, or Blikkiesfontein, or the suburb you live in. There's a glitch in the MB system, that allows these profiles to slip though the cracks, and your profile will never show up in the correct searches. Rather state the larger city or province, and this way, your profile will get indexed correctly. You can always state in your bio, the suburb youre in.

Also leave out the @ if you put your mail address in your bio, rather put [at] in its place, otherwise you will be the proud owner of a truckload of spam.