Sweet Deviance Photography

I'm Back!!

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 05:29:00 +0000

Hi there ya'll!

Well as you might have noticed I abondoned ship for a little while. Sorry, I sustained a back injury to an already messed up back. It put me out for a few days and then just as I was making appts again and rescheduling work...BAM!

Hurricane Alex decides to come along and wash everything out. Now we got all this humidity that makes for some hot and sticky photo shoots :P and let us not forget the mosquitos!!

So I apologize in advance to any models that I will be working with in the next few wks to come. I will start to carry bug repellent with me and I will do my best to keep you comfortable.

Until then...I'm signing off to do some much needed editing and catching up.

PHOTOGRAPHERS....PREDATORSS???

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:38:00 +0000

OK... SO ITS NOT A HUGE SECRET!

I'VE WORKED WITH A GOOD SHARE OF MODELS THAT ARE VERY CAREFUL OF WHOM THEY PHOTOGRAPH WITH.

I'VE HEARD ALL KIND OF STORIES! BECUASE I AM A GIRL I MAKE MOST OF MY MODELS FEEL MORE AT EASE RIGHT OFF THE BAT...THAT AND I'M JUST FRIENDLY ;) LOL

ANYWHO... FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DO, OR HAVE HAD BAD EXPERIENCES... I ENCOURAGE THAT YOU SHARE WITH THOSE JUST STARTING OUT.

ITS HARD ENOUGH WHEN YOUR JUST STARTING OUT IN MODELING AND PERSONALLY I THINK IT WOULD SUCK TO HAVE A BAD EXPERIENCE THE 1ST TIME.

SOME MODELS DONT SAY ANYTHING...HONESTLY IT'S BAD FOR THE GOOD

PHOTOGRAPHERS AND MODELS...IT WORKS BOTH WAYS.

SO HERE'S TO MORE TRUSTING MODELS IN THE VALLEY...WE SHOULDNT BE SCARED OF WORKING WITH NEW PPL, A PHOTOSESSION SHOULD BE A FUN EXPERIENCE!

MY ADVISE.... ASK QUESTIONS!!!

SO MANY OF THE GIRLS I'VE WORKED WITH WHEN OFFERED A CHANCE TO SHOOT WITH SOMEONE KNEW ALWAYS COME BACK TO ME...

"WHAT DO I SAY OR DO?"

MY RESPONSE..."ASK!" YOU SHOULDNT BE AFRAID TO DO SO.

WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?

WHAT IS THE LOCATION?

CAN I BRING AN ESCORT?

WHO'S TAKING CARE OF HAIR, MAKEUP & WARDROBE?

THEY ARE ASKING TO WORK WITH YOU .... GREAT PHOTOS COME FROM A GREAT SESSION.

IF THEY WANT TO WORK WITH YOU THEY'LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

TO ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:07:00 +0000

- Style is a voice, not a prop or an action. If you can buy it, borrow it, download it, or steal it, it is not a style. Don’t look outward for your style; look inward.

- Know your stuff. Luck is a nice thing, but a terrifying thing to rely on. It’s like money; you only have it when you don’t need it.

- Never apologize for your own sense of beauty. Nobody can tell you what you should love. Do what you do brazenly and unapologeticall..y. You cannot build your sense of aesthetics on a concensus.

- Say no. Say it often. It may be difficult, but you owe it to yourself and your clients. Turn down jobs that don’t fit you, say no to overbooking yourself. You are no good to anyone when you’re stressed and anxious.

- Learn to say "I’m a photographer" out loud with a straight face. If you can’t say it and believe it, you can’t expect anyone else to, either.

- You cannot specialize in everything.

- You don’t have to go into business just because people tell you you should! And you don’t have to be full time and making an executive income to be successful. If you decide you want to be in business, set your limits before you begin.

- Know your style before you hang out your shingle. If you don’t, your clients will dictate your style to you. That makes you nothing more than a picture taker. Changing your style later will force you to start all over again, and that’s tough.

- Accept critique, but don’t apply it blindly. Just because someone said it does not make it so. Critiques are opinions, nothing more. Consider the advice, consider the perspective of the advice giver, consider your style and what you want to convey in your work. Implement only what makes sense to implement. That doesn’t not make you ungrateful, it makes you independent.

- Leave room for yourself to grow and evolve. It may seem like a good idea to call your business "Precious Chubby Tootsies"......but what happens when you decide you love to photograph seniors? Or boudoir?

- Remember that if your work looks like everyone else’s, there’s no reason for a client to book you instead of someone else. Unless you’re cheaper. And nobody wants to be known as "the cheaper photographer".

- Gimmicks and merchandise will come and go, but honest photography is never outdated.

- It’s easier to focus on buying that next piece of equipment than it is to accept that you should be able to create great work with what you’ve got. Buying stuff is a convenient and expensive distraction. You need a decent camera, a decent lens, and a light meter. Until you can use those tools consistently and masterfully, don’t spend another dime. Spend money on equipment ONLY when you’ve outgrown your current equipment and you’re being limited by it. There are no magic bullets.

- Learn that people photography is about people, not about photography. Great portraits are a side effect of a strong human connection.

- Never forget why you started taking pictures in the first place. Excellent technique is a great tool, but a terrible end product. The best thing your technique can do is not call attention to itself. Never let your technique upstage your subject.

- Never compare your journey with someone else’s. It’s a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey, not a competition. You will never "arrive". No one ever does.

- Embrace frustration. It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold. Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacence.

Author~Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai