When I am shooting a  fashion assignment I am disciplined to the point where I only shoot the amount of images I feel I need to capture my vision or the client’s vision.  There is absolutely no reason to shoot until you fill a card, which these days could mean 400 or more images per card.  I’ve heard of some photographers who will shoot a thousand images for a portfolio shoot!  That is pathetic!  You know what that translates to?  A VERY insecure photographer who has no idea what he or she is doing and has no vision.   The photographer doesn’t have a plan, can’t see his vision unless he shoots it.  Doesn’t know his technical skills or communication skills.  It could be any of these or all of them that is causing this long drawn out shoot as a result from over shooting.

      I used to work in the movie industry behind the camera.  On episodes where we had an inexperienced director we knew the days were going to go in to overtime which was good in a way because more often than not we would go into triple over time……..big paychecks.  But for the production company that meant over budget and the main reason was because the director would over shoot by thousands and thousands of feet of film, which also led to the obvious major over time for the crew !  It’s no different for a still photo shoot.

      Many photographers are shocked when I tell them the size of my CF card I use most often is 2 GB.  That’s because with my 5DMark 2 shooting at 100ISO I get about 72 – 76 frames which gives me two different clothing changes.   When I was shooting 35mm film we got 36 frames per roll. At the end of that roll you had to reload.  Now let me also say that if I am shooting an editorial or an ad campaign I use the same small cards and also have much larger ones on hand just in case the client wants to see more.

      For this post I will use a portfolio shoot as the main example.  So a model would come to me and back then we charged per roll.  And one roll equaled one look.  After the first look / 36 frames we moved to the second look and so on.  If you as a photographer couldn’t capture that great one shot the model needed in 36 frames you had to use another roll at your own expense!  You couldn’t tell the model she had to pay extra because she was paying per roll and it was just expected that you got the shot after one roll.  Everyone worked that way.  All photographers worked this way.  If she bought a 3-roll shoot that meant we shot 3 looks and no more.  If at the end she wanted an extra look she had to pay my fee for an extra roll.  It was that simple!  So someone please tell me why it should be any different now that we are shooting digital.  Just because we have the technology to shoot a thousand frames for a portfolio shoot does not mean we should. Who wants to sit at the computer all day and night editing out the bad shots? I sure don’t. My place is behind the camera, NOT in front of a computer. Sure there are certain little things I need to do in the computer, however, I wanna be shooting more of the time than sitting at the computer.

      I personally feel that many many many photographers of this new generation have not only lost discipline, they haven’t even learned it!   If the shot doesn’t look right then don’t hit the shutter button!  Simple!   If the model isn’t giving you what you want, then you stop, pull her aside and have a short heart to heart just like a catcher does with his pitcher in a baseball game.  The catcher doesn’t let his pitcher just keep throwing pitch after pitch with the same or worse results.  Do you see the comparison?  You don’t just keep shooting and hoping for the model to read your mind as she gets more tired and frustrated.  You use your people skills that you are supposed to possess and constantly fine tune just as you are constantly fine-tuning your photography skills.

      By the way this is also good practice for when you do shoot that ad campaign and HOPEFULLY the client, art director, creative director are not all sitting around getting bored, frustrated and wishing they hadn’t hired you because they’ve realized that each image they saw in your portfolio came about from shoots like this where you had to shoot thousands of images to get a few usable ones!   Portfolio shoots and creative tests are great for training your eye and fine tuning your skills for that day when you do get that big ad campaign and you run your set like a five star general with confidence pouring out of your ears and you are directing your model or models and shooting efficiently, shooting only the amount of images you need because you KNOW when you have gotten that shot you need to satisfy your client.

      I had a model friend who told me that for a large ad campaign he was shot by Horst P Horst.  All the lighting was done, set dressing, make up etc.  it was time to shoot.  The model gets on his mark, strikes a pose, Horst shoots two frames and says  “That’s a wrap!”    And everyone started to wrap as usual thinking nothing more.  That’s because Horst was confident, the client knew it and trusted him.  If Horst says he got it, then he got it.  In the end no one knows how many or how few shots it took to get that campaign shot.  In the end what matters is if you kept your shoot on budget, didn’t stress the model, pleased the client and have a fun relaxed shoot.  This can only happen when you are a disciplined photographer, who does not over shoot, spray and pray and lose control.

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I’ve decided to create a photographic gear review from someone who actually uses the gear.  One thing I don’t like about reading reviews on other sites is that they use the piece of gear for a few days and that’s it.  Well I want to read hands on reviews from a photographer who has been using the camera, flash, light etc. for longer than just a few days.

So recently I purchased the Canon 5DMarkII.  Now, I should mention that I HATE buying new gear.  I don’t look at new gear as a toy or something that I can have fun with.  A camera, light whatever is just a tool to capture what I really love which is fashion.  But because of digital I gotta keep up with the technology and that gets expensive.

The Canon 5DMarkII is a GREAT camera !   The 21 mega pixels is more than enough to shoot anything you need to shoot.   The full frame sensor is totally needed to capture the highlights and shadows, more bit depth, and the camera has the new Digic 4 processor which is FAST !   Use a UDMA CF card and you will not only be able to shoot multiple frames faster but also the images will download to the computer at lightning speeds.   Ok so you already know the technical details.  How does it perform on a job ?  The image below was taken right from the camera.  No post done at all.

I have to admit that coming from a Canon 1DS which is an old camera but still a workhorse that delivers amazing photos, was something I was very apprehensive about making the switch.  What I LOVE  about the 5D2 is that even with the battery grip it is still much lighter than any of the 1DS cameras.  I’m 40 years old now and not a kid anymore so holding a really heavy camera all day is something that my muscles just don’t like lol.

The focus issues I have been hearing about are non existent with this camera.  I haven’t had any problems.  Every shot is tack sharp.  But remember, YOU MUST USE CANON LENSES.  The electronics talk to each other much better than off brand lenses.  The only problem it does have is when I am shooting a model back lit with flair and not much contrast, it does have trouble locking focus.  But what I do is use the center AF point and I am fine.  I want to say to Canon that they should have put cross hair focus marks on all 9 AF points and not just the center AF point. I mean come on, the 50 D has cross hair focusing on all of it’s 9 AF points and it’s a less expensive camera !  What were you thinking Canon ?  But remember, when I first started shooting there was no auto focus and you had one focus prism in the center and you had to line up the two lines to get your focus so I will stop complaining lol.  When I am shooting in a normal situation with no back light and nice contrast, all 9 focus points work perfect.

I like the way the buttons are all laid out, easy to get to without having to look away from the viewfinder.  I can change my focus point with my right thumb.  One thing I must say I don’t like is that the dial on the left that changes your different shooting modes should have a lock.  I notice at times I’m on auto, or portrait etc. when I should be on manual.

The LCD screen is awesome and very accurate. The menus are easy to navigate and very self explanatory.  I like the way it feels in my hand WITH the battery grip.  Without the grip I must admit the camera feels small but then again, I shot just as great photos with my Canon AE-1 which is MUCH smaller than this camera.   We’ve all gotten spoiled.

The camera is very solid and I don’t have to worry about knocking it around a bit.  The material on the body makes it easy to hold and handle.  I actually only use the one battery that came with it and I get through  a whole 10 hour shoot day without having to recharge it.

The quality of the images of course is AMAZING.  With the new full frame sensor and 21 mega pixels you can make a friggin billboard.   The color tones are very accurate and even the white balance is accurate.  I ALWAYS shoot  a color card but never seem to need it.  The camera does everything but wipe your …………… well you know  lol.

Would I recommend the Canon 5DMark II ?  You bet your ass I would.   You can’t go wrong.

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So I finally got some images back from Shawn Johnson.  I photographed her line of gymnast’s clothing for a catalog.  We shot on a white background.  That day I only had four hours with her and that included make up and hair !

She was still on Dancing With the Stars so her time was very limited.  So this is one of the photos from the catalog.

Shawn Johnson Gold Medalist

Shawn was a joy to work with and very professional.  We all had a blast and it was also the shortest shoot I have ever done lol.

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Photographers of all types listen up !  It is time to STOP hoarding all your “secret” information and START to share it !  I am very upset and disappointed in many photographers today because they think they are Gods gift to photography and that the technique and information they have is exclusive to them only.  They think that they are the ones who invented the god dam light bulb and I am TIRED AND FED UP with that kind of thinking.  There is nothing out there that hasn’t been done. The difference is how each photographer adds his or her twist on the concept.  I could light the shot, shoot 10 frames, then you shoot 10 frames and our images will be totally different.

I bring this up because I can’t tell you how many times guys call me or email me asking for advice and I can hear the apprehension in their voice as they must sit there quivering with fright whether or not I am going to be a total dick and bite their head off.   Then when I begin to speak and give them every ounce of energy and information I have they loosen up so much you would think we are best friends.  Then they tell me how many other shooters they have called and all they get are answers like “learn it yourself” or “I’m not your mother” or literally the photographer will just hang up on them !

So the other day a very nice gentleman named Kevin  emailed me with some questions about contracts and business essentials. I emailed him back & told him to call me because there is sooooo much information that I would be sitting at the computer for days.  So anyway he calls me the next day and talked about many things.  I told him how important it is to have a contract, deposit etc.  He asked if I would email him one of my contracts and you know what ? I emailed it to him right away.  He was so happy and thankful.  And I was happy as well  because hopefully it will bring his business standards up to par with mine and my colleagues and the next time I get a call for a project the client will know what to expect.

For example, usage rights, terms, day rates etc. I am embarrassed that MOST of the new guys don’t know to charge for usage and they don’t even bother to find out !!!!

When I started in this business the internet didn’t even exist and I found out all I needed to know WITHOUT even going to school.  Now  that we have the internet please give me ONE reason why ANYONE cannot find out what they need to know about photography or anything for that matter.

So now that Kevin has information about how to write up a contract and how to charge usage fees and day rates do you think that I will be put out of business ?  Hell no !

This bullshit of everyone being so closed minded and protective of  any info like locations, rates, technique etc. is THE reason there will never be a photographers union.  Think about it people.  In the movie industry there are unions and they are a good thing.  Christ there are location resource books and prop resource books and even technique books that DP’s share with each other and there has never been a problem.

So I am here to get tough with you all and say… grab your balls, DROP your egos, study, learn, research, share your talent and make friends.  In the long run you will be better off because you WILL make the rates you are supposed to make like I make and my colleagues make.  But if you keep this behavior up you are only f * * king it up for yourselves for the future because you will never know what it feels like to make VERY good money and be paid very well for what you are good at.

Now go ahead and hit me with all ya got !  I’m ready to take it on !  lol

jerry avenaim and jason christopher fashion photographers

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I just received the photos from my retoucher of my new beauty shoot. These by far are the most eccentric, out there kind of shots I have ever done in the beauty category. I felt I needed to break the mold of what I usually do. Sometimes it is easy to just keep shooting what you are used to and what is “safe.” So every once in a while I like to just “create” freely.

So for this editorial I used two light sources. My key light was a medium size strip bank placed below the model about stomach high aimed up at her face. My fill was a medium soft box placed above her head about 2 feet above. There is a slight ratio but not much. I wanted it to look eccentric and not traditional. The model was placed about 10 feet from the background as I wanted the background to go black. Other than that, there is nothing else to the shot.

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Tags: beauty lighting, beauty make up, fill light, images, key light, light sources, medium size, model, retoucher

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