Several months ago I photographed a few paintings for reproduction. Eventually the topic of signing artwork came up and I told her how a lot of photographer’s sign the mount board and not the actual print. She suddenly shrieked, “that’s crazy! A painter would never do that.” The horrified tone of her voice stuck with [...]
Sep 012011
Aug 132011
In many ways, asking aspiring photographers to not photograph a person naked is a lot like asking a teenager to abstain from sex. The desire, anticipation and just plain naughtiness of the act compel photographers to pursue it with reckless abandon. If you are taking nude photos just to be cheeky, then I suppose nothing [...]
Jul 292011
I’ve been asked repeatedly to release a book for The New Candid Nude project. Long story short, I couldn’t see eye to eye with a few smaller publishers and I’m not famous enough to entice a bigger publisher. I tried Blurb in early 2010, one of the few nude friendly Print On Demand (POD) photo [...]
May 222011
This past month, I finally put together an portfolio to interest galleries in displaying my photography. I carried my artwork around the Greater Philadelphia area, visiting frame shops. I thought I’d try something non-traditional first but ended up going with standard Nielson Bainbridge archival gallery frames. Anyway, when you spend a days running around a [...]
May 022011
I recently bought a 9×24 Larson Soft Strip (a strip soft box) and thought this would be a good opportunity to show you the assembly. For those of you who do not know, Larson is a light modifier company. They inhabited many studios through the 70′s and 80′s before companies like Chimera came along and [...]
Mar 282011
Business cards should deliver basic information about you and your service. People in creative industries, will get clever with their business cards. In fact, there are many blog entries with top 10 lists showcasing cards that will make you smile and say “wow”. Despite the initial reaction, most of these cards are FAILURES. Remember, business [...]
Mar 072011
You are an artist, not a business person, right? Well, that’s partially the reason why even experienced artists have a difficult time pricing their art. Unfortunately, the moment you decide to sell your artwork, you became a business person too. The economic reality is if someone isn’t selling your artwork for you, then you have [...]
Feb 152011
Accidents happen! Your gear will get stolen, broken from mishandling or die from mechanical failure. Insurance is definitely mandatory for any working photographer and for some reason I can’t understand why many entering the business are opposed to buying it. If you are dead set against insurance for any reason, then you might as well [...]
Jan 202011
The coolest word in photography must be f/stop. It’s exotic to look at with that funky slash between the letter and word. Also what’s an ‘f’? And is the f doing the stopping or is the f being stopped? The word even sounds sexually suggestive to some people. For the photographically untrained, it exudes the [...]
Jan 132011
Commercial photography pays. Art doesn’t. The two aren’t always mutually exclusive, but generally it true. That’s why most parents push their kids to be doctors, lawyers, engineers and pretty much anything else that isn’t a ballet dancer, painter or novelist. They fear for your future livelihood and I can’t blame them. Regardless of how good [...]
