This week was a busy one full of BUCK festivities (will post about those soon). It started out however with this fun shoot for a couple’s save the date card announcing their engagement. The concept came from an image the bride-to-be found on Pinterest. Their attention to detail and excellent styling is what really makes this image pop. I like the sense of movement and action their poses brings, and if course the zaniness that comes from the fact that their laying on the ground.
Discovered my first stock usage in a major ad. Not sure what the spread is on this particular banner, but being used by AT&T feels pretty good. My stock portfolio is slowly but surely growing and selling more each month. It remains a constant challenge to make time to plan shoots specifically for it in-between my client work. However, it has been a good exercise that has made me a better technical photographer and photo editor. Certainly eager to find more of my work being used in the marketplace.
Last December I decided it was time to move my photo business out of my basement. Like many freelancers, I was making due by working out of my “home office” (read: on a laptop in bed), and I certainly fell victim to the many distractions that home provides on more than one occasion.
I found a desk to lease with some fellow creatives, and moved in within a week of finding the ad on craigslist. Having a professional environment to work in certainly upped my productivity. Having to get dressed each day versus lounging in my bathrobe was a simple but important new change. If you’re still working from home and you feel it may not be the best environment for you (isolating, un-motivating, riddled with distractions), then I encourage you to explore leasing a professional creative space. Often you can find a desk, at the very minimum, for an affordable rate.
Here are some images of the first office I moved into after leaving my basement. This month I’m upgrading to a 2,400 sq. foot studio, so am kissing this place goodbye. It has been good to me.
Whew. So, you know when life keeps throwing the same theme your way? Whether it be a topic of conversation you keep bringing up yourself, or a message you hear all about you from friends, on the radio, in magazines, or in the paper, the universe seems to be telling you something, and you feel you should be paying attention? Well, that’s been happening quite a bit lately with me regarding this whole Occupy movement.
The start of it came at work, a club downtown, where there is quite the diverse community coming together: the rich club owner, the some-what rich patrons, the not-so rich patrons, the not-so rich workers at the club. I started thinking about money. How do we get it, and how do we use it? Better yet, how do we view it? Reality is slippery, and perception is key to any waking moment, THEREFORE, how do I view money now, and what important facts about money am I unaware of? What does that club owner know that I don’t?
And so started this focus on the money system in our country. Conversations with friends would diverge on it. News stories in the paper would end up on my table at the local cafe. Reports about it would pop up on the radio when I was listening, and headlines would lead with it on my homepage. I figure I have no other option than to roll with it. These are the times we live in: ’tis the time of Occupy.
As a 31 year old adult, I have a certain view of all this. I went to university to attain my BA like I was told to. I expected to get a good job upon graduation, and I got one. I started at $65,000/yr at my first job out of school, as a pharmaceutical sales rep. At the time, in 2004, they were practically giving these jobs away. They asked if I had any friends that I could refer them to. Of course, as we all know, the bottom fell out just a few years later. And now, as I work two jobs and hope to earn over $20,000 this year, I wonder: how do others view money in this time? I have stressed about it, I have worked hard for it, I have ignored it, I have been hurt by it. At this point in my life, I want to know more about it. I want to understand it.
And so I pose it to you, dear reader, to share your tale of money over the past few years. What are your beliefs about how it works in this country of ours? What are your future goals in dealing with it? Any changes in your current ideology from a few years ago? Please, do share.
“Ups and downs, strikes and gutters” — The Dude.
Ultimately, I believe in the greater system: the Universe. It’s chaos. The pendulum will swing, and swing it has. These hard times don’t surprise me, nor do they offend me. What they do is intrigue me. I want to better understand how they effect our culture, and how they influence the next swing. Thanks in advance for your story.
Best,
Darren
I love my Mom. Last week I drove to the coast to deliver some prints to a client, and got the chance to spend some time visiting her at my family home in Lincoln City. I called my mom the day before I was to arrive, and suddenly had the idea of throwing together a photo shoot. I asked her, “Do you know any young girls that would be free to shoot tomorrow? I want to do a lifestyle shoot that screams youth, freedom and fun”. My mom is such an optimist and a total go-getter; she said yes and coordinated everything in under 14 hours. I know, I’m lucky to have her. Thank you Momma for being so amazing, and being my #1 fan! Here’s the result of our spontaneous thrown-together shoot.
© Darren Utt Photography
We only had 45 minutes with the models (busy teenagers!), and I would have preferred to have shot an hour later to allow the sun to sink a bit more. It was a challenge finding angles that reduced the harsh shadows the high sun was causing, and because of the background, I only had a few positions I enjoyed shooting from. Nonetheless, I’m pretty happy with the results. BTW, this post is certainly influenced by Ben Pigao’s presentation of his summer BFF shoot, which you can find here.
My friend Megan is a hair stylist @ Pulse and needed a good head shot for her bio on their website. As it’s summer, I suggested we shoot outside rather than in the studio. Also, I wanted to grab the modern look of the Pearl District as I feel it fits with her image. We had a great time shooting for the hour and have some good options for her to choose from.
Assisting Isaac L Koval on outdoor spec commercial
I became a photographer after assisting for 6 months. I learned so much on set, and had so much fun being there, that I decided I had to make this my career. I still assist whenever I can because there is so much I can learn by being on someone else’s set and watching how they run their shoot.
Luck came my way in the beginning, as I won a 3 month internship with Quavondo. I have been assisting for him during the 7 months since. Every time I do I pick up something new. Sometimes it’s learning a new way to light something in the studio or how to pull more emotion out from a model. Other times it can be about seeing similar practices, watching him work in ways that I do, and that gives me confidence in my method.
I recently assisted Isaac Koval on a spec commercial. We spent the day shooting video of two models hiking on Cape Kiwanda. Isaac had a story board put together, and asked me to act not only as lighting grip but also as the assistant director to ensure that we stayed on track with our story. We had a successful day, and I’ll be posting the final video here soon. But the biggest thing we gained came two days later when we met up to chat about the day and discuss what went right and what to do different next time. I’ll be writing about those take-aways in a later post. They are some rules we came up with that will improve our future work and make us more efficient while shooting.
So, my advice to any new photographers out there is, “Assist, assist, assist!”. You will learn a ton, and you may even get paid to do so.
When I first started interning for Quavondo I was amazed at the amount of hours he worked. As he began to coach me in improving my photography, he always preached work ethic. I think of him now as I write this post before bed, 6 hours after I sat down to put some finishing touches on some images for a client. I am working. A lot. And for the first time in quite a while it actually feels good to be working this much. I feel like my work is improving each month, and that feels good. I am more motivated by other photographers’ work than I ever have before, and that feels good- to be inspired. I also have recently gained a clear goal of where I want to take my photography, and why. Before gaining that perspective I was pretty much shooting without purpose. What kept me going was that I enjoyed taking pictures, but it was tough not having a vision for the future and it certainly didn’t encourage me to work hard like I am now.
All these things are coming together because I am putting in the hours and working for them. And conveniently, the more I work the more motivated and energized I become by these rewards. So, my advice to all of us, not just photographers, is to work. Lol, boy that sounds dry. Work with purpose, with passion, with inspiration. It will likely be the best work you’ve done in a long while, and it will feel good.
Nothing helps me sleep better than getting things organized and off my mind before bed. I have a photo shoot planned for next week that includes two models, an assistant, and four hours of driving and naturally there is a lot of logistical planning to be done.
For my own planning, I find it helpful to make a list. My lists are more like a whole sheet of paper doodled on with thought balloons and underlines highlighting the important stuff. I also find it helpful to sleep on it, for we do a lot ‘figuring out’ in our subconscious mind while we sleep. Giving myself a few days to ruminate on a big shoot always produces more novel ideas than not. Lastly, I find it crucial to collaborate. Running ideas by someone else and engaging in brainstorms with others always does me and my project some good.
For organizing others, communication is key. The first thing I do when deciding to work with a model or crew member is get their cell number and email. Texting, calling, and emailing dates, call-times, wardrobe requirements, etc. is super helpful in preventing surprises and no-shows.
Style Sheets
This is something I picked up from Isaac Koval, who said he started doing it after Quavondo did, but I’m sure it’s nothing new. What I call a style sheet is simply a collage of images that inspire your shoot. These style sheets are super helpful to share with talent and crew to be clear what the goal of the shoot is. They hint at wardrobe choices for models who are bringing in their own clothes. It helps assistants anticipate what angles will be sought and what lighting tools will be required. It helps me as a photographer plan locations and relationships with the talent, and it is extremely helpful in keeping me focused on my end goal during the shoot. Because when things get a little rushed, or the unexpected happens (which it always will) having a clipboard with my style sheet on it helps bring my focus back to getting what I set out to get. For my upcoming shoot, I am inspired by Ty Milford‘s work and have pulled some of his images for my style sheet.
Sample style sheet I would share with talent and crew. Images © Ty Milford.
Music
Making a playlist for the upcoming shoot is so much fun! It certainly helps to have music on the day of the shoot to inspire me, the talent and the crew. But playing the music during all this planning time influences my ideas, bringing an added dose of inspiration to my creative process.
So, planning has become one of my favorite tasks as a photographer. I feel artistic throughout the planning period, and it certainly pays off on shooting day by reducing stress and mishaps.
Welcome to The BLOG! Here I will be posting photos, thoughts, tips, questions, links, etc. that help us photographers. My intent is to help other beginning photographers with info I learn. I started calling myself a professional photographer in September of 2010, and have learned quite a bit since then. This will be the new place that document those lessons and the new lessons that come. Thanks for reading/following; I hope I make it worth your time!
