Back Home

Boy does it feel good to be back home here in Spokane Washington! I get to sleep next to the most beautiful lady in the world, my wife, and I get to be around one of the biggest dorks, my daughter.

I spent the last month and a half in Colorado Springs, Colorado attending the NCOA (Non Commissioned Officer Academy) learning how to be a better leader. I learned a lot from that course and I look forward to moving forward and implementing such ideas to my workplace.

Since I have been back I wanted to tell you how I went out on a whim and searched out a model to photograph. I wanted to photograph my wife, but she was busy with some prior engagements, so I put a casting call on the local Facebook page of Spokane models. The only person that responded back was the amazing woman of Keiran Renyolds. Yes! The current Miss Washington!!! I felt so honored to photograph this stunning woman and her friends that day.

To keep this quick, because I have a lot of editing to do, I wanted to share with you all some of the images that I was able to capture! I am so very proud of these images!

The Struggle was Real!! (Confessions of a portrait session that started out wrong)

For the ones that know me… that really know me, I am a person that has anxiety pretty bad. It is a real kick the butt when you are trying to reach out to individuals for portraits. Trying to get past the shakes, the raised heart rates, and the sweaty palms is always a constant battle. Who ever has anxiety in the same aspect as me, knows the struggle. There are still some out there that are worse than me and I really feel pity on them. I don’t know how they function day to day but I am sure they are on great medication to help them get by.

So I one day I asked a someone that follows me on Instagram, his name is Demorris, (if you want to follow Demorris on Instagram check him out @509breakfastclub) if he would like to get some shots in. With a quick response, his answer was yes! I was stoked to say the least! I had it all set up in my mind… downtown Spokane and doing an urban shoot. Parking garage shots, alleys… middle of roads… just wandering around Spokane and trying to capture some of the great known and unknown locations of the city.

The day of the session, we met up at Rocket Bakery and Coffee on Wall St (a must if you want a nice chill relax environment) and after some chit chat, we went right outside we walked ten feet to the alley to do a few shots. As I was setting up and just carrying on with out chit chat from the coffee house, I find that my octobox modifier wasn’t working properly. The center rod came out along with the part that slides into place to lock the umbrella item to the rod. For a half hour I was looking like a monkey trying to F a football (yeah I am kinda keeping this blog post to a PG rating) working my hardest to fix it. Inside my head I was like “OMG… OMG… OMG!!!!!” Here I am trying to make a good first impression and was talking about how I am going to give Demorris some amazing shots, and here my gear is just falling apart! The kicker is, my gear was only two months old!!!

So after the half hour or just cursing under my breath and trying to get this octobox to open up and stay open, I gave up. I told him that I would just shoot natural light. Something that I hardly ever do!! Why do I hardly ever shoot natural light? When I use a strobe (flash) the colors will pop more! The eyes will sparkle!! The model will jump out and show dimension as a 3D object. I find that most natural light photographs the model just looks “flat.” We are three dimension individuals why not try and capture it? Anyways, Demorris was working the camera like a pro. Sometimes I had to say no because he would have some of his own poses that made him look like a clown. Sticking out his tongue, doing a back turn… pretty much acting like Zoolander. Then I realized this. It was his personality. I was capturing him! When the small chit chat was done in the coffee house, he released his nerves along with mine and I realized he is a natural joking individual but then Demorris had this GQ model releasing inside him!

I struggled with the natural light at first then worked out the bugs and just started having fun with Demorris. We joked, told dirty jokes, and just learned about one another. I made a new friend.

Even when I thought that I was having my world crashing around me, I was still able to work outside my comfort zone and do something that isn’t natural to me. The struggle was there at the start of our portrait session but by the end of the session, nearly 2 hours later, I was able to walk away with some images I enjoy but most of all, Demorris LOVED! It doesn’t matter about me liking them, it is about the CLIENT!

What should you look for when looking for a Photographer?

While I have been away, I have been taking mental notes on what factors a client should look for when looking for a photographer. In the Spokane Washington area, there are tons of amazing artists that can make your visions come to life. Even if it isn’t myself to capture your portraits, these are some of the qualities and questions that you should be asking yourself and the photographer.

Do the Images match your style?

A photographer has a way they edit their images. Does that photographer’s editing style match the style that you are looking for? Is it “bright and airy” that you are looking for? Is it a “dramatic” black and white that you seek? What about the classic “soft focus” that you have dreamed about? There are many different style that catches peoples eye when going through a photographers portfolio. Find the one that works for you and your session.

Price

Ohhhhh…. the dreaded topic. I have been raised with the belief that “you get what you pay for.” I am not going to try and sway to or away a certain price range. I also don’t want to see a potential client put a second or third mortgage on their house just to afford a photographer. All I can say is sit down and crunch numbers and find a photographer in your budget. If you happened to find a photographer that you love their images, but out of your price range, try and talk to them and see if they would be willing to work within your budget. Whats the worst that can happen? They would just say no.

Personality

Food for thought, you the client, should go through an interview process with the photographer before you commit to a session. Why? During an interview, you can feel out the photographer to see if they give you the “creeper vibe.” Plus, it is a way to get to know your photographer to see if they are able to crack a joke to get that genuine smile or is that individual going to the classic “say cheese!” and get a half hearted smile. I have known some photographers that don’t even know their clients name and then they proceed to say “dad, now stand there.” We have names! A client shouldn’t feel disconnected from their photographer. Yes, the client would have to break away from a comfort zone by hiding behind Facebook, e-mail, or the phone…. but trust me…. it will be worth it. Not only are you getting to talk the session over but it is a way for the two of you feel each other out to see if the pairing would be a good match to capture your session.

I am sure there are more questions or characteristics that a potential client has in their mind. I am just hoping that just these 3 topics help guide you to a photographer that fits your needs.

The Power of Prints

This weekend I stopped and gave a reflection of the military members that have passed while in service of this great country of ours. Yes, we have reached multiple crossroads, and multiple issues that have divided our country from the start of our great nation of siding with the United Kingdom, or should we fight and forge a new nation. The division of a nation during the civil war. The battle of right and wrong of WWI and WWII. To stop the oppression of human rights along with the stopping of the ideology of in the Korean War. Vietnam, Panama, Persian Gulf, Iraq, The War on Terror, and whatever may come in the future. We will lose members of our great nation in order to defend our borders, and its interests. I stop and think about how much of a sacrifice that the Gold Star mothers feel knowing that the last remaining moments that they might have had with a son or daughter was in either of good or bad times. They have a photo album to see the growth and development of that child for the future.

My great grandfather was born in 1898 and passed away in 2001. Imagine the life that he had! He saw flight, the motorized carriage (car), world wars, man on the moon, presidents, nations created and destroyed and the growth of our own nation! I remember as a kid sitting around how he would talk about the Sit down Strike of Flint Michigan. Where the state of Michigan set up the national guard with machine guns on hilltops to get ready to mow down the people that were on strike. How he would talk about when he met my great grandmother at the town pump (water pump) and talked to her because "she showed her ankles, and she had nice ankles." My great grandmother saying that one of her greatest accomplishments was when she graduated from High School back in the late 1980s. My great grandfather was so happy of her! I remember hearing the stories of how when the high school called out her name, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, stood and clapped their hands for her!

I think of my grandfather, my dads dad, who passed away when my dad was 7 a few days after Christmas. Who took part in the battle of Guam with the U.S. Navy Seabees. I hear stories but the only thing that remains of him are the physical prints. Seeing my grandparents young, along with my grandfather who I never met. I wonder what he would be like, and I wonder how life would have been if he would have survived the construction accident.

Either way its the power of print that I am thankful for. Being able to sit around my great grandparents, my grandma, and my grandma and grandpa on my moms side and look at pictures. I remember so many things when I flip through pages. It is an amazing power of PRINT! Emotions flood the mind and body. Can a digital do that? Can a digital bring families together? Can a digital be on display when the need comes around? No, only a print can!

Please enjoy and stop and think about what the power of a print can bring about. Please stop and think about what some of these families have lost and what they only have left of their loved ones. The pictures on their walls, the pictures in an album, the pictures that have lasted since the civil war. All in all the power of print!

Are you willing to save a few bucks for just digitals, or are you willing to invest in your family for quality portraits that will last a lifetime?