The “my heart races because I am so freaking inspired” PHOTO CHALLENGE

Hi Guys! I know, I know, I saw that our last post was in May and I was like “oh freaking crap” where did the time go!?! Well, if I am honest it went so fast because we were busy. Or, well, having an awesome time. Kimee is a newlywed so I think we all know what she has been up to (tee hee) and I am just kinda loving the freedom that I have these days. We have spent so many years pressed to the grind getting this business exactly where we want it and…. well…. IT IS EXACTLY WHERE WE WANT IT! (Thank you Team Diva, you guys are the shiz) And thank you Lord! Seriously. Thank you because it is by your grace that you have made this possible.

I mean don’t get me wrong, we work. We work a fair amount. But only because we LOVE what we do. And not because we are trying to push this heavy ball (albeit for a time, we were in love with that ball in certain ways) up a hill. We have a well-thought-out BUSINESS MODEL, probably the best team here at the studio anyone could dream of, and we get still get to shoot clients and also play with photography in the capacity that every artist aspires to. If you come to our workshops or speaking events you’ve probably heard us talk about so-called “artistic freedom” quite a bit. But really it’s as simple as this… doing a photo shoot concept that you have visualized simply because for the love of art. Yes, YOU are an ARTIST! And let me tell you what; when you do this, your heart will race while you click that shutter because instead of taking some existing reality or a client’s expectations and trying to mold them into something that’s killer (which is good), you actually get to take your visualized brain child and run with it, have control of it, have fun with it, and showcase it (which is guuuuuh-reat!).  This is something we’ve told our past workshop attendees to do for years, and now we’re telling all of you – our blog readers – about it.  It’s so amazing.

With our editorial shoots, it’s not about extravagance all the time. It’s mostly about vision, strategy, and control. So yes we have done shoots with hot air balloons and beds hoisted above four guys’ heads who are donning  penguin tuxes and top hats. And yes we have lugged a water-logged bed through the ocean pretending to be pirates.  But with those instances, we honestly may have spent way more time people- and prop-managing then having the full control and getting exactly what we want. There is a time and a place for extravagance (and maybe for your health’s sake once every other year). With that said, we have done this quite a few times. And I have learned a bit in those shoots. Some good, some, well, not. Since we love to do “Top Ten” countdowns (mainly ‘cuz I will lose focus otherwise lol), in our opinion this is what has worked for us in terms of capturing a more epic photo shoot, take it or leave it ;p …

10. An actress that inspires. Hire a model or a past client that can move. She has to have that look in their eye that makes you smile the whole time you’re behind your lens. Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE shooting REAL women. We shoot over 600 real, normal (non-modely) women every year. But when we do our big concept or editorial shoots we usually use either a pro model, or a friend/past client who we know can work it. We really want someone that is comfortable and needs just a little instruction. Someone who can act as our muse. If you know of someone who can make their eyes sparkle on command, well that is who should be in front of your lens for your editorial photo shoot.

9. Go nuts on the inspiration. Collect your ideas, start an inspiration board, and go all crazy with your dreaming and planning. Then once your brain is stimulated and all its crazy circuits are firing off, chuck the ideas you have collected. Don’t look at them at all and then close your eyes and just dream. What did you love when you were little? Who is your fave fictional character? What scenery are you in love with? What is sexy to you? What grabs your attention? Sketch the ideas (even if it’s crappy stick figures), do a brain dump, draw a ven diagram, do whatever you need to express your thoughts and vision and get it on paper in front of you.

8. Create a color palette that turns you on. Sometimes it’s not about scenery. Sometimes it’s as simple as the color wheel. Pull out your kiddo’s crayola markers and see what colors you like paired together. Then plan her outfit, make-up and scene (even if it’s simple) accordingly. What colors look wrong together? Is it because they are wrong that they really just look so, so right?

7. Put it on the calendar.  After you read this post, let’s say you think, “sheesh Louish I think I want to do this.” Go immediately to your calendar, and find a day for a few hours to plan the session. The inspiration, the model, the location, the MUA. Maybe you don’t have a few hours because you have a newborn, or you are like Kimee and you have a new husband who wants to cook you dinner & make you sushi every night… well, then go to your calendar and schedule just 25 mins for the inspiration brainstorm – on 3 different days. No excuses man. Just MSH: make shiz happen. Then also add your epic photo shoot date itself to the calendar.  As we always say, if you don’t schedule time to actually take these steps of action… then how is it going to happen?!

6. The location. Choose a location that is interesting, has great lighting, is safe, and not too busy/crowded (remember control is important). If you find a location that gets you all pumped-up visually because it so different than what you normally shoot, then you need to shoot there! Oh and PS, the biz side of my brain has to add to make sure wherever you are shooting is covered by your insurance.

5. Fear and loathing in lighting. Play with a lighting set up that you rarely use and freaks you out. Just because we said you have all the control in this shoot, doesn’t mean we don’t want you to feel a little healthy stress & nervousness. Get out of your comfort zone because that’s what exceptional artists do. Maybe don’t bring the light or reflector, if that’s what you normally do.  Or maybe challenge yourself to shoot at a time of day where you don’t have all the settings memorized. Remember that you don’t have client expectations to meet here, because you are shooting for YOU. So if it all goes to crap you can laugh about it later.

4. Act like a boss. Hire (or get a starry eyed new photographer) to be your assistant. Because when you lock in your sights on that one shot that makes your heart race and then “fill in the blank” tips over and you miss that shot, well, trust me – you will kick yourself for not having an assistant to pick it up right in the nick of time! Even if an assistant costs you somewhere around $80-$150 bucks, it’s worth it. BUT!!! Make sure you are comfortable bossing them around. I am a pretty good employer, but when I lock in my sights on an image that makes me want to pee my pants it’s so good… I act like a boss. I act like the damn boss’ boss, and I boss people around (with a friendly “please” thrown in at the end, of course). Because  beautiful/picturesque/wacky art means the world to me.

3. Beautiful/picturesque/wacky art. While shooting, pretend you are tipsy. Also pretend you are allergic to shooting the “correct” way you always do. I get my best shots when I pretend I am incapable of getting my typical “go-to” shot.  Step out of your “norm” – force yourself to try a new style of shooting, and see what happens!

2. Processing. This isn’t a wedding. These aren’t proofs. You don’t need a folder of 200 beautiful images that overwhelm you so much that you either a) do nothing with them or b) create a slideshow no one will watch to the end of because it lasts 3.23 hours.

Go through and find the top 10 images from the shoot. Do a first cut, then a second cut – and for that last cut, pretend you are the editor of Vogue looking at a new photographer’s shots. Be cut-throat. Be brutal. Only choose the best of the best. Then take those  TOP 10 images and edit each one 3 different ways (we use Lightroom and create virtual copies), and finally, export them. Then come back on another day with a fresh eye. From those 30 images (3 copies of each, of your top 10 pics) that you exported, chose 1 from each of the 3 duplicates. Then airbrush and sharpen (right now we are in love with Kubota Magic Sharp).  That’s what we do for our editorial shoots, and it works well for us.  It gives us a chance to process our images differently than we would for a normal client.

1. Artists deserve a gallery showcase. We haven’t had the privilege of having a gallery showcase… yet. That might come when we are like 50 and can hold our own against Annie Leibovitz. But for now we make our own showcase through our blog, twitter, and Facebook. Then we get a huge, gorgeous canvas of our FAVORITE image from Bay Photo for the studio. This is a must. And THEN, we also order a beautiful portfolio book from Graphistudio to show off at our bridal fairs and display in our lobby/boutique. Because while this shoot was done for the love of what we do, the icing on the cake is the fact that it will get other people excited about us and our work. A bonus is that it will generate more hype (and more clients!) than we could’ve imagined. Art for the sake of celebrating beauty – that just happens to also create an income…. well that, my friends, is the good life. And we are so, so grateful.

The Challenge. Now we challenge you! Are you in? Comment below and tell us the dates of your planning sessions and shoots below, and link to your blog so we can all keep each other accountable! (you don’t have to share what you’re planning, cause we know you aren’t gonna spill the beans on your concept ;).

Here are a few from our last concept/editorial session…

And here are some images from a couple previous editorial shoots….

Happy Friday! xoxo- M & K