2009
08.27
08.27
An amusing video I found on youtube about a fashion photographer. It may be a stereotype and rather tongue in cheek, but I’ve definitely known a few photographers like this!
Nude Photo Pro
Nude Photography Blog
2009
08.27
08.27
For many years 99% of my professional photography was all done using a Hasselblad and I still think they are beautiful cameras. I have a great deal of respect not only for the equipment they make but also some of the people I have spoken to who work at the company.
There are various jobs though which can be done very well using a good DSLR and my current weapon of choice is the Canon 1DsII. Yes I know there is a new 5DII and even a 1DsIII, but the fact is that I am happy with what I have and don’t want to upgrade my camera just for the sake of it every time a new camera appears on the market. Before the days of digital, this was how most photographers felt and while there was a case for regular upgrades when digital first emerged, I am not so sure that point of view is 100% valid anymore. You can do an awful lot with 17MP.
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2009
08.27
08.27
I have a site my primary work as a beauty photographer at http://www.ashleykaryl.com and it has been on the internet for several years now, but I know I need to update the images and put together a new design etc. The main thing stopping me has always been time, since professional photographers nowadays are just so busy that it’s really hard to sit down and find the time to get these things done. Sure I could hire a professional designer and that would probably be the right decision but I am one of those people who always wants to learn how to do things on their own, so I am not constantly dependent on somebody else and my web design skills at present are not brilliant.
Suffice it to say that it will be updated with fresh images at some point soon, however I need to sit down seriously and think about exactly what I need to do. I am sure other photographers reading this will also recognise this problem, even if we do eventually outsource the project to a designer at some point.
2009
08.27
08.27
The image below was one that I originally did for a magazine editorial in Milan. I remember at the time how I had really struggled to find a good model as I travelled from one agency to another. Part of the problem was that I was brand new so none of the bookers were feeling particularly helpful. The other problem I guess is that the magazine itself was very much a niche product aimed at the cosmetics trade rather than the general public, so the readership circulation wasn’t huge.
There came a moment when I was really fed up with the choice of models I was being shown and time was running short, so I went into a well known agency just as they were about close and managed to pull a head booker to one side and tell her incredibly disappointed I was with their choice of models and that I expected far better from a leading agency.
As a new photographer this was a risky strategy because I could have completely alienated the head booker at one of the best agencies in the world, which would have a major blow for my fledgling career. I must have struck a chord though because she took me seriously and a clearly her pride kicked in, so she pulled out a book from under a shelf (literally) that hadn’t been on show before and told me “This girl is beautiful, we always have a couple in town”. She was right and I was able to book the model for my small editorial.
On the day of the shoot I remember I had been racing around like a maniac trying to get everything organised and I had really struggled to find any decent clothes because the job was low budget and there was no money for a stylist. The only logical solution was to shoot the model topless and thankfully she agreed. We proceeded to do a series of images and one of those was the one below.
I have often felt that far too many photographers portray a very negative image of the models they photograph and I am not sure that women really like this. After all, why would you want to be photographed by somebody who makes you look like you’re constantly miserable? As a photographer who genuinely likes women I find it natural to portray them in a positive light which is why I like to inject images with a feeling of freshness and optimism.
The image was eventually published and it led to an editorial with a better known magazine, but a few months after that it was seen by a leading advertising agency and I was asked to shoot an advertising assignment for Rimmel cosmetics along the same lines. The image from that subsequent shoot was then used in several European countries to advertise a new range of grey coloured makeup that was in fashion at the time.
Beauty editorial
The image above was one that I originally did for a magazine editorial in Milan. I remember at the time how I had really struggled to find a good model as I travelled from one agency to another. Part of the problem was that I was brand new so none of the bookers were feeling particularly helpful. The other problem I guess is that the magazine itself was very much a niche product aimed at the cosmetics trade rather than the general public, so the readership circulation wasn’t huge.
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2009
08.27
08.27
I was playing around with some options and I discovered a wordpress plugin to help with youtube videos, so I installed that and since then the site seems to be displaying OK on my old laptop with various versions of I.E (internet explorer) except version 6.0, but if you are still using that it really is time to upgrade…
It’s almost 2.00am here and I still have work to do!!
