The democratization of photography and modeling and anything else you can afford.

All the time its, "Mike, write a blog." "You have so many things to talk about!" You've finished like, 500 shoots, share your ideas!" I sit down to write a blog and I want nothing to do with this process. My thoughts matter less the more I sit here and type this. Though, wait till tomorrow when I am far away from a decent computer, I'll be wanting to write those silly thoughts down. 

I suppose this blog isn't about anything in particular because all my thought processes have seemed to escape me. Okay, I'll stop right there. Nobody wants to read a blog about nothing.  I just went and wrote the title before I even have written anything of substance. I'm calling this one, "The democratization of photography and modeling and anything else you can afford." Well, what the hell does that mean? It basically means that two, somewhat specialized, professions are now accessible to a lot more of the population. That's good right? Sure. It sounds remarkably good. Thousands of people who may have not had the means to now have the chance to try it out. It's good when everyone gets a chance right? Too bad I'm a cynic and all I'm going to do is focus on why it's terrible. Let's break this down and start with Photography because one undeniably has created the other.

Photography has been around in some form or another for about 170 years. It went from an uber specialty profession and then to the masses when 35mm film became much more prevalent. I'm not trying to argue that everyone shouldn't have a camera. I mean everyone almost does with the advent of smart phones but what I am arguing is that everyone who has a camera isn't a photographer. Well, duh Mike, they know that. Ah, but this is where the noise sets in. This is where the tidal wave breaks. If you sampled 1,000 people in 1970 who owned cameras and asked them if they were photographers I assure you the amount of people that would have said "yes" would be markedly less than a group of 1,000 in 2010. Am I losing you? Probably. Does this matter? Probably not. Well it does. It does to me.

Sometime after the year 2000 something happened. Digital photography started gaining strength. The cost of technology in cameras dropped significantly. Film started to increase in price. Demand was down.  The winds of change had been felt. Stupidly not by Kodak, those schmucks. Camera companies introduce the first digital SLR. A compact, digital camera that changes lenses and uses a memory card to store photos instead of film. How many photos? As many as your card could hold. The prices go down. Memory prices go down. Film prices go up. They stop making certain films. Companies jump on this band wagon. Digital sensors are cheaper and so are the chips that run the camera. Image quality goes through the roof. I'm taking about real advances in latitude, resolution and contrast. There is no development time. There is no waiting to see if you got the right shot. There is no wasting of negatives.

I just had a thought that has little to do with anything. People have always taken photos. Most point and shoots and 35mm cameras got the job done but they didn't do anything too amazing.  To take really great photos before the advent of digital photography you had to have some money(for film and gear), have a great eye, understand the basic concepts in photography. Okay okay, I'm running into walls as I type this. Of course, you don't need great gear to be a good photographer. My point is, you needed some education. You needed to put some work into that. That's it. That's what I'm trying to get at, you needed some effort. You couldn't just pick up an iphone and take a great picture without knowing anything.  There was no iphone. I think about this when I use my mamiya rb67. That thing doesn't care about you. You work for Mamiya. It will do nothing unless you, meter, set the f stop, set the shutter, focus, recompose, focus, lock focus, take the dark slide out, press the shutter. Advance the film. Getting the negative back and scanning it, you still might have taken a crappy picture. People now hold up their little rectangle and hit a circle and you could get published in nat geo(okay maybe not nat geo) or any other magazine because that little camera sensor has made all those difficult decisions for you. Okay, slowly starting to get even more off track. Let's go back to the digital era.

You have these great cameras that do a hell of a whole lot. If you can't make a striking fucking image with a canon rebel t3i from 10 years ago there's something wrong with you. All these cameras start to become available at prices that were not in a lot of people's grasps. That's a good thing right? No. People don't deserve nice things. They deserve to be given the chance for nice things but you don't get nice things off the bat. This is how I feel about this generation in general. Now people have these image making boxes that do mostly everything for them and it instills some weird confidence in them. "Hey I took THAT picture?" Sure you did kid. You pressed the button. Give people power and they run with it. This begins the delusional feed.

Another striking realization as I type this is that social media has played a huge role in transforming the casual picture taker into the "photographer." The newly minted owner of a digital slr takes a couple pictures of something and posts them on the internet. His echo chamber responds instantly. Things like, "you take such beautiful pictures" and "oh my god you should be a photographer" start to murmur and swirl around them. The "photographer" is emboldened. They are caught up in a frenzy of feel good praise. "Hey, maybe I am a photographer!" they proclaim. They learn that putting watermarks on images is a "professional" thing to do and finagle something abhorrent in MS paint/Photoshop or Gimp and call them selves "such and such" Photography or images or "Focus studios" or something equally as shitty. If they are lucky people start to ask them what they charge. Never taking a business class or understanding what goods and services cost in their market they throw out outlandish numbers like "$350.00 for weddings! with all images and a cdr!" They systematically drive down the market without knowing they won't be able to sustain themselves before it is too late. Also, analogy time. Don't argue with me that people that shop at payless shoes are not the same people that shop at prada. If the Prada shoppers see enough payless prices they are going to ask for less. Sure there is definitely a market for everyone person and you should market accordingly but if those people who would normally pay 3k for a wedding keep seeing photographers that will shoot work for $850.00 people will start to wonder. 

I'm getting slightly off track...again. Geez and I haven't even scratched the surface or mentioned the whole "model" issue now. I might make a second post as this one is getting long. Even my attention is starting to dwindle. 

You create a sea of noise by giving everyone the chance to be a photographer. Just look at instagram. One could argue that it's a good thing. I mean there are a fuck ton of amazing people out there creating amazing images. Is it because they now had access to photographic means? Possibly? I think an amazing person is still amazing without the catalyst. Hmmmm I might have to think about that for a second or a day maybe.

I guess my beef isn't the fact that everyone can purchase a nice camera with less than 500 dollars. It's cool if you can. It's cool. It's just when you're given that power, and there is a whole lot of power in these machines now, you shouldn't be allowed to say you're anything. Wow, I'm just thinking again, social media is to blame.  Maybe it isn't cheaper gear. So fewer people would try to work hard at what they do if they had to work harder to display their images. 

You're not a pilot if you purchase a plane. I suppose you should be one though. I guess that's my point. A person that buys a 5d mark iv isn't a photographer but they should be. Now I see a lot of shit. Like really bad photography. It might be because I am now in a state that is a little more rural. It might be there is just less talent. It really is social media. I'm sorry I keep going back to this but there would be such less noise if people were not permitted to post things if they weren't really photographers.

Mike, that's not fair. You can't say that. You have a very humble beginning with awful photos. (My present is still humble don't you worry)

Yeah but I never called myself a photographer. I remember around 2009 when I actually said "I have a booking this afternoon." It felt really dirty. Like I wasn't allowed to say it. I didn't deserve it. I still have a hard time calling myself one. I guess my tax id number though kinda makes me say that. Don't worry, I'm not equating having a business license for photography to being a photographer. 

Maybe I have issues with the word photographer. Maybe it's all on me. What does it mean to be a photographer .5 person who is drunk reading this? I'll answer it. It really just like anything involving skill. You have to earn it. I don't think there is an award or plaque or time frame that allows you to know you're a photographer but I can tell you about half of the people that claim they are in these small towns aren't. I guess that's not for me to decide but you sure do look like a chump parading your awful images everywhere.

Alright, too much talk. Part two I will chat about the elusive Model. Where did they come from? Why you aren't a model and the gross underbelly of a world that I have witnessed evolve over the years. It's unhealthy and it's here to stay. I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings thus far. Leave a comment or tell me to shut up. Part two, tomorrow. 

Model: Lillian

www.lillianisabella.com

Pay me if you want to sell your art.

I am back from my mini vacation to the Outer Banks and ready to hit the ground running for a very busy next couple of weeks. I should restart this, I already sound like I'm writing a blog for my alter ego, www.michaeljacobsphoto.com. If you need portrait work, please visit him.

Alright, pay to play art shows, what are your thoughts? I participated in my first one this past month entitled, "The Pancake and Booze" Pop up Art show. It's a travelling art show that goes between major cities in America allowing us artist folk a chance to display and sell our work, for a price. That price is both monetary and sanity.  I was told to pay 15 dollars per work I was showcasing. That's not terrible considering I try to price my stuff competitively and its on the larger side of things. This Art show was also being held for one night here in Raleigh at the Lincoln Theater. If you've ever seen a show there, well, it's an old theater. It needs some work. I was told to bring my stuff the day of the show between 2 and 6pm. I got to the venue and there was no sign, nothing. I really had no idea what to do, called the venue, of course, no answer. I travel around back and find all the other sweaty tired artists in line, holding their work while waiting to register. I finally got to the front where a very lovely but completely void of information lady was registering us. Apparently a travelling art show doesn't accept credit cards and she also had no idea where an ATM was located so guess what I had to do? Forfeit my place and line and go for a legend of zelda inspired adventure to find one in downtown raleigh. Not as easy as you would expect. I finally returned after being blown down the street left and right(it was windy don't be dirty). I paid the aloof woman and she told me I could just pick anywhere I wanted that was open to setup shop.

There I was, standing on the precipice of sheet rock being installed by sweaty men who didn't care much about what they were doing. Honestly, they were just building v flat walls very haphazardly and leaving. All the spaces on the ground floor seemed to be taken already so I headed upstairs to the dizzying loft and found two walls to call my own.  Made friends with my neighbor Kat and got to work hanging.

See below:

I am not very good at hanging stuff. I'm actually pretty terrible, especially when given screws instead of nails and 2 inch sheet rock. I made due with what I had. That's another thing. Pancake and Booze said they would give you all the tools necessary to hang your stuff. Wrong. If "giving you all the tools" meant going to the corner of the ground floor and finding random nails and screws on the floor to push in the wall with your bare fist, then sure! They were great!

It was very warm up there and we were all hot and gross but I saw Kat sitting there and in the awful overhead light she actually looked awesome so I asked if I could snap a picture of her resting.

I seem to have lost her business card but if I find it I will give some plugs. She is a wonderful artist who knows how to fucking schmooze. She had all types of mixed media on her wall which was really groovy. She also really hates Trump, so kudos!

My exhibit/wall was a bit of a cluster of things I had done in previous years. I felt paint was a very good concept to display at this show so I went with some pieces I had previously done with an awesome creative team of makeup artists and models.  I also had an idea to make my showcase a little more hands on and enlisted the help of wonderful pal and model, Lyndsie Marie. If you need someone who is effortlessly sweet and professional, consider hiring her for any job you need. Lyndsie displayed the utmost patience and stamina for almost 4 hours. Oh, why was she there? That's right, whoops. So I had an idea to have patrons paint her. There would be live body painting during the show but it was done by trained artists. I wanted regular joe schmoe and  joet schmoe to paint her. I found this might get a little inappropriate, especially if alcohol was involved so I made sure that anyone who painted her had her consent first. I didn't realize the men who attended would be the minority in painting her. Ladies loved Lyndsie. More on that later. So I bought some apple crates, some washable paint and some cheap brushes. Here is before everything went down!

Seriously, I can't plug her enough. Work with her. In an industry that is full of flakes and people that don't take things seriously she is a diamond. Here is some of her contact information:

Lyndsie Marie for bookings: Lyndsiemariebookings@gmail.com

Instagram: @Ms_Lyndsie_marie

Facebook: @TheLyndsieMarie

The show started and people started coming in. It wasn't well managed. First off, when I returned after hanging my work, nobody checked who I was. Aside from that being unsafe, I could have brought 10 more pieces in and not paid a cent. I did however end up having to pay for Lyndsie as she was considered "work." Ugh 2017 people! Seriously though, artists, exploit this loop hole. I think people should be able to sell as much work as they can fit on their wall so if you decide to do pancake and booze, make sure you bring back up prints. 

According to all my wonderful pals who attended the lines outside were terrible. They did not do a good job of organizing who was supposed to be where and what lines were for what door. Apparently you could buy tickets that made you skip the line but those lines were not clearly defined. People started flowing in and what seemed to be the theme of the night started occurring, bottle necking. There was absolutely no space between my wall and the railing. Well, only space for people to walk to the next wall so everyone that stopped at my exhibit ended up causing a traffic jam. It got horrendously crowded. Great for exposure but terrible for engagement really. I don't think Lyndsie moved the entire night from her spot. I know I did not move much. I believe the other artist vendors were excited because they got a lot of the run off from my work. My problem with selling my work is that it's an acquired taste. I also sell large pieces that are pricey. People are going to buy the cute kitten drawing for 10 bucks over my 100 dollar 11x14 of a naked person covered in paint.  I'm a terrible seller. I don't know how to do these things. I don't know how to price anything. I do it to the best of my ability and factor in how much work it went into shooting, whether I used a creative team and how much retouching I had to do. I guess I just need to make smaller, more affordable prints. Ah, well, you live you learn Alanis. 

I was so incredibly happy that almost everyone I know in North Carolina came by to see me. I mean, also the rest of the work at the art show but, friends, coworkers, loves and people I've shot all showed up. That's always the best feeling ever. It's like my birthday. I just get to see everyone that rocks so I am very thankful they took the time. Like I said, it was a really hard place to converse. It was just so crowded but even the 5 minutes of interaction was sweet. I'm starting to feel a bit ranty so I will just show some images from the night, mainly of Lyndsie being painted and then leave you with some final words.

A little note that has nothing to do with anything. I brought my 20-35mm L along to shoot some pictures. First thank trader joe's because anything shorter I would not have been able to capture a thing but secondly, ugh, this lens is showing its age. Holy flare not controlled batman. I really need to invest in something wide that is a little newer. This was canon's first wide angle zoom of the eos era. We are talking a lens built in 1994. A lot has changed and it shows on my full frame sensor. Holy distortion too.

So was all this work worth it? For this show, probably not. It was a lot of work, time and money. Like they say though, if you don't put yourself out there, you'll never be out there. At least people saw my stuff, took my card and looked interested. It's always interesting how people perceive your work. Sometimes I am so aloof as to what people think. I can only smile nervously and say thank you so much.  But I did it. That's what matters right? I'm sure there will be other shows in the future that will be similar. If you don't try, nothing happens. If you do try, maybe still, nothing will happen but that little chance makes all the difference, yes?

Making Pictures

I was all set to blog about the last couple of shoots I've partaken in. I had all the images ready to go and hopefully was going to share some images I was really proud of. Like most intentions I seem to have they go out the window.  I was recently able to attend the master works collection of photographer Ansel Adams at the North Carolina Museum of Art, http://ncartmuseum.org/.

Everyone knows Ansel Adams, even if you don't know who he is, you've seen his landscape pictures, most notably the ones featuring a moonlit half dome or El Capitan. I'm sure they have hung in various psychiatrist's offices and accompany positive motivational posters. He is the Beatles or Led Zeppelin of 20th century American-west landscape photography.  I feel because he is so popular he may sometimes gets glossed over. I mean if everyone likes your work, there has to be something annoying about it. I mean, the most popular beer in america is bud light. It's awful. Well, maybe it's the most popular because it's so cheap. I digress. What I am trying to say is sometimes photographers give unsupported hate towards popular things.  Not just photographers, I'm just generalizing the field.

His work astounds me and not because of his ability to capture amazing natural landscapes. I actually kinda hate landscapes. I mean they have their purpose but, bleh. To each their own, right? It's because his system behind making the photographer, yes making, is so operational, it's more than just taking the picture. I explained that very shittily. That's a word, fuck off.  Adams knew what the print was going to look like before he took the photo. His "zone system" for visualizing the tonal range of an image is something photographers (should) still use today.  He understood how the choice of paper would drastically alter shadows and contrast. He spent hours setting up a shot, hiking to a perfect location with a 40lb large format camera. I guess he's a product of the times but I feel like he's also the archetype for a lot of photo making today. Or I should say, should be. 

I've looked at a lot of work lately, I guess in comparison, including mine. The first thing that comes to mind is, carelessness. As photographers we either chose not to or don't have the capability to make sure things are correct. The fashion photographer has a fast prime so they feel, "let's shoot wide open and throw everything out of focus" and people think it's a great picture because of bokeh. Someone sets up lights with a haphazard understanding of ratios or how color temperature works and then they "Fix it in post." I may be seeping into a tangent of distaste I have for the "modern" digital photographer but the same rules apply to everyone. Stop being careless. Stop it. I see so many photographers worried that their camera doesn't have the best iso performance or they want the best autofocus and I can't help but think. How did people do anything for the past 100 years? They obviously got by with more rudimentary tools. Ansel had wood, lens, grounding glass and film. Okay, I could be comparing apples to orangutans but my point is there is a whole facility(your brain and eyes) that is under utilized before making a picture. To Adams, and this is me talking, The photograph was the product of his brain and eyes, his hands were the camera. 

My point is simply, we rely too much on tools that are just tools. Your brain is the tool you need to constantly upgrade, not your camera or lens.  Hopefully this seeps into my work. Shooting people I have always had this animated quality and feverish need to snap snap snap. I can slow it down, I can think. Sometimes I wish memory cards were never invented. The way I treat my film should be replicated in how I treat my sandisk.  I can feel myself getting ever so tangential so I'm going to cease writing. Take a moment to visit the exhibit if you live in the Raleigh metro area or The Triangle, as they call it. Take a moment though when you are there, look at each photo. Go up close, you've paid, inspect the details in the shadows. No Lightroom, No Photoshop. Sure he had a dark room where he did a lot of the techniques now embedded in photoshop but he used his brain, not sliders to get what he wanted.