Be Good To Yourself
March 24, 2020
Well… Meeting Strangers is on hold for the time being. It’s hard to continue generating content for the series given the state of things! If you also meet strangers on the internet, you should take a break for now, like me.
The world is a weird place these days. It can take a toll on a person. In a time that demands we make the best of a bad situation, there is a silver lining: having to put our routines on hold is, in some ways, creating opportunities for us to do things we always said we’d get to, and never have. Think about it: what is it for you? All those times you thought, “If I had more free time, I would _____ .” Obviously there are some limitations. If you’ve been meaning to take up bowling, it’s not a good time, okay? There’s a lot of communal property in a bowling alley. Some guy recently picked his nose before shoving his fingers into the bowling ball you’ve been using this whole time.
There are exceptions, too. As I go through editing and fine-tuning this post, I’m aware of how fortunate I am to have a job that allows me to continue working remotely. As a result, I do have some extra time to devote to myself during quarantine. A lot of people in less fortunate situations don’t have the same luxury. In my industry alone, there are countless individuals completely unable to work right now. I can’t even imagine all the ways it’s negatively impacting their lives and their families.
Photo by Bolen Gordon
I guess what I’m trying to say is… No matter your situation, I hope that at some point you find a way to take some time for yourself. You don’t have to obsess over what you should be doing, or burden yourself with unrealistic goals and expectations. Be good to yourself in these trying times. Instead, find time to do something every day that will bring you happiness and make you better.
Being sheltered at home, I’m thinking about what kinds of content I can create right here with what I have in this space. I was doing a lot of shooting with other people until recently, and all of the sudden I no longer have that option. It’s forcing me to completely rethink my process and approach, which is a challenge I’m happy to take on. Hopefully I’ll have something good for next week!!
Okay, that’s all I got. I love you all. I wish you safety, comfort, happiness, and peace of mind. Be good to yourself and to others. We will get through this!
Meeting Strangers on the Internet, Vol. 3 - Meg
March 17, 2020
Hello, and welcome back! The world is a strange place right now, and rather than contribute to the abundance of content centered around our global pandemic, I hope I can provide you with a momentary escape from it all instead. So, without further ado…
This week’s Stranger is Meg! Meg is a graphic designer who has overseen and contributed to design projects for the likes of Beyoncé, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Warner Brothers, Spotify, and many more. With such a stacked resume, Meg was definitely someone I was interested in meeting. On top of that, she wrote a very nice e-mail when she first reached out!
I’ve mentioned the overwhelming response to my ad, and how it wound up working to my advantage since I could pick and choose those with whom I wanted to work. In that massive, virtual pile of e-mails, you wouldn’t believe how many included some variation of,
hey. 24 y/o male model/actor, need new headshots. can we do thurs at 2:30p? three looks? txt me 818.555.5555
My eyes glazed over passing through all the lazy one-liners, but Meg took the time to make her message personal. She told me a bit about herself, and even had some ideas about what she wanted to do during our session. We met at Barnsdall Art Park on a Saturday afternoon. She had already posed for a friend’s shoot earlier that day (a product shoot of some kind, I think), and was therefore already warmed up. We picked our first location, and it was smooth sailing all the way through. Meg was really easy to work with, and the photos just seems to come together. It wasn’t until later that I realized why.
Each one of these sessions is a learning experience in its own way. This one reminded me how inexperienced I am at posing my subjects. I’m not confident telling them how to stand, switch sides, or what to do with their arms and hands. This becomes even more of a problem when a client has zero experience in front of the camera, and will do nothing unless prompted. Lucky for me, it was clear that Meg needed no prompts or instruction. She knew exactly how to pose, move, and turn while I fired off shot after shot. In the end, I wound up with an unusually high number of good captures. I wasn’t used to having so many options! I know not all of my subjects are going to have the same level of experience that Meg has, but now I know that if I improve my directing skills, it will yield a greater number of quality images from the session.
So thank you, Meg, for both helping drive home that point for me while still hitting so many great poses!
Forgiato Weekend
Forgiato is a custom wheel manufacturer based in Los Angeles. They specialize in custom, exotic and off-road builds, and in February they invited a ton of buyers out to California for a weekend of fun and entertainment. The result was a mass gathering of supercars, a warehouse full of shiny merchandise, food trucks, music, and swarms of people.
Before I go any further, a quick note about “Meeting Strangers on the Internet”:
Several of you have reached out personally over the past few weeks to let me know how much you’ve been enjoying the series. I’m so happy people are digging it and I promise it will be back next week (Meg - you’re next!), but I’m taking yet another slight detour this week to share photos and stories from a recent job.
Ok - Forgiato!
When Bolen (remember him?) first contacted me about this job, he said it was a weekend-long event, and wanted to know my rate so that he could get it approved by the client. I have an hourly rate I’ve been charging for smaller sessions I book on my own, but this was twelve hours, minimum. Immediately my mind started racing.
Okay, my rate… times twelve hours… the number’s going to be too high, he’s going to say ’no’, and find someone else. Should I come up with a day rate instead? If so, what’s a competitive rate? What’s reasonable? I’ve never charged a day rate before… I hope I don’t say the wrong thing and mess this up!
I reached out for advice from my friend Adam back in Pittsburgh. I explained the situation, and his response immediately made me feel better. Not only was I instantly relieved, but I’ll take his advice with me on all my future jobs. He told me, “When I get the opportunity to shoot something I’m genuinely interested in shooting, I’ll do it for any amount of money. If you really want to do it, tell him your real rate, but let him know you want it and you’ll work within his budget no matter what.” Okay, wow. That sounds easy! And of course, long story short: I quoted Bolen my real, full rate, and without hesitation he texted me back “ok cool”. All that worrying for nothing!
This Chevelle may have been my favorite of all the cars there. WOW!
I think it’s easy to fall into a mindset like the one I was in. When exciting opportunities come within our reach, the anticipation of securing those opportunities can cause us to overthink and stress out. It’s in these moments when I’m most thankful to have people like Adam I can talk to. Hit up your contacts, dive into your network and consult people that are doing what you’re doing. You’ll find a lot of people are often more than willing to share what they’ve learned and help you walk your own path. That’s partly why I started writing these weekly entries. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but if my journey can inform someone else’s… that’s what it’s all about!
I don’t think I was ever really nervous about the job itself. Once it was locked and I was there, I just went about doing my thing. What I remember most were the moments I stopped and realized I was getting paid to be here and to do this. That’s what I meant last week when I said I was still riding the high. I came home and said to my wife, “If only I could book a gig that like every week!” Just gotta keep chasing it.