Final Entry

This had to be one of the most engaging experiences of my college career. I basically went from doing my own thing and guessing what it is I was supposed to be doing, to actually doing some research and developing pages and creating content that will make me a better business professional.

My very first blog entry (which I never posted) was entitled #noblueprint. I was at a point in my life where I basically had no clue what I was doing and had no real direction or goals. I just knew I liked to shoot but it wasn’t going anywhere. One of my biggest frustrations was that I launched my magazinepublication about two years ago and I accomplished many of my original goals. I’m getting invited to events to cover, shooting celebrities, having my photos printed in magazines and I’m busier than I’ve ever been. The problem was that though that sounds like a great accomplishment, it got old and boring to me. I needed to achieve more in order to feel fulfilled. Settling has been something I’ve never been able to do and I have to continue to strive for something.

Once I finally began to build my site I started to have purpose again. MyAbout.me, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Blog pages were created years ago but I never really kept up with it because I relied heavily on myinstagram for bookings. For a photographer, instagram is perfect because it shows all of your work but to those not active on social media it doesn’t matter. I noticed that most people over the age of 30 don’t have an instagram account and consider it almost like a game app on a phone. It’s meant for the teens and “young people”. Having a professional site that showcases my best work should be beneficial in the long run because now I have all area covered. I’m active on social media which covers the young crowd as well as a site that will satisfy potential corporate clients and small businesses.

One of the main reasons I started my site was to become like one of the photographers I look up to; Terry White. He’s well known on youtube for his photography tutorials and he gets invited to speak and host seminars all across the country. I actually learned inDesign by watching his tutorial so I guess its because of him MOT Magazine is able to do everything in house. One of the biggest conventions is Photoshop World and I’m actually planning on attending this year to see him and other well respected photographers speak. This year I’m going as a fan, next year my plans are to speak and have my own Q&A/live tutorial. In order to do so I need to build my online presence and get my subscribers and followers up. I know it’s going to take some time but it gives me something to work towards everyday until that time comes. There’s a convention in January I have already applied for and I am hoping that my work up until that point allows me to begin my journey as a one of the many respected photographers in the country.

I feel like YouTube has the most potential to take me to the next level and get me where it is I’m trying to go. In addition to my photo portfolio, Youtube shows the video proof of everything I’m doing because I try to film it al for tutorial purposes. The average “YouTube Celebrity” has 400–500 videos with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Most of them are also getting payment or some sort of endorsements every time they post and are basically making a living off of videos. My youtube channel will be no different. I plan on having at least one tutorial video a week and behind the scenes footage of photoshoots. My goal is to have the go to page for photography.

From my experimental learning experience I noticed that the skill that seems most important is basic communication. So many headaches could of been avoided had I communicated better or had the client been more clear of what it is they were looking for. The first situation that comes to mind would be a music video I shot for a local artist. During the shoot everything went great and I made quick cash. The problem came once I began to edit. I specifically asked him did he like the placement of the scenes before I started to finalize. He said yes and I spent the next couple of hours color correcting and adding effects. When I sent him the final video he all of a sudden had “suggestions” on how the video should look and where certain scenes should be placed. Needless to say I was pissed and I explained to him had he said that when I first asked him about placement, a lot of time could of been saved. As much as I wanted to say “Kiss my ass I’m done”, I felt obligated to go back and do everything he wanted simply because he paid.

Another situation that was completely my fault was at a photoshoot. I didn’t clearly communicate timing with the studio manager and the result was me, the makeup artist, model, assistant photographer, AND potential client all standing outside in the cold waiting on the studio manager to come unlock the building for us to go in to shoot. We had to wait 45 minutes for him to show up and I felt bad for having everyone wait so long. I ended up giving them a discount on the shoot because everyone had plans after the shoot and was going to be late because of my miscommunication.

Those issues alone taught me to communicate and “leave a paper trail”. What I mean by paper trail is that If i’m booked through a phone call or word of mouth, I repeat everything that was discussed either through text or email. I go into detail about what it is they are paying for and everything I am going to do that there is no confusion. It saves both parties headaches and potential arguments.

Not every learning experiment was bad though. When I was shooting Jhonni Blaze from Vh1 Love and HipHop NY I learned the value of video footage when dealing with celebrities. After our photoshoot we decided to do a “Jam session” where she and a guitarist would just play and sing until something came together. Xaviea Brown and I set up cameras and began to film. Little did I know that over the next couple of days the video would reach so many people. Between Youtube and her social media, clips from the video circulated with well over 100,000 views. What I learned from that is you never know who may see your work and that I should produce my best work all the time and not sell clients or myself short. In the past I would do just enough to make them happy because it wasn’t how I originally envisioned or because they weren’t expecting it anyway so it was extra.

Now it bothers me to send raw unedited photos because later down the road ill see them post the photo and tag me and in my opinion it negatively effects me. Posting my unedited work makes my pictures look amateurish and I feel like in this competitive field only my best should be shown. I’ve always said that “if its not good it won’t have anything to do with me” but it’s kind of hard to stand by that statement when its clearly my work getting published on pages across the internet.

So what does the future hold for me? Originally I wanted to be a director of photography and basically sit on a set all day and snap candids of the actors and well as the production team. Part of me still wants to do that but after shooting a few music videos and short films, I kind of want to film a documentary and get it into a film festival and let it run its circuit. Once I find a interesting subject I’m sure i’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. I’m really starting to like the idea of teaching. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on digital media (for right now) and can teach those interested in how to make money with a camera. As stated earlier I really want to start traveling and speaking at conferences and conventions. I want my work to reach a level that people would pay to learn about. Graduate school is also a serious option. Getting my Masters Degree so that I can teach at a University would be ideal. My entire lesson plan would be to show students that there are options other than the 9–5.

This journey has been a long one but I’ve honestly enjoyed every minute of it because I took something from each experience and learned from it.