The Candle in the Window

Irish tradition held that a candle in your window signaled that your household as willing and able to provide a night's shelter for a traveler. Such hospitality included supper, a place to sleep out of the weather and breakfast. No payment was expected. Such kindnesses were very important to itinerant workers returning to their families for the holidays.
The tradition grew so that many modern families display candles in their windows for the holidays. I wonder if they really understand what that means? I put candles and lanterns on my windows knowing full well what may be asked of my household. We could easily afford the bed space and the meals if someone asked for that assistance. I would be skeptical, but if that's all they asked for, I'll let them in.
How many of my neighbors with candles in their windows are willing to do the same? We've become fearful of strangers. There's a lot of crazy or dangerous people out there. Horror flicks are full of them. Even the nightly news tells of such horrors.
Let's face it: Most people are honest and even a little kind. This applies to the homeless as well. For the vast majority of us, we can unbend from our suspicions long enough to be kind. That's if we're willing to take the risk.

One of My Favorite Places in the World

Red Palisades in Badlands National Park after a week of
rainy weather. I've never seen it so green!
This image was photographed with a hand-held
Kodak D812 during a light midday rain.

I love to travel.

I especially love our vagabond way my wife and I travel the United States: via towed camper. This gives us the flexibility to leave the unit so that we can explore with just the truck, pull into a rest area or a friendly merchant (Most Wal-Marts and Flying J's will let us do this.) for a quick overnight or only a nap.

Among the many places we've visited, my favorite (so far) is Badlands National Park in South Dakota, United States. This desolate and inhospitable bowl on the high prairies has a surreal beauty that changes view every few feet!

The last time we were there, rains poured on the area for the previous week. I had never seen it so green! The rain deepened the colors as it saturated the hills. No filters were necessary to enhance the otherwise subtle colors. The enhanced colors made the inconvenience of photographing in the rain worth the effort.

I hope to camp at the park a full week so I can take time to photograph more of the many moods of the Badlands. That may be a few years off.

Have studio, will travel.

How I work with a portable studio.

The studio before I got the photo backdrop.
Grey blankets served as a neutral background,
although I often would hang a decorative
Celtic knotwork panel for a portrait.

When I started doing portraiture, I saw a niche in the many events that my history club puts on, and few formal ways to document the effort and comportment of the participants.

We have a regular summer event, Warriors and Warlords or WW, which regularly draws over 600 participants from all over the Midwest, upper Plains and parts of southern Canada. My idea is to have a studio that I can literally set up in the middle of a field, control the light with various methods (which incidentally kept the studio a little cooler than outside--a plus when the Heat Index approaches or passes 100 degrees F!), and photograph my friends in their finery to display on their walls and for their friends via social media. The big plus for many was that each had an 8x10 print of their portrait within an hour at most to take home and put on his or her wall. All this for the low, low price of $40. More goodies were available if they wanted them.

Yes, I'm working cheap here. I expected an average of two sessions per hour when I was open, to amount to a score a day. I never achieved that volume. The most I ever did was eight in one day for a winter event that had a charity component, and nine for the whole four-day run of WW. There were two years at WW that I didn't have any clients! The summer heat and humidity aren't conducive to people wanting to wear layers of finery. I actually had one family rush in and settle down for their portraits, then rush out so they can change to cooler clothes! I actually have better sales during winter events, when people are already showing off their finery and are willing to be posed in a warm, comfortable space.

Such is the adjustment of my business/service model. More winter events.

To offer this service at such a ridiculous price means I have to be creative with my equipment. The most expensive pieces of my set-up were of course my camera and lenses, followed by a robust notebook computer and quality photo printer. I'm a Pentax fan from way back, and have an assortment of compatible manual lenses. I started with a K-01 body, 18-55 mm f4.5 and 50-200 mm f4.5 lenses, Tambon 65" tripod, Toshiba 15" Satellite and HP Photosmart 5220 printer. I later upgraded to a 17" Toshiba Satellite and a Pentax K-3 II body. I found a Manfrotto 100" studio tripod and three-way head in the local Pawn America for $100 and snapped that up.

For lights, I use a 68" dual 500 watt halogen work light tower bounced into a 42" reflecting umbrella for my fill light, two 1000 candlepower LED work lights and two more 1250 CP LED spot lights in hot light fixtures for my main light, all daylight balanced. I use either three colored CFL bulbs in clip lights or another 1000 CP LED daylight flood in a clip light for the backdrop light. My decorative lights and general work lights are all LED. When shooting, I use all of 7 amps, an advantage when you are limited to 15 amps.

The studio itself is a Coleman 10'x 10' canopy with a swing wall, effectively giving me a footprint of 10' x 17' with the wall raised up. I purchased a 40' wind wall set for the canopy, under which I use an assortment of power cords and junctions to redistribute power where I need it.

Lyn admiring her ring. At this point, she'd dropped over 100
pounds from the previous year, and wanted photos to show
  off her new figure.

Sunlight was first controlled with the use of fleece blankets, an outer layer of white to reflect and an inner layer of black to absorb. I've largely traded the white blankets for black-out curtains, to cut down on bulk. You can't argue with the texture of the black polyester fleece when you want a dead-black background, so I kept them. I use a photo backdrop frame that can expand to 10' wide and 10' tall with a 10' x 12' linen mottled grey backdrop. I paid full price for the backdrop and never regretted the cost.

Most of this packs into three tubs (It used to be six!), with four long bundles for the light stand, tripod and backdrop stand. The canopy has its own bag, as well as the walls and backdrop. There is a folding table, a rigger's bag with electrical cable and connections, a bushel bag of spring clips (and that still isn't enough!), folding stools and chairs.

The whole thing takes about an hour and a half to set up outside, a little less inside as I don't have to shield the walls as much.

It does make a satisfying space to work in, and was well worth the time I put into making it.

So, where was I?

Wow.
It's been nearly two years since I posted last. I'm sorry for the silence.
There is a lot to say about different things, But for now I'll say this:
I'm back!

The Photographer's Hat

ASMP Portrait taken at the
Strictly Business 3 Conference in
Chicago, April 2011.
Copyright 2011 Shawn Henry

The other day, I’d posted a new FaceBook profile picture of myself taken by a fellow photographer, Shawn Henry. It was a ¾ portrait taken in front of a white background and rendered into a black and white. The series was taken a few years back, but I asked and got permission to use the images for inclusion on things like my bio page on this blog and my website. FaceBook came later.

When my various friends saw the image for the first time (and it was the first time I used that particular image), I got the usual likes and positive comments. One stuck out: My friend and advanced amateur photographer from South Dakota, Jon “Fiskr” Larsen, mentioned that all I needed to be a photographer was a cool hat. (It is a nice looking hat, even if I say so myself.) There was the usual banter back and forth about how adding a hat instantly made a photographer and such. However, the comment got me to thinking about how much my broad brim hats are part of my photography kit.

When I started, film cameras were what we had. I had a basic SLR in my trusty Pentax K100. It was fully manual, and a work horse if there ever was such a camera. One of the foibles of pentaprism viewfinders, common in optical viewfinders like my K100, is that light can intrude from eyepiece and skew the exposure meter, making the meter read more light than there actually was coming in the lens. One simple trick to counter this is to wear a wide brim hat to eclipse the light coming in from behind you. So hats become part of my kit.

As the years rolled on, I also worked for the US National Park Service, with their famous “Smokey Bear” campaign hats. That cemented my liking for broad brim hats. I never liked the ever-present ball cap, common in the US, as they never fit my oblong head shape. Also, I didn’t like how ball caps allow my ears and the back of my neck to get sunburned. So, I was in constant search for broad brim hats that were durable, good looking and still functional to keep the sun, rain and light in control around my head.

A self-portrait while photographing in the "field,"
Olbrich Gardens in Madison, WI.
Copyright 2012 W. Clinton Hotaling

The hat pictured is one I got from Duluth Trading Company. It’s their “Albert’s Hat.” The hat is made from oiled cotton and has a fleece liner, so it’s a good winter hat for all but the most severe conditions. I have a variety of hats for summer months, but none of them are waterproof. However, they still fill the need for shade and blocking light.

My current digital cameras don’t have an optical viewfinder. They both use a two and a half or three inch LCD view screen, depending on the camera, for that purpose. The hat helps me see what on the screen in full sun. Without shade it’s almost impossible to read, something many smartphone users are finding out.

So, between the practical functions and stylish elegance, I wear hats and enjoy it. They are a permanent feature of my identity as a photographer.

Criticizing your own work

Most of the time when I shoot, I'm bracketing for exposure. So naturally I'm already tossing 1/3 to 2/3 (or more!) of my shoot on the first edit. Also, on my first edit I'm checking for sharpness. Sometimes, a really intriguing shot leaps out that breaks all the rules, so I'm open to them. 
One of my best shots was a wild motion blur of a fair midway. It was completely unintentional at the time (I thought I finished the exposure and moved my camera early.), but it worked so well that it graces my portfolio back cover. 

Lights on the Midway

Back to the first sort: I look hard at the technical aspects of the image so I don't try to invest emotionally in what would otherwise be just bad technique. 
The second sort (often a day or so later) looks at the artistic merit of the photos. I'm looking for images that "speak" to me. Often, these are the images and impressions I was trying to capture at the time. The selected pictures are deemed worthy enough of my time to perform basic adjustments and cropping. These are then the images I'd present to a client. 
The third sort selects those that I'd recommend to a client. 
The fourth sort selects those that I'd keep copies of in my presentation galleries. 
The fifth sort selects contest entries and portfolio images. 
So the questions I'm asking at each stage are these: 
First: Is the picture technically competent? If not, is it compelling enough to keep in spite of the flawed technique? (For instance, my motion blurred shot was dead on in exposure.) 
Second: Do the images tell a story? 
Third: Do the images tell the story you want to tell? 
Fourth: Is this an image that keeps drawing you back to it? Do you keep seeing more and more in it? 
Fifth: Is this an image that consistently make you say, "Oh. Wow."? 
That's how I look at my images after I've taken them. 
Granted the 10,000 hour rule still applies for looking through the camera, but you'll find after even 1000 hours that your images are improving, and you'll be willing to take informed risks that will push your work further. 
Really, if all the pictures on your card are keepers, you aren't pushing yourself enough.

So you want to make a portfolio from your pictures?

Smiles from Infinity

Recent work on my self-marketing package included producing a printed portfolio. Simple enough; I have some four thousand archived images to choose from. Some of them have to be good, if not spectacular. As it turned out, I took a lot of really good, even exceptional, pictures over the years.
So, how do I choose what will represent my style? Well, I had to sort, sort those that I sorted, and sort those again ruthlessly. 
Here's how I start my sorting:
First sort: Pull together images that speak to me in some way. Since I'm in my Archive, I've already weeded out poor, such as out of focus or badly exposed, images and those that were too marginal to fix.

Cloud Crown on a Hill

Second sort: Group images by type, such as landscapes, portraits, architecture, street scenes, and so on. Don't forget to include personal projects, as they can really reflect your style. Reject any orphans. Some images can work in multiple categories, and that's good. They make ideal transitions between portfolio sections. Some, like the cuties above, make the front cover.
Third sort: Look at each image as if it wasn't your work. Blow it up on the screen. Do a test print if you have any doubts. Reject any that become blotchy, have cluttered backgrounds or noise you just can't get rid of.
Fourth sort: Arrange your images into logical groupings. Look for repeats of the same thing, be it model, scene or general type. Do two images look similar enough to be confused for each other when viewed at a distance? If yes, remove one of them as you essentially repeated a picture.

Doorway Silhouette 

After all that, I ran the ones I picked past a trusted friend who would tell me the truth for a final sorting. 
Sometimes, it's worth the time and money to go to a personal portfolio review for a sorting by a professional art director or buyer. They really have seen the gauntlet from "Oh. My. Goodness. Where have you been?" to "Oh my goodness, please take this away." And everything in between. They can give you valuable advice as to what a good picture is, and how you can improve the way you present yourself through your images.
Now, you have something worth publishing. I set up my portfolio using MagCloud because they weren't expensive, their color matching is very good, and they could turn around an order in a fairly short time (about a week). They have a template that I used in InDesign to lay out the covers and the pages that works very well with one minor exception: the inside (towards the binding) margins on the first and last sheets inside the cover are very tight. This is a legacy of the perfect (glue) binding process. While I didn't have text cut off, I still had to move text in a bit to re-balance the margins. 

Colors of a Midway

(HP recently sold MagCloud to Blurb, so I'm inclined to get my redoes and alternate editions done sooner rather than later while the quality control at MagCloud is still in place. We'll have to see how well the color control holds up as the two become fully merged.) 
One thing I did have to do is lighten most of my pictures a touch. As good as my monitors are calibrated, images displayed on my monitors are still lighter than they'll appear in print. Lighten accordingly. Use test prints to double check.
Before sending off your baby, print spreads of facing pages. Look for unfortunate groupings or combinations, make sure your progression through each section, as well as the order of the sections, make logical sense. Adjust. Reprint. Look again. Keep doing it until you are happy with the way it flows.
Are you hoping to market your work to architectural firms? Don't lead with a section of portraiture. Travel? Get your beautiful city-scapes up front! If you are indeed marketing to different groups, then it's worth your while to have separate editions of your portfolio for each one emphasizing that subject. They really aren't that expensive to produce (less than $20 each for mine, and that included postage).
That's it in a nut shell. I hope to be wowed by your book of images in the near future.
All images above are under the copyright of W. Clinton Hotaling. Do not republish the images without written permission.

There and back again.

Keeping it between the lines on the back highways.

Our niece's wedding is in October. This isn't much of a problem, but she lives in the Seattle area. My wife and I have a choice: Fly? Ride the Train? Drive?
If we fly, we'd take up little more than an extended weekend getting there, touring the area with my sister-in-law and her family and coming back. Rush. Rush. Rush.
If we take the train, it would definitely be an adventure. However, to do it properly would cost almost twice as much
as flying.
The third option is to drive. We'd bring the travel trailer and keep to the non-interstate highways. As a rule, they are far more interesting (like the views from the train). The truck would less stressed from avoiding the higher interstate speeds. Our mileage under tow is anywhere from 9-12 mpg at 55-60, depending on slopes and winds. Push it to 65 and that drops to 7-9 mpg. It does take longer, about five days out and five more back. But out of a 16 day vacation block, that leaves time to visit with family and a side trip or two to look up friends in Idaho and our first trip to Yellowstone National Park. It also would cost about the same as if we flew out to Seattle, rented a car and stayed in a hotel for a few nights.

You'll never know what you'll find on your
travels off the interstates. This dragon
made entirely of tires greeted
us off of US 18 in Iowa.

Another benefit to driving is that we won't need a puppy-sitter. The pooch can come with us just about everywhere except the wedding itself. We won't be able to eat at a lot of restaurants, but we like to do our own cooking in the
trailer, anyway.
Most times, the cost of a campsite with full hook-ups is far less than a hotel room (although we have been known to take advantage of a local hotel when there is a dearth of campsites).
We'll take separate routes out and back. We plan to follow US-2 from Minnesota all the way to Seattle. The plan is to follow I-90 as far as Livingston, Montana and then turn south for Yellowstone. From Yellowstone, the route will take us southeast to Cheyenne, Wyoming to pick up I-80 or parallel to it on US 30 for the return trip.
There are a bunch of interesting places on our routes. One is Deception Falls in Washington. It's a pretty place, but the falls themselves actually cross under US 2, making for a challenging picture like this one of Brownstone Falls in Wisconsin. We hope to be able to take in the Beartooth Highway on our way back if if it isn't closed due to snows when we get there.
I do look forward to the trip. Seeing my niece get married will be good, too.
Road picture: copyright 2013 W. Clinton Hotaling.
Dragon picture: copyright 2013 Mary A Hoffman, used with permission.

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" - Dorothy in "the Wizard of Oz"

Fish and Chips in Ireland.

First and foremost, I love visiting new (and sometimes very old) places, experiencing new things, and trying new foods. Getting there can be the headache. There are also sometimes some very unexpected things that will throw one off of stride. For instance:
TSA checks will require you to unsling your carefully positioned camera bag and computer case, empty the eleven pockets of your jacket, the seven pockets in your pants and the three in your shirt. Don't forget that they want you to remove your shoes, take off your knee braces and will still scrutinize your eyeglasses and wedding band. All this about a minute after you just did this for the Irish Garda. I was about in tears, because getting everything off without damaging the fragile takes time and the line behind me was getting longer. Lesson: aim for the balance between minimalist and every contingency in packing. Especially with the carry-on gear.

While we're on travel to the Emerald Isle, it's useful to prepare by a bit of studying. We read and brought along copies of Rick Steve's Guide to Ireland. It proved a very useful source. Sometimes somethings aren't mentioned. The Irish do drink coffee. They drink a lot more tea. Coffee is sold by the cup. We are talking a consistent 200 ml (about 6.5 oz.) cup. When you are used to, nay addicted to, large mugs of coffee this can add up fast in the traveling expense column. The best way to get your caffeine fix is switch to tea. Tea is often sold by the pot or cup, and refills are often free. Tea is usually included with the meal.
Ireland is primarily temperate rain forest (The trees are slowly returning after centuries of over-harvesting.). There are usually some sunny days or even an hour or two of sunshine most days, but don't expect it. It's damp more often than not. Dress for it. We wore wool or microfiber and good rain shells. Our accommodations had towel warmers that made for dry towels after morning ablutions-more forethought.
Our travel arrangements included car rental. The car we got was almost as large as my 1/2 ton pickup truck! It was HUGE. It did have a lot of trunk (boot) space--we joked four bodies would fit in there with room to spare. So us Yanks had this huge car, with manual transmission and the steering on the other side from what we are used to across the Pond. Most Irish roads that aren't Motorways are pretty narrow. When we went over Conner Pass, it was down to one lane. It was a good thing the only things we met coming the other way was bicyclists. I'm glad we paid the damage waiver as a stone wall reached out to grab the car near Dingle. We did clip a few hedge branches and a construction barrier with our curb-side mirror. One big advantage was that the engine was diesel powered. Diesel fuel costs pretty much the same as gasoline (petrol) in Ireland, but we had a fantastic range. We drove the car 2000 kilometers (1200 miles) while there that week, and only filled the fuel tank twice.
Ireland was fun, and we'd go visit it again.
Even in the US, we have some adjustments to make when we travel. Our home state of Wisconsin is known as the "Dairy State" for a reason. Milk and cheese are the biggest agricultural products here. One of the special treats that can be found virtually anywhere is fresh cheddar cheese curds. We're talking so fresh that they squeak when you bite into them. Fresh cheese curds are uncommon to rare outside of Wisconsin. Note this as they make wonderful gifts for out of state friends! The cheese choices quickly dwindle down to American, Swiss and sometimes cheddar the further you go from our fair state.
The strong German heritage also has available a variety of sausages in Wisconsin. Ask for a bratwurst in Mississippi, and you'd get a blank stare with a "Whot dat?" Spicy andule sausage is popular close to the the Big Easy.While it looks and smells the same as keilbasa, it tastes very different!
The closest thing to tarter sauce-the staple condiment of the Friday Fish Fry-south of the Mason/Dixon Line is "sandwich spread" which is sweeter and pink.
Iced tea down south is made very sweet. If you want it unsugared, ask for "unsweet tea".
The joys of traveling often make the rewards that much better!

Working with Models or Talent

Stephanie and my Hat

In still photography, they're models. In motion imagery, they are talent. In either case, they are the people (and sometimes animals) you put in front of your lens to help you tell your story. They are also a big factor in your collaborative effort to deliver a product for your client.

Sometimes the hardest part of the whole process is simply finding the model or talent that you need. Most beginning photographers and videographers recruit from their circle of friends and family. My most reliable model is my lovely wife. She'll complain, but she models very well. College acting classes, small local agencies as well as nationally connected talent bureaus all are sources for recruiting that person that will work in front of your lens. It's just a matter of how much time and budget you have.

The first step in making sure you have what you need is to ask very specifically for what you are looking for: approximate age, gender, hair color, facial hair (men), hair length, height, body build, secondary talent (dance, singing, horsemanship, etc.), and/or anything else that would be what you have in mind for your imagery. Also, be specific in what type of role this person would play. For instance: "Physical comedy as an always ready to please, clumsy husband for a competent, but indulgent wife." Hopefully, from your listing you'll get a set of people willing to audition for you.

Quite often, with models for still work the selection process gets done through head shots, resumes, portfolios and availability checks. Motion talent usually must be "tested" to see how well they fit the ideal  for your project. (Benedict Cumberbach was the only one tested for the role of Holmes in "Sherlock". Martin Freeman was one of many who were tested for the role of Watson, but the instant chemistry between him and Cumberbach during Freeman's test cemented the role for him.)

Hannah: "This is awkward!"

Make sure that responsibility for secondary items like wardrobe, hair styling and makeup are clearly spelled out before your talent arrives on the set or studio. Almost always, you are responsible for any props or products, but these other considerations, if fairly basic, can be covered by your talent. (They should tell you if they don't have something specific that you asked them to bring, i.e. ripped jeans. If that's the case you will need to supply it for them. Be sure to get the correct size. Whether they keep what you supply them is up to you.)

Once your talent is decided, make sure they understand exactly what you want them to do. They are quite willing to do so if they know what you are after. For a commercial I shot, an actor deliberately fumbled the large assortment of tools he was holding. It was marvelously fake, and you could see that it was fake on the recording. I explained to him that the many items in his hands will naturally fumble when he selects just one to use, just let them do so. It looked much better (and was funnier) when he relaxed and just let the pieces fall.

How tight of control you use is up to you. I tend to be more collaborative, and only correct or re-do when something didn't work. Annoyingly for the talent, that might be something other than what the talent did. I've been known to retake a scene for minor corrections (see above), but I do enjoy letting my talent run with an idea.

Don't forget to make sure the appropriate releases are signed.

One last thing. Most models or talent are part-timers in this. Be sure to feed them.

The Busy Client

Photo booth ready for customers.

My photo booth was set up in the middle of the merchant area, ready for clients to have their portraits done and printed on site.

In spite of the summer sunshine and heat, I had effectively created a cool cave in the middle of the field.

Alas, business was slow--as in nonexistent. A conflict with another larger event kept many of the event participants away. Few had the funds or interest in getting a portrait done, despite favorable comments about the sample pictures. Even other merchants noted the lack in their sales.

Busker entertains the "crowd"

So I wandered the site, taking personal photos. I enjoyed the ambiance. I checked out the wares of the other merchants. I even bought a few.

Main Pavilion lit up for evening activities

Interesting scissors masquerading as a dagger

Nobody was interested in getting a portrait.

We had a big awarding ceremony on the last night. The local chapter executive (our "Baron") just recently stepped up to the High Seat. Robert, the Baron, never had a portrait done in his finery.

Perfect.

I set up an appointment with Baron Robert for just after the ceremony.

I knew Robert could get distracted, so I came up with a plan to make sure he came to the booth:

Right after the ceremony, I borrowed the Baron's High Seat and lugged it with the help of a friend (It's made of oak and quite heavy.) to the booth and set it up. I made no secret that I did this. Sure enough, Baron Robert strolls in looking for his Seat. He admitted that my kidnapping the Seat was a sure way to make sure he made it to the shoot.

Baron Robert the Stout

We had a good shoot with three very good portraits.

Afterwards, I helped Baron Robert disassemble the Seat and pack it up for transport. It seemed only fair.

Sometimes a little subterfuge can be a good thing.

The Marks of a Professional

Moonlight over DeForest fog

Ever have the contractor or vendor that is consistently late for meetings or deadlines? Or the client that doesn't know what she wants from your service? How about the designer that delivers the copy master as an unlabeled (not even writing!) bare disk?

Why would you put up with such behavior? Many of us do, because we feel it would be more inconvenient to go to another provider, or in spite of way the work was delivered, it's still very good work. The clueless client may pay you very well (you hope) for the time you take to walk them through deciding what they want and need from you.

Does their value to you make their behavior right? No. Quite simply, you condone and even encourage these things by merely accepting them. On the other hand, some of these things have contractual or real life consequences. A missed deadline for you means you can't get your product into production on time. You don't get paid. Your reputation suffers. In the creative world, a good reputation is golden and gets you jobs. 

Labelled discs are bad enough about straying, an unlabelled one? *shudder* I have hundreds of discs in my work area. Most of them are blank and unburned. I NEVER complete a disc burn without marking it with at least it's title. My clients get discs with full labels on them that include my name and contact information. In fact, all my delivered work has this information. How can business repeat if your client can't find you again?

How not to be a problem vendor

It's real simple. Care about your client. Give a rip about their time and deadlines. 

• Be on time for meetings, deadlines and work days. 
• Be ready to do the job: Is your research done? Are your questions ready? Is your notepad (paper or electronic) handy? Do you have your pencil/stylus? Are the batteries charged? Do you have all your equipment ready to set up and use? Are the proofs printed/on the screen?
• Actively listen to your client. Make sure you understand what they tell you. This way you can usually anticipate their needs, and often offer a novel solution to their situation.

  

  Setting up for portraits

• Stay focused on the job while you are there. Wasting the client's time is wasting your time, too. There are other, often little, things you can accomplish as soon as you are done working on your client's project. Don't cheat yourself of that time by wasting it during a job. (I understand if your client or someone assisting you has to complete a task between when you set up and when you do your thing. You might be idle, but often that time is necessary to complete the project.)
• When you deliver, make sure your product is ready to go away from you. Is it in the form your client can use? Is it packaged to protect the contents? Can your client find you from your packaging or enclosures? Is it attractive?

When you care about your client, you are building a (hopefully) profitable long-term relationship. These relationships tend to be the main source of income in the creative world.

Problem People

Before it gets too far, have the courtesy to ask them (nicely) to meet your expectations. It's just good people skills and good business.

• "By the way, my client was upset because of the delayed meeting. Please be ready for the next one. It's so and so time at such and such place. Do you need directions?"
• "It's really hard to estimate the license fee when we don't know how the pictures will be used." or "How big are the walls you want to put these on? That will determine the size of the prints I will deliver. Do you want me to go over there and measure?"
• "Hey, that brochure layout was great! I'm glad I got it loaded right away, because the disc slipped off the table and got scratched. I have this great source for the sleeves I use. Do you want to try them?"

 Sometimes you just have to fire the people that cause you too much grief. That includes clients as well.

• "I'm sorry. I can't afford to work with you anymore."

Professionalism is a choice. It says you care enough about your business and clients to make the effort. That effort is expected and sometimes rewarded.

Both images are under the copyright of W. Clinton Hotaling.

Preparedness

Clint and Arch - Self Portrait

One of the biggest beefs I have with customers is that they don't do the most basic homework when they come to me to get something they want. It's astounding how often they don't even know WHAT they want. I've found I'm very good at helping them figure out what they are after, and then helping them get it or doing what they need to do.

This also applies to showing up to work or the project conference with no idea who your client/customer is or what they do. When working with the public retail, this comes with the territory. However, when I got a call from a client or photographer to work with them, I make an effort to at least find what kind of work they do and how it looks so I can start planning on how I can help them achieve their goals. This has paid off so far, so I'm going to keep at it.

Basic preparedness includes, for instance, dressing for the weather. At the project that resulted in this self-portrait, I'm dressed in layers, with gloves that allowed me to work the controls on my camera. I specifically wore clothes with the idea that snow will get into crevasses if allowed. Hence the overlapping layers. My camera pouch is set up to quickly access the accessories I need, yet it doesn't scream, "Camera Bag!"

Simply preparing properly pays off in increased comfort, less frustration and hopefully, happier customers.

I did it!

Clint and his phone and computer.

I made the leap and created a website for my photography.

It's been an experience, but now I have a better way for potential clients to see how I see and get an idea how I think.

The site is "Mutt 'n' Vair Photography". You can reach it by going to: www.muttnvair.com

Comments are welcome. Honesty is encouraged, but please keep it civil. Thanks.

Thoughts on the new year and knee

It'll be a spectacular scar!

 

As most of my friends, family and Facebook fans know, I had my left knee replaced just before Thanksgiving. I tried putting it off by losing weight (I lost 70 pounds, and so far kept 50 from coming back.), physical therapy, braces on my legs, injections with various substances, changing shoes...the whole gamut my physician asked me to try before succumbing to the inevitable: My knees were in sad shape and needed serious repair.

My surgeon and I figure that if we do the worst side, the other--less bad--side can limp along a few years before it needed to be done as well. So far, I agree with that decision.

As it turned out. I am well ahead of the curve for recovery from this kind of surgery. My day job expects me to show up on time as the end of the month approaches. And my wife thought I'd be bored out of my skull by now! Hah!

Blizzard Drake and my holiday lights.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of projects I was hoping to do while recovering become shoe-horned in the last weeks of my convalescence. There were a bunch of little projects that are mostly taken care of (The last of these is the removal of the outside Christmas lights, but that always waits for a January thaw. Otherwise, I'd be fighting to remove rather delicate wires from ice-encasement.), and a milestone in my photography work has been accomplished: I had a portfolio review. (Thank you, Andy Manis!)

I needed this review so I can refine the photos that I will eventually post on a web site. I have a host provider picked out and their prices are reasonable. I just need to show my vision for those who would want to hire me to capture imagery. Cross fingers that I can get this done before the end of the month. It is a reasonable goal.

Another project is this blog post. Enough said.

My third project involves scanning a bunch of slides my brother-in-law has into digital format. I'll have to clean the dust as I go, because they were housed briefly in northern Arizona. The grit gets everywhere there. I haven't even looked a the scope of that project yet, but I will soon after I post this.

Last, but not least, is the organization of dances and music for dance ball to be held by my history club in May. It may seem a long way off, but the need to familiarize and practice some 20 new arrangements makes the intervening months all too short. Fortunately, I don't have to choreograph the dances, just select them and get the sheet music to the musicians. For this project, I am already late, but not too late to avoid the ire of my fellow players.

One thing that has changed over the course of the last couple months is my set of priorities. Part of that is temporal: Seasonal items, like school projects and home decorations for the Holidays. A big priority was and is recovery from my surgery. That includes daily exercise and weight lifting activities. I have close to 30 routines--just remembering to do them all is an exercise!

Now, the priorities shift to where I want to grow as a photographer, hence the portfolio review and preparation for a website. Part of what I also need to do is just get ready for the day-to-day grind of my day job, a new semester of school and getting a business presence so my customers can find me.

I also have to cook for myself this winter. My wife got a generous allowance from our HMO to take part in a boot-camp workout and dietary food program over the next three months. She goes in before work five days a week for an intense hour of weights and exercises. For two months, they provide all her meals, and the last month she gets home-sourced food on the weekends--she still gets their food on weekdays. It's been fun so far to match the suppers they give her with what we have on hand, so she doesn't feel like I'm eating radically different food than what she's getting. It's been reminding me to keep on my eating plan as well.

It's not that I can't cook--my parents made sure I knew how--I'm just a lazy cook. I'd much rather have ready-to-eat goodies out of the refrigerator than spend hours preparing something spectacular, at least most of the time. I have to remind myself that if I want bread I have to slice it! My wife did freeze ahead a bunch of entrees for use when I went back to work. I'm supposed to eat them for my lunches while I'm convalescing, too. I do. It is a little hard when faced with a dozen tubs of pea soup to keep picking from that pile. I just have to keep on, then.

Crystal Still Life at Poynette Antique Market

The biggest priorities are my lovely bride and our families. My brother has new digs that he'll need help moving to, and our other siblings and their children are so interesting that electronic scorecards are needed to keep track of them all. Life really is a lot of fun (especially with my family) when you look at it as an adventure to experience, rather than drudgery to endure.

Accomplishments

Tinney S. Heath

Meet Tinney Heath. Tinney recently published a historical fiction book titled A Thing Done (a delicious read, by the way). Among the many fabulous things she is and does, she just happens to be one of my music mentors.

Way back in my college days, I was just getting involved in the living history club I still enjoy today, and wanted to make music. I really didn't know what I was in for, but after foisting myself as a beginning mandolin player into an established recorder band, Tinney and the other band members (the Jararvellir Music Guild) welcomed me and the challenge of incorporating a plucked string instrument into the voicing of a previously all woodwind ensemble.

It worked. The Bug bit me bad. As the members of the Guild ebbed and flowed with new jobs, spouses and opportunities, I managed to stick with it for three decades(!). I remain the only active member that dates to that time, jokingly calling myself the "Memory of the Guild" as I personally saw and did most of the things the Guild took part in over the years. Now, I lead the remnants of the Guild with the hopes for a dance ball performance this upcoming May. More on that later.

Soon after I joined the band, Tinney became the Guildmistress. I learned a lot under her leadership, including the fine art of herding cats. (You don't drive cats toward something; you put something they want at your desired destination.) Unfortunately, she and her equally talented husband (Timothy, also a Guild member at the time) burned out dealing with what amounted to a lack of respect. I still don't blame them for not wanting to deal with it anymore. They became active in another music club, the Winds of Wisconsin. As the years wore on, keeping in touch became almost isolated incidents.

Fast forward to last year: Facebook, that time and attention consumer, helped Tinney find me, and we resumed our friendship on a quiet basis. This autumn as part of my coursework at Edgewood College I started doing photographic portraiture and needed models. What better place to rally/bully my friends to sit in front my camera than an announcement on Facebook? Among the respondents, Tinney had just found out she was to be published and volunteered in exchange for something that can be used for her publisher's website and the dust jacket of the book. Deal.

Now a copy of Tinney's smiling face and another portrait of her among her instruments adorn her publisher's website. Happy customers and a happy photographer make a good pairing.

Among the things I learned from my friend and mentor is the idea that it's okay to push my boundaries, better the status quo and don't give up something you believe in.

Thanks, Tinney!

Bringing Things Together

Edgewood Park and Pleasure Drive

A friend reminded me of some basic things that need constant, well, nagging: Practice, balance, responsibility and caring. I am notorious for being scattered, impulsive, often absent-minded, and usually procrastinating chores. However,...well, my accomplishments will have to wait for later.

There are times when a rather ephemeral idea keeps showing up in my head, and it's a good one, making me excited about it. The problem is the connections that led to that idea are fragile at best, so keeping that idea in mind isn't easy. What made it easier is a mild setback with my left knee.

As many of you know already, I've been fighting sciatica in my left leg, caused by a bulging disk in my lower spine and osteoarthritis in both knees. My recent weight loss has taken a lot of stress off of my joints, but the damage is done for my knees. Last October, my left knee "loosened" (my word, but it accurately describes the action) in the middle of a fencing bout and caused me to seek Urgent Care and physical therapy. The good news is that my knee should heal at least as good as it was last summer. The bad news is that I am more dependent on a cane for walking until the knee heals. I also have a lovely 20-30 minute twice-a-day (not counting swim work) exercise routine to rebuild the muscles around my knees and tighten up the joint. I also can't sit/stand/walk for more than a half hour before requiring a change in state. At least that gives me an excuse to refill my coffee or water while at the computer.

That was ten months ago.

The real joy is that the culprits are the cartilage pads (meniscus, menisci?) in my knees. They are best described as tattered. Beyond healing on their own. Come November, my left knee will be changed over to metal parts. The right knee, which was the bad one, should cruise on for years with a better leg to stand on the other side. With diligent physical therapy, I should be mostly restored to a pretty much normal life by early in the new year.

Meanwhile, I'm exploring more with my photography aided by new toy: the Pentax K-01. It's the less expensive mirror-less version of the K-5 I've been lusting after the last couple years. I'm having a lot of fun learning its quirks and how to manage my old (and the new two) lenses with it.

My lovely bride

Mattias and Seonag

The new tool is part of an experiment in portraiture. On the go: a 10x10 portable shelter, LOTS of blankets, even more spring clamps, a couple sheepskins, a couple stools, a bench and a handful of CFL and LED spot lights and a knowledge of stage lighting and away I went to two camping events photographing and printing portraits on site. I've yet to make back my investment, but this has proved interesting and fun!

Now that I'm taking portraiture at Edgewood College, I've already started to refine my techniques and strategies. I just need to keep developing my stable of models....

More next month. I promise!

Pending changes

Badger sculpture at Francis Street Mall on
State Street, Madison, Wisconsin

This is an exhausting and exciting time for me:

1) I've finally got the basics of doing a work flow of my digital pictures so that I don't lose them in the process. Now to process the previous six years or so of digitally rendered pictures on CDs stored in boxes below this desk.

2) I'm taking a new class at Edgewood College: Photojournalism taught by Linda Friend, a veteran freelance photographer. Already, in spite of the class mostly starting from scratch, I've learned a lot.

3) As I've mentioned, I've taken part of the DeForest Area Photographers' group. Hey, it's free and they fuel the creative juices. The picture at left is from the current project: State Street. I'll find out next week what the others saw and photographed.

There's more blog to come! I have to stop procrastinating and get my homework done.

Quick Thoughts



Enjoying a staple of the Wisconsin State Fair:
Cream Puffs!

There is something that everyone should make time for: Going to your County and/or State Fair. My wife and I made the trek to West Allis more times than not during our married life. Usually on the years we can't we go to the Dane County Fair. Every time we take in the talents and genius of young people from all over the state in the Arts and Crafts exhibits.

A resident Turkey Vulture from the Schlitz Audoubon Center
spreads her wings to take in the summer sunshine.

We also like to wander the vendors to see what is "new" and "exciting". Sometimes we'll buy it (like some spiffy brushes that clean out our dryer vent), but usually not (Multi-use scarves, anyone?). There are also safety exhibits and birds of prey, a nature preserve with a self-guided trail, and tons of entertainers from street dancers and musicians, to big name acts on the stages.

A team of the Budwiser Clydesdales usually makes an appearance. It's fun just to watch them hitch up.
Lest I forget, there are also some of the cutest farm animals in the state, exhibited by 4-H youth.
There is also every conceivable food you can think of (and some I hadn't ever dreamed of) skewered on a stick. For instance, two years ago I was introduced to chocolate-covered bacon on a stick. It wasn't half bad, but way too rich for one person. My wife and I shared one. We didn't go for the deep-fried Snickers bar on a stick. The new one this year was deep-fried butter (it was battered to hold it together). We decided to pass on that one, too. We never pass up the cream puffs, the grilled cheese sandwiches, milk (of course it's Wisconsin!) and the baked potatoes.

Grapevine at Weggy Vineyard.

The State Fair is a place where just about the whole state comes to you. Most times, you have go yourself to see stuff that special in your home state. Today, my wife and I took in a wine tour at a small winery near Muscoda. We learned some basic vineculture that I'll be using for my own grapes and a lot about this delightful winery. We had so much fun there, we decided to visit two other (relatively close) wineries and taste a few (OK, over two dozen) of the local vin. We brought home eight bottles of different types. We were happy campers!
One should experience Life. You can only do so much staring at the TV or computer screen. It's hard to savor the iridesence of a vulture's feathers, the taste of a cranberry apple wine, the soft fur of a rabbit, the rumble of 16 one-ton horses in harness, or get the smell of a cow barn from pictures that flicker before you. Go out and see/smell/hear/touch/taste it!
Portrait of me is by Mary A. Hoffman. Other photographs are Copyright 2011 by W. Clinton Hotaling

Crutches

Liquid Golden Sunshine - Honey!

Some of you may have noticed that I've been using a walking stick of some kind since spring. Most of the folks who know me know of my arthritis and assume the cane/walking stick is for my knees. If it were so simple.

A pinched nerve in my lower back creates phantom pain in my left leg usually far greater than the grinding pain in my knees. Fortunately, using a walking stick or cane in my left hand will take the pressure off the nerve so that I can walk long distances or stand for long periods of time on concrete--that wonderful stuff so many retail floors are made of.

Get me on turf or wooden floors, my back is much happier. I also have to remember to sit correctly: that is, straight and upright in a chair or car seat. Failure to do so results in pain, that fine teacher.

I do have to remind folks that just because I use a cane, doesn't mean I can't lift things, walk or even jog. The stick is there to let me have less pain. I don't need it for balance or to take weight off of one leg or another. In fact, I fence fine without the cane (although it can be useful as a rigid parrying device....). It helps me keep from wondering how long until my next break at work so I can get off my feet. It is most importantly a crutch to help me through my day at work.

Some crutches are better than others. Mine is just a stick I have to manage and keep track of. An annoyance (for me) at worst. It's just more annoying for me if I don't have it.  Some escape to their phones or rumor swapping. Some people resort to chemical help in the form of a pill or liquid that "makes the day go smoother". Those last are a menace to themselves and others. Fortunately, a very rare few of my co-workers are that stupid.

One crutch I rely more heavily on is coffee. Must. Have. Coffee. I don't care too much about quality unless it's truly awful. I do prefer light roasts. To me french roast tastes burnt. A little cream/creamer/whitener makes it go down smoother, but I don't otherwise sweeten my coffee. I inherited my father's ability to consume caffeine with few side effects. Like Papa, I can literally have a cup of coffee and go straight to sleep. Not having coffee results in caffeine withdrawal-manifested as a killer headache that lasts a couple days if I don't get some caffeine in me.

Morning Fog over the DeForest Bike Trail

Some crutches are truly useful. A monopod or tripod is that often overlooked piece of equipment in an amateur photographer's kit. Steadiness is one of the easiest ways to acheive sharp photographs. If you can't use a tripod (like in the conservatory), a monopod may do the trick. Anything to hold the camera still while it takes the picture. The photo on the left was taken with my phone, but I held it steady against my bike to get the shot. I used my bicycle as a crutch. The photograph of honey bottles was made at the Madison Farmers' Market. I could have only got there to see the picture and take the shot because I had my walking stick.

I'm also reminded of the adage: Good photographs are 5% the camera and 95% the photographer. Know the limits and capabilities of your equipment, and work with them to produce your magic.

All photographs copyright 2011 W. Clinton Hotaling