:: W4B photography's companion blog ::

:: Saturday, March 10, 2007 ::

Winter is getting done

Winter seems to be ending. Well that is what I am thinking at the moment anyhow. clocks are going forward 3 weeks early, it is above zero C for for the first time in a long time and only supposed to get better during the week... I shot the first daylight portrait in a long time yesterday (Nicole's) that didn't involve freezing and the photoshoot was something I walked away from quite pleased.

Light is my enemy or my muse depending on the season it seems. I much prefer natural settings to studios, unless I am going for high contrast nudes or figure studies, but that is about it. Put me outside in warm weather and I - and the people I shoot are happy.

I am looking forward to nicer weather, more shooting opportunities and less restrictions. Warm weather means varied locations to explore and this year will be better than last in terms of shoots. And starting them earlier on in the year as opposed to really mid to end of June. I am excited to see what the year will bring - in terms of new faces to shoot, locations and hopefully more photography business.

Finger's crossed, I will have a domain bought, built, and hosted by early next month. I procrastinated too long and have someone working on that now. There was a time when I would have coded that by hand and done the work, but now I don't need the hassle and want a fait accompli. Tough part is or was settling on a domain name. The variations on my name were taken - not surprisingly. And something like mikewoodphotography.com, while free is perhaps too long for the spelling challenged - though easy to remember and I am leaning towards it. Every photographer site seems to have "photography" in it's title - tough to get around if you are doing that I suppose unless you can grab a domain with just your name. Something clever would be good too - though not necessary.

Working on setting pricing for shoots is a challenge. Huge variance in that in London amongst the photographers I have found to this point. I had a rough guide set up last year, but it was very rough and sometimes too flexible and lacking in consistency. I am always for giving a break to someone, but as many people have pointed out, undervaluing my time or my images is something that I should never do. That being said, pricing myself out of the market is also something I don't need to do either. Thoughts on that from the photographers out there? TFCD work is good and can work out for everyone (and has treated me very nicely over the last year as I built up a portfolio) but getting some compensation for my work is good too and I will be transitioning into more and more of that unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise - ie a fresh new face I would really like to work with.

I am excited to get a few projects underway - a figure study set with a new model named Marissa is up shortly, a Suicide Girl photoshoot in a couple of weeks - hopefully one of three or more this year, shooting some of Violet's corsets in a fashion show in early April - and more of them later in the year in my other shoots, using a farm setting a friend of mine has to do some outdoor nudes when warmer, and perhaps some return engagements from some the of the coolest folks I shot last year - and hopefully many more new fresh and exciting people. I will also work on two 'complaints' from my friends too: lack of guys and lack of landscapes and interesting things like I used to shoot regularly. I will see what I can do. :)

Carpe Diem

:: Mike Wood 12:34 [+] :: 0 comments
...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment