commercial
One of my favorite drinks is the Grasshopper. We always looked forward to it after our Christmas dinner. During St Patrick's Day, the restaurant we were at was offering it. I had to have one. It was so good. Out came the iPhone, and I took a picture, not knowing if I would use the photo or not. Learning Adobe Illustrator, I made this layout for practice and fun.
The Grasshopper
I have been having a lot of fun with photography and will continue to. I am also having fun with video, and part of that is learning Adobe Premiere and After Effects. Between my camera and iPhone, I have been learning a alot. One of the projects i wanted to do for a long time was a promo of my business. Finally got at it and had a great time learning Adobe After Effect. Here is what I came up with, and it is now my main page as you enter my website.
I have other ideas, and I continue playing and learning videos. Stay tuned for more videos. Today, they say video is hotter but hanging a video on your family room wall is not possible, at least not today. Being a Freelance photographer is fun you can do just about anything.
What is commercial work when it comes to photography? For me, it means anytime the work is used for advertising something. This may be a magazine, billboard, or maybe a web page. Since my start in photography, this is an area I have enjoyed. My style is more of a photojournalist like I do for weddings. I guess I like things that appear natural.
I was recently hired to take pictures for a company website. We sit down, and they tell me what they are interested in or have in mind. This could be done verbally, using Instagram pictures they have in mind. After I hear or see, I do what I think they are looking for. Let’s face it, competition is everywhere, and trying to get someone to buy from you may come from on professional picture. Your company is only as good as it looks, and I am sorry, the selfie will most likely not do it. Look at the picture below; what are they trying to sell?
Yes, if you said she was trying to sell her podcast, you would be correct, and I did my job by taking the vision of the podcast. She is not a professional actor, but by having her do what she was comfortable with (podcasting), I waited for moments and then took the pictures.
The reward (other than getting paid) is seeing your work in a magazine or on their web page. Maybe when you are driving and seeing your image on a billboard. That's the reward for me. I did my job, and hopefully, they are making money with the pictures they used. Over the years, I have done a lot of commercial work. I have done Medical, teaching, many products, Political campaigns, and companies. What's next? I don't know, but I look forward to whatever it will be. A boating campaign would be one that I would like to do sometime on my bucket list. I love water and boats or possibly do a vacation spot.
While I find my photography within me, I continue to lean toward commercials. I would include food photography also in my portfolio. I have taken an interest and continue to learn this segment. The below picture I took while at an event in Ohio. I wanted to tell the whole story of that evening, and that also included the appetizers that were offered that evening. Using natural light and having it backlight, I began taking a few pictures from different angles, and in this case, I liked the above shot. Next was to find the right crop, and this is what I picked for cropping. I enjoy doing macro photography and enjoying shooting food.
In contrast, I am not a food preparation or artist. I am learning from others what is important and not. You can always learn if you care and then take what you learn and practice. Not once, but multiple times.
Food at the Winds in Montpelier,Ohio. ISO 800 F8 180
Wow, it's been some time since I have done a blog. I have been one busy photographer. Wedding, Commercial work, and having my kids from Wisconsin have kept me a little busy. I know, no excuse.
Last week, I was in Cleveland, Ohio, to see these great Sailboats for the first time. I have always seen them on TV but never live. We were advised to arrive early because parking for this event is very hard. I showed up 2 hours before the ships were to show up and barely found a spot.
The weather was great, and you could finally see these great ships in the distance. I was going to use a tripod, but because it was a very sunny day, I could hand hold my 400mm with a 2.0 extender and keep the speed at 1500. ISO was 200. The challenge I had was not holding the lens, but all boats were blocking our view. Most of these boats felt they needed to be right on their side and follow them for 10 min. But with some patients and help with Photoshop, I could eliminate them. I waited for an opening and then took the pictures. It is defiantly a challenge and very disappointing.
It was great seeing these ships and the work they have to do to improve our look of the past. Here are a few pictures that I came up with that day. I enjoyed looking at the past. Now off to Bermuda this weekend for a week.
