This past Friday, while I was going over some details for a photoshoot I had on Sunday,
Fed-ex dropped off some last-minute film photography essentials I'll need for the month. Since you all seem to like behind-the-scenes content, I will give you a peek at some daily things that go down on the regular related to the whole photo process. One thing about me is I love to plan shoots for Sunday mornings, so when clients request that day, it's pretty awesome. Just something about the calmness in the air that makes Sunday shoots go smooth. I never understood why photographers plan shoots at night. Are people trying to hang out or produce brilliant work? That's why those large photography meetups with lots of people were never something I got into. Maybe it's because I shoot film, and every shot takes time and costs money, but also because when there are too many chefs in the kitchen, it's a recipe for sub-optimal results. Anyway, let us check out some day-to-day behind-the-scenes down below.
So the pic above is like a continuation of the "What it takes to produce a film photo" blog post from a few weeks ago. As discussed, the photo labs I work with will develop my film, scan and ship me the negatives, etc. They arrive at my doorstep nice and neat like this, at which point I'll organize and store them with the invoices for the jobs. The white archival binder has snap closures and protects the film negatives against moisture and dust. These were my invoices for July 2022, and I'll leave them as is for about four weeks just in case a client needs additional images, prints, etc. After that, I'll transfer the negatives to the archival storage pages made explicitly for film negatives, enter the client's info onto the page description and store the entire box for safekeeping.
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These two pics are of an original Rolleiflex system briefcase that I randomly found at a Leica store in California. I don't use it to carry any cameras; I use it for taking film on-location shoots, which is why I was loading it up with film. The red interior looks great and was the reason I bought it. You kind of feel like a character in Scarface walking around with this in public because who really carries a briefcase nowadays. 😂
I ordered this amount of film to get me through the shoots I have scheduled for this month and also to give me some leeway in case a client contacts me for something last minute; I'll be ready to go. Kodak Portra 800 is prob my favorite go-to color film, but the goal and concept of the photoshoot will always dictate what film stocks I use.
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I included this group of photos because I've been researching ideas I'm working on for some projects. I have to build a set piece for one shoot this month, so that should be interesting too. I've been into shapes and Picasso lately, so I'll usually follow that inclination and see where it leads.
The story with the photos below is that Picasso sent Dali that postcard that featured the Native Tribe on their land. Dali used it as inspiration for that beautiful double image drawing of the surrealist head pictured below the postcard.
So these two images inspired the horizontal head beauty photo I recently completed for a project and showed on the homepage of my website. Pretty cool, right? I'm telling you, your boy is cut from this cloth. It's in my DNA; I just don't have the body of work YET because I started doing this kind of stuff much later in life as an adult, after many other vocations. You know how some people knew they wanted to be a photographer or artist since they were a kid? Uh, Nah, that wasn't my path, lol. But if it's in you, it's in you, and at some point, you can't contain what's within, esp if you're the type who needs a sense of purpose, pride and fulfillment in whatever you do.
Now you better understand what I mean by saying my Portraiture/photography is inspired by the o.g's of art, music, and fashion.
Tags: Photographers near me
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Have a great week. ❤️🔥🌙