Revealing Secrets

Since I began blogging about pretty girl shooting, i.e., glamour photography, I've gotten a fair amount of emails from people who have thanked me for sharing some of the (supposed) secrets of shooting pretty girls.

Go figure, right?

Even Walter Melrose, the inventor of the Mola beauty dish, who once wrote to me and commented on this blog, said "As a shooter myself, being honest and open about the work we shoot and how we shoot it is not something most of us are comfortable with."

First off, I don't get it. Photographers aren't Masons or members of a Photo Illuminati or some other secret organization whose practices are closely held secrets. At least, no one's invited me to join some secret order of photographers. (And I guess they never will after writing this blog.)

Photographers' techniques aren't closely-held trade secrets. Those shooters who think they know something no one else does are simply flexing their egos either for their own benefit or the benefit of all those who (they've convinced themselves) are awed by their skill.

I do, however, understand why some people seem to think a lot of this is secretive: Some people look at the work of others and can't figure out how it was accomplished. For this reason, they regard those images (that confound them) as being the results of magical, mystical, secret processes and techniques that the photographer has kept close to his or her vest... As if it's Photo-Alchemy.

Photographa's please! (Nod to Mr. Chris Rock.)

There is such an affluence of information out there -- be it on the web or in your library or at bookstores or through seminars and workshops -- designed to help novice shooters develop technique and style that it's almost overkill. (There's also a flatulence of information... but that's for another blog entry.)

All anyone needs to do is take the time to seek out this abundance of information and learn from it and then practice what they've learned. You don't even need a live model to practice some of it--just get yourself a mannequin and shoot dummies till you get a live victim in front of your lens! That might not be as exciting as having living, breathing, eye-candy molding their bodies and expressions into sensuous forms, but you'll work out some of the kinks in your lighting and other techniques.

Personally, I can read photos. That is, I've done this long enough that I can look at what other people do and reverse-engineer it (for lack of a better term) and could shoot the same (or very similar) images based on what I'm reading in the photo. (Assuming, of course, I had all the same ingredients: Model, MUA, location or set, wardrobe, gear, etc.)

Recently, in one of the major photo rags, there was an article (with pictures) that featured a photographer recreating well-known glamour and/or fashion images. (Sorry, I can't remember which magazine or when.) The magazine showed the original images and the re-creations with some BTS shots (Behind-the-Scenes) of what it took to accomplish the image facsimilies. It was uncanny how well the original images were re-created. So much for the closely-held secrets of some Masters of Photography.

I guess what I'm saying is that as technology makes it easier and easier for people with minimal knowledge and experience to capture passable images, many people have become lazier and lazier in terms of learning the basics of the craft. Unfortunately, this reliance on technology almost guarantess that, for those who strictly rely on it, "passable" images are all most of them are ever going to accomplish.

I don't know about many of you, but I'm not satisfied shooting "passable" images. While some of you might believe I've reached a level of skill and experience that allows me to frequently shoot above the just "passable" mark, I still spend considerable time researching-out and learning new ways to capture images that aspire to higher levels of competency. It's about taking the time to learn and practice and hone one's craft. It's called paying one's dues. Something I see less and less willingness to do amongst younger photographers these days.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: When it comes to learning how to produce quality photography, there is no instant pudding!

Okay, I'm off my apple box and done lecturing. The lovely lady accompanying this little mini-rant (not the dummy, the other one), is Alexa Lynn. Images were captured with my Canon 5D with an 85mm prime hooked to its bow. ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 125th. MUA was Lilliana. Three light sources were used: A Photoflex 5' Octadome for the mainlight, a Chimera strip behind her on one side and a small umbrella overhead and behind her from the other side.