I think sometimes you have to celebrate your challenges and failures along side of your victories. This session was a challenging one across the board. Ruby and I may have locked in this shoot over a month ago, but a week ago she let me know that she just wasn’t feeling as energetic as usual and wanted to take things a bit more low-key than the costume shoot we had planned.
Cool. No problem. I’m here to do the work. I don’t care all that much what I’m doing, as long as I’m doing it. Also I prefer to test new equipment on more “low stakes” shoots anyway (not to brag, but most of the time I really do like being a photo industry secret agent and getting to play with pre-release toys…this will come back to bite me in just a few seconds).
I’m not sure what happened this time around, but I think I was fighting my equipment from the first frame. My first mistake was thinking I could use good quality lights with a poor quality modifier. I’m spoiled I guess with having access to better equipment, but I still can’t believe I can notice a difference with something I relied on not too many years ago. However, that was only the first battle. No matter what troubleshooting I did I kept having blank frames where my strobes just didn’t fire. I have some troubleshooting to do, and even though I’m happy with what we ended up getting, I’m still a little disappointed we had to cut things short (even if it did mean we did get more time mobbing around a new antique store and Target for the afternoon).
Vintage
Ruby Marx - 2020.
“Framed for a crime she didn’t commit, Ruby escaped prison to take to the road. Committing herself to a life of sin, attempting to be a Vegas showgirl, and taking up with Marxist ideals, Ruby found burlesque as her new trade of tricks. Having traveled far across the country, she now finds herself in the old South, embracing her sexuality and her education under her new, assumed name. Part kitty cat, part devil, she is a tease here to please”
Coming up on a year ago now, Ruby Marx invited me into her home with one thing in mind. Self Promotion. We had a wonderful time creating a few different looks in a small space.
While in NYC shooting with Nina La Voix a few weeks back, I was reminded how good it feels to strip things back and just shoot. So I was extremely happy when I booked two shoots on the same day.
Ruby and I set out with the same idea in mind (even if neither of us told the other what it was) to create something that invokes the feel of vintage Hollywood.
Be sure to follow Ruby and see where you can see her in person. You are sure in for a treat.
Ruby Marx - 2019.
Ruby Marx is a fresh face in the Atlanta Burlesque community who was referred to me by Charles of CBPhotos
(Side note, let’s pause for a minute and take a second to give a much needed shout out to Charles himself. If you have attended any of the many wonderful burlesque events here in Atlanta you probably are familiar with this man and his talent for winning raffles. His live work is wonderful, and he sure knows how to make the best at a large assortment of various lighting).
But, back to Ruby. She invited me into her home and we set to giving her the best photo experience possible. Afterwards we had a lovely chat, and I can’t wait to come up with something new for us to shoot together.
UNEXPhotography - The First 10 Years
This blog post is directly inspired by Renee Robyn. Go check out her work, and prepare to be amazed. I first heard about Renee on The Angry Millennial Podcast (RIP) a few years ago. Immediately I fell in love with her free flowing use of the word “Fuck” and her honesty.
We may have only met once for an awkward high five at Photo Plus Expo a few years ago, but I still like to see the latest work that she produces and keep in touch.
So now is where things are going to get a little embarrassing. I’m about to dig into the archive and pull some of my photos from the beginning.
I already can feel the pit of my stomach getting deeper and deeper, even though I know that learning is a part of the process. Dunning Kruger is one hell of a drug.
2007 - This was was taken on one of my first rolls of film for an Intro to Photography class. I'll admit that even still I have another shot from this series in my portfolio. But looking back at this one all I can see is busy background, uncomfortable model, stupid hat (that was mine), and the undeniable fact that I really needed to be MUCH closer to the model.
2015 - Much better. Still a little far away from the subject, but in this case it works. The background is much more solid, and the model is much more comfortable. A little photoshop work to remove distractions and this turned into a much better shot.
2008 - Yes. Before you ask. I actually delivered this photo to the clients. And Yes, I got paid for this. I don’t remember how much, but that doesn’t really matter. I just hope it wasn’t anything too outrageous. “Why yes, I’ve never shot a wedding before, so let me go into it with a 50mm lens and zero concept of how to freeze motion”. I’m sorry Chris and Kay…I’m so sorry.
2018 - From just a few weeks ago (from a wedding that I haven’t even posted any images from yet…so, SURPRISE). I have so much respect for wedding photographers, even though this photo is LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than the last one, it still just doesn’t feel right to me. But in the end the couple is happy, and thats what matters to me the most.
2009 - This isn’t a BAD photo per se, but it’s just not an interesting one. I definitely could do something better with the white balance to remove the red stage lights, and probably would end up cropping more to make the singer the focus of the image.
2018 - But in comparison to the last one this image is just much more visually interesting, better colored (even though its black and white), and has a definite focus.
2009 - This really is the beginning of where my style is starting come through. Admittedly I really don’t have any idea how lighting works outside of “Throw up some lights and let’s see what happens”. The focus is in the wrong place, and the lighting is far from even or all that flattering.
2018 - This is much better, I actually understand what lighting does and why it does what it does. It’s still mostly back-lit, but I understand how to sculpt the wrap around light to evenly cover the whole subject.
It’s really hard to look back over the last 10 years and see some of these attempts at what my style has become. Back then I was just a college student who applied for his first business license and really only picked up a camera to find something to do in his spare time. I don’t know if I ever thought that I would get to where I am at. But I could see what I wanted my images to be.
I talk about “The Gap” from Ira Glass a lot. In fact, every time it comes up I end up re-posting it in some way (Which I will be doing with this as well). Even though I cringe looking back at the old photos, and probably could have picked some MUCH worse examples of bad images, I’m ending up a lot more comfortable with myself because I can see that I am making progress.
Here is to the last 10 years, and to many more to come. What are some photos that you look back at with fear? How has your work progressed today? Hell, even broader, what changes have you made in your life personally that make you a better person today? Leave some comments below and let me know.
Désiré Èvoquer - 2017.
I'm fairly certain this is the first time I've shot with Désiré where she isn't wearing some sort of costume, and that's not a bad thing by any means.
She is a strong and powerful performer, costumer, and all around badass and when she came to me looking for something new for her portfolio I was happy to oblige.
I'm so glad she gave me the chance to get back to my photographic roots and shoot something a little more risque.
Makeup, Model, and Styling: Désiré Èvoquer