So, I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I have had too many conversations over the past few weeks about photographers being bored between concert shoots, and not shooting. My constant question to these photographers is WHY??? Why are you not shooting? What is holding you back from shooting between shows? And the answer is always the same…bull shit.

Seriously, if you don’t go though and keep shooting, having the camera in your hand and study other photographers, even those who are outside of your area of photography, and trying your hand at those different areas of photography. You will be able to learn a LOT about photography if you do…trust me.

For instance, a lot of the visitors to my site or knows my work know that I do a lot of music photography and documentary work. That is great. They kind of go hand in hand together, but one thing that people don’t know his that I still go though and work in a few other fields, namely still life, food, and advertisement photography.

As some of you have seen on the header image for the blog, you will see a photo of coffee beans, a spoon, and a glass cup filled with my favorite breakfast (what I consider the breakfast of champions). I did this one morning, with no shoots planned for the day, or the next, and a little on the “blah” side. I was brewing my morning cup, and it came to mind that I had not done any food photography in like five or six years…since I HAD to do a food shoot for a class in graduate school at the Savannah College of Art and Design. So what did I do? I went through and read up on techniques, looked at a few examples from some noted sources (I will get into those sources in another update) and tried my hand at a few shots, two days in a row. This is is the second day that I had been working a little on the food side. Day one was not as good, but was a work in progress, for sure.

But really…why not try your hand on something that you are not that experienced in? I read a quote the other day that “a true master has failed more times than a beginner has even tried”, or something like that.

So the other bits and pieces are simple. I teamed up with KC Comets Rookie Superstar and Capelli Sportswear to work on their new campaign involving him and their clothing. So, once again, I returned to trusted sources on fashion photography and saw what was going on and put my own twist on things, and we have done two successful shoots (three, but the first shoot had a SNAFU in it that was none of our faults…just yeah…) that are now being used. Here are a few sample shots from both shoots.

These images are are not normally in my wheelhouse, I will admit it, but going outside of your comfort zone and trying new things is not a bad idea (And no this is not a date lecture either). But really…there is no reason why you, as a photographer, should not know what to shoot on a day that you don’t have a sporting event, or a concert, or what have you/what ever your main focus in photography is..because there are always something out there to photograph, and a new skill or two to add to your bag of tricks as a photographer. There is no reason for you not to be able to shoot every day if you want to. It is as simple as that. Don’t be afraid to do something that is not in your normal shooting range. It will only help you improve as a photographer. I promise you that.

A Cold Pizza and Coffee Update - Other projects