Be Real! It Photographs Better!

One of the biggest issues that I see in newer models (and some more experienced models) is that they come to the set without really knowing who they are. Maybe that is because they are always being told what to do and who to be.  But I find that a great number of the better shots I capture are of models that know who they are and are comfortable being themselves. They tend to share bits and pieces of themselves during the shoot.

These models have learned that what makes them unique and special isn't just their outer beauty, but it is their spirit and personality that makes me, as a photographer enjoy that working with that model.  In many case a model that is very comfortable with him or herself is at least somewhat creative and doesn't mind adding a little of their creative energy to the shoot.  For me than can be inspiring. I tend to feed off of the energy and vibe of the model.  If the model is to hyper with no sense of creative direction, than that can be very distracting.  On the other hand if a model comes to the shoot and think that they know it all and begin to direct themselves along with everyone else including me, the photographer, then that tends to be a much less productive shoot, and I will probably not book that model again.

I would suggest that a model just be REAL! Get to know you and master being you first! become comfortable with yourself.  We all have things that we want (and need) to improve on, so cool, let get to work on making the improvements and use all those great qualities that we have to bring something to the shoot that no one else can ever bring, and that is YOU!  You are the only you that God made, to take advantage of that and become the best you that you can be.  Continue to listen when you are shooting to get a better feel for what the photographer is trying to capture.  Build a relationship with your team, including the Make Up Artists, Stylists, and the rest of the production crew.  Not just to be a suck-up, but to build a team of professionals that can help you to become better.




But most of all just be real, and work on getting a little better everyday!  That would be a great goal for each of us, right?  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns that I may be able to help you with. Remember that we have a Meetup Group just for models that you can
join to learn more and we have our Model Bootcamp that begins in June, 2010.


Remain blessed!
Nat
BlackBox Visions Photography
www.BlackBoxVisions.net

Free Photo Shoot Fridays!

Help us select our top 20 photos and become eligible to join us for Free Photo Shoot Fridays.

BlackBox Visions is selecting its top 20 photos to use in our 2010 Summer Book and we want your opinion! What are your choices for the top 20 images at BlackBox Visions? If you go to the site and make your selections and add them to "Your Favorites" and "Share" your Favorites with "The Photographer" you will be eligible to join our Free Photo Shoot Fridays photo session.  Even if you currently have a gallery on the BlackBox Visions site and you want to select all of your own photos that cool, but we are looking for the very best, and if you help us to select the 20 absolute best images then we want to thank you by inviting you to the Free Photo Shoot Fridays event!  Every Friday we will be selecting someone, who helps us to select our top 20 shots, to join us for a FREE 1 hour photo shoot!  You have to show up ready to shoot, meaning that you need to be dressed with your makeup on ready to get in from of the camera and shoot for 60 minutes!  If you would like to change, do it fast because the clock keeps running!  That way we can get to the next person in a timely manner.

It will be great!  You will get to select your top 10 photos and we will even retouch 1 for you at no extra charge!  You images will be available in your own password protected Proofs Gallery on www.BlackBoxVisions.net and if your photos are really great you may be selected to receive your own Public Gallery on www.BlackBoxVisions.net!  So help us to select out top 20 photos and continue to build your book with BalckBox Visions at the same time! It's a win-win opportunity!  You must include your full name, phone number and email address (and Model Mayhem # if applicable) in order for us to contact you to setup your shoot if you are selected.

We thank you in advance your working with us on this project and we look forward to getting your selections!

Remain blessed,
Nat Carter
BlackBox Visions Photography

Grow or Go!

I am coming to understand that in order for me to grow, I need people around me what are want to grow also.  For the past year or so we have been shooting on a black set. Every now and then we would try to use a white set, but I didn't really care for the way it looked in the final images we produced.  I learned how to make the black background work for us.  I learned that in some cases, I would need to use a seperator flash behind the model to help better define their silhouette.  I needed to do that because a model with dark hair and/or clothing would blend right into the background.  In some cases this isn't a bad thing.  but in many cases it is.

So Carla did some research and found a tutorial that showed us how to create a great white set!  This is an example of going outside our comfort zone and growing our knowledge and skill-set.  We look for the same traits in the models that we work with.  We are looking to work with models that are hungry for greatness.  They want to be the absolute best they can be.  We are blessed that we have those kind of people working with us.

We have recently signed both Amber Lynn and Akeria Skye to bot modeling and management agreements.  They join Prisana Luke and Jasmine Lackey as fully committed Visions Models.  As professionals we must be committed to learning more and becoming stronger in our respective roles.  We don't have the time or inclination to invest in people that aren't driven to invest in themselves.  It's very simple, we must Grow or Go!  So far we all are growing!  We motivate each other.  That's a real good thing.

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD AND ARE CALLED TO HIS HOLY PURPOSE!!

We know that We must be doing something right when we have former clients that utilize the same technology and "Vision" that we introduced them to when we created their website for them (for close to free!); they have now implemented the same technology and "Vision" for themselves!  But like my man Tupac said, " I ain't made atcha, do your thing boy..."  That's a good thing, for both of us.  They are able to create their own site and it looks GREAT and I learned a lot while on this project. 

Some of the things I learned have allowed both my photography business and website development business to grow exponentially. It also reminds me that we do add value and our "Vision" and technical intellect are worthy of emulation.  Congratulation to Walt Jordan and Team Impact on their great site and awesome photos!  God continues to show Himself strong!

The Breast Cancer Awareness Prep Shoot

On Saturday, March 3, 2010 we held the prep shoot for Prisana Luke's Breast Cancer Awareness photo shoot.  It was great!  We got started at 8am.  Yes, it was still kind of cold, but that only lasted for about an hour.  As soon as the sun got higher in the sky things began to warm up, both figuratively and literally.

Prisana is very involved with breast cancer awareness and related events.  BlackBox Visions was happy to work with Prisana to do whatever we can to bring more attention to this very worthy cause.  So we sent out a casting call notice inviting anyone who was interested to come out and join us in Stone Mountain Park for this shoot.


We got some really great shots of Prisana Luke, Jamime Lackey, Javelin Woodland and Jean-Ernst Etienne.  This shoot was just a practice shoot.  The "real" shoot will be coming up in the very near future.  Stay tuned for morning information!

Ms. Jasmine Lackey, The New-New!

I got a call last week from a new friend that I met while shooting a celebrity golf tournament, "The Lady and her Caddie." My friend (Harry Huley) asked me about the casting call we were holding. I told his that it was a casting call for an upcoming swim suit shoot. The models will modeling bikinis. We, my friend told me that his co-worker had a daughter that she was trying to get into modeling, but she didn't know how to get started. They had already gone the normal route where you go and are asked to pay big money!

So I said I would talk to this mom. The mom got on the phone (at work) and was totally hyped about her daughter and said that she was looking for a photographer to help her build a strong portfolio. I'm sure that we talk about my rate as a photographer. Angie (the mom) sent me photos of Jasmine (the model) and said that she was ready to get started working. I really wasn't expecting too much. I mean after all, every mother thinks that their baby is beautiful and it's true that we are all beautiful in God's eyes. Well in this case I was pleasantly surprised to see that this young lady was very attractive.

I spoke with Jasmine later that day. We talked about our visions and what where we are going in this business and it was at that point that I realized that this attractive model was also very intelligent. So we set a date for her first shoot. It happened to be on my birthday, March 5th. Jasmine came by with her mom and we said our hellos and went to work. Jasmine shot for about three hours and awesome!

She came back the next day and shoot for about another four hours. I wanted to see what kind of stamina she had. She was able to hang with no problems. Jasmine is a pure joy to work with. She is on her way to an extremely bright future! She is strong and full of personality. She has a lot to learn but she is well on her way. She has the complete support of her family. We work extremely well together. Look for new projects from Jasmine in the near future. She is the future and the now! Thank you to Harry Huley, one of the baddest DJs in Atlanta for taking time out of his schedule to send young phenom to us at BlackBox Visions!

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