This Week

This week has been kind of busy for me so I have not been thinking about any one thing specifically. One of my goals this year is to build a portfolio that I could use for commercial work. As much as I love my artwork, right now it is not paying the bills. In fact I have been told that unless I sell a print(s) I cannot spend any money. I reluctantly agreed after it was point out that my wages in combination of my spending habits with my “hobby” was draining the bank account. Hence the need to build a portfolio to break into the commercial field.

In the midst of my moody Monday I started to think about the photography I have done and what would I like to do. It then occurred to me I really should build a portfolio that leans a little more on the commercial side. Don’t get me wrong I love the art but right now I am not getting much for it. Not that if I suddenly sported a cluster of awesome commercial work that I would suddenly be getting jobs. But if I start on it now I might have a better chance of doors opening up and a way better income would follow.

So here is what I am going to attempt this year. After looking over some of the work of Tim Tadder I thought I would try my hand at extreme portraits. My first victim ,, ah subject will be my son. He just got done with his swimming season so his time opened up to be a model for me. The second subject is a car. I would like to create a photograph(s) of a car that look like they were made for an ad. Third one is birds in the backyard. I have a remote and want to try to get some nice photos. The last but not least goal is architecture and or interior photography. With such a divers range of subjects I should be able to excel at one or two types of them. The end goal is to place the best on a website and start to market myself for commercial work. Once I have some money coming in I can invest a portion to my artwork there by saving what I get from my steady paying job for the family.

As far as portrait work. I don’t mind it but I really don’t feel I do a good enough job unless I have complete control. By control I mean a central theme with everything mapped out up to and including the clothing. Most of my clients I have done were not that open to the consultation idea. If I go back to portraits I want to use what I get from my son’s session to draw people in and follow my rules. It is the only way I feel I can give them what they are looking for.

I ran across a video of a photographer that creates cool photographs, Erik Johansson the Impossible Photograph. Every now and again when I need a little inspiration I watch the video. So enjoy.