The Importance of Sequential Studio Photography

MAKING MONEY IN PHOTOGRAPHY

By Gary Bernstein

The Importance of Sequential Studio Photography

The Big Picture (a pun intended ;)):

The key to making money in our business lies in creating images that the customer loves! You can’t sell it if you don’t shoot it! The key to making that philosophy a reality is that you must shoot a lot of images with variations because you will never ever know which ones your client will pick!

Do I shoot classic portraits in my studio?

Heck, yeah, I shoot ‘em! – see below. But I ALWAYS give the client a tremendous number of variations (and certainly not always variations on the same theme).

Gary photographed this on a Denny OM-2425 Brume Hand-Painted Photo Backdrop with the models sitting on Denny posing stools.

Hold that classic portrait thought for the time being.

Let’s shift gears. Put on your commercial hat– in fact, put on your MONEY hat:

I shot the national ad* below for Max Factor Cosmetics (Note: In my book – which Denny will be offering for purchase very soon - I show you precisely how photos are shot, including diagrams, camera techniques, lighting, distances, direction, negotiations – the whole deal. Is that a promo for the book? I guess it is ;)).

As stated—the print advertisement below was shot for Max Factor Cosmetics:

Does it also work as a portrait—for your portrait clients??? That’s a rhetorical question! How much additional money would your next portrait client spend if (in addition to the hero shot (which is the basis for the shoot be it a business headshot or a bridal portrait)) you made this image of her holding a tube of lipstick?! Non-models LOVE feeling like models. So, always photograph them like models! Age is never a consequence. People are beautiful at any age.

So, I was hired to design and shoot a series of national ads* for Max Factor’s Maxi line of lip gloss…

…And this next shot below was part of that series as well, featuring 2 top models (actually 2 truly great models). By the way, the image below was literally scanned from a very tiny (2” x 2”) version of the shot as it was printed in my book – so let’s not get into the lack of decent resolution of the shot, because that has nothing to do with the point I am making. Trust me—the original shot is crisp and sharp as a tanto, or I never would have been hired again by Max Factor ;).

*There are local ads, regional ads, national ads and global ads. National and global advertisements go for much more money (to be discussed in the future)!

Question: How much would that couple that you’re photographing next week LOVE to be photographed this way? Maybe they are at your studio for a wedding portrait. So, at the end of the session, try your own variation of this Max Factor shoot. I promise you; they will eat it up! It could be one of the best experiences of their lives if you do it properly! The shoot, alone, will be a great positive memory for them. And, yes, while I realize that in this particular shot, the male model happens to be in a “masculine pose,” and that she just happens to be in a “feminine pose,” trust me LOL, it’s purely by accident!

Start by shooting this series with the guy behind the girl; direct him non-stop, “go on, Bill, get in there, make her smile, c’mon—kiss her neck, pull her closer to you!—that’s it—that’s it!” I direct every shoot that way. Then continue the sequence with her nuzzling him…and shoot the heck out of the whole thing. Even if they were arguing on the way in—they’ll walk out lovers ;).

AND YOU will sell a series of prints that will blow up your bank account, while making your clients feel like absolute movie stars!

Technical Tip:

Can you create this look (I am referring to lighting balance – the relationship of highlight to shadow) with big soft boxes? You can if the soft box is backed up to the proper distance from the subject. Remember the physics of light: Contrast is relative to the size of the light relative to the subject. So, a smaller light source – relative to the subject – creates greater contrast. The sun is huge – but the sun on a clear day is small relative to the subject. Consequently, there is an extreme range between highlight and shadow and the result is extreme contrast. The moment a huge cloud covers the sun—in effect making the sky an equally huge softbox—the highlight to shadow ratio drops i.e. contrast is lessened. In the photograph of Matt and Dayle above (for Max Factor), this is about a 1:3 balance, and that highlight to shadow ratio is important to create the depth needed for average subjects. The diagram accurately shows placement of lights. Remember that lighting exposure between your subjects is also a consequence of distance.

NOTE TO SHOOTERS –

I will no doubt repeat my rules (my suggestions) for various articles and images – simply because they bear repeating—I live by them—and muscle memory should be reinforced while looking at pertinent examples…

…so be prepared ;).

Lastly, I know that the things I am suggesting to you require more shooting time - meaning more time spent with each subject – but it will pay off tremendously. You will make more money while generating great word of mouth promotion and in the process, you create more samples for your studio and your portfolio.

How many studio bookings in one day?

I never book more than one session in a day. Let me rephrase that. When you’re photographing a celebrity subject, very often you are hired to create many different images for multiple campaigns or magazines in a single day’s shoot. Back when I was photographing Elizabeth Taylor for example (and I grant you there have not been many Elizabeth Taylors on the planet), I was always shooting multiple covers and/or ad campaigns on the same day (with a ton of art directors driving you insane non-stop).

Consequently, I never booked 2 celebrities on any single day – even if I thought that the first shoot would be fast and simple. I just never wanted to be in the ridiculous position of having to tell Elizabeth Taylor “Elizabeth, I’m sorry, but you have to leave the studio now” or telling Jay Leno (if he was the second shoot), that he had to wait for a while!

Bottom Line: You must spend more time during the shoot, and more time after the shoot (in Photoshop) creating images that turn on your clients.

Again: YOU CAN’T SELL IT IF YOU DON’T SHOOT IT!

Followed by this Rule (rules for me, suggestions to you ;)):

YOU CAN’T SELL IT IF THEY DON’T SEE IT!...

…meaning that you need to take the time to show your clients your vision; by taking images that YOU like into Photoshop and creating samples from the sequential shooting I described above.

In the two Derivative black and white (with color added) examples above (which I created this week), I literally photographed contact sheets from 2 different sessions with Lena Harris, which I will be selling on my new website offering open editions currently.

After you offer this kind of variation to your client, she might say “wow, I like that effect and would love to put it on the wall—but I don’t like one of the shots of me.” So, you ask her to pick 2 or 3 images that she does like and then create that new rendition for her. Charge for all 3 or 4 images or whatever…

…we will get to pricing in a future column.

One more thing –

I realize that not every woman that you will photograph looks like Elizabeth Taylor or Lena Harris. I get it. But that is not remotely the point. To the contrary, every person has remarkable physical beauty in them. Hero shots can be created of everyone you photograph. You, as a photographer, with all the creative tools you have at your disposal are in the unique and enviable position of letting your subject see themselves as they never have before! That is your goal—to enthrall your client with his or her own image!

See you soon (and yes, I appreciate the emails—and will try to respond to all of them).

Best,