Have been keeping busy busy busy!
For me 2010 was about finding a bit more balance in life and this lead to slightly fewer photoshoots compared to 2009. This was partly a result of work outside photography increasing in pace - that has been an interesting journey as well with its shares of highs and lows. Fortunately I'm blessed in both aspects of my working life to be surrounded with teams of people I admire and respect - which makes the tougher times much easier to bear and the fun times so much more enjoyable!
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| Copyright Geoff Francis - do not use without permission |
I also worked with some new clients in 2010 and their support was much appreciated! It was very humbling to have these local businesses put their trust in me to help build their brand. I'm happy to say that the results were some great photos and, I'm told, that sales were very successful for the lines we covered - professional photography clearly still has a place in grabbing market attention.
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| Copyright Geoff Francis 2010 - do not use without permission |
The other big change for me in 2010 was forming an alliance with a local fashion retailer - Princess Polly. This led to four shoots and I was really given scope to explore new techniques and ideas. Their enthusiasm and the vision they brought to the table really helped fire my imagination and stretched my photography that bit further.
Oh and I met a little personal goal of mine this year by working with models from all of the major Brisbane agencies. It's a nice little ego boost that the photoshoots we do continue to get selected by agencies for comp cards etc.
I'm also incredibly proud of the models and makeup artists that I work with that have been finding increasing amounts of work in the industry. It's a pretty tough business and their successes are hard won. In particular the two MUA's I work with most regularly have been seeing work in the film and television industry this year! Congrats Gemma (@ Embellished Makeup Artistry) and Vivianne (@ Simply Elegant Beauty).
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| Copyright Geoff Francis 2010 - do not use without permission |
And before I forget, with Vivianne I did some photos for an online, international makeup competition. I'm pleased to say that not only did she get highly commended in the fashion category but she took out first place in the Pin Up makeup section. The shoots were all a lot of fun, I'd never really done pin up before and had a great time with Vivianne and our model Stephanie.
What else....
I built my own little place on the internet:
gfphotography.com.au - it's nice to have somewhere to show prospective clients to.
And in the last year I invested again in learning (feeding my obsession) and can recommend the following:
Photographic and Lighting:
Kelby Training
Zack Arias on Creative Live (or try the One Light DVD - I also will look at the One Light Field Guide)
Retouching:
Lynda.com
Gry Garness ebooks
There were of course many other blogs and sites that I spent time on (Strobist still is a regular read for me) - but the above represent where I found most value.
I find myself at times thinking "I know enough now, I can figure it out from here myself..." and each time some new revelation pops up and knocks me back down to earth. It's amazing how much depth there is in this field, even just in the tiny niche I work within - and how much talent is out there. The internet is truely an incredible space with so much information available for the looking.
In 2011 I'm hoping to improve my composition and getting outdoors...hopefully the local weather becomes a bit more camera friendly soon as there's only so many "grey cloudy day" shoots that I'm interested in doing!!
Anyway - thats enough rambling! Bring on 2011!
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| Copyright Geoff Francis 2010 - do not use without permission |
