I need an editor...

Writers have editors, musicians have producers, and directors have writers, editors, and creative producers---and this photographer could use the guidance of a photo editor/art buyer/art director or someone with a keen sense of how the heck I'm going to put my work together for the umpteenth billionth time.

This is what my desktop looks like at the moment.

I've done numerous on numerous versions of my portfolios and shared those with other photographers, photo editors, and a few reps as well. The one thing that is consistent (and you've probably heard this before), if you show your work to 25 different people, you'll get 25 different opinions. That's been the case in my experience thus far. Some like picture X, others like Y, some don't like Z, while others would have me open with it. Unfortunately, when it comes to the reps and the photo editors, I've always had to show a "completed" portfolio. Though, as we all know, the idea of a completed portfolio is a farce anyway since it's an ongoing work. Nevertheless, I was speaking with a fellow photographer yesterday, one who's a bit farther along in the game than I am, and he asked me if I'd ever given my book to an editor. He said he once gave his work over to someone to edit and when it came back to him he couldn't believe the work was his. Everyone sees things differently, and my juxtaposition of two images next to one another may not make sense to you, even though I was sure it was an easy read. I've got a friend who's a VP of Creative at an ad agency here in town who offered to give me a hand so I think that will be my first stop, at least for the advertising savvy stuff. Maybe I'll throw down the extra 3 bills for Mr. Haggert to put in his thoughts when I make my new website this month...

The Next Wave

I am aware that this blog has been less frequent lately, but I like to think that's an indication that things are going fairly well. This summer has been busy and I've been shooting quite a bit and traveling too. I just returned from a 5 day trip up into Norcal to do some exploring and camping and a bit of shooting too. The farthest I'd previously been was into Marin, but this trip landed me all the way into the Humboldt Redwoods, which are probably the most magnificent forests I've ever seen. Pretty much drove most of the northern California coast starting at Point Reyes and finishing a bit before Eureka. I love road trips.

Anyways, I'm back home now for what appears to be an open schedule to start taking care of the stacks of papers, empty cupboards, and piles of laundry that have been awaiting my attention. More importantly, I've got a lot of new work to sort through, retouch, and print, a new website to build (looking into the aphotofolio sites), create and mail new promos, and finally get these portfolios filled with new images and to hopefully create some sort of real ad book. I'd like to go back to New York in the fall with something new to show.

Speaking of new work... here's a quick scan straight of the contact sheet from my shoot in Carlinville, Illinois in July.

And yes, Nick (the guy who commissioned the shoot) and his brother Rob really did grow up at this very intersection...