The last three are of Halley's Comet, a Spokane acoustic rock duet and were taken in the downtown Spokane area.
At this point I think I'm going to continue pursuing freelancing, but I will tell you it's pretty damn hard to get going in and prepare to make very little money at first. For the dummer shots I got paid with a meal at Moon Time and a couple beers (he's a friend of mine so I didn't really charge him), and the second shoot I netted about a whopping $35 after gas cost to Spokane and back. I'm finally getting a decent portfolio and landing more and more gigs with a little better pay. This week I've actually got three paid gigs - two shows and I'm doing baby photos for someone. I've also landed two weddings for the summer, so that's really exciting. It's not easy getting hired for weddings when you haven't shot one yet. Freelancing definitely requires a bit of marketing and business skills for sure.
Hey Mike, I agree, freelancing is super hard to get into. I've tried a bit with not too much luck. But it seems like you're getting to a good start. These photos are all technically very solid. I definitely like the low angle you got in the second photo and the little splashes of red in the backgroung from those "Keep Off" signs are a nice touch. You also captured some good facial expressions in the one's of the drummer. It gives you a glimpse into his personality and definitely has a connectivity with the viewer. The last two of Halley's Comet I really dig. I'm not really fond of the whole lens flare and glare from the sun in the first photo just because I think it gets done SO MUCH! But technically it's also very solid. You get the line from the pole in the middle which kind of acts as a symbolic separation of their persona's. I.e. male and female, the girl looks flirtatios and is gazing away from the camera while the guy stares directly at you and is very intense looking. Just kind of an interesting contrast. But I don't really have many bad things to say about these. They're solid photos and I know they're definitely more advanced than what I can do. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more of your stuff.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteYou got some really nice shots here. The second one of the drummer is my favorite. I live the addition of the wheel of the truck to reinforce the round theme of the drums to contrast the rectangular cement blocks. Good eye! The drummer looks the most natural and has a nice expression. It would have been nice it you had been able to combine the elements in the second and third shots so that you also had the red text as well as the wheel. You have a nice facial expression in the last photo but it feels staged.
The other set is interesting but not my style so it is hard for me to comment on. I bet Jerome likes the lens flare in the first photo. If you would have backed off a stop or two you would have still got the nicely blown out background but you might have left more contrast in their faces. This might have cost you some of your lens flare though.
In the second photo, I wish you had framed it just a touch lower and a bit more to the right so you did not chop off her elbow and his hands. You might even have moved closer to use her arms to frame the bottom left of the photo, ending with his hands ending the frame on the right. Their arms create some nice lines in this photo. The red of her lips and the black of his clothing contrast and work well with the subdued background and both standout nicely.
Great job!
Hmmm... that first paragraph was not very clearly written. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: "I LIKE the addition of the wheel..." Most of the rest is about the second drummer photo. When referring to the red text and combining the second and third photo I mean that I wish you had included the complete text in the second photo. The third photo does not give enough information without the rest of the drums in my opinion and if you had included the full text, drums and wheel by shooting a bit more from the right it would have incorporated several elements, some nice layers, perspective and some interesting details. It still could have been close enough to show the drummer nicely and might have eliminated the need for the first and third photo. That sure is convoluted and I hope it makes sense - it has been a long day and I am brain dead!
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI really like your work. My favorite out of all of these is the last one.