Aaron Riveroll | Photographer

So, I found a few seconds in my hectic day to blog about a little something. A lot of people think that one of the most basic shoots you can do here in Southern California is a beach shoot. And quite frankly, it is pretty easy to head out to the beach shoot a gorgeous bikini model. But there is a little bit more that takes place behind the scenes… And the key to getting great shots is being prepared. Even if that means a little basic homework beforehand…

Here’s a little video I shot at the beach a while back on what I do to get prepared for a beach shoot, weather-wise.

Here are some links to some of the things I mentioned:

• Oakley Surf Report
• The Weather Channel
• Surfline.com

It’s rare when I can go out on a shoot with JUST a camera and have it be so laid back that it becomes a “two friends hanging out” session rather than a photo shoot. Occasionally, we’ll take a picture here and there…but it’s an effortless sort of deal. In the end, we have some pretty awesome pictures…but we mostly just had fun hanging out.

Last week, I had a shoot just like this with my beautiful friend, Camille.

We spent the afternoon at Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, shared the sunset, and took some pretty pictures. With nothing more than a camera and no lighting equipment whatsoever, she lit up every single frame on her own.

It’s can be a challenge sometimes to use “natural light,” and to use it CORRECTLY…but it’s a challenge that all photographers should do now and then, even if they have all the lighting equipment in the world. Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE shooting high end glamour with strobes and gorgeous models. Knowing how to use lighting correctly is a challenge in itself…but I will always say there is something about taking a picture and being able to capture a great image with nothing more than a good eye and your camera. That’s where it starts.

It also helps when the person you are shooting is just so naturally beautiful. These shots I got with Camille are probably some of my favorite images ever. I hope you enjoy them too.

Again, I am going to do my best to try and keep up with this blog thing. I swear I’m not a slacker!:)

Another recent Hooters photo shoot I did was with Chelsea from Hooters of Riverside. She came down to the beach for her calendar submission photo shoot and we got some amazing shots! More on that in a second. I have to just say that occasionally, I suck and make mistakes. Lord knows I ain’t perfect… :)

Now, I’ve mentioned several times that you can’t let the client know about your mistakes or screw ups. You have to know what you’re doing at all times, or at least LOOK like you know what you’re doing. And on this particular day, I had changed camera bags from my usual Crumpler shoulder bag to my DaKine camera backpack. I like the backpack better than the shoulder bag, especially when I’m doing a shoot on location or at the beach because it’s easier to carry all of my camera gear plus lighting equipment on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Crumpler shoulder bag, but it’s a little awkward and heavy. Like your mom.

Well, I had managed to get all of my essential camera equipment into the backpack…except for my CompactFlash cards. Dude, I didn’t even have one in the camera! At this point, everything was set up, but I had no memory cards and I was totally stressed because I had forgotten something so small, yet so essential. I had no idea what I was going to do! Chelsea was getting finishing touches on her hair and makeup and was pretty much ready to shoot. To drive back home and get my CompactFlash cards would have meant losing about 45 min. to an hour of shooting time…not to mention looking like a moron and making my model wait for me. I tried calling friends to see if they could run me out one of their cards, but reception on the beach is terrible and no one was answering their phone anyway. I told everyone I was going to run to my car for a sec…and as I was running back to my car I remembered something. The stereo in my car has the ability to play MP3s. And these MP3s were stored on CompactFlash card. I grabbed the card out of the player, ran back to the beach, reformatted the card, and was ready to go.

The moral of the story: don’t forget your CompactFlash cards. I was really really lucky that day. But don’t ever let your clients see you sweat either. Wear deodorant. :)

Now, about the shoot. I have to say that Chelsea was amazing to work with. For being her first photo shoot ever, she was pretty damn awesome. She definitely brought her A-game. I was totally impressed. You could tell in her attitude and conversations we had in preparation for the shoot that she was really serious about what she was doing. She went and hired one of my best make up artists for the shoot as well as getting a bunch of brand-new, super cute Chynna Dolls bikinis to shoot in. The end result were pictures that I can see definitely being published somewhere. Needless to say, we will definitely be shooting again soon!

Anyway, here are a few shots from the shoot. Hope you enjoy!

So, I stumbled upon a really cool post over at the Totally Rad blog by Cathy Empey. A particlar passage really struck me since it is exactly the way I feel about my own photographic journey…and since I suck at putting thoughts into words, I thought I would share Cathy’s words with all of you..

In talking about finding and improving your style, she writes:

“I have come into my own; as I am sure many photographers do when they put their heart and soul into finding their focus. Some days I lack confidence, and that lets me know that its time to take it to another level. Although I feel as though I have found my style, I keep searching and improving. I feel as though you are only as good as your last session, and I strive to do my absolute best for every single client.”

Heart and soul. That really struck me…because without passion, what is the point of doing it? Always working to be the best, striving to be better than the last time, and always working on taking things to another level are qualities I truly admire and try to cultivate in my life.

Anyway, just a little mid-morning inspiration. Read the rest of the post here.

GOING THE DISTANCE BY CATHY EMPEY – GetTotallyRad.com

Yesterday, I had a great shoot with model Janice Michele up in Oxnard, California of all places. Seriously…Oxnard? It’s pretty funny just saying it, ya? :) Anywho…I met some AMAZING people…and Janice is pretty amazing herself…beautiful, motivated, and super fun to shoot with. We got some amazing shots…which, of course, aren’t ready yet. But stay tuned for those. :)

But Janice reminded me of something yesterday that I thought I’d share with a lot of you photographers and/or models who are shooting portfolio content or fun projects. This could also apply to commercial work…but more often than not, when there is money involved, people want their cut. And that’s understandable. But this is more for those fun, personal projects or portfolio shoots.

So, a few years ago, I was out in my hometown of Ramona with my good friend Ennis and our friend Laura. We were planning on doing a “country girl” themed shoot and since I had spent most of my young life in this little country town, I thought it would be a good place to start. We scouted around for a little bit until we stumbled upon this farm, complete with hay, cows, and a few barns.

We drove up the driveway and found the owner and offered him a couple Andrew Jacksons if he would let us shoot there. His response was a pleasant, “Sure!” but it didn’t come without a brief look of confusion, as if to say, “why would you want to shoot HERE?” His daughter was helping tend to the animals and she offered to move bails of hay for us or get us anything we needed. It was pretty amazing how nice and accomodating these people were for a few random strangers who wanted to shoot on their farm.

But the moral of the story is this: it doesn’t hurt to ask.

A lot of photo portfolios have gorgeous models…all shot in the same location. To me, this shows that yes, you can take a good picture of a beautiful model…but do you have any creativity to make something different? Think outside the box? Make something that someone hasn’t seen before? Yes, I realize that many concepts have been done…but that doesn’t mean you can’t do them differently…and one of the ways to do that is by trying to find new and different places to shoot. For instance, I do a lot of beach photography. It’s pretty straightforward…and there are several different locations that I LOVE shooting. But it’s the beach. It looks pretty much the same no matter where you are…but there is so much beach to shoot at and when I shoot, I always try to shoot at new places along the way. One of my favorite spots in La Jolla, California, has about a mile or so of beach…and so I try to change things up once in a while by picking different spots along the stretch. You’d be surprised the way you can make the shots look different.

So yesterday, Janice wanted to shoot in a boxing gym. She had an idea for some super sexy and colorful shots. So she called up a local boxing gym and said, “Hey, I want to take some shots in your gym!” So the owner gave the okay and we made it happen. The guy that was running the gym was super accomodating and helpful and might be hiring me for some other shoots down the road. Janice also wanted to shoot some stuff in an old fashioned ice cream parlor. So…she found one in her town, called the owner, and asked if we could shoot there. The owner said “yes,” and we got it done. The girl behind the counter was totally sweet and basically helped us with anything we needed. She made us tasty ice cream cones for shoot props…and to eat, of course…and had her iPod going with some cool tunes too. :) When the owner came in later, he was super cool, loved the shots we took, and also may be calling for future work.

I learned that honestly, it really doesn’t hurt to ask someone if you can use their store, house, or even ice cream shop for a short, fun shoot. If you can get it done quick, fast, and in a hurry, most people don’t mind the small inconvenience…and may even enjoy watching the makings of some fun pictures. :) And when you think about it, what is the worst that can happen? They can say, “No.” No biggie. No harm, no foul.

But if they say “yes,” you’ve got a fun place to shoot something different…and you usually meet some really super cool people too.

Here are a few shots of one of my favorite people ever, Monica Renee…and some stuff I learned from the shoot. :)

First, be prepared for the unexpected. Pros are able to get the job done with what they have and what they know…and are able to roll with the punches.

And, speedlights work in a pinch. :)

Here is the podcast…

[audio: adapt.mp3]

Or you can download the episode here.

And here are the pictures. :)

Something caught my eye while reading an interview over at Nick Onken’s blog with Katie Noble, the photo editor at the Improper Bostonian.

When Nick asked, “What advice do you have for photographers getting into the game?” one of the responses Katie gave was,

“It’s also really important to have friends who’re in the visual business. Since photography is an individual field (you don’t meet other photographers on a shoot), I think it can help with technical questions, borrowing/sharing gear and making connections with potential clients. And it’s also nice to grab a beer with someone who you admire or can understand your situation.”

I’ve found this to be so true…and it’s one of my sneaky ways of learning new tricks. :)

In all seriousness, a lot of photographers are rockstars…we are ego-driven…and with that territory, comes ridiculous attitudes and notions that we are “the shit.” Sometimes, that’s true…but can’t we all be the shit? Why yes, I think we can.

Which is why I try and surround myself with people like this: people that are obviously creative and good at what they do, but without the ego.

Over the past several months, I’ve worked with several talented photographers. It’s rare, but undeniably fun, to get a couple rockstar photographers together…a few gorgeous models together…and just have fun taking pictures. No assignments. No egos. No deadlines. Just good old-fashioned picture taking madness.

What’s cool about it, for starters, is the networking. We all know people…and it’s always good to know more people who are like-minded and creative.

Secondly, the friendly competition pushes us to be better. Rather than going into a shoot ready to do the same old thing, the competitive nature pushes us to try new things…

And on the other end, to learn new things. No matter what level we happen to be at, we all do things differently. There have been instances where my assistants have taught me something new. We’ll be packing up equipment or decompressing at the end of the shoot and talking about photography and they’ll bring up something I had never thought of before. We all bring something new and fresh to the table…and you’d be surprised what you can learn from just shooting the shizzle with another creative photographer.

I encourage collaborations on projects with photographer friends…someone you know and trust, and someone you admire. Make some pretty pictures and learn some new things. If you’re an ego-driven photographer…get over yourself. Just kidding…sort of. But seriously, it’s cool to have friends in the biz who you can shoot ideas off of, borrow gear from, share critiques with, and get advice from. You can never have too many talented friends.

So here it is folks…one of secrets I’ve learned in being successful: consistency is key.

Many people ask me how I’ve gotten so many “commercial” jobs as I have. Honestly, I wish I had more…but all that will come as my plan to take over the world unfolds.

I attribute a lot to God, honestly. Being a faithful dude (albeit, not as faithful as I should be sometimes…but faithful nonetheless…), I can wholeheartedly say that without a doubt, God is THE key factor in my success…because if it wasn’t for the gifts and abilities He’s given me, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. It’s that simple.

But I think fundamentally, it all comes down to being consistent.

You see, there are many-a-photographer out there doing their thing…and getting it done. We are a dime a dozen, my friends…so what sets me apart from anyone else who’s out there making pretty pictures?

Consistency.

Even if you consistently rock or consistently suck, at least you are consistent about it. Although, it IS better if you don’t consistently suck…but if you do, you know where you stand, right? And trust me, we ALL have consistently sucked at some point…sometimes, I still do. :)

I learned early on that being consistent was important…all the way from the basics, which would be a single photo shoot. Early on, when we all picked up a camera, we probably put the camera on automatic. We let the camera tell US what the white balance should be, what the shutter speed and aperture should be, what the focus should be…and that’s great, if things never changed…but camera’s aren’t smart enough to detect and make those subtle changes that us human beings are able to do. So what happens? You get all kinds of different pictures…some over exposed, some under exposed…some warmer, some cooler. We sometimes get that ONE shot that’s just right…but maybe only one out of every ten shots we take. Remember I told you I try to teach myself something new at every shoot? Well, on that particular day, I taught myself a couple of things; but one of those things was learning how to consistently make pretty pictures. To make sure that ten out of ten shots were great. I still try to do it, even if I’m not always successful.

But I think that’s the mark of a professional: making pretty pictures consistently. You see, there are hundreds of us that can take a decent shot…you look at people’s portfolios and pictures every day and they are chock full of lots of great shots. But are all of them great?

I’ve learned it’s SO important to have your portfolio be a reflection of you and what you are currently doing. Sure, you may have a great picture in your portfolio that you think is awesome…but is it really awesome? Is it a true representation of your work and what you can currently provide for your client? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself and you really need to evaluate whether or not a particular image is really doing you justice.

The bottom line is when a potential client or model looks in your portfolio, what are they seeing? Consistency is what tells people you can hit that mark every time you shoot. When a client asks you for a particular shot, can you deliver that shot every time? If the answer is “yes,” 9 times out of 10, you will get the job over someone whose portfolio shows great images, but lacks consistency.

When you put yourself out there for the world to see, make sure it’s something true to you and that it’s something polished and pretty…and when you execute, make it a goal to consistently rock with every single shot.

I go through these cleaning sprees which involve taking out all the crap in my closet and throwing away garbage I haven’t looked at in years. I ALMOST threw away this whole entire binder filled with school papers when I saw the top paper was an article I had written for my conducting class. Reviewing a conducting article entitled A Portrait of Successful Directors, I realized a lot of the points the writer made paralleled what makes a successful photographer…and a successful anything, for that matter.

I thought I would share some of the points here since they are topics I have been talking about with other photographers for the past couple weeks.

No links or notes for the show…but hope everyone has an awesome Christmas this week. Ho, ho, ho!

[audio:portrait.mp3]

Or you can download the episode here.

So, I have a lot of things in the works…I’ve been busy planning over the past week on things that need to get done…I’ve been working on a slight rebranding, a business plan that is going to involve some new things, and a possible redesign of my web site. Also, a much-needed and DEFINITE redesign of my portfolio.

Learned some things…and these things confirmed what I already knew…the portfolio has got to go!

I’ll be fixing it up all nice and purdy over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

And while you’re at it, listen to the show…

[audio:less-ep010.mp3]

Or download it here.

And while you’re at it, you might want to take a look at some of the cool stuff mentioned in the podcast…

• For instance, the web site of commercial photographer Nick Onken.
• Or you may want to pick up a copy of The Photographer’s Survival Guide: How to Build and Grow a Successful Business
• And finally, you should really give the new Broken Fingers album a listen over at MySpace or ReverbNation (search Broken Fingers)