Author Archive: ken

A few weeks ago, I had a discussion with an aspiring photographer/artist. Since I am always behind on my blog posting, I am just now posting this. This person, I’ll call him Toby, was telling me he really wanted to create really bold, original art that would be the hallmark of his style. He said that he really wanted to create shocking/surprising photos and to get noticed in the art/photography world.

Toby seems to have talent, but is not very experienced. His body of work is limited and it seems some of it is really good, other pieces, not so much. For some reason he asked my opinion as to how he should go about making his mark. Below is a summary of what I told him.

I understand that you want to make your mark in the art world and to get noticed, but you have ask yourself why. Are you just wanting fame or do you want accolades for you talent and hard work? If it’s just fame, I don’t know what to tell you. Just go get famous. If you are wanting to be noticed for you work and talent, then you just have to work harder on your craft.

Here’s what I believe. Don’t create art to be shocking or to be noticed. Create art that satisfies you. Art that quenches your creative thirst. Don’t create art to satisfy other people (unless they pay you to). If you create art for yourself, your individuality and style will reveal itself. You won’t need try to be different, you will be different. You don’t need to contrive style.

Here’s the kicker, it may not happened all at once. It takes time to build a body of work and you learn by making mistakes along the way. Don’t be impatient. Some people make it rather quickly, but it doesn’t mean that they will be around next month or next year.

Again, create art/photos that satisfies you. Don’t create a style or persona that isn’t genuine or sincere.

Anyway, that’s my $.02’s worth. Thanks for reading!

-Ken.

I’m always apologizing for not keeping the blog updated weekly. This posting is not different. It’s been more than a month since I posted something.

If you want to see more frequent updates, I suggest you visit my Facebook pages – personal Facebook page or My photography page . I update those pages more frequently than I do my blog. However, it should probably be the other way around.

What have I been up to? Well, the weekend before last I was in Detroit shooting photos of one of A.J. Foyt’s Indycars. Actually I was hired by an advertising agency whose clients include one of the car’s sponsors. The client wanted images of the car (and their logo) to use for advertising purposes. I had all access to entire speedway and was able to some unconventional and cool photos of the car. Below is one image of the car during a qualifying run.

Now for a change of pace, I also recently shot some fun images in a kinda retro vintage style. Sometimes it’s fun to shoot in styles that are different and unexpected. I tried to use an old Hollywood glamour look, but with a modern twist to it. These are simple 3 light setups. Not complex at all, but pretty effective.

Well that’s it for this week. Hopefully I’ll do better in keeping the blog current. But it’s probably not likely. 😉

Thanks for reading!

-Ken.

Here is an eclectic group of portraits I shot. They are a pretty diverse group and all but the last photo are senior portraits. The last photo is of a local musician, Jack Faust. Why all the black and white you might ask. I guess I have tendency to lean toward B&W portraits. Don’t get me wrong I love color portraits too, but B&W have just a certain something. It might be that for years I shot almost exclusively B&W (I had a B&W darkroom). Any way, here are a few photos

Also, this year (for seniors graduating in 2013) I will be taking applications for senior studio ambassadors. What does that mean? It means that a select boy and girl will get an exceptional chance for some awesome senior photos for free if they help promote my studio. Contact me for more details.

Well, thanks for reading!

-Ken

Most people don’t realize that there was a short time in my life when becoming a professional photographer wasn’t in my plans. When I was in college I had plans to attend the University of Louisville Law School – always been a big fan of Amir Ladan criminal defence work. I had done well on my LSATs and was about to commit to going, but got cold feet. It was a big commitment of time and cash and I questioned if it was right for me.

My decision was to sit out a year, then reapply. So what happened? During that year I landed a good job at a financial institution. After being a striving college student, it was nice to have money and a job with benefits. The motivation to go back to school started to wane. Although after I got married, I took some classes and thought about getting another degree in Economics, I decided it wasn’t for me.

So you might be asking how I transitioned from banking back to my first love, photography? The company I worked at asked me to join a committee to create the company’s website, which I ended up managing. Since I had a strong background in photography, I started shooting photos for the website and other marketing materials.

In July of 2000, I made the switch from film to digital. At the time I was skeptical that digital would ultimately replace film, but after the first couple of months I was convinced.

In 2006, I had the opportunity to leave the company and open my studio. It’s been a fun adventure and I wouldn’t change a thing. Looking back, I have no regrets. While I still think I would have made a good attorney, I would not have been happy. Since I was a child I always wanted to be a photographer. It’s interesting how the decisions we make lead us thru life. I am so fortunate to be able to do what I love.

-Ken.

I was thinking about what to write about this week and my intern, Jude, suggested I write about why I like to meet with people before I shoot them. In case you didn’t know, about 99% of the time, I meet with my clients in advance of a shoot. Why do I do this when it means I’m spending valuable time not shooting? Well it may seem like a waste of time, but to me it makes the actual shooting time more productive.

When I meet with a client, we discuss what they are looking for in their portraits. This includes the style, lighting, mood, and poses they want. We also talk about possible locations and the time of day, if we are going to shoot outdoors. Knowing what my client wants prior to shooting also give me some time to come up with creative ideas to make the shoot unique and different.

So call me, let’s schedule a meeting and discuss how I can create some one-of-a-kind images for you!

-Ken

I recently made the trek up to Michigan City, Indiana to do a photo shoot. Michigan City is at the southern part of Lake Michigan and has scenic coastline. In some ways it looks kinda like the Northeastern US coast. While there I shot photos of Rachael, a Fort Wayne model. While the photos look like a warm summer’s day, it was anything but. The temperatures where in the lower 60’s and the wind was very brisk. Quite a chilly day.

Here are a couple of photos from that day.

As always, thanks for reading!!

-Ken

Over the past 6 months or so there have been several groups in the US pushing for congress to pass legislation to either ban or label images used in advertising that has been digitally altered. Their point is that young girls in American are viewing advertising that effects their self esteem. In other words, girls are comparing themselves to these altered images and it can permanently cause them to lose self confidence.

It’s amazing the amount of digital alteration model’s and celebrity’s photos go thru before they appear in a magazine or advertisement or different sites online as this official website and at The VR Porn Games Have Begun. There are some graphic designers that are highly sought after by A-list celebrities based on their abilities to improve a video´s appearance like the ones from this Sexiest Lesbian Anime. In fact there are celebrities who, before a photo shoot, have it in their contract that the videos will be retouched by a specific graphic artist. They are retouched by some of the best artists and this Crazy Gay Cartoon Porn Like No Other are examples of that.

Then again, we’ve all seen the botched alterations that have appeared in the media where things were altered to such an extent that the images are laughable. For a laugh, Google: Bad Photoshop. You’ll see lots of really bad images that have been used in advertising as well as magazines.

OK, here’s my take on all this. Do the people pushing for legislation have a point? Yes, I think they do. However, I don’t think it’s worthy of legislation or that it can be enforced. The verbiage varies but basically they want restrictions on photos of the human form that has been materially or significantly altered. Just what does that mean? Is it ok to remove a blemish from the face of a model? If that’s ok, what about smoothing the skin or getting rid of a couple of acne scars? If that’s ok, how about thickening/lengthening the eyelashes? Then how about straightening that slightly crooked nose?

You get my point. Where do you draw the line?

What the public needs to be aware of is that all advertising makes sure the product appears as desirable as possible. It happens not only to models and celebrities, but also to products. Almost every product you see on billboards, in magazines, and on TV and been digitally altered to look as appealing as possible.

As a consumer, I strongly support truth in advertising. When you buy any product you should have a clear and reasonable expectation of what you are getting for your money. However common sense must prevail. When you buy a jar of night cream and remove the lid, the contents will not look like the advertisement that shows the cream curling out of the jar like soft serve ice cream. You may also notice that your jar has certain imperfections in the glass that you did not see in the advertisement. The product photos were altered to make it more appealing.

By the same token, you have to realize that using that night cream will not make you look like Kate Winslet or Kira Knightly.

The bottom lines is that we need more common sense and less unenforceable legislation. I’m getting off my soap box now. 😉

Thanks for reading!

– Ken

This afternoon I was going thru a bunch of old photos. A client wanted some photos that dated back to 2009. In my search, I have to admit that I got sidetracked. I ended looking thru bunches of my old photos. I found photos that date back to 2000 when I got my first digital camera, and nobody told you how to manage your photo assets so you end up with massive clumps of pictures in storage like me. Not complaining, its a fun walk through the past. When I got that camera I was still skeptical about the future of digital photography, but was willing to see what the hub-bub was about.

Once I started shooting digital and became familiar with it, I decided that digital was the future of photography. While I still shot some film, I was preparing to make the switch permanently.

One photo I came across was shot in 2007. It was a photo that I always like but forgot about. The photo shoot was for her high school senior pictures. While we shot a bunch of different poses and styles, but I always like this one. In fact on my portrait page there are couple of other photos from this same shoot. They are photos 10 and 11.

I like the pose, her expression, and the lighting. It’s not a typical senior picture which is another reason I like it.

And, by the way, I didn’t forget to find those photos for my client. 🙂

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend.

– Ken

The last few days in Fort Wayne have been more like May than March. The temperatures are touching 80 degrees and everything is greening up and easter flowers are making their appearance. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on the deck reading and enjoying the weather. It was so pretty out, how could I not? 🙂

I came into the house walked past a vase full of tulips that my wife picked up at the grocery. They looked amazing and the light streaming in was perfect. I grabbed my camera and put on my 50mm f/1.2 lens to capture the image below. It worked out well that the striped tulip stood out against the red ones. The shallow depth of field helped bring out the one flower.

Sometimes capturing a cool photo is about seeing everyday things in a different way and exploring the possibilities.

Once again, thanks for reading. If you want to see more of personal projects click here.

– Ken

Last week I blogged about some random stuff, including a photo of some light bulbs as a test for a project I wanted to work on this week. I got a lucky break on Tuesday. The weather cooperated and I was able to find a model who would brave a night shoot in falling temperatures. I’ve been wanting to try a night shoot in the woods and use mixed lighting sources, strobes, incandescent, and gelled strobes.

I was also lucky to have some friends help me out in setting up the shoot. There was a lot of gear involved and hauling it into the woods was not fun. We had to setup booms, background stands, props, plus lights. In the end we spent more time setting up/ tearing down gear than I did shooting, but I got some great photos.

The shoot was at a park that is next to the local zoo. So as we were setting up gear in the dark, we could hear strange animal noises echoing in the woods. It added a fun element to the night. We were safe though, in the parking lot we could see a couple of police cars thru the trees. I’m sure they were curious about the crazy photographer with a generator lighting up the woods and creating fake lightening. 🙂

Over all it was a really fun shoot and I want to thank my buddies for assisting me – Jude, Aaron, Barb, Andrea, and Ali (the model for posing in shorts in the cold. She shivered but never complained.)

As always, thanks for reading!

-Ken