'Tis the season to have an epic tree.

Such an amazing tree.


Most Expensive Christmas Tree Ever from The Seventh Movement on Vimeo.


This is by far one of the best equipment rental companies out there for photography gear.


Happy Holidays to all.

-Cheers

Every Photographer Should Have One Of These!

Because every photographer just needs to have one of these in their gear bag.




http://www.ips-studio.com/



Hilarious...


-Cheers


Brian

It's all about communication

Sometimes it just seems like there's just not enough communication between the client and the photographer.  It's really easy to degrade into a ridiculous conversation, like in this video.  I know I've been guilty of having essentially this conversation before.  Honestly, I think every photographer has be caught in this trap at least once at one point or another.  I think both sides need to take a moment and try to see things from the other side.  Both sides want to feel important.  The client wants to feel special and get the best value for their money.  The photographer wants to feel important and validated that their skill set is valuable and appreciated.  Once both sides can see that the rest should be just minor details.  Good photographers deserve good clients and vice versa. 


Enjoy




-Cheers

Brian

Composite Photos

For about a year I've been really working on honing my skills with composite photography.  During this time I've learned that I really enjoy it.  I enjoy for one simple reason.  Anything is possible. If you can't get it straight out of the camera, which is ideal in my opinion, you can do a little planning before hand and set it up so that you can get the shot that might not otherwise be possible, or likely, to achieve.



THE SCENARIO:

I  was asked to photography a bunch of promotional photos for a Girl Scout Camp.  One of the activities I was asked to photograph was rock climbing on their climbing wall. Ideally, I wanted to rig my SLR to the top of the climbing wall with a wide angle lens to get some really cool top-down angle shots of the girls climbing to the top and ringing the bell when they reached the top.  However,  my flexi-pod wasn't strong enough to support my big SLR camera.  This meant I had to use my point and shoot camera which didn't nearly have as wide of an angle lens and I would have liked. To complicate things, I was going to have to find a way to climb the camera to the top of the wall and secure it in such a way that it wouldn't suddenly decide to practice swan diving without water.  It should be noted that I am no poster child for any rock climbing magazine by any means.  I couldn't climb above the top anchor, which is where my camera needed to go, because of how the wall was set up.  I also, couldn't just clip in at the top, hang out, and take the photos myself.  This meant that I had to leave the camera up at the top, guess on how to frame the camera without being able to get a good view of LCD screen or viewfinder, let it take photos on an interval setting for about an hour, and hope that I got at least a few photos that were decent.

Hit & Miss:

After leaving the camera up at the top of the wall, and getting plenty of other shots from down bellow with my SLR,  I reviewed the nearly 120 photos that were captured.  As to be expected, the images were really hit & miss.  Unfortunately, there was a lot more misses than I would have liked.  I was beginning to get worried that the shot I had imagined in my head would not be realized due to circumstances beyond my control.  That is, until I saw these two photos.....

Plan B

I really liked about half of each of these photos.  Neither one was exactly what I was looking for, however, they were definitely in the ball park.  I really like the pose and facial expression of the girl on the right in the first photo, and I really liked the way the climber on the left filled the frame of the image while also framing the other climber.    Since, I didn't get my ultimate photo in camera, there was only one thing to do.... Plan B.

I had been banking on the fact that I might have to result to this contingency plan when setting up the shot.  From experience I've learned that with enough time and enough fore thought put into your planning phase you can eventually get the parts you need to make a composite version of the image you want.  If you do it correctly, and you don't show off what you've done, no one will suspect a thing.  They'll be blown away by your ability to capture such amazing "snap shots".

While composite work can get much more complicated than this simple composite, understanding what is possible, even from a simple snap shot, is really freeing to a photographer's creativity.  While I still prefer to get most of my photos done in camera, composition work is still a whole lot of fun.



The Final Image

Until next time,

-Cheers

Brian 

Orchids

So, I tend to get a lot of random projects.  Along with being a photographer I really like building random stuff.  I was asked by a friend to make something amazing.  This was inspired from a photo shoot I had done with Jack Husting.  In which we were doing an advertising photo where we needed a flower, made out of clothing, to be growing out of a pile of laundry.  This is the new a new and improved version of that first orchid.  Also, I've been playing around with some new toys to do 360 degree virtual tour stuff.  I still haven't worked out all the kinks yet but this is just a simple example of what is possible with those toys.

For those of you who are currious what the orchid is actually made of here is a materials list:
3 Pink thongs
2 Pairs of Socks
Steel wire
Pete Moss
Green Plastic Foam
1 Glass Plant Pot
2 Plastic Beads
Green Fake Plant Tape
Fake Plant Staples
Fake Pant Adhesive
Thin Gauge Wire
Thread



Enjoy

-Cheers

Brian

Harvest Time- Part 2

Here it is...in all its glory.
The after photos and video.

Special thanks goes to my stylist.

Sarah Muños

-Cheers

Brian

Publish Post

Harvest Time

For the past 6 years, roughly, I have had only 2 hair cuts.  July 1st will be my 3rd. Why would anyone go so long without getting their hair cut?  Am I really that cheap?  Am I that much of a hippie that I don't want to cut my hair?  Am I too lazy to get my hair cut?  Do I really think I look that good with long hair? Or is there another reason?  The answer being some mix of any and all of the above and I'm sure some other reasons/explanations I'm sure I haven't mention or thought of yet.

I started growing out my hair to my shoulders soon after going to college.  1. Because, I wanted to see if I could and 2. Because I wanted to be able to say that I had.  After meeting this goal, I really had no specific plans to what I wanted to do with my hair.  That is, until I realize that it really irritated my sister that I could grow my hair longer that hers, even though see had been trying longer than I had.  She had made a sarcastic remark to me one morning when she had come home to visit: "What are you going to do now....donate it?" Which I responded in turn without missing a beat, "Yes....Yes I am".

Since then, every 1.5 - 2 years I start interviewing various salons to see who I want to cut my hair.  I am very picky about who gets to cut my hair. I have been growing this "crop" for 2 years and by this point it's become rather hot and annoying at times and I want this to be a fun experience.  The problem with cutting your hair is there is no instant undo button.  Sure it will grow back but it takes time and patience.  So, hair stylists really have a lot of pressure on them to get things right the first time, and many people can be very demanding and harsh if the person "messes up their hair".  I mean who hasn't had a bad hair cut in their life?  I also know that a lot of people will have a rough idea of what they want and either don't know how to ask for it or can't put it into words.  In other words, a person saying they want you to do whatever you want with their hair....often doesn't really mean that.  There are usually hidden strings attached to that statement that the stylist must figure out, sometimes the hard way.

My approach has always been, I'm donating my lock of hair, why not donate the rest of it to the stylist.  I figure I am going to look how I look.  If I look funny, it will pass soon enough and I'm comfortable with that.  I also believe that stylists don't get enough real world opportunites to have a true blank slate.  So I always insist that they should do whatever they want with my hair. They are free to do whatever their creative vision inspires them to do.  The funny part is that I seem to get the same basic hair cut as I did in High School, without ever telling them or showing them what that was.  Which is probably a clue that it's a good look for me. Or, it's a secret conspiracy by hair stylists everywhere to try and make me look like a 16 year old boy.  

My hair goes to the charity Locks of Love. Locks of Love is an organization that accepts hair donations (min 10in) for use in making real hair wigs for financially disadvantaged children who are experiencing long term medically related hair loss, for whatever reason.  Often these children have lost their hair as a side effect from treatments for diseases such as cancer or leukemia.  It takes about 6 donated locks of hair of at least 10in long each to make one wig.  Which means that as of the 1st I will have donated 1/2 of a wig.  Which is a pretty cool thing to be able to say.

This time I've gone all out.  I have purposely grown my hair out, including my beard, so I look like I'm a grizzly hippie mountain man from the 70s. By doing this, I am now the ULTIMATE blank slate.  My stylist this year will be able to do whatever she wants with all of it.  Even if I end up looking like my Photoshoped April Fools photos.  (completely bald)  Which would be rather interesting because I've shaved my head for real once already. I seem to remember I didn't have the right skull shape for that to look good.

So, without further delay, here are the official BEFORE photos: (After photos and video to be posted soon)

Hears to a good harvest.


-Cheers

Brian

Real or Fake (Answers)

And drum roll please..........






















 Image #1- REAL

 Although this was taken after some of the other photos it was shot and presented as if it was a "BEFORE" photo.

Image #2-  FAKE

This was the first image to go up on the web.  I had decided to shave my face that day and I had debated about actually doing this for real...however, since I'm a big fan of movie special effects, Photoshop, and it was April 1st... I couldn't resist.

Here is the original image:

Image #3-  FAKE

This one was my favorite.   There had been a few people who had called me on trying to post fake images of myself on April Fools and demanded more "Proof"....and I delivered.  All these images are quick and dirty edit jobs and you can see some of the sloppiness clearly on the higher res images but fortunately Facebook is really only designed for 400X600.  :)

This one is was a fun composite image to make.....

This....

Plus this......

..

Plus this........

Equals this.....

So to make absolutely clear (because I did word my conversations very carefully on April 1st, so it was easy to make a false assumption or conclusion)......I have NOT  cut my hair yet.  It IS still long.  I DO donate my hair to Locks of Love.  I Will donate this hair to Locks of Love. I just haven't done it YET.



Until next time.....

-Cheers

Brian

Real or Fake?

It's no secret that April is probably one of my favorite months.  Although, that should be qualified some because it's really only day in April that makes it so great......




That's right the 1st of April.

This year I have out done myself a little.  Not because I did anything really epic or spectacular....but rather I got a lot of people and a lot of them didn't pay much attention to the calendar and/or have missed me coming clean about all the shenanigans.  So, as a result of that we're going to play another round of everybody's favorite game.......




REAL or FAKE?


 Image #1

Image # 2

Image #3

Answers in the next POST



More to come,


-Cheers

Brian

New Video for Helium Magazine

Helium Magazine just posted a brand new video made by Brian Agee Photography, which features clothing from W Designs.

Check it out HERE


MTK,


Cheers,


Brian

How Do I A Take Better Photo? (Part 1)

I have very rarely been a fan of books that teach photography.  This is not because I believe the art of photography should be a trade secret.  Rather, in my experience of exploring and reading many photography books over the years, I have found that the vast majority of them are either too technical for most people, give poor examples, are confusing, or simply leave the reader wanting.  A lot of these short comings a due to the fact that is difficult to teach someone to the same level of depth and ease via the written word as it is to learn directly from a teacher with hands on examples and demonstrations.  However, it is still possible to achieve.  There are a select few that I admire and respect for their photographic skills and their ability to share their knowledge and insight, Scott Kelby, Joe McNally, John Hedgecoe, and Strobist to name a few of my favorites.  It is my belief that, the best ways to improve your own art is through the teaching of that art to others.  By sharing your knowledge you better solidify and can explore that which you already know.  So without further delay.  My first tip on how to take a better photo.


#1  STOP SHOWING PEOPLE YOUR BAD PHOTOS!!!!!

When I used to sell cameras at a major retail camera chain, I used to give my customers a funny little speech about photography and the REAL differences between professionals and amateurs.  Which, would go very much like the following:

"You want know what the REAL difference between pros and amateurs is?  It has nothing to do with what you know and what you don't know.  It has nothing to do with where you went to school and what classes you've taken.  It has nothing to do with how much you get paid or don't get paid for your photos.  It has nothing to do with what camera you use.  It has nothing to do with if you've been published or not.  It has nothing to do with how much you know or don't know about Photoshop.  The REAL difference between pros and amateurs comes down to this... .STOP SHOWING PEOPLE YOUR BAD PHOTOS!!!"

  That's it,  all the rest of it is either an extra bonus or just helps give you a better batting average.  It is not required by any means for someone to have all sorts of training or fancy equipment to take an amazing photo, although it can definitely make it easier if you do have those things.   I no issue with getting lucky with a good photo.  Every photographer can and will take bad photographs.  However, a true pro photographer will never show off these photos. 

Simply not showing people your bad photos is a deceptively simple statement that may seem like a rather obvious statement to casual observer.  However, this can be much more difficult to do than it may initially appear.  Pros have the regular task of sift through hundreds and even thousands of photos one by one, may of which are nearly identical, to find the absolutely best photos.  It should be no surprise that really great photographers are very critical about what is and is not a good photo, and for good reason.  Too often amateurs will post a dozen or so photos of essentially the same thing on their social networking page of choice.  Where as, a pro will sometimes post only a single image from an entire photo session which may have taken many hours and hundreds of images to achieve.  It all comes down to quality is better than quantity.

So, how does one stop showing off their bad pictures?  Raise your standards about what a "good" image is for you.  By spending some time being really critical about your photos and only showing off a very small percentage of images that you take you will already be a better photographer.  This can be very difficult sometimes, even for a professional.  It can be all too easy to fall in love with several images that are very similar, not wanting to let go of any one of them.  The temptation then becomes to show them all off.  To improve your photography you must learn to control this urge.  This is not to say you can not have multiple images of a single subject or do a photo series.  Instead I would recommend using the "Magazine, Wall, or Gallery" rule as a general guideline when sorting through photos to show off.  The idea behind this rule being that if you could see you photo being realistically published in a magazine, or being hung on your wall as a huge 5ft print, or could be displayed in an art gallery, then it's probably worth showing off to the world.  Even if you only have 1 photo that meets or comes close to meeting this standard you will instantly become a better photographer.  You might even get asked to do a professional photography gig from showing off your 1 amazing photo.  Although, if you are offered a profession photography gig from your ONE good photos, you might want to take some more classes and get some nicer gear before you do the gig so you won't have to rely on simple luck.  The "I swear I know what I'm doing" philosophy can only take you so far.

More to come,



-Cheers



Brian

MIA

So, things have been crazy busy on my end.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep up with the blog as much as I would like.   I  have 2 new posts in the works that should be up within the next day or so.  Keep a look out.

-Cheers

Brian

RESULTS: It Looks Good....But... Does It Taste Good?

Thanks to all that played the game.  I'll probably do more of these games and quizzes in the future.  In any case I'm sure everyone is anxious wondering the Answer behind all these photos.   If you still want to try at guess first before getting the answers then click HERE and view the previous post first.
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Answers:

#1 - Tea Cup- 100% REAL

This was an impromptu shot I took after having had a very tasty Chinese Food Take-out Dinner.  I noticed the reflection of the lamp above the table showing up quiet clearly on the surface of the tea.    Having done some reading from one of my favorite lighting books I had a moment of inspiration and fired off a few fun shots.






#2 - Blueberry Cake- 100% REAL

So, a select few of you had an unfair advantage because no only did you see this cake....but you probably ate some of it too....Yes Lynn you're absolutely correct....It WAS very tasty.  The photo was taken in Seattle, WA at a long time friend of mine's wedding.  Erik de Bie is his name, and incidentally is a Fantasy Genre Author and has done some good stuff with the Forgotten Realms series that people should check out.  He also has a new short story that just came out that people should buy and take a look see.  Anyways, great wedding, great friends, great food, and a great photographer.... =D





#3 - Winter Cake- ~70 FAKE

This is one of those that gets kind of tricky...and those who have been keeping up with my FB PAGE already knew about this one.  So, this is TECHNICALLY an example of fake food for photography.  However, the only thing that really fake about it is the fluffy tasty cake insides that are just underneath the frosting, or fondant in this case.  The flowers, greenery, the outside of the case is 100% REAL.....just the actual "CAKE" part is Styrofoam cut-outs that cake stores use to put out display samples so they don't have to worry about them molding or decomposing or disappearing in the night by a swarm of 6 legged creatures.  This was taken for a very ambitious composite image where a bunch of candy and desserts were photographed individually and then cut out and pasted together to make a single winter wonderland landscape image.  Hopefully, I'll be able to post the final image later, however, it'll probably be a bit because it is still in heavy post production for the moment.









#4 - Champagne 100% REAL

This was a very quick and impromptu photo taken of a champagne glass in the hotel room of a high school friend at his wedding in San Fransisco, CA.  Very fun wedding.  It's a great job where you can get paid to take photos of people while they're insisting that they buy you expensive shots of whiskey and then shuttling you around SF in a limo and having freshly caught crab an oyster shooters off one of the piers and then being taken back to your car in a limo by a very nice driver.  It's alright to be jealous now.......  I am.






#5 - Ice Cream ~90-95% FAKE

I have been completely going nuts planning and preparing for this shoot.  This ice cream IS FAKE!!!!! I love it.  This was my first attempt at trying the recipe for fake ice cream as listed in a food styling book.  I have been reading this for 6 months now and it still blows me away.  That book is the reason why I love food photography so much.  It's a mix of magic, science, physics, special effects, art, and photography all rolled into one.  So, the short recipe to make fake ice cream you take one of those frosting tubs with the frosting color that is the closest match to your "flavor" of your desired ice cream.   Add food coloring if needed.  Then add basically the "better part of 2/3rds of a 2 pound bag of confectioner's sugar"........which is A LOT of sugar.  And there are some extra details to make it look like they're starting to melt (which I am trying the next time...also I need a better scoop for next time I try this.  But, these things are basically crunch balls of sugar overload.  Ahhhh......love it.  Oh, and the cones are real... as they should be.





More to come,



-Cheers


Brian

It Looks Good....But... Does It Taste Good?

Alright photo enthusiasts, and anyone else who follows the blog.  Today we're going to play a little game.


Brief Back-Story
It's no secret to anyone who has been around me in the past year, how fascinated and obsessed I am about food photography.  I'm sure almost everyone has notice that, there are a lot of times that the photo looks a lot better than the actual food on your plate.  The short answer for why this happens is you don't have a group of people spending 8 hours trying to make your food look good when you order a burger at your local fast food drive through.  On the flip side I'm sure most people have been to at least one local "Mom & Pop" restaurant where the food in their photos look like they came out of an industrial waste site.....but when you get the food, it tastes simply AMAZING.  In other words there is a bit of a disconnect between what we see and what we get.  Which is fine because they serve two different purposes... one is supposed to LOOK very tasty and doesn't necessarily have to actually taste good, the other is supposed to TASTE good and doesn't necessarily have to look like a piece of art.  There are many tricks, rules, and guidelines on when, where, and how you can make food look better or even use the dreaded....FAKE FOOD.   (I may got into some more detail about food photography in a later post).  But I digress......  ON TO THE GAME.

The Game- REAL or FAKE  (RULES)

I have a small collection of images that will be posted bellow that it will be your job to guess if the food in the photo is REAL actual edible food...or if the "food" is simply eye candy and a complete FAKE.  Pretty straight forward.  Bonus Points are awarded if you can figure out not only what is fake, but what is used to make the fake food.

Ready........Go!  (ROUND 1)


#1- Tea Cup

#2- Blue Berry Cake

#3- Winter Cake

#4- Champagne

#5-

Answers and full details soon...


Points Score:
5 Points for each correct Real or Fake Image
10 Points for the correct method used with the fake food

Good Luck All.


-Cheers


Brian

Welcome 2010

So, I've been on a little bit of a hiatus recently.  I've been working on a lot of exciting new projects and my schedule has become a lot crazier than I was anticipating.  Never fear, you have not been forgotten.  I've got several new posts that are in the works that should be up shortly.  Keep checking back withing the next 48 hrs for NEW content.   Should be fun stuff.

Also, welcome to all my new visitors who found the blog via the Stumble plug-in for Firefox.

If you haven't had a chance yet please check out my OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Cheers,


Brian