A good friend, who just happens to be a model, asked me about my dearly departed blog lately which maybe a couple of people actually read. I pretty much took it down, not because I didn’t have anything to say, but instead I had too much to spew and that….can be a problem. This is especially true when you don’t think anyone is really paying attention. So I’ve just been going along with geeky Facebook updates and occasionally angry posts on my Twitter feed. I guess now, temporarily, I need that “longer” voice back. Just for now, and then I’ll go back to being blog-less.
After many years I’ve come to the conclusion that even when you are trying to create a presence, you have to protect it. That protection can take various forms. One example: you work with someone new, you get decent images but you decide, that although things were pleasant, you, really, when it comes down to it, don’t…like…the model.
Not in the sense of skill or beauty, but as a person. That whole “content of their character” thingy.
Yes, I know. Whoa…indeed.
But….does that matter?
If said model comes around again do you decline because you know that this impression in your head could affect your ability to create?
These are not easy questions.
September is a busy month usually and this year is no different. I’ve had to turn down working with a few great models due to schedule conflicts on my end. And maybe, just maybe….that’s a good thing. Taking a bit of a break (like I had planned to do in July, but you know how that goes), is probably what is needed, even if only for a few weeks.
Experience molds people. If you are paying attention, you learn. The bad part of that is that it can also cloud your vision. It can make you cynical, arrogant and cold. I fight those feelings everyday.
Maybe that’s why that shoot in the past with this rather (reportedly, allegedly) well liked, popular model bothered me. Could it have been just me? After all plenty of photographers (some, read as: fanboys) love her. Or maybe…I just figured out during that shoot I was looking at myself or rather, a potential self; somebody who had essentially “lost” their fight. Somebody who maybe once before was relatively drama free, modest, professional, and pleasant to work with but now based on experiences, bad and good, turned into something….else.
I need to think about it more. I need to move on.
Let’s just put it this way:
Once you believe you are at the top and cannot learn, you’re done. You WILL fail. Gloriously.
A good portion of those “fans” on the internet are just stalkers. Ultimately, likes, followers, notes, whatever…. mean NOTHING if you are in that “bad” place.
If you don’t enjoy working with someone, maybe you shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter if they have a “name.”
In this connected, relatively, faceless and deceptively plastic Interwebbed world, no one is ready for what constitutes as fame.
Alot of people claim to be famous. Even more pretend their “fame” (real or imagined) is under their control.
It IS really all about what impact someone, working with you, can bring to your portfolio. Nudes, looks….all the physical attributes and social networking hype fall short and are irrelevant against this simple requirement.
#clarity #selfish #protectyourself #itsalwayspersonal
It’s about the brand. Always.
-CN




Comment