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Doctors need pics, too…

I get a lot of work from small businesses, like doctors and lawyers. They need marketing photos all the time. They need head shots updated. They need good photos! What do they need the photos for? Well, they often make brochures, small advertisements that run in area newspapers and magazines, websites… you name it, they probably do it.
Here’s a recent advertisement that I shot. It’s running in the current issue of D Magazine. It’s very similar to what I’ve done a million times before, usually for lawyers (I shoot a LOT of lawyers for some reason). You take a simple, pleasant and inviting photo that makes the reader/customer feel comfortable and secure with that doctor or lawyer. No, it’s not an insane, exciting cover shot for Rolling Stone. It’s not some crazy, energetic concert photo. It is supposed to be safe and simple. Your picture is designed to build trust with new customers, not make the doctors look like wild rock stars.
So, don’t overlook this great market. There’s a steady income ready to be made in Dallas by providing simple, safe, smiling portraits to doctors, lawyers, accountants, realtors and any other small business that regularly markets itself!

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Recent work, a couple covers…

I thought I’d share some recent work… a couple tear sheets from the daily news and a couple covers from Dallas’ best weekly publication: Quick! I’m not all that great at providing juicy details regarding the photo shoots, but I will try to give some sort of behind-the-scenes comment on each pic…

The above shot was pretty much our very last frame of the evening. We did a bunch of stuff in a local restaurant and out on the street in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas for this cover story. Some of the other images ran inside with the feature. It was getting dark and the writer and art director suggested the two models get very close – like they were about to kiss. I told her to grab his collar, and suddenly we had the winning shot!


Out of all the Austin City Limits Festival pics the Dallas Morning News had to choose from, they chose to run a crowd shot of mine. I had some killer shots of musicians performing, but this image must’ve best set the tone for the ACL weekend. It just goes to show you that the audience can be just as important as the band!

I was hired to shoot an important news conference by a business news wire service. Southwest Airlines made a big announcement and I got plenty of official “podium” shots. After the event, I spotted Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher outside giving a quick interview on his way out (very quick! I think it was a one sentence reply), so I snapped a few frames. The image was picked up and ran around the country! Good thing I was prepared…

TX-OU weekend… it’s a big thing here in Dallas every year. For the game day issue of Quick, we actually painted up some hands, just like you’d see waving in the Cotton Bowl stadium bleachers. It’s not often that I shoot crazy-colored appendages, but it was fun.
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Green Day vs Converse…

I already blogged about and posted my Green Day concert tear sheets several weeks back, from when my photos ran in the Dallas Morning News. I’m not going to repost the newspaper clippings. Instead, I thought I’d share a few extra shots and make an observation that pretty much every image appears to have at least one pair of Converse showing!
I know that Converse is sort of the unofficial shoe of punk and rock and roll, but seriously… the first shot looks like it could be a Converse ad with the shoes flying above the crowd! And, I think Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day is wearing an all-black pair. If not, they are a knock-off of the originals.




I’ve been wanting to push for more commercial clients. Maybe I need to taylor a portfolio for Converse? They do their marketing in-house, so I could easily send their people a book filled with rock and roll pics that showcase the classic sneakers… Anyway, I kind of got off track with my post. It was supposed to be about Green Day, but wound up being some sort of Converse shoe rant. Back to the music – enjoy the Green Day concert pics!
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The Camera vs. Kids…

I do a lot of lifestyle and editorial photography with children. I know it might be surprising to think the guy known in Dallas as the rock and roll photographer actually shoots such cute and innocent pictures… but, it’s true! I love music, but I don’t actually party or get wild. I shoot in a lot of clubs and bars, but I don’t drink or get crazy. When I’m not working, I’m usually at home with my three boys:
Maybe that’s why working with children comes so natural to me? I’ve been hired to shoot a LOT of editorial, corporate and commercial shoots that involved children over the years, and I always love it! Why can’t Dallas have a rock and roll photographer that loves kids?!?












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Shooting events or sports? Combine the two!!!

I’ve shot tons of corporate events for clients, getting pictures of guests mingling, candid shots of people enjoying the event and posed photos of important attendees. I’ve also had to shoot plenty of sporting events for newspapers over the years, getting action shots of players and scene-setting shots of the game. What most photographers don’t realize is they are missing out on an opportunity. They can combine the two shooting styles and gain a whole new client base… they can start shooting corporate-sponsored sports outings!
The most popular events are golf outings, though corporations or charities sponsor all sorts of sporting events, like bowling, softball and even skeet shooting. If you can shoot a good combination of sports action and event photography, these events will be a natural extension of what you currently do.
So, don’t overlook the potential of gaining new clients through their sporting events. These are often very important events for them, and they need good pictures to share with their clients and customers!









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In honor of ACL 2010…

I’ve photographed every year of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, except the very first year. I’ll be photographing it again this year. In honor of the starting day of ACL Fest 2010, I thought I’d share a random sampling of previous ACL photos. They are all mixed up and in no particular order… see if you can identify all the artists. Even better yet, try to identify the artist AND the year of their performance!!!