Model: Egan

An article hit the web the other day and is receiving harsh feedback from several individuals in the field. Who can be called a photographer? A professional or hobbyist? This era is saturated by people calling themselves Professional (insert creative title) yet who can tell what from what anymore?! Comments such as the ones found on it give a pretty clear understanding of who really missed the point. True: anyone can download Photoshop and Illustrator and call themselves a “digital artist”. Anyone can buy a camera and say they’re a “photographer”. Just as someone could take 1 or 2 classes or mimic a Youtube video and go on as a “dancer”. That’s how the founders of these fields did it! 

Now, who can take unbiased feedback, suffer a complete mind-melt and build from that? Again not a lot of people and yet it is so VITAL!
Senior year at USC, we have a new art teacher studied in contemporary photography. This woman changed my life; I went from despising contemporary art to adoring it. I requested a individual critique from her on my work and she sparred no feelings because they were never entered or needed in the equation. My submitted work was garbage: unfinished and unfocused. She told me I was showing a stronger attitude in my 365 Day Self Snapshots than anywhere else in my portfolio. For those who were with me during that project, you are able to reference the emotional turmoil and distress I was in. I viewed myself with loathing and hated my snapshots work yet I was so proud of the commercial work I had been doing. She said it clearly, I am too comfortable with the submitted work and it has grown stagnant while the snapshots were straining my comfort as I was expressing my feelings and personal information about myself in a public forum which was terrifying. After the critique I ran to McDonald’s and ordered a super large mocha frappe before returning to work. My boss then saw the bag and asked if I needed the rest of the day off; he knew what a health nut I was at the time. 

It was devastating to hear those words but they needed to be heard. She wasn’t mean, she didn’t degrade my worth as a human being, she critiqued my work and that was all there was to it. For the rest of the semester I told her she was free to take the gloves off during class critique and I soaked up the information and opinions she dealt. The class at times felt sorry for me but I felt stronger for what the teacher did for me as an artist. We need to hear these things otherwise we will never progress and that, to me, is worse than swimming in a shark tank…. Nope, not worse. Damn close though. 

It is the honest opinion of this individual that anyone seeking any sort of footing in the creative world (art or commercial) that everyone have their works critique. Once a year, once every 3 or 5 years – do it. Just do it. 

I have included the link to the article and have pasted my response. I assure you I am blowing smoke up your ass as this bitch has the fire to do so and is fueled by the criticisms I receive and am not a pussy afterwards.

Article Response:

Critique: (verb) to e valuate (a theory or practice) in a detailed and analytical way.

On the web, in comments and forums, it is very easy to assign such a post with ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ connotations. What needs to be understood is that this Charlie figure requested a formal critique.
“…you have been insistent about receiving such concise, unrestrained and to-the-point-feedback.” This is an invitation for a critique. 

In the arts this means that you should receive unbiased advice on evolving your work. It won’t be nice or coddle you into thinking you are wonderful in all that you do – to do so would be inviting death to your creativity and your work will become dry and stagnant. A person critiquing a series is not doing justice if it doesn’t break down your entire world and persuade you to move outside of your comfort zone <——this, this, THIS. 

For someone who has never experienced a critique in a formal setting, whether at a university or by having an established creative review your work this practice is very unsettling, and this article “harsh”. Have an established creative person in your field to review your work, they WILL do it and you will receive the no-strings-or-family/friends-bias-ism review your work needs when you’ve hit a leveling point. 

It shall always be recommended for ANY creative individual to go back and review the fundamentals of their profession. If you are a singer, take entry level singing classes – review how the diaphragm works. Dancer? -one and two, three and four, and pointe! Painters, photographers, and illustrators must go back and study lighting, posing, contours, shapes, composition. It is tedious, it is a process and you will never master the craft as the tools are ever evolving as their inventors critique the previous model and improve upon it *cough-cough-hint-hint*.

TL;DR One should review the fundamentals and building blocks of their profession. As you become comfortable with your skill level, you should challenge it by having someone review your work and provide and unbiased critique and suggest a new route to challenge your approach and creative thinking. 

Working on the second set (the tea stained) proved much more difficult. I work very well with cool palettes and darker imagery – as if my portfolio doesn’t convey that – so when I went to address the second outfit, I was stumped. I tried working the images as I had with the first outfit and it just wasn’t meshing together. With some inspiration from Brian Kesinger’s “Tea Girls”, I took that palette to my images and immediately it all made sense!

The images exceeded my expectations and I am so happy for it. Tiffany and I were published in Dark Beauty Magazine for their 19th issue on April 15th, 2013 and we couldn’t stop squealing. Well, she maintained her Victorian composure while I squealed ridiculously and enough for the both of us.

I’ve been pretty bogged lately with images. The recent printing in Dark Beauty Magazine spurred an uncontrollable urge to make more images for publication consideration. Movement and forward momentum; that is all I can concentrate on at this moment. Restlessness has also plagued me, though it could be this large double espresso. We’ve got to move and keep moving, it’s becoming too easy to stop. At 25 I still have no idea where I’m headed, I just know that I haven’t stopped yet. New York is a righteous adventure and it has helped me progress in several respects, but it doesn’t end here. It shouldn’t end here.

Self image from last year during my second attempt at a 365 self-portrait project. It ended prematurely for reasons I care not to disclose. I consider taking it back up again even though Facebook and DeviantArt have become saturated with such imagery. Must move forward and journey.

Model: Fanta

I have become rather obsessed with retouching. Mostly I adore the textures one sees when they get up close to the skin, having complete control over the outcome of an image is rather empowering. Not only do I get to take the images but, I can make them into whatever creation I see fit. It also opens a world of models to any photographer. When film was the big bad ass (still is, unless you have a Mamiya RB with a digital leaf-back in which case you are my best friend) pimples and scarring where a worst nightmare. For models it meant less gigs or more makeup; for a photographer it meant finding a new model – the worst when you have your heart set on a pair of eyes, a lip-line, that set of cheek bones. With patience, study and Photoshop it’s quick to pick up tricks to eliminate the appearance of environmental flaws.

Stand alone image.

Out of respect for the model, please do not re-post or re-distribute the “before” images. They are for reference purposes only in relation to this article. 

Model: Fanta

On my to-do list: find a stellar make-up and hair artist as this was my first time using the curling iron… did not liiiike.
I’m not too shabby when it comes to eye shadows but lips are another problem area. Photoshop help me!
Seriously, don’t skimp when it comes to hair and makeup.

This face will accompany the series of bustle skirt and corset deliciousness I’m working on.

More to follow soon.

I will address 3 prominent designs and the current problems I’m facing. Maybe you could offer a suggestion?

This headdress is incomplete. After much deliberation with my good friend Jana, I will be attaching a tulle veil that will drape along the backside of the figure and possible offer the option of a front face veil for added drama.

I was hesitant about the grey at first, black being my first choice always. Plain, they offered little in moving me and I was set to paint over the grey when my Swarovski crystal came in. A pigeon blood color, they really popped on both the black and grey horns. This just require patience with tweezers. 

This headdress I am both most excited about and most frustrated. I was really looking forward to adding spikes to a select few and find that it is more difficult than was initially anticipated to attach the metal spikes to the horns. Hot glue was my first tool and they just pop right off; works for a quick shoot but will never do on the runway. Ideally, I’d like to drill a hole into the horn and secure the spikes with the screw backings that accompanied them in packaging. Alas, I cannot keep the horns steady without a C clamp which could crush them. My next try will use super crazy glue, I’m just worried about the mess – possible cleanup with nail polish remover. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think of their progress and design!

I’ve been battling the onset of a cold threatening to take over my sensibilities these past two days. While it wasn’t the smartest thing to go to the God Module concert in a corset, I looked pretty dammit! I also got to shake Paul Booth’s hand which made the discomfort of being in such a large group of people packed into a small space seem trivial. So, picture me waking up to my 7:30, 8:00, 8:30… FINE – I actually get up at 8:45 am. I wake up feeling light-headed and fuzzy, I’ve taken to checking my emails while still in bed to make sure no emergencies have occurred. I read them then go about my morning routine. It takes me 10 min. to realize that I’ve received an acceptance letter from a publication. 

Let the freak out begin and commence all damn day.

I’ll leave the title and theme of the issue at your suspense. I refuse to believe it myself – entirely believe it – until I see and have the issue in my hand. At the point you will see several photos over the web captioned with “Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” or something witty… probably the former. Whether or not the images get published I have the acceptance email in my inbox and that makes me feel pretty damn good! I owe a lot of people over the years for this, the interactions and experiences have shaped my work and continue to do so. I must pay special thanks to my photography idol and mentor Scott Bilby; his work has long inspired me and driven me to push my limits all the while being there to listen to me spas and ask for hardcore critiques. 

Another special thanks must go out to my good friend Jana of Backwoods Irene. 
We are on the chats almost everyday and she’ll let me throw images and ideas at her, bouncing themes and Photoshop renderings. She’d tell me straight up when something wasn’t finished or didn’t appear complete which forced me to reevaluate and always come out with a better image. The set in question was one we worked on closely together. She critiqued so many revisions and pushed me beyond my post-processing comfort zone. So yeah, she is one badass lady!

You will see certain names often in my blogs. That probably means you need to check them out and get on their friends list ASAP.