Commercial lifestyle photography to me is about being able to draw out genuine moments and emotions in your subjects. Without this, you’re not really capturing the spirit of what this genre of photography is all about… to sell and entice others to want to be a part of what you’re photographing. It’s an ideal they can aspire to that is then represented by a clothing line, location or other product.

I was talking with a few other local photographers this week and we all agreed on one point. Concept, creativity and genuineness will really take your photography a step above where it may be now. Without these you’re just fulfilling technical steps instead of creating images. It’s the difference between engineering and art. One is mechanical, one is creative driven. I’d even go so boldly as to say stop worrying about your technical skills. Start focusing on your creative ideas and what you want to say in your own photography. The technicals will come with practice and attention. The creative might never if you don’t focus in on it. It’s the most important element of lifestyle photography. What can you create to draw in viewers?

Here we have our three friends arriving at the car wash. I like to utilize depth of field to create different layers in an image. It gives your image a subject and sense of place. I also enjoy little detail elements like having someone reaching in to grab keys. It hides their face and creates an “anybody” moment. You can almost put yourself in the same position.

Here our three models are once again playing around. You can create posed or set photos like each of these are, while at the same time bringing out the genuine elements of lifestyle. Simply set and direct where you’d like everyone to be, and then have them start moving and interacting. That way you have the right positions, and still a real feel to the images.

This last set I really like. You can tell how real the expressions are and how fun everyone is having. It’s all part of being able to add yourself as an extra party member to the group. Make yourself not just a passive viewer to the images, but a member of them. In that way you create an image that your viewers can not only appreciate, but engage themselves in as well.

How you go about them and what you want to bring out is a matter of your own preference. For these two, I wanted to use a few of the accessories I brought along (a few hats and sunglasses) and change up the angles. Another way to go about it is to set your model in a seated position, fix a tripod down and have them alter their expressions from the exact same angle. Since I far prefer to shoot handheld and change the angles to interact with my subject, my photos each have a bit more variety.

Knowing what to bring out in each of your models can really add an extra punch to the images. You may be able to get some smiles out of a model with more of a fashion look, but chances are they might not turn out as well as ones where you worked with their natural expressions and talent. Lia’s bubbly personality lent itself perfectly to just joke around and create these playful set of images.

Whereas Britt had a great softer smile and those lock-on eyes. Being able to work with each models natural talent really helped deliver the best images.

This was an incredibly fun photo shoot where I started to push a few personal boundaries. It’s so important to work outside your own comfort zone. I certainly don’t do it enough. When you do though, you open the door to learning new techniques and expanding your vision. I’m looking forward to sharing more images from this test. Stay tuned.

The “plight of the artist” can often be something to laugh about (I’ve had a good chuckle a number of times over people who thought they could change the world and ended up flipping burgers at McDonald’s), but it’s also a driving force in the life of many people. I count myself among those people now. Since I began taking my work in photography seriously, it’s been a new adventure in life. It’s a new passion. I don’t find myself laughing at the McDonald’s artists so much anymore – just wishing they could find a way to channel their passion into an applicable business practice. I doubt myself. All. The. Time. Who could ever like my work? Why can’t I be better? What is so wrong with my perspective?

But then I realize, it’s not what’s wrong, but what I need to continue to refine. We’re never wrong as artists, we’re just continuing to refine our vision and improve the technicalities of the tools that allow us to do that. Sure, we’re wrong on the technicals all the time, but never doubt your vision as an artist. Listen to others. Learn from others. And most importantly, always be you.

Whatever the venture, passion is the driving force. Passion for photography. Passion for life. Passion for laughter. These are what drive me forward. Passion is what drives all of us forward, if only for ourselves. I got to thinking about this a little more when someone asked me what my goal was for my photography. Well it is and continues to be, “To laugh with honesty every day the rest of my life and to inspire everyone around me to laugh as well.”

My photography is an extension of who I am. I try to show that a bit more every day in a creative way. I hope to laugh every day. I hope others can share that laughter with me. I can honestly say since working toward this lifestyle, I have. I hope to continue that, and to share it with more people. I believe in laughter we find ourselves.

Thank you all for helping me live my passion every day. Learn to recognize your own passions. When you do, never let them go. Always advance in the face of doubt, external or internal. Keep an ear open to advice. An “artist’s vision” is never an excuse for achieving less than you are capable of because you’re unwilling to take criticism of your work or learn from others.

Be proud. Be humble. Be you. Follow your passion and life will reward you in ways you never dreamed possible.

Production is all the little (and big) details that go into a shoot. Location, permits, models, wardrobe, props, food/drinks/catering, image delivery timetable and method. The personal style of how you run your shoots and interact with your crew and team members can even be said to be a part of your production. It all comes down to knowing your vision and being able to put together the pieces to execute it, within a reasonable time frame and budget constraints.

Your budget is often the ultimate deciding factor in what you can produce. I’d love to be able to shoot on a three deck yacht through the Caribbean, but it’s simply not a budgetary reality (yet). That being said, I encourage any photographer looking to put together fresh images for their portfolio to put some personal money into it. That doesn’t mean you have to go overboard though.

In the photographs below I picked up these colorful pairs of socks at Target for $2 a piece and matched them to the outfits that these fun models from The Agency Arizona brought with them. The $6 investment was well worth an image that will help grow my book.

For these images I went to a local grocery store and picked up around $15 worth of different fruit. They helped foster a fun feel and style to a number of images.

And for this last set I spent a few more bucks at Target grabbing colorful sandals and an extra few at the dollar store for a snorkel and floaties. None of these are expensive items, but they help create the right atmosphere for the photos.

Lately I’ve been putting around $100-200 into my personal test shoots, and that number grows as I continue to book bigger jobs and more clients. It’s a repeating cycle. Larger clients want to see the time and production you put into your images and they want to see new personal work on a regular basis. It shows your passion for what you do. It’s one of the comments I hear the most in any new client meeting – my apparent passion for creating images. Passion + production = progress. Put some more passion and production into your own work and I guarantee you’ll start seeing similar results.

I went to scope out a shoot location for next weekend and met a fellow photographer there who made an interesting comment about my work.  Just before I left he said, “There’s a lot of different photographers trying to get into this industry. Everyone focuses on something a little different, but you know what people notice about you right away? You know exactly what it is that you want to shoot.”

It made me stop and think, and I guess it’s pretty true. While I don’t know exactly every single concept I’d like to shoot (I mean who does really?) I do think I have a pretty good handle on what I am trying to say with my photography, what the emotions are I’m trying to illicit from viewers and why I’m doing it. It continues to refine over time, but my general vision has remained in a pretty consistent vein.

Knowing what you want to say with your photography and what kind of work you’d like to shoot can take time. What are the emotions you want to illicit from people who view your work? Don’t stop at answers like, “Oh I want them to feel happy.” It’s like showing up to an interview and saying, “I’m a good people person.” So what? Get a little deeper and really think about what it is you want to convey. If you don’t know yet, keep shooting and keep browsing the work of other photographers for inspiration.

You’ll know when you’ve reached what you want to shoot. For me it was like a lightning strike. I was browsing the work of other photographers and became so captivated by lifestyle photography that I instantly knew this was the kind of photography I wanted to shoot. Since then I’ve been finding ways to put my own style and personality into my work and driven every day to do and learn more.

Do you know what kind of artist you want to be? Keep pushing on if you haven’t figured it out yet. One day the lightning will strike.

On a related note, I’m planning a really fun test with The Agency Arizona next weekend that I’m hoping will deliver a number of great new images for my portfolio. Really looking forward to this shoot and can’t wait to share when it’s completed.