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This year, my studio has enjoyed a great deal of growth. At the same time, some assistants/editors that I've had working at my studio just hasn't been up to speed, and I've had to re-edit a lot of their work. It's my busiest time of year, and my latest editor -- a girl I knew I was hiring just for the summer -- just left for college, and I'm back on my own while interviewing potential editors. In other words, along with shooting more than ever, I'm up past midnight most nights here at my studio, and I'm not even close to keeping up.
This has left me pretty tired, and I really think my creativity has suffered through it. A number of creative projects I wanted to do this summer went by the wayside. I just don't believe I've been on my game.
Three years ago, I did an Urban Portrait Series shoot with Dana (https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1318937/) at Lincoln Park in Chicago. Earlier this summer, she contacted me and asked if we could do another shoot.
One of my goals this year was to improve my dance shoots. In part, I wanted to work with higher level professional dancers, and then I just wanted to be bolder and more experimental creatively in my shoots. More recently, I feel like I just haven't been delivering my end. So I looked forward to the shoot with Dana. Although she's just 17 or 18, we've known each other for five years and have a huge trust level in each other. She had just returned to Chicago after a 6-week summer intensive program in Miami, and felt she was in the best shape of her career.
And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was back on my game. Together, I think we did a pretty good job here.
dmacmillan wrote:
Excellent! I love the urban settings images.
Thanks, Doug. I started this series about 7 years ago in an urban setting in Houston, so I named it the Urban Portrait Series. Now... way out in the rural suburbs of Chicago, I don't often get an urban look, so it was fun to get into it with Dana.
Hey, those are great pictures! What kind of camera do you use? I got to get me one! (lol)
They're all excellent and Dana is superb in her form. In the last one, I want to clone out the scratches on the beam to the right of her. I know it's personal preference, but the perfectionist in me is itching to get rid of those marks! What a great B&W!
Beautiful work! Hope things at the studio improve for you, I know what it is to be sole owner/shooter/editor/sales of a studio. Good luck with the hiring.
