first let me say i like all the work ive seen you do and I understand that this is an internet forum and tone can easily be misinterpreted. That being said, your attitude throughout this thread almost makes me not want to like it! you may want to tone down what could be construed as some serious arrogance. otherwise, keep up the good work
I think it's important to look at his website, as a collection, in order to understand his style and technique. It's uniform. He's created his trademark, for now, it's his signature style. Everything from his logo, to his website design - it's appealing to the younger MTV generation. I'm sure that's exactly what he wants. At least he's working towards a style and look. He's experimenting, pushing himself, and I'm sure over the years he'll reinvent himself over and over again. I love everything he's done.
toddmitchell wrote:
criticism is one thing but to to say you looked at his site and it blows is not criticism it is just rude. Criticism should offer something that would be of benifit to Sergio or there is really no need to post it other then to offend imo.
I am not a big fan of sergio's style but i think he is doing a great job doing his thing. He is young and has a lot of time to grow and mature as a person and artist.
I can say one thing for sure he seems to have passion for the things he does and there is no reason to stomp that. ...Show more →
Could I ask with all due respect. to whom are you talking? Seriously, it might help slightly if you could hit the "quote"bottun when responding to someone specific so we will all have the perspective of who you are addressing. Just a suggestion.
If it's Jubbaking, I think he was being very direct in saying that it's the parents who foot the bill and buy the prints. And he's right. It was a little brusk, but very truthful.
my peoples! thanks for all the love and i am glad once again that i started such a great discussion with my pictures. i wont take the time to individually address people cause its too late and i had too much wine with the gf's parents.
to start, arrogance is SO passé. forgive the misconstrued nature of internet forums in plain text, but i'm really a pretty nice guy who just really believes in what he does. and part of that belief is that i work for a niche audience, and for those outside of it, i truly don't care if you don't get it. you can't please everyone. call me dismissive but not arrogant.
i know that there are a TON of parents who think i am sacrilegiously different, and a tell-tale sign of the demise of modern youth. well, screw em! i have met some seriously COOL parents in my time. at the same time, there are some parents who are really indifferent, and just want their kids to be happy with their pictures. would they rather hear their kid whine about driving to yuen lui or give their kid a gift of photos that will make them feel confident, cool, calm, collected. they foot the bill, ultimately, but i refuse to market strictly to parents.
i try to market to the high end, fashionable, indie, and savvy. i would rather do 1 $1000 photoshoot than 4 $250 photoshoots. there are a few things i strive for in my marketing and appearance: mystery, trend, exclusivity, and value.
mystery: where did he take that picture? i've never seen something like that before. those colors have an awesome feel to them. can i afford it? you should all read the latest rangefinder dedicated to senior pictures. this one guy says that when people call asking about prices for seniors, he tells them "price doesnt matter". HOW BAD ASS IS THAT?!
i want to be the louis vuitton in a market full of old navys.
trend: whats cool right now? what kind of pictures are getting the most myspace comments.
exclusivity: the cool kids get sergiomottola.com pictures. i dont even ask them to add "www.sergiomottola.com" to every facebook and myspace caption but they do it. they feel special and entitled. when the girls are REALLY pretty i will spam some myspace bulletins for a few days with the pictures.
value: i maintain a clean but trendy look throughout. when i meet parents/kids at coffee shops if they want to see some stuff or before a shoot, i wear designer jeans and a lacoste polo. maybe a really nice and clean zip hoody from nordstrom. clean shoes. macbook pro on the table. chai tea. i am trying to portray the image of a thriving artist, not a starving one. i use helvetica fonts exclusively because they are clean as hell. everything from my contracts to model releases looks clean and easy.
overdoing my style: not possible! cause its just my style
to all my fans --- stay up on the blog and start posting comments. really! oh yeah and head over to my other threads and let me know whats up too.
to all the haters --- come to my other threads and tell me what a dirtbag i am!
Sergio Mottola wrote:
mystery: where did he take that picture? i've never seen something like that before. those colors have an awesome feel to them. can i afford it? you should all read the latest rangefinder dedicated to senior pictures. this one guy says that when people call asking about prices for seniors, he tells them "price doesnt matter". HOW BAD ASS IS THAT?!
i want to be the louis vuitton in a market full of old navys.
trend: whats cool right now? what kind of pictures are getting the most myspace comments.
exclusivity: the cool kids get sergiomottola.com pictures. i dont even ask them to add "www.sergiomottola.com" to every facebook and myspace caption but they do it. they feel special and entitled. when the girls are REALLY pretty i will spam some myspace bulletins for a few days with the pictures.
value: i maintain a clean but trendy look throughout. when i meet parents/kids at coffee shops if they want to see some stuff or before a shoot, i wear designer jeans and a lacoste polo. maybe a really nice and clean zip hoody from nordstrom. clean shoes. macbook pro on the table. chai tea. i am trying to portray the image of a thriving artist, not a starving one. i use helvetica fonts exclusively because they are clean as hell. everything from my contracts to model releases looks clean and easy.
overdoing my style: not possible! cause its just my style
to all my fans --- stay up on the blog and start posting comments. really! oh yeah and head over to my other threads and let me know whats up too.
to all the haters --- come to my other threads and tell me what a dirtbag i am!
trend: What's cool will be dictated by the market, media, events, and crowd forces you have no idea of. Many of these people "outside your age demographic" are constantly on their toes about feeling new trends and trying to predict where the market is going. Many of these "old people" orchestrate what drives your image of hip-indy-edgy-whatevertehell you were talking about. You, my friend, are just living in your generation's mainstream. Some of your photographs are good, but don't fool yourself into thinking they haven't been done before, or that they are somehow uniquely trendy, or that you can bask in that and not be willing to change.
exclusivity: Your clients like your work. Great. It's not a really big deal that other photographers have nation-wide networks or are connected to agencies who regularly patron them. Your high school friends think you're the shit, so...you're the shit. come to the city and we'll see how exclusive you are haha.
value: This is where I know you're misguided. Rocking inflated label jeans and lacoste polos definitely kill your image and relegate you forever to the 15-18 crowd that is decidedly anti- the edgy indie feel you are going for. Oh you have an apple computer, shit you are so hip. My mother has an apple computer. She likes chai tea too.. I daresay we're trendier than you in NY. That kind of clothing is longer than 3-years gone in the way of 'trendiness.'
When you are willing to keep an open mind and accept criticism, we can discuss your fashion options if you really want to appear hip.
some interesting work here. nice poses, nice pictures..
not so sure about the cropping and some forground objects( too much wall in few of them)
I don't like the post-processing: most of images looks flat and way too yellowish, and kind of burn process...
guys are right here: there are great photographers here from whom you can learn a lot from.
One of the first think you should pay attention is lightning and good WB images.
before doing any "special" process, go to your "basis" first.
lets just post another image, get over it on all sides, and start anew with real constructive critisism, and real advice, and praise, and everyone can just get along; temper is now running high and not much is going to help either side
you should all read the latest rangefinder dedicated to senior pictures. this one guy says that when people call asking about prices for seniors, he tells them "price doesnt matter". HOW BAD ASS IS THAT?!