Who do you want to be?

We all have our favourite type of movies -I love action, thrillers, Sci-Fi, alternative reality - almost anything as long as it has a good story.

So let me ask you a question: Who do you want to be?

Sometimes life casts us in roles that seem to take on a life of their own, and it's easy to forget that we are more than the job we do, or the people we care for. Yes that is a huge part of our lives - but it's not all there is.

Take a step back from who the world thinks you are, and ask yourself "who do you want to be?” Now ask yourself "how can I get there?"

I admit that my chances of ever being Laura Croft are pretty slim. But I can aspire to parts of her character - her confidence, her inner strength, her tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds.

Although I love the outfits of Charlie's Angels, I don't quite have the waist-line. But I there is nothing to stop me from building my own self-reliance and do-it-yourself attitude.

Movies are not just about the visual - the story is key, which in turn is driven by the characters.

So one more time: Who do you want to be? :)

Take That Chance

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing a really gorgeous couple, Nikki and Matt. 

Nikki is a firecracker, up for anything, taking no prisoners. Shooting her was loads of fun and together we created some really great images [in between the fits of laughter].

Everyone is nervous the first time they get in front of a camera, and sometimes it take a little while to relax and get into the swing of it. Like most women I know, Nikki is a lot better looking than she thinks she is, but I have to say that when she is with Matt that she really shines.

These two gorgeous people obviously adore each other to bits, and when they are together it really shows.

Matt I know you think it was a set up to get you in front of the camera; it wasn't. I had the extra paperwork ready because I was hoping for the chance to shoot you together. Thank you for letting me take the shot and capture that moment. It's definitely one of my favourites.

With everything going on in our lives, I think it's really important to have images that remind us of the really important people in our lives.

Don't wait for that "one day" when you're the perfect size/shape/person to have your photo taken. Chances are there is someone out there who already thinks you are pretty damn perfect. And you know what - they are right.

Be the best person you can be and take that chance to create something special right now.

Here's looking forward to catching more of those moments. :)

Kind regards
Morgana

Getting Published

I'm very proud to have an image included in the latest issue of the digital magazine "Light It".

It's been 12 months since my first inclusion in an issue of "Light It" and a couple of months since my second image was published in the british magazine "Practical Photoshop".

So what is the secret to getting published?

The short answer - Practice, improve, submit. Repeat.

And then there's the long answer [you knew that was coming, right? :)]

Practice and play. Practice the things you need to learn. Play with the subjects and genres you love. When the two magically come together you know you have gold.

Which is no guaranteed of publication - but it puts you in the best possible place to try.

Improve. Which is partly practice and play, but can also include portfolio critiques, workshops, video tutorials, whatever helps you improve your craft.

Submit. This might seem incredibly obvious but if you don't submit your work, the changes of publication are greatly diminished.

Know your market. Being able to match your photographic style to a publication is also important. My work wouldn't suit a mainstream fashion magazine. So I wouldn't waste my time [and that of the editor's] submitting there.

I'm also not going to restrict my submissions to only one or two magazines. The market is constantly changing and I need to keep an eye on that.

Submission motivation.  I also think that it's really important to understand you're own motivations. Are you shooting purely for submission? Are your submissions secondary?

Personally I shoot because I love to create images; I submit for publication because I want to share my work with a wider audience and because I am quietly proud of my work. Nothing wrong with that.

So if you secretly [or overtly!] long to have you images published, then practice, improve, submit. Repeat.  Get out there and shoot what you love, and never lose sight of your passion. :)

Kind regards
Morgana

My Portrait Bucket List

Recently on Facebook I posted the beginning of my Portrait Bucket list - people I would absolutely love to have in front of my camera.

- Iggy Pop
- Henry Rollins
- David Tennant
- Dong-gun Jan
- Don Hany
- Charlie Webstar

And then there are the amazing people that I would have loved to photograph if I'd born in another time. Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, Edward G. Robinson...

Okay, the changes of me getting the opportunity to shoot any of these amazing people is currently slim... but hey, you have to put it out there to have any chance.

But what I think is more interesting is that my bucket list says about me as a photographer.  Which I have pretty much always known - that I am more interested in shooting intelligent, quirky and compelling people. Sometimes these people are conventionally beautiful, but that's just a bonus not the defining criteria.

So I guess my portrait bucket list is more like a "ideal dinner guest" list than Supermodel central. Which completely okay. It's my list.

I would love to hear yours. :)

Kind regards
Morgana :)

Signage Day!

April 17th was a big day - Signage Day for Image Cinematic!

It's been a long time coming, working out the design with the help of the very talented Keith Melder, finding a sign company that was actually prepared to come out and measure up for a quote [rather than just asking for a phone photo to work from. Seriously?]

Anyway it was definitely worth the wait! I love the way the red stands out against the black, which my husband Martin and I painted over Easter.

Martin painted all shop frontage above the windows, whilst I concentrated on the lower frontage and the front door. [In retrospect I think we should have painted the air con unit as well - I'll put that on the list for future projects :)]

So no more excuses - I'm on my way! :)

kind regards
Morgana :)

Speed Retouching Take One

It's no secret that I love working on my images in Photoshop, and one my aims for 2013 is to create video tutorials. So yesterday I bought a copy of Camtasia Studio 8 from TechSmith.

I've only watched a couple of their video tutorials on their website - couldn't wait to just jump straight in and create my own! I have to say I'm pretty impressed! I created the above speed retouching video easily and had a ball. The only down side might be that I'm finding it all a little addictive. :)

I'm already working on my second speed retouching video and starting to plan more indepth tutorials. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one!

Kind regards
Morgana :)

Small Spaces, Big Pictures

At one time or another we have all wistfully sighed, dreaming of our own photographic space. Or a larger space, or a fancier space. Somewhere we can create amazing images. But consider this – perhaps you already have the space and just don’t know it.

Because it’s all about creating big pictures in small spaces. :)

I am very fortunate to share a small shop front studio with my husband [also a photographer]. The shop is approximately 6 x 9 meters [approximately 19 x 30 feet] when empty – and lot smaller with all our gear in it! Two desks, computers, filing cabinet, couch, bookshelf, background stand, lighting stands, props cupboard… your get the general idea. :)

My actual shooting space is more like 6 x 4 [19 x 13 feet].

When people first come to visit our studio the reaction we generally get is “Wow this is not what I expected”. This was usually: white walls, concrete floor, with a commercial or slightly industrial feel. Not blood red walls, blue carpet, a cosy and artistic feel.

And perhaps a bit like being in someone’s living room. Which is a pretty fair assessment, and sometimes that’s how it feels. But this is definitely not a barrier to creating images.

The first thing you can do is just work with the space. I have these rich, gorgeous walls with a really lush feeling to them. Be a shame not to use that. So we moved the couch over to the shooting area and I added a few other bits and pieces to set the scene of an expensive boudoir. 

Effectively shooting in a living room to capture that soft intimate image. 

Great, works well. If that’s the kind of image you’re for. But what if you want something edgier, more hard core? We can do that. Same space, completely different image.

Removing the couch, we set up the backdrop stand and clipped onto it a silver reflective roll of I’m not sure what that was bought at a second hand market. I wasn’t worried that the roll was bent and slightly bucked for having to squeeze it into the car; that just added to the atmosphere. :) 

With a tarpaulin on the floor to protect the carpet and special effects added to the accommodating model, we were ready to go.

As my style started to change direction so did my use of the studio. Whilst I continued to shoot my subjects in the studio, I began to composite them into my background images.  

You’d think that was the easy way out of the problem, right? Surely I’d need even less space to shoot my subjects, given that I was going to be extracting them anyway to drop into another image? Well sounds great in theory; but the short answer was… no. I still need exactly the same amount of space.

My original goal hasn’t changed; to create images that tell stories. It was just the route I took to get there was a little different. Longer actually, just as much fun but no short-cuts when it came to studio space.

The one thing that has changed is that I now generally leave my backdrop stand and cloth up and ready to go. I know I am very fortunate to be able to do this, and not everyone has that luxury. But if I can get away with shooting in a red room, with blue carpet in a very defined space, then anyone can. Your space may be restrictive but with a little creativity, there are no limits. :)

Take for example this image; again the lovely Amy was shot in the studio, the background is a combination of shots from around town. I knew that I wanted to create an image where my model was jumping from somewhere up high, so I needed to get photos of her jumping.

[It’s really hard to fake someone doing something active like running or jumping, and most of the time it’s a lot easier to just get them to do it].

Rule number one in my studio is “Look after the model or subject”. I wanted to make sure that she was safe during all the jumping. We started off using a small plastic single step but I was concerned about the stability. Next we tried a three-step metal ladder, but I didn’t want her to catch her heel on it as she jumped off. In the end I asked her to jump from a standing position, which worked perfectly.

The other element to getting this shot was the angle. After experimenting with several camera heights, I eventually shot from approximately a foot off the ground, with the lens slightly up. If I’d been shooting on a set I would have seen immediately if the camera angle was correct. For a composite I had to really have a clear idea in my mind of what I wanted to achieve.

Overall there are definitely some challenges to working in a small carpeted area [protecting the carpet is just one of them!]. But consider the alternatives; if you can’t afford to hire someone else’s studio, or it’s just not practical at that particular moment [too far away, no transport, its 1 am in the morning] does this mean you don’t shoot at all?

I used to wish that money was no object, that I could hire the biggest studio, the best props and fabulous clothing. Now I’d much rather accept the challenge of small spaces and a limited budget to create big pictures. With unlimited funds I would have done things so very differently and won’t have the images in my portfolio that I do now. 

Big Pictures that I created in Small Spaces.

Kind regards
Morgana :)