5th Street Photography

Memphis, TN is where it began.  That was the day I truely became the photographer I want to be.

Let me first give you a little back story about me:  I’m the type of person who is hard on himself.  Others think our work is fantastic.  It is the reason we get so many referrals.  For me, I think we do good, but I know I can do better.  And I am always in pursuit of being better.  I want the image I see in my head to show up on the photograph.  But I always see a flaw after the image is captured.  Others don’t see the flaws, only me.  I guess I have a bit of a perfectionist bug in me.

I ‘grew’ up photography-wise watching Tony Hoffer, Sam Hassas and Ed Pingol.  These great names in the industry were my inspriation.  They posted images on their sites, blogs and forums which blew my mind.  I always wanted to know how they were able to make this magic happen.  So I studied their images, read their online words of wizdom and practiced… a lot.  Again, our images were great, but they weren’t what I pictured in my head or at the level they were at.

Then Genesis 2011 happened.  A collection of the top photographers in the industry coming together to put on a three day workshop where nothing was held back.  This single workshop covers everything from the interview process, branding, shooting styles, lighting, posing, post processing, etc, etc, etc.  The list seriously goes on and on.  I was amazed, absolutely amazed at all the nuggets of information we received, which when applied properly can create the shots I see in my head, the ones which Hoffer, Hassas and Pingol can create.

But I almost didn’t go.  I had excuses not to go.  Could we really afford it with our budget?  Would I really learn much more after studying and following these people online for so long? 

At the end of Genesis, there was a feedback form we filled out.  One of the questions went something like ‘Do you feel the cost of Genesis is just right?’.  After three full days of learning, that question made me stop and think.  Did I think I would be able to make the money I spent on it back?  My answer was ‘Absolutely’!  It was a lot for our budget, but the time saving tips for workflow, interview techniques to sell better and branding techniques to attract new clients are going to make that back up easily!

There is so much to learn at Genesis, no matter what your skill level is.  Here was the break down of who did what at Genesis 2011:

Tony Hoffer:
Branding extrodinaire.  From him I learned how to better market ourselves.

Sam Hassas:
Creative workhorse.  He showed us techniques on how to think more creative while at a session.

Ed Pingol:
Dude has made lighting skills and is happy to show you everything.  I even learned how to save money!

Evan Baines:
Documentary photography.  He provided so many tips that will greatly improve our in-between moments.

Mel & Jeff Mansfield:
The brains of the operation.  They are the totally organized couple who helped make Genesis happen.  Their piece was on interviews and making people look great.

I also grew and learned from the ‘students’ of Genesis.  The friendships and experience we all had while there will continue through the Genesis forum where you have continued access to the instructors.  I also hope to start a Genesis 2011 reuinion in a couple years to see where everyone is at.

The total experience is hard to put into words.  So lucky for me, I brought my camera with… enjoy

 

^My first time eating Chic’a'fila.  Why don’t we have this in Wisconsin?

^My first time on the tarmac to get on a plane.

^I organized a pre-Meet’n'Greet party at Huey’s restraunt the night before Genesis.  Many showed up.

^Photographers have such cool toys!

^All of us waiting for a trolley.

^My photo, of the photo, which was taken by Ed Pingol.

 

This next series of photographs shows the behind the scenese where on the first day we went out and followed the instructors on a shoot with models.  We got to see their creative juices in action which is worth the price of admission alone.

 

…Meanwhile, back at the batcave…  This next series of shots shows the instructor lead rotations during the three days we were there.  Most started out in class teaching us their ways with words before letting us go out and photograph what we learned on models.

 

Would I do Genesis again? 
Absolutely!  There is always more to learn, we just hit the tip of the iceberg.  However this time, we are going to spend more money so both Nicole and I can go together.

Has it changed the way I will go about photography? 
Absolutely!  Since being back the last few days we have already made changes to our branding and are working on a game plan to improve our lighting, creative thinking and interview process.

 

Thank you to all of the instructors for giving everything they had to all of us.

Thank you to all of the assistants who worked on keep the boat afloat and running smoothly.

Thank you to all of my Gen-mates who I met and hung out with.  I learned just as much from each of you as I did from the instructors and hope to see you all again in a Genesis 2011 Reunion.

And I especially want to say a HUGE thank you to my family!  It was hard being away from Nicole, Aubrey and Ella for the first time.  Nicole, I appreciate you pushing me to go do Genesis and come back a better photographer.  I don’t think I wasted a single minute of my time there soaking in all the knowledge.  We are going to take this little thing called 5th Street Photography and up the game to whole new levels!