High-key photography
I have promised several times (not least to myself) that I would get better at describing the different techniques and systems in the studio. Frankly, I’m not very good at that, and I mostly end up blogging about the commercial and philosophic aspects of photography. Probably partly due to the fact that I have never been the [...]
Junk shops
One of the strongest influences which led to my venturing into the stock photo business was once when I could not source some pictures for a series of brochures and websites a few years ago. In particular, when preparing a community project, I discovered that there were themes and issues for which I just could [...]
Inspiration and brainstorming
If I were to summarise the questions I get asked about my photography, “Where do you get your ideas from?” would probably be top of the list. It’s also the most difficult one to answer. The easiest explanation would probably be to describe the way I work to achieve inspiration and sustain the resultant ideas. I don’t [...]
Manic-depressive photographers
The life of a photographer is an aimless wandering along a path consisting of equal parts of enthusiasm and despair. One moment excitement about the ridge that provides a perfect panoramic image. The next a desperate sorting of 100 confusing images resembling crap (not to put too fine a point on it). Hours editing the picture that you [...]
It’s all lights and makeup
That’s what I tell people when they are occasionally shocked by some of my creative images of gruesome subjects. And that is actually one of the aspects of photography that is the most fun: How important light is for the final image. To move a lamp or turn it off can change the message of a picture [...]
Absurd banalities
Stock photos is essentially about trivialities. Pictures of perfectly ordinary things in setups designed to give the impression of having been taken directly out of everyday life. Therefore the challenge is to get setups to look real while simultaneously creating an image which is photographically appealing – that is to say, not like anything taken with a [...]
Outsourcing, outsourcing, outsourcing…
It is almost 14 years since I went independent and established myself as an independent operator – with all the financial uncertainty this entails. Since then, I have probably made the same mistakes as everyone else – and hopefully learned from some of them. One of the classic mistakes I have seen many independents make, myself [...]
Capturing reality
With the number of friends I have among photographers, I often get the chance to discuss the more philosophical aspects of photography. Photo sites, both Danish and foreign, bulging with pictures that fall under the headings of street photography and documentaries, and it is difficult to find a site without at least one picture from a [...]
Warrior 2012
Most of the people who work with me in the photo studio know that since last autumn I have been working on my next project: Warrior 2012. The project is a story in pictures and poetry about man and the inner warrior – from 2012 to 2012. From the Bronze Age warriors and the medieval crusaders [...]
Beauty Clinic
Makeup and cosmetic retouching are issues which can often lead to heated debate in photographic discussion forums. Some see portrait photos as documentary images, designed to portray the person exactly as he or she is now. Others create pictures where the models appear with skin as sleek and smooth as silk. What is beautiful to one person can [...]
The Wardrobe
So, it’s time to renew the model wardrobe again. This time it is the branded product section with a few new and colourful items from Jack’s, Lindbergh and Shine. Not the most expensive, but it can still dent the year’s clothing budget :-/ The model wardrobe is an important (and maybe often neglected) part of photography. In the [...]
Copyright Hell
Can this photo ever be a stock photo? The question is obviously rhetorical and the answer is no. The picture can be sold as art on paper – or as an editorial image which cannot be used commercially. Why? Because there are newspapers in the background with headlines, text and images which to a certain extent can [...]
PhotoShelter synchronization
I’m a very happy user of PhotoShelter. PhotoShelter provides me with easy online presentation of my work, extensive administrative functions with galleries and collections, search functions for the customers, advanced pricing profile setup and a complete shopping system with payment transactions, billing, download etc. They do unfortunately lack a few features. The most important one [...]
High speed photography
I often forget how much fun it is to do high speed photography – taking photos at a very high shutter speed. It’s actually just as funny as it is easy. It just takes a reasonable SLR camera and sufficient light. A simple flash can do it as long as your flash supports high speed [...]
This is it!
For the last 6 months I’ve been trying to license my work directly to customers and not just using microstock agencies. This has worked very well. I sell less images of course, but the price is a lot better, and it’s far more rewarding for me as a photographer to have the dialogue directly with [...]
Why I don’t work for free
Seen in a post on www.microstockgroup.com. I think it says it very well ) Watch this video on YouTube Embedded with WP YouTube Lyte. I get a lot of requests to use my photos in miscellanous projects. Of course it’s flattering and it happens that I accept. On the other hand – my photos aren’t [...]
Child Stockphoto Workshop
Had a workshop in my studio yesterday focusing on stock and conceptual child photography. 6 participants, 2 models and 7 hours with subjects such as stock photo basics, working with child models, composition, different types of lighting, concepts and symbolics, and a little about props and makeup. I think it worked out okay – interesting day [...]
Photographic taboos
Right! I reckon that picture got your attention. I’ll get back to it shortly. I would be the first to admit that the best known examples of my photography can probably be considered pretty strange to outsiders. That’s not really a mistake, nor is it a sign of a blown fuse at the back of my head [...]
