European Fashion Model Photographer Album
My photography albums can be found in the navigation menu of this blog. The No 1 Album contains pictures from my
European photography trips.
As part of trip preparations I contacted models and modeling agencies while still in Hawaii weeks before leaving.
Being a lone traveling photographer in a foreign country has its challenges including organizing all aspects of photo shoots: model search, make-up, wardrobe, location scouting and transportation.
The benefits are that every photo shoot is exciting providing countless unexpected photographic opportunities and a wide variety of photos.
What inspires creativity for me the most is different photography locations. Some of the photos in this album were taken in an abandoned factory, a Dutch caste, a cornfield in Germany, a car interior during a thunderstorm, the courtyard of a friend's house in Berlin, a Belgian brewery, the penthouse of a Dusseldorf modeling agency.
First photo is of a young beautiful blond Russian fashion model in a relaxed pose wearing a colorful knitted dress in the colorless courtyard of an old apartment building in Berlin.
Next is a photo of a Russian fashion model with beautiful full lips wearing dark designer sunglasses. The photo was taken in her car while rain interrupted our outdoor photo shoot on a countryside location in Belgium.
Lastly is a blond athletic German lingerie model with strong facial features wearing dramatic dark makeup. Her beautiful figure is due to being a dancer as well. The black lacy lingerie really stands out against the blood red color of the leather couch.
Hawaiian Model Portfolio Photography Album
Photography in Hawaii can be exciting and exotic because Hawaiian Islands have many different climates offering a wide variety of landscapes and locations.
Lava pools, beautiful sandy beaches, rugged volcanic shores, craters, lava flows, tropical rain forests, deserts, swamps, coral reefs and more.
There are opportunities and a market for the typical curvy swimsuit model on a pretty sunny beach and while this may be the dream of many photographers it holds little appeal for me.
During my Hawaiian photo shoots I tried to mix the natural beauty of my models with the rugged beauty of Hawaii as seen in Album No 2.
First photo is of a beautiful Asian fashion model wearing a white dress shot at sunrise on Sandy Beach, Oahu Island.
Next photo is a Mona Lisa like portrait of the same Asian fashion model with timeless beauty, at this time in a Hawaiian rain forest setting.
Lastly is the photo of an adventurous and beautiful bikini model in a cold rain forest creek of the Pali mountains on Oahu, Hawaii.
Black and White Model Photographer Album
Photographers specializing in dramatic
black and white photography can also find many locations and inspiration in Hawaii! The harsh tropical sun can be used for high contrast images while the rain forest can provide softer light plus an exotic scenery.
Because I like my models with stronger and more dramatic features - notice those jaw lines :) - black and white photography in Hawaii has been an exciting adventure.
The architecture and culture of Europe gains added drama by eliminating often confusing and unnecessary color from one's photos.
The photos in my black and white No 3 Album were taken in both Hawaii and Europe.
First is a dramatic black and white portrait photo of a beautiful brunette actress model just right after sunrise at Sandy Beach, Hawaii.
Next photo is the BW picture of a Russian lingerie model taken in a 100 year old elegant Dutch castle.
Last is the closeup black and white portrait photo of a beautiful young blond Russian fashion model taken in the softly lit courtyard of an apartment building in Berlin.
Hawaiian Beach Photography Album
No photo blog of a
Hawaiian photographer would be complete without photos of boogie boarding local kids which are in Album No 4. Waikiki Beach and Sandy Beach provide great locations to capture the fast action.
Sometimes all the ingredients come together: bright sunny day, beautiful blue ocean, big waves, local kids with skills showing off (and even bright colored board shorts or boogie boards).
During those hours I spent shooting on the beaches of Hawaii there were hundreds of chances to capture fantastic and unique moments.
The different pace of action and something exciting happening around me all the time was a breath of fresh air compared to the structured way of doing model portfolio photography.
First photo is taken on Waikiki Beach of a very skilled Hawaiian boy on his boogie board slashing through waves.
Next is a stock photo like image of two Hawaiian boys observing their friends in the beautifully blue water off of the popular Sandy Beach.
Last is an action sports photo of a Hawaiian boy airborne in the midst of frozen water drops.
Southeast Asia People, Landscape And Travel Photography Album From Vietnam
The idea of the Southeast Asian (No 5)
Vietnam travel photography album is a result of a fun project. I decided to take pictures while traveling around Vietnam from constantly bouncing, swirling, honking minibuses and from a Mekong River tour boat while crossing into Cambodia.
The results: no masterpieces but the travel times seemed to last much shorter and I always see and discover more on a trip if I am looking through the eyes of a photographer with the idea of constantly creating pictures.
For someone who never have or will visit Southeast Asia or Vietnam, the photos perhaps can be an entertaining and educational slide show experience without the carsickness.
I love the rural scenery of Vietnam and Southeast Asia, while constantly being surrounded by National Geographic quality scenery often the photos take themselves.
First picture is a candid travel photo of a Vietnamese man day dreaming and smoking in the typical Southeast Asian squatting position. The photo was taken from a boat on the Mekong River while crossing into Cambodia.
Next photo is a colorful still life like travel photo taken out of the window of a minibus while passing through a Mekong Delta town.
Lastly is the photo of a typical Mekong River house taken from a boat tour which originated from the popular tourist destination of Can Tho, Vietnam.
Southeast Asia Travel Photography in Vietnam Cambodia Thailand Laos
The No 6 album contains most of the photos which were posted in this blog during my
9-month long Southeast Asia photography trip. These 330 photos were taken between December 3, 2007 and September 5, 2008.
The pictures in this album are not organized in any fashion, they are just meant to provide a quick preview of my trip. Some of these photos will be included in my upcoming Southeast Asia Travel Photography books along with the best pictures from my trip which were never posted in this blog.
First picture shows one of my all time favorite sights: kids ridig water buffalos. I took the photo of this all smiles Flower Hong girl as she was taking the buffalo to graze just outside Bac Ha in the mountanous Nortwest Vietnam.
Next photo of a pink Buddha head was taken around Tra Vinh, Vietnam which is home of Khmer (Cambodian) minorities. The pink color seemed a bit unusual for me and as it turned out to be the extensive use of pastel colors are somewhat forced on the monks by the authorities, at least that is what I gathered from the broken English of a monk whom I chatted with.
The third picture is of a Cham little girl who lives accross the Hau Giang River from Chau Doc, Vietnam. I was told this style of haircut is meant to protect her from illness.
Travel Photographer and Model Advice Articles
Please click on the titles to read the full articles ...
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SPREAD THE WORD!!! Do not pay for elephant trekking tours in Southeast Asia particularly in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Luang Prabang, Laos! Thousands of tourists spend a lot of money every year to ride elephants thus supporting trekking companies which torture, beat and starve young elephants while training and working elephants!
The article contains link to a National Geographic video filmed during "training crush" about the systematic torture of baby elephants after being separated from their mothers and other resources about animal cruelty towards elephants.
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Great news for photographers or anyone who loves pictures, you can have own high quality fine art photography books printed without upfront cost. Blurb is an online and on demand bookstore quality printing company.
The free membership gets you a e-commerce storefront which can be open to the public to display books sold for profit or kept private or visible for those you choose.
The rest is as time consuming as one's creative process gets; download the Booksmart software, design your photography book(s), add photos (and text if you wish) with a great degree of freedom and customization, upload and promote your book(s).
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ImageKind has quickly become the popular place for photographers and artist who wish to sell fine art and fine art photography prints.
Besides selling fine art there are two more ways to earn commission on Imagekind: by the picture framing service and by becoming an affiliate and selling Imagekind products.
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MySpace can be great for the ego: networking with 1000's of hot friends, the exciting activity of sending "Happy Hump Day" or "Just Showing Some Luv" glitter graphics filled comments to total uninterested strangers. Yawn!!!! ... what a waste of time, this aimless unintelligent friend gathering has nothing to do with building a successful photography or any other business online!
MySpace can be "a place for relevant industry related friends" for anyone in any profession, these "targeted friends" are the best for real networking!
These "useful friends" or "MySpace friends with benefits" will read your MySpace bulletins, will click on the links left in your comments, may become your customers, may spread the word about you, may drive more relevant traffic to your MySpace page.
But why call them "MySpace friends with benefits"? Because it is much easier and faster to make business connections or sell your products / services to those who are interested!
Finding and adding these relevant industry friends like fellow photographers, models, makeup artist, hair stylists, wardrobe stylists, talent managers, agents, clothing designers takes up a lot of time.
It is impossible to keep in touch with 1000's of MySpace friends via bulletins and professional eye catching comments. Just not enough time in a day!
This is where the #1 MySpace Friend Adder Software Bot: MySpace FriendBlasterPro comes in!
FriendBlasterPro can save an incredible amount of time with features like its built in search which will find exactly the type of photography (or your industry) related friends you specify.
MySpace FriendBlasterPro can automate bulletin posting, commenting and message sending process as well. And this is not spamming because these friends are in the photography (or your) industry directly or indirectly. I use this great software on the daily bases and wholeheartedly recommend it!
Special note: Visit my Squidoo page to see tons of Friend Blaster Pro screen shots and detailed explanations of features: MySpace "Friends With Benefits" Adder Software Bot
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Have you read tons of photography tutorials illustrated with boring test photos?
Have you had sleepless nights wondering about the difference between the 12mm and 18mm focal lengths? Yeah, me too!
My simple little wide angle lens article is not left brain at all meaning easy to digest plus you will see stellar example shots from my Southeast Asia Photography trip.
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Models and photographers are a match made in ... well sometimes heaven. Unreliable (flaky) models can cause lost photo shoots, wasted time, worthless pictures, money and gray hair to photographers.
Attention photographers! Absorb my wisdom about how to spot flaky models before the damage is done! You can protect yourselves and deal with this issue with understanding, grace and a little bit of Zen.
Being a flaky model is the second oldest profession! No photographer is immune to them so hint #1: collect at least 50% of your professional fee as a deposit in advance from the model or client!
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When a photographer hears the following sentence: "But I am a nice girl I cannot act dramatic!", I have one advice to photographers: fold up your reflector and go home, call it a day, you will thank me for it!
Attention models: if a photographer has a dramatic style and dramatic portfolio it is safe to think that the dramatic genre might come up as the main theme or one of the themes during the photo shoot or photo shoot preparations.
Any model who thinks or hopes the photographer will change his or her way is wrong!
A good modeling portfolio needs to be as versatile as possible containing images of different styles including dramatic, looks, with different emotions, make up, hair, clothes, locations, etc. ONE look is NO look!
If a model is having trouble bringing intensity to the photo shoot tell her to think of a fictional scenario like her pet being run over by a car or something that will evoke a strong emotion. Keep it as a last resort move, it may just work.
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Tips for models on things to consider before, during and after photo shoots plus what to expect from the session and the photographer.
Subjects the article touches upon:
- communication and planning between model and photographer
- the question of nudity during the photo shoots
- model releases: the ownership and the use of the photographs
- practicing modeling in the mirror, studying fashion magazines and advertisements
- being a self sufficient and resourceful model
- uncomfortable situations during photo shoots
- having a modeling and emotional range
- getting the CD or the prints, selecting the best photos
- digital retouching
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If I could get a penny for every time I received an email asking me: how do I become a model? what do you think, could I be a model? ... well, early retirement would be knocking on my door!
By popular demand from all corners of the globe here it is! Another installment of my unconventional modeling advice articles.
Some of the highlights:
- be asian or do not quit your day job
- the phat factor
- models born out of desperation
- the humble pie diet
- no pay, no gain
- what rejection and projectile vomiting has in common
Also read the story behind this article: Please Mister How Do I Become A Model? Modeling Advice Again!
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Only relying on free photo shoots may not always be the best solution if a model wants to put together a quality modeling portfolio. But many models feel it is an insult to them or beneath them to pay for photo shoots.
Models will hardly ever hear that it is OK to pay to photographers. Model and photographer relations have been already tainted by unprofessional photographers, deceit and lies. To make things even more complicated many believe (perhaps rightfully) that photography is not even a real profession.
If a photographer HAS to explain why he or she needs to be compensated it is quite possibly a loosing battle already. Having to defend the process of receiving money for a valuable service can be degrading to the photographer.
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The immense contributions of the small country of Hungary are not widely known.
Not much known of Hungary itself. Hungary has provided some of the world's greatest photographers, artists, scientist, inventors, entertainers, businessmen, the list goes on.
In addition there has been scientific discussion (by a Nobel Prize winning physicist) about the ancestors of Hungarians possibly being from the Red Planet Mars! This stunning revelation gives a whole new meaning to naturalized alien :)
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How to be a better photographer? It is a journey and it starts with one step and one click. Teachings of Tao te Ching, Bruce Lee and Carlos Castaneda can be applied not only to life but photography and creativity as well.
How the photographer interprets the world around him or her affects what ends up on the final photo.
There are many extremes in photographic approach: the careful setup of a high fashion photographer, the spontaneity of the celebrity paparazzi, the patience of the landscape photographer, the sensitivity of the fine art nude photographer and the list goes on.
One approach is the non-forceful way of creating photographs. To the peaceful photographer there are no battles to be won only gifts to welcome.
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The main images on the first page of this photo blog do not change often.
Once I find a photo I really like it usually stays on the front page or weeks or months. Why do these pictures stand out of the others? Why did I choose them? The reasons are quite personal: I fell in love with them!
... go to
All Photographer and Model Articles
