This and that...

Twitter. The problem with Twitter, of course, is the surface noise, much of which is peppered with phrases beginning and ending with the word like, like you know, like what you hear when you tune into most adolescent conversations these days. But below the surface, sometimes way below, you will find a current of emerging ideas—this is the cool part.

I opened a Twitter account during the last big fire and used it to let friends and family know what was going on. While it served that purpose well, I didn’t yet understand how I might use it for the Boudoir Photographer.

Now I do.

It became obvious after I read this scobleizer blog post and watched the interview of Guy Kawasaki, an influential Silicon Valley guy who some of you will remember as the original Apple Software Evangelist. I watched the video because I believe Guy has the long view: I knew him back in the mid eighties—yes, before the Internet, global email, and social networks such as Twitter—and since then have read many of his columns and interviews.

Anyway, since I’m pretty sure no one is interested in what I’m doing every hour of the day, I’ve decided to align my twittering with the blog and keep it oriented toward education and (some) marketing. I’ve added an RSS feed to the column on the right that will show my last three Twitter updates; click the follow me link at the bottom to see the rest of them. Let me know what you think.
Oh, and if you’re going to use Twitter, you need this. And if you want to see what others are reading and talking about, check this out.

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Teaching. I taught an all-day class at Calumet San Diego a few weeks ago entitled The Intimate Female Portrait. The focus of the class was the client-photographer interaction, that is, the relationship you establish for the photo shoot. Lucky for me that turned out to be what they most wanted to learn—what they most wanted to see, hear, and experience. So it was even luckier that I decided to bring a model and my hair & makeup artist. 

I’m delighted to report that attendee feedback was so good that I’ll be teaching it again on Saturday, March 7, 2009. If you’re in the area and interested in more information, check here.

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More teaching. I’m planning a boudoir photography workshop for mid-February. It will be limited to just nine photographers. I’ve got the location nailed down (a bed & breakfast in my area), and I’m working on a sponsorship for the lighting setups. When the date is set, I’ll post it here and on Twitter.

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Business. These are difficult times, and they’re about to get quite a bit worse. If you own a business, I recommend reading Fear Kills Businesses, Dead. And either way, I recommend reading the insightful Charles Hugh Smith.

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In the mail. I’ve received several emails asking whether I’m going to use the new remote triggers from Paul Buff. Yes, I am, but not until the entire system, including the Cyber Commander, is available. I’m using the older system now, which allows me to set individual lights remotely in 1/10 second increments, but I use it in conjunction with Pocket Wizards and a Sekonic L-358 (with Pocket Wizard triggering built-in). As a result I have to carry a light meter, the older Paul Buff transmitter, and a Pocket Wizard transmitter (attached to the camera). I’m hoping to pare that down to one Cyber Commander. Because they’ve done so in the past, I’m expecting a 30-day money back guarantee, leaving plenty of time for testing.

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On the blogsphere. Lot’s of interesting thoughts this week:

• Fluffytek: The Outsiders
• Pretty Girl Shooter: Photographers? We Don’t Need No Stinking Photographers
• Hotel Room Nudes: Electricity as we know it…
• Studiomarcotte: The Decline of Fashion Photography (read the comments)
• Rick Horowitz: A Darwinian Theory of Fashion Photography

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That’s it for now. Thank you so much for your readership. Merry Christmas to all.

Comments

[Lin]

Merry Christmas to you both too!