Before Saturday's first 2018 exhibition game for the Duke City Gladiators in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I had a small window to make official portraits of all the Gladiators arena football players. When I say small window, I mean small. Kickoff was scheduled for 6pm. I made the first player portrait at 4:29pm! Being a professional photographer means being prepared for just about anything, so I made sure I practiced the exact lighting setup I wanted to a few days earlier, so all I had to do was show up, set up, and start making photos!
Sometimes, well many times, photo shoots come up very quickly in the reality of how things go for a professional photographer. Such was the case with Brian emailing me at 10:45am about a headshot, and by 12:45pm he was in the JCP Home Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico for a headshot session. Good thing I have replaced all my hard to setup soft boxes with great, new quick setup Cheetahstand ones!
I have been investing a lot recently in my lighting setup that I use for headshots and commercial portraits that I make in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the BTS photo above you can see three great new light modifiers all by Cheetahstand that I got just in the past week. I have long wanted strip boxes, but could not find the right ones that combined portability with quality and value. The same for the big octosoftbox used as the main light above. I can tell you that these Cheetahstand modifiers are as good or better than Westcott, as I returned my Westcott 36" Rapid Box XL because of the Cheetahstand 36" RiceBowl. I paid for all these modifiers, Cheetahstand is not a sponsor, but when I get outstanding customer service like I did from Edward of Cheetahstand, I like to be vocal about it and help them as they helped me with shipping speed and rates. Check out their website.
I first met Darrell when he came to my Home Studio for a headshot session in December of last year. I was very happy to hear he wanted me to be his family's portrait photographer this time. I was extra excited because after shooting dozens of families in Florida for sunset beach photos, this would be my first family desert sunset portrait session!
Having just photographed Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Tim Keller twelve days ago at the grand opening for General Atomics, this morning I got to make actual portraits of him as he gets ready to play in a Duke City Gladiators exhibition football game. Jessica went with me to assist for the shoot right in the mayor's office! What I did not know was the amount of other people that would be there and the limited time to setup we would have. These are the challenges of the professional photographer!
I have known Roger for awhile now having first met him at a networking event in Albuquerque, New Mexico last year. We have gotten together a few times for 1-on-1 chats about running your own small business. He owns and operates Beacon Marketing, be sure to check it out if you are behind on doing your marketing by yourself, he can help you by doing it for you in a much more efficient and strategic way.
Deanna and Eric of Keller Williams Reality told me about this spot they wanted to use for commercial real estate portraits out near Petroglyphs in Albuquerque New Mexico. It is at the end of a cul-de-sac and offers views of the Sandia Mountains. Its wide landscape allows for a variety of shots. I have already used this same spot for a car drone video shoot I liked it so much!
