Exhibit "Town of Clouds" - RSVP and BTS.

I'm excited for this upcoming event we have.
In the meantime that I'm in Monterrey headed for a full week of work, we have collected some of our favorite pictures and our favorite moments in San Andrés Cohamiata, Jalisco. Diego has put together a few words of what the Journey was and what to expect to see in the "Town of Clouds" exhibit presented by Hahn, Texas this June 19th, 2010 at the MACC. Be sure to RSVP on Eventbrite or on FB.

June 19th, 2010
6.00 pm sharp.
Mexican American Cultural Center.
Everyone is welcome.
Drinks will be provided by Cruz Tequila....mmm!
Photo booth by Ms. Annie Ray.
Join us for a night of culture, fun and drinks.

It is important to mention that the photographs will be on sale. The money raised will be destined to buy material as wood and chaquira for the crafts of the Huicholes. Support art!

Hahn, Texas presents Opening Night of Town of Clouds from Dany Gutierrez on Vimeo.

Old-School VS Now : Portfolio.

Has anyone said goodbye to their print portfolios?
Good discussion initiated by a Linkedin debate.
Personally? You should not say goodbye to your print portfolio. When a client looks for you, YES they will see you on your website, take a look in what you have online but, when you come in and meet them personally, they will want to see your work in print. Print portfolios are important to have. They are who you are. Your work is finally going to be printed so you need to see it in print. And, if your work is going to be for interactive, believe me, you must have a printed copy to show in a future.
I know the iPads are a great thing to use, and I also think that the iPods do bring this way of having your photos with you always and you can use them together but do not forget about the prints. The prints is what will lead you to something more.

Call Sheet: What, where, who?

Topic of today: Call sheet.

What should it include:
Day and Time
Location: Address and who to contact.
Talent: Names and characters to be played.
Schedule catering: breakfast, lunch and/or dinner (if it applies)
Schedule make-up, hair styling.
Schedule time when people should come in and when they should come out.
Contact: I put myself as a contact. Since I am the producer, the person who should solve problems, see details and be there 100% is me. So, recommend to add cell phone and name. Believe me, everyone would turn to look at you for good and bad comments, suggestions or questions.

Big Plus! Parking Space. If you write a recommendation of parking for the crew that is coming later (such as talent) it is of great value since it saves you time from worrying if everyone will be there and that their cars will be safe.

Who should you send it to? I remember in my first production, I kept it to myself. But, there was no use. You must get it to the rest of the crew: talent, photographer and agency. If not, how would they know when to be there? Where? Send it out to the persons involved in the production. And always print out some copies for you to hand out when producing so everyone will know where to stand and where to be and at what time. Plus, it also saves you a lot of questions of "when is my turn?" "what should I do?" the paper has it all.

You will find an example attached. I hope it helps. Last time I sent this out I got a review that said, "Nice work. It is simple yet understandable". So, use it if you can!



P.S. Beauty for me means: Wardrobe Styling, Make-Up and Hair Styling. The order they prefer to work, as long as the talent is ready. Usually they will ask for their fitting first and then go ahead and t make-up and hair. Great recommendation for Wardrobe: Brandy Joy.

Model Release: Legal stuff

I bought a book recently which I highly recommend "Business and Legal forms for Photographers" by Tad Crawford. Good investment at my regular Barnes&Nobles. (Oh! How I love this store!) In this incredible book, a CD is also added to the combo and the CD has a lot of documents in which you can base your own model releases in. It is an incredible tool that helps you out with the main ideas or the main structure the model release should have.

As a lawyer, one must never forget the importance of legal documents. In this case, I want to talk about the model release.
Talent/Model release is basic and a document you should keep with your files for the production and after production.
Items to write and NEVER forget:
1. Name of Project: As simple as it sounds, "Photo shoot for Fashion Magazine on June 2010 Issue"
2. Industry: Fashion Magazine
3. Usage and Territory: THIS IS JUST A VERY SELFISH EXAMPLE! "Unlimited Usage within the United States. Unlimited exclusive advertising and promotional rights and usage in any and all print for an unlimited time. Includes entire body of works. All images, including outtakes, may not be sold as stock until all usage expires. Client reserves first option of reuse upon expiration of current rights. Artist retains self-promotion rights forever, as 
does the agency. Total buyout of rights, usage and copyright. Artist retains self-promotion rights". And when I say selfish it is due the generality of the paragraph however, you may specify what it is for, the time that you will use it and where.
4. Compensation: Amount to be delivered to the talent in numbers and in written letters.
5. Agreement: Signatures of the talent, the agency and the photographer.

If the model is represented by a talent agency, consider that the talent agency should have a POA (Power-of-Attorney) to sign the release. Be sure to have a copy of the executed release and give one to the final client and keep also one for your records. Always!

One more thing....stock photographers: Do not forget when taking a photo when you have a model in it and you plan to sell it as a stock photo. Sign the model release!

What is a pre-production book? - Celebrating 100th Post!

Last two weeks have been busy and now I finally sit down and write about what I love the most: producing.
On Monday 12, I had one of the most incredible projects I have had as a producer. I was able to work with around 25 professionals in the same room at the same time. And for that, I had to work a lot. Starting from the little time I had to pre-produce and prepare for casting and scouting I thought I managed very well.
In this journey, I was asked to do a pre-production book.
I have heard the term but thought of it as a completely different thing. I thought a pre-production book was that book that the producer had with the call sheet, important contact numbers, information on location and maybe a schedule. However, I learned that I was wrong. A pre-production book is to be delivered before production to the final client and to the agency and it must include lots of stuff; a lot more than I imagined.

Table of Contents:
Personnel - Client, Agency, Photographer and Production information.
Creative - Is there a reference you should base your work in?
Talent - Names and characters that they are playing.
Wardrobe- What are they wearing? Do you have pictures?
Location - Map and what location offers.
Map - As the one you'll see below.
Weather - As the one you'll see below.
Menu - This is something we added, and personally I think it was an incredible thing to add. If you need catering, Central Market, this was a tip from a friend of mine. Incredible catering!
Vendors - Address, and contact information of Photography Equipment, Catering, any other vendor you may have.
Hotlist - What to do in Austin? What are the good places to dine and shop?


Even weather must be included. You need to tell your clients what to expect from the weather at the city you are shooting. In this case, and specially if you are expecting a women, what to wear!


And of course, a map of the location doesn't hurt. Even if you are working with locals, having a map and a sense of where you can park always makes it easier.

I may say that this pre-production book not only makes you look good but also more professional bringing your work to a whole other level.

Recap of Workshop by Diego Huerta in Amarillo, TX

I may not be the best writer however I do know how to express how I feel.
As long as the road seemed to get to Amarillo from Austin and as hard as some people say it would be, I must say this was pleasant. I can't remember how many times I changed roads, how many Interstates I took and how many times I went by little towns as Lampasas, Happy, Tulia and others that I don't remember... but I do know that it was a whole adventure.
Amarillo, TX- Your people is amazing! I fell in love with Amarillo as soon as I met the people who lived there. We were fortunate enough to hang out with people who are passionate, caring and above all- nice.

The lecture on Thursday "First feel then shoot" was one of the most fulfilling experiences for me. I was impressed by how Diego was so cool about speaking in public. He was able to have everyone's attention and I must say that motivated all the assistants to just take a camera and shoot. His main idea of the lecture was to do not overthink and to not care if you don't have all the equipment other photographers may have but to look in other resources such as a Home Depot where you can buy a light boom arm that you would usually use to paint your walls. When it was my turn, he had almost made me feel comfortable and although my speech was 1% of his, I felt cool. Tips as : Model releases, Make-up and permissions of locations when scouting were some of the things I talked about. And when the Q&A phase went on, we were asked many stuff: how much do you charge? how do you contact clients? how should you sell yourself? Many of these questions have been answered lately in reading books and I was pleased to share this experience with other photographers. I enjoyed meeting photographers and people who are as passionate and as compromised with capturing one single moment.



On Friday, things were less theoretical and more practical. We met at Rudy's for a workshop leaded by Diego on: lifestyle, portraits and product shots. Photographers and students got a chance to ask about technique, about day-to-day questions and got a chance to take pictures with one light, two lights and reflectors. I must say that I concluded that one more time, a good photographer is not that who has the best lens or the best camera, but the one that just can make art by clicking. My favorite part on Friday? Being able to listen to the attendees too, see Diego and them talking about their personal portfolios. And of course, the group shot, I think this is one of the favorites I have.









Congrats to everyone who attended and thank you to all of you who encouraged Diego and I to keep doing what we do. I personally enjoyed every single moment I was talking with someone and I enjoyed seeing everyone smile when they had a camera in their hands...it is amazing how photography brings us together.

This is what we work for and Amarillo reminded me that we don't work for ourselves but to give back also. There is always a good time to give back and you can never give enough.

Brent and Vicky - you treated us as if we were rockstars...thank you for all of your attentions and for just being so nice. This was an incredible journey.

Improvise - even if you have it written

I had a photo shoot today for an editorial publication called Nside. This is the second issue of the magazine after it's release in Austin. So, I have discussed with the Editor what the photos were going to be about...



I had three different set-ups all considering a white coat to be worn:
1. OR: Laser room with suit and white coat.
2. HALLWAY: Suit & white coat and without the white coat.
3. WALL TEXTURE: Suit.
But, when I got there, the Dr. also had ideas in his mind, he didn't have the white coat that doctors commonly use and he wanted to wear scrubs. I have the experience of clients some what directing the shots so what I had to do was improvise.





What we ended up coming with was:
1. OR: Suit and Scrubs
2. HALLWAY: Only the suit.
3. WALL TEXTURE: Suit and scrubs.

I must say that the previews of the shots look incredible, I absolutely love them!
So, what I do recommend is that if you have a call sheet that says what you are looking for, and sometimes that does not result, do not panic. Things tend to get another result and maybe something you haven't imagined.

I also recommend that when you are shooting people who are way too busy, you get there at least 30 minutes early. It helped Diego and I to have it all covered and set-up with light tests when the Dr. arrived to the office and although he was a little bit late than what we had planned, I must say that it turned out to be okay. Also, I must thank him since he was very patient and so cooperative. Great model!