Off topic & political rant

So today, it kind of struck me exactly what the President is trying to do with raising minimum wage.  It started about 5-6 years ago with a little bill called the Affordable Care Act(ObamaCare)  One of the provisions of this law provide what is called a Full Time Equivalency(30) for people who qualify for health care.  It says that if a company with x number of employees works on average 30 or more hours the company MUST provide healthcare to employees working over 30 hours.

You can guess what happened.  Those companies reduced hours to less than 30 on average for their employees and simply hired more warm bodies to fill their labor gap.  Wow, guess what, reduced unemployment!  So instead of 1 person working 35 hours, the company now has 2 employees working 17 1/2 hours.  But hey, we’ve reduced the unemployment rate – those people are working MAN.

Suddenly the president realizes all those people need to make more money somehow.  The employer can’t boost their hours or they would have to provide health care.  So, here comes the push for raising the minimum wage.

Here’s what’s coming next.  Retailers will need to raise their prices in order to pay the employees and still generate a profit for their shareholders.  So, now the cost for goods and services goes up.

I’m sorry – what is that called?  Oh oh yeah Inflation.

Guess what, the raise you want to give to minimum wage earners would be worthless because they would have to pay more for everything.  But hey, in 3 years it will fall in someone elses lap.

No wonder he reminds me of Alfred E. Newman.  What Me Worry?

Why I trust Scott Kelby

So I was catching up on my photo podcasts and I came across an episode of The GRID from Scott Kelby. It was shot in October and talked about a scandal in the photography community. I won’t go into names, but there were some photographers who were found to be using blog postings from other sources without attributing the original source.

No doubt about it, the messed up. I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm – they probably got a little lazy.

Scott’s podcast centered upon the aftermath of what happened. He was disappointed in the people who were involved in the scandal. But the thing that sets Scott apart was he was also upset with the response. I think it says a lot about Scott’s character that he was motivated to speak to his audience about what people do to trash each others reputation.

Let’s face it, when someone screws up there are tons of trolls who pile on and want to beat someone down. They don’t just express anger at the act – they have to go far and wide to tare people down.

The reason I respect Scott is he went against the mob and said wait a minute – nothing these people did really deserves this kind of public flogging.

Talk about it, be angry the scandal happened, but also learn from it.

And when someone makes a mistake, help them past it. I don’t think anyone was born to tare people down. We should be lifting them up.

From a recent trip up towards Lowville, NY

 

SO we were driving around in Lowville, NY in a snow storm looking at the Wind turbines when this little guy flew over the truck and landed on a power line.

This is a 100% crop shat @ 85mm
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This is an abandoned farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere.

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Get Organized: Using Pinterest to share your thoughts

We’re probably all familiar with Pinterest and how it works.  I’ve taken the board to the next level.  My pinterest is chock full of ideas for possible shoots.  I’ve also got ideas on how to make inexpensive wardrobe for a photo shoot.  You don’t have to spend a ton of money to put together a great shoot.  All you need is some forethought and a little creativity.

I’ve noticed that when I send a model to my pinterrest they don’t really look at it for inspiration.  The like the photos, but they don’t really understand what I’m trying to do.  These photos are to suggest ideas for the themes I work with.  It’s not everything, but the genres include a ton of ideas to try and make a photo shoot a lot more fun.

Turn your glamour shoot into something amazing.  Plan you shoot and shot your plan.

You can find my pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/rjones315/

pinterest

A glimpse at how I create my ideas and art.

Get organized.
I use Microsoft One Note. If you have an ipad you can download and link between your pc and the ipad. I capture photos and other items of interest.

In the photo below you’ll see a page from my notebook. A photo I found on the internet and my impressions of the photo. Some positive and some negative.

Train your eye.
I look at these photos in a critical way. What’s good, what’s bad? And why? It’s an artistic review of the elements in the photo and what I notice about them. All of the photos are of pretty girls wearing pretty clothes. But if you can’t look beyond that then you’ll never grow as a artist.

Be critical of your own work.
I look at my own photos and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. You have to consider all aspects. Lighting, pose, setting. Everything. Do the shoes work? Consider it all.

How this applies to Models
Don’t just look at your photos and pat yourself on the back. Train yourself to notice the details. Some questions you should ask
– Is this your best Angle
– Does the angle flatter your figure
– Does the pose look comfortable or awkward
– Do you have the same expression in every photo

Behind the scenes

The quirky but extremely talented Melisa Rodwell.  Love her style

I’d love love love to shoot at this location – or something similar

Another great set

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How To Get Yourself on Model Mayhem

How To Get Yourself on Model Mayhem
From A Gatekeeper’s Perspective

So, you’ve uploaded your images and created a profile but you’re rejected and don’t know why.  Here are a few tips to help you get yourself added to the most popular Web site for amateur modeling & photography talent.

First, look at your images.  Are there any selfies?  These are the camera phone photos you take of yourself trying to look sexy.  Some are in front of a mirror.  Others are taken with the camera phone at arms length.  The worst image you could post are what we call duck face.  That’s where you purse your lips at the camera thinking it looks sexy.  It would if you were the AFLAC duck.  The best suggestion I have for selfies is not to use them.  Instead, have a friend take your photos.  Another negative is to not add any of the Instagram filters.  IDK why people add the yellow filter – See Wikipedia for Jaundice.

Next, your profile.  Let me just say that if you think you’re the master of the one liner, you’re not.  You need to include relevant information about what you have done and what your goals are and what you can bring to the table.  Think of the profile as your resume.  Include hobbies that might be relevant to the type of modeling you do.  List any dance or drama experience.

So, how can you improve your chances for approval and also for landing good gigs with photos in your profile?  Well, first get more than 4 different images.  Wear multiple changes of clothes for the shoot.  Don’t apply the cheesy color and tone filters.  Get good headshots made and make that your avatar.

Hey good luck and have FUN!