artistic photography Archives - TNG Photography Blog

Not All Photographers Are The Same

February 27, 2019 admin
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I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a woman who told me that she has a new found respect for photographers. She explained that she had bought a nice camera after hiring someone to photograph some horses for her to try photographing her horses on her own without a professional. I think she assumed all photographers are equal. I’ve been saying it for years that this is definitely not true. She admitted she had no idea there was so much involved with photography.

She went on to tell me that out of 300+ images, only 3-5 were usable. All of the images were not what she was wanting for her business and the photographer she used was unwilling to admit that the mistake was on his/her end of things. Taking the “I’m an artist and you get what I tell you is good” route instead of being willing to give the client what was needed for her business.

After viewing a few photographs taken by this photographer, it was apparent to me that the images were created by a novice. We all start somewhere and please do not think I am being rude in my analysis here. I’m trying to point out a key difference between myself and the large number of inexperienced photographers that sell themselves as professional. This photographer was told what was expected out of the images and did not deliver anything close to what was requested. I completely understand the need to fulfill one’s self artistically and I definitely strive for that for every piece of work that I create. However, it must be done within the confines of the client’s expectations.

If I was the one being hired to photograph these horses, I would of course want to create something beautiful and artistic and something I could be proud of but first and foremost, the client’s needs must be met. If those needs are not to my own personal taste, it does not matter! If I feel there’s some way I can improve upon their requirements I will bring it to their attention and make any suggestions I can but I must provide the expected product that is best for them, no matter what. This is something inexperienced photographers just do not understand.

Class of 2019 Seniors: Stop Waiting!

CALL BY MARCH 29TH, 2019 AND GET5 FREE DIGITAL IMAGES FOR YOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS (MENTION CODE 84)

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Here are a few portraits of a senior I’d like to share. He was such a talented and well spoken young man and it will be no surprise to hear of his future success and achievements!
Senior photography is meant to showcase your uniqueness

March 24, 2015 admin
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Meet Becca. Becca is an artist who found my Las Vegas senior photography website. She said she wanted me to photograph her senior portraits because my work “looked different” and “more artistic” than other photographers she had seen. These are great compliments for me and I receive them quite often. Since Becca is an artist and from Colorado, she said she did not want a typical location for her portraits. In Colorado, the scenery there is stunning but she said she was used to seeing greenery and mountains and things like that in senior portraits taken there. Being an artist, I suggested we go down to the Las Vegas Arts District since that would be more her style. She was thrilled with the idea and she admires graffiti artwork and spray painting so the choice was a good one. She also had her own mural we showcased in her backyard!

It was really a lot of fun being out in the Arts District. At one point, we passed by a metal shop that had the rolling door up. I saw a worker putting together a very large metal whisk that was obviously going to be on a sign somewhere. Note: I think it’s now on a store in Boulder City.

Enjoy and don’t forget to call me for your own customized senior portraits!

(702)809-9763

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Las Vegas Family Photographer . . . a “real photographer” speaks

November 13, 2013 admin
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I had an interesting e-mail the other day. It was a simple inquiry about family portraits. Without a phone number to call, we exchanged a few messages where I gave a few helpful preparation tips and I answered a few questions . In one of the messages, the statement arose, “Sounds good. You must be a real photographer!”

I was a little confused at first by the statement. “Of course I’m a real photographer,” I thought. Quickly though, I realized what she meant after re-examining some of the messages. Amidst all of her questions, she mentioned how she has been unhappy in the past with how her family photos have turned out. I think I must have put her mind at ease somewhere along the way. But still, the line, “You must be a real photographer,” continued to make waves in my mind.

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I have been in this profession for 11 years now. It’s so much fun meeting and working with great people that I rarely feel like I’m working. I feel very blessed for that fact! In the passed 11 years, I’ve noticed how quickly the trends change in my industry and how many copycats there really are and how many, for lack of a better word, wannabes there really are too. Oftentimes, my wife will show me a few pictures on her phone while perusing Facebook.

“Are these good?” she’ll ask. Sadly, not many of them are (in my humble opinion).

“Notice how the lighting is yadda yadda yadda and the lack of care with the clothing yadda yadda yadda and how unflattering the body position is yadda yadda yadda,” this is when my wife usually zones out and thinks about what she wants me to buy her for Christmas or what she’s going to wear for work the next day. Who knows.

I guess my main point is that in the photography industry, the number of “photographers” out there is simply HUGE. So huge that I think the public’s perception of quality has been brutally attacked and the people taking photos aren’t any different really. Forgive me if I seem like I hate every other photographer in existence; that isn’t so at all. There’s a lot of talent out there and much to be inspired from. I do not wish to bash anyone out there at all. The sentence, “You must be a real photographer,” I think just further revealed to me that it is NOT easy for the consumer to find a quality, professional photographer these days.
So I got thinking, what is it the amateur photographers lack that true, quality professionals do not?

Could it be knowledge? Knowledge of the nature of light, proper body positioning, refining and posing, customer service/experience, proper display options, etc. etc. I think those all count but I think if I could point to one glaring difference: VISION.

As I said before, my wife shows me photos on her phone that pop up on her Facebook news feed. I can’t remember many times where the imagery was recognizable as one specific photographer’s work over another. The amount of copying and replication for what someone else did is never ending. I have never wanted to be the next Drake Busath, Van Frazier, William McIntosh, Monte Zucker, Clay Blackmore, Jeremy Cowart, Tim Schooler, Greg Gorman Fuzzy Duenkel……. even though these are all photographers in the U.S. that I admire very much. I can only be me. Nate Grant. I think that’s definitely one thing that separates myself from others in town. When you have a portrait created by myself, you know it’s from me. My portraits…are me. 🙂

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Las Vegas Family Photographer
How it was done– tips from a Las Vegas professional photographer

April 3, 2013 admin
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“LIFE’S BETTER AT THE BEACH” PHOTO ~~DAY~~ WEEKEND IS IN MAY! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

Just for fun, I wanted to show a few images and talk a little bit about how they were made, post processing and what my thought process was in the creation of the image. I’m sure there are plenty of you out there that like to hear about these kind of specifics and some of you probably have no interest at all but just like seeing some nice portraits. Either way, it’s win-win! 🙂

PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT AND TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE THESE KINDS OF POSTS SO I CAN MAKE MORE OR NOT. ENJOY!

This senior portrait was taken on the top level of the Bellagio parking lot. Whenever I’m on the strip, I am always gazing upward at the tall buildings and I thought it would be fun to convey the same feeling with the senior. I glanced around and saw nowhere for him to stand so I had him stand on top of my car as I sat on the ground. The blue shirt, blue sky and reflections made for a great color harmony.

One thing I’ve become known for is my use of lighting and shadows to make extremely life-like, colorful and vibrant images that aren’t easy to replicate. Lighting is one of my favorite aspects of photography as every situation calls for a different type of lighting to be used. For this portrait, I wanted shadowless lighting and striking eyes on a high key background. Four lights were used. Two lights were placed about 135 degrees behind her on either side, skimming across her hair to bring out the texture in her dark hair. These two lights were relatively small because smaller lights are harsher and therefore can bring out more texture in dark hair–if she was a blonde I probably would have used larger, softer lights. There was also a light shining on my white background so that it would be completely white. For her face, I set up a strobe directly above her and placed my DIY large curved reflector directly beneath her. The strobe above her reflected off of this reflector which filled in any shadows that would be under her nose, lips, etc. The reflector is curved/arched shaped because I wanted it to reflect somewhat on the sides of her face and to add a unique catchlight on the lower hemispheres of her eyes (that’s not photoshop, just good ole photography!). The results were quite nice.

When it comes to family portraits, there are many rules I follow for myself to ensure a quality image. One of them being, if I were to remove every single person from the portrait except for one, would that person look good? If I took everyone out except this other person, would that person look good? In other words, everyone in the entire image MUST look fantastic! For this image, I was able to interact with the kids in a way that got them happy, relaxed and at ease with me–parents always seem to appreciate this– and I also was able to get a beautiful view in Zion canyon. I love being able to show off the scenery and location. As a finishing touch, I had the dad here hold his daughter on his shoulders. I did this for a few reasons:
- It kept the girl from running away and losing interest of the photos
- It helped the composition of the group. Notice how it is daughter with son and father with daughter. Also, their faces being where they are creates a diagonal in the image. Everything is vertical in the image–bodies, mountains, the low perspective– so the diagonal creates a contrast for your eyes.
- The sun was behind them and the dad has a shaved head. The little girl’s body blocked the sun from making his head glow.
STILL WITH ME? PHEW! THANK GOODNESS! I LOVE THIS STUFF AND COULD TALK ABOUT IT ALL DAY (BUT I WON’T)! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!

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Thanks!

Nate

TNG Photography