Episode 2 - See me shoot the wives

Episode 2

Orcatek Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

The Baby

Had some fun creating this for Harold and Tisa.  There baby Kai will be here soon, so I thought it would be fun to create this poster for them.

Orcatek Maternity Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Pin-up Maternity

 Sometimes I get a chance to have some real fun.  This week I worked with a woman who loves pin-up, so we decided to do her maternity photo session in a pin-up style.

Maternity Pin-up © Orcatek Photography

Maternity Pin-up © Orcatek Photography

It is always fun to be the photographer when you have someone willing to let you push the envelope with your creativity.

Orcatek Pin-up and Maternity Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Motorcycle Pin-up

 This week I had the chance to have some fun shooting pin-up.  We brought in a classic motorcycle for the shoot and created this fun pin-up photo.   A flirty pose and a cute smile and you have a great pin-up.

© Orcatek Photography

 As a photographer, I love to shoot pin-up as it gives me a chance to have a little fun and try different things.

Orcatek Pin-up Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Couples Maternity

 I love it when I get the chance to do a couples shoot as part of a maternity photo session.  It gives me a chance as their photographer to capture the love for the new baby.

© Orcatek Photography

Here we see how this feeling is captured.  This type of photo means so much to the parents and to the child when they get older.   Simple and clean with the focus just on the the parents.  No props or fancy sets needed.  Black and white I feel enhances the mood.

Orcatek Maternity and Pregnancy Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

A little bit shy

Great boudoir photographs are about mood.  Black and white seems to set a mood very quickly, add some dramatic lighting and a classic pose and you get this.

Sexy, intimate and tasteful, which is what everyone woman wants in her boudoir photographs.

Orcatek Boudoir Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Sunrise Maternity

 Had some fun with this maternity shoot.

Orcatek  Maternity Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Naughty Pin-Up photography

Sometimes things get a little bit naughty during a pin-up photo session.  Behave yourselves girls.

Orcatek Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Sexy Smile

When it comes down to it, the sexiest curve on a woman is her smile.   Which is why I will often have many smiling shots in my boudoir photography sessions.   A little flirty smile can do wonders for a boudoir photo, much more than a sexy pout can in many cases.

Orcatek Boudoir Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

 I recently did a shoot for Automotive News.  This black Corvette ZR1 was the car that was being featured.

The Chevy Corvette is an iconic car, so it is always fun to have a chance to shoot one.

Orcatek Automotive Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Lamborghini Murcielago

I had the chance to photograph this beautiful automobile in my studio recently.  I love it when I get the chance to work as an automotive photographer.   Not as many photo shoots with cars it seems, but I still built custom lighting into my studio to create this type of photo.

Orcatek  Automotive Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Retro Style Boudoir

Sometimes when I look at a boudoir photograph, I can see what I want before I even click the shutter.  I knew that when I set this up that I was going to go for a retro style look.  Of course it helps when she gives he perfect pose.

Orcatek Boudoir Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Learn boudoir photography at an Orcatek Workshop

Nude and the wall

Taking advantage of what is available can help the fine art nude photographer create some interesting photographs.  Here a simple wall was used in a non-standard pose.  Sure some of the photos in this series were the traditional nude reclined against wall.  Sometimes the photographer's job it to take another look on how to use what he has available.  The photos may not always be the next great fine art nude, but it is a chance to explore.  And that is what are is about, not recreating what has been done before.

Learn Fine Art Photography with Orcatek Workshops

Orcatek Fine Art Nude Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

On her back

Sometimes boudoir clients like something that is not as traditional as laying in the bed.  They want something that they feel is more stylish or artsy.  Some boudoir photographers draw a blank. What I will do is I will shoot them on an empty set and just work with the light and the shape to create something interesting.  While some may not find this type of photo sexy or intimate, clients seem to really like having some of this type of photograph in their shoot.

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Boudoir by Orcatek Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Climbing Stairs

Marina is climbing the stairs for a shoot I did for College Gentleman magazine.   It was at an incredible mansion on top of Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, AZ.

Learn boudoir photography with an Orcatek Workshop

Orcatek Boudoir Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Putting on her pants

When people think of the boudoir, they often think of a woman in lingerie getting ready for her lover. This photograph is fun sample.

Learn boudoir photography at a workshop with Orcatek

Boudoir Photographer - Orcatek - Phoenix, Arizona

Las Vegas Boudoir Photography Workshop

My boudoir photography workshop is coming to Las Vegas, Tuesday June 21, 2011. Space is limited so you want to register soon. Learn some key poses and lighting techniques to bring your boudoir photography to the next level. This workshop is half instruction and half shooting so you will be able to practice the lessons on a beautiful model.

Attend my boudoir photography workshop in Las Vegas

She came in thru the bedroom window

Quick shot of Nicole coming in thru the bedroom window wearing black and red lingerie in this sexy boudoir photograph.

Orcatek Boudoir Photographer - Phoenix, Arizona

Sexy Lace

A little bit of lace and beautiful woman make for a great boudoir photograph. Sometimes it's best just to keep things simple.

Orcatek Boudoir Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Looking toward the future - Maternity

B&W is one of my favorite styles as a photographer for creating maternity photographs. I like how the shadows and light play across the pregnant belly. I call this one "Looking towards the future" as she looks off to the distance thinking about how her life will be with her new baby.

Orcatek Maternity Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Pin-up - Samantha of Bewitched

I used to love the classic sitcom, Bewitched. So this gave me the idea to create a pin-up photograph based upon the show intro. Alex looked like Samantha so the idea came together as I was working on her shoot. Grab a broom and some extra Photoshop and tada!

Orcatek Pin-up Photographer - Phoenix, Arizona

Groupon Killing Photography?

Are Groupon and sites like it killing the photography business? Sadly I believe so in a number of ways.

First off, many photographers are not working through the math of a deal. A typical deal seen for photography will be something like:

1 Hour Portrait Session, Two 8x10's, CD of proofs, regular price $400, our special price $99! A savings of 75%.

The discount companies like prices under $100, so they tell the photographer it needs to be this cheap.

The photographer gets 50% minus fees typically. But to keep it simple the photographer gets $50 for each shoot. They sell 200 of them. Sounds great a check comes for about $10,000. Wow! Looks even better at first. $10,000 in sales for one month. Of course the photographer now needs to pay the sales tax as the discount site doesn't collect it. In my location that's 10% off the sale. Still not bad $9,000 left.

Then reality starts to set it. 200 shoots will take at least 600 man-hours between shooting, retouching, printing, scheduling, delivering etc. At 40 hours a week it will take almost 4 months. I've seen these deals say 500+ deals so a photographer could fill their entire year. Of course a larger studio can split the load and do it in less calendar days, but it is still a lot of hours.

I have talked to photographers that have done it and heard some pretty scary stories. One actually gave a deal that without an up-sell, they actually lost money on. Not sure how they are going to make out, as they are still working through the mess they created.

Now some photographers say they will not give a deal like that, but the discount companies will show you that's the deal they have given in the past and it is expected. So many photographers, especially newer photographer feel they should do it too. After all XYZ sold 300 of these deals. That means 300 new customers yippee!

Now the idea is the photographer will up-sell the buyers to make it profitable. This increases the time spent with clients, but payback is good if you can sell. The issue being that these clients are taking this deal because they don't spend or cannot spend a lot for photography. So up-sells will be smaller than your typical client and fewer will ever buy anything more than the deal.

Of course one of ideas used to persuade the photographer that this is good for business is that it gets their name out to huge numbers of potential clients.

This the the bigger reason that these deals sites are bad for photography. The clients on the deals sites are price sensitive. They are always looking for a deal and a way to save money. In today's economy that's easy to understand.

This client shops by price, not by quality. Sure they won't buy total crap, but they will take good enough. And they know that a photography deal will come soon enough by another photographer sucked into the idea, so no need to go back to the company they saw a while back.

But even if they do remember the company. What do they remember? They remember a company that would do their portraits for $99. So in their minds the value of these portraits is now $99. Not only is the company that placed the advertisement devalued by this, but other photographers as well. The clients think if Company A can do it for this $99, Company B should too. Anybody who doesn't is overcharging.

I actually overheard a conversation at lunch the other day which brought this to light. Two woman were discussing gets some photos done and I was about to walk over and introduce myself when the third said. "I'm on Groupon and a bunch of other discount sites and you can get your photos done for $99 by a really good photographer, I see this deal all the time. Don't waste your money paying full price." She then went on to tell her that she would let her know when she see's the next one as they happen all the time and how she got her family portrait done for just $99. She explained how they tried to get her to buy more, but she was smart and just took the print and scanned it to make more. They nodded in agreement. She showed it to them on her iPhone.

So photographers think long and hard about these discount sites and the impact they will have on business long term. First it fills your calendar with low margin clients and second it devalues photography services. Seller beware!

Orcatek Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Boudoir tribute to Marilyn

During a recent boudoir photo shoot I decided to create a shot from my memory of a classic Marilyn Monroe pose.  As a photographer I often get inspirational from iconic photos.  I will try to put my own spin on it.
Keeping the photo sexy and tasteful is my goal.   In this case I felt her red hair and pale skin would look amazing on blue sheets. 
After I took the photograph I went back and looked at the original and some variations.  I am very happy with my take on this look.

Phoenix Boudoir Photographer - Orcatek