-BIO
I have also been an artist and painter since I was pretty young when I worked with pen & ink, marker, and acrylics. I became interested in Photoshop when it still came on floppy disks. My motivation to focus on photography came when I realized that it was never truly mine, mentally or legally, no matter how I modified an image. I could paint or manipulate the image for hours or days and never actually own it.
The decision to start shooting stock started me on the journey I am on today. My initial challenges were lighting-related. I could envision the image I wanted, but getting the lights to cooperate was a constant source of frustration. To get past this, I shot as often as possible, and by changing small variables each time, I learned how my alterations affected my images.
As a Physics major, I enjoy the technical aspects of photography. I like to know my camera settings, angles, focus depth, fall-off, and other elements of the scene that directly affect the result. By understanding these things, it becomes much easier to make creative decisions.
Our studio challenges each other to set up complete scenes and take a single photo without test shots. This has dramatically improved our abilities to create successful scenes from our imagination, even on location or group shoots where planning isn't much of an option. We are always learning and trying new ideas.
Most of my work is now commercial photography, retouching, boudoir, fine-art, and 3D modeling photography. I also do corporate headshots, catalog, and magazine work but love the occasional commission for something much more artistic.
Teaching others is something I enjoy doing via workshops, speaking engagements, or traveling to shoots as often as possible. I also do themed shoots, seminars on lighting, posing, and post-production seminars that are open to the public at my studio near Milwaukee, WI.
I love passing on my knowledge to those now facing similar frustrations with the technical aspects of this fantastic artistic outlet.
