I pray one day you see yourself the way I see you.
I hope this day comes but not too soon.
For when it does, you’ll realize how much better you could do.
Okay guys. Be honest with me, I need your opinions.
What are your pet peeves / major obstacles both physical and emotional when it comes to charitable giving? And what would you rather see?
Two things really get me. First is when checking out at the shops and the worker without even looking at me says something like “5 dollars for cancer?” Like what. Which cancer, where’s the money it going like ah there’s people behind me who are trusting me to fight cancer with my ice cream purchase.
The 2nd is the literal explosion of disaster porn IG charities. I won’t name them here but I’m sure you know the feeling of scrolling and all the sudden it’s like THE CHILDREN OR BURKASLAVIA ARE ON FIRE, BUY A SWEATSHIRT OR YOU DONT CARE”
Then the next stories is those sweatshirt people at some fancy party or promotions their 15 week business plan or tasteful nude photography side hustle.
I guess my takeaway is that guilt shouldn’t be the heaviest used motivator to bringing some sort of good to our neighbor across the street or around the world and I’d like to see what can be done.
Imposter syndrome always feels like the hardest to work through, especially in the arts.
Sure, you’re a guest at the party—but do you even really belong there?
So when something doesn’t land, it’s easy to spiral. Did they hate it? Or did they hate you?
It’s a dark hole to fall into. And even if it isn’t true, your mind can convince you that it might as well be.
Some of the best advice I ever got came from a frat guy at a bar.
“If you can fumble a dime, that means you can bag one.”
No one’s perfect. No one is always at their full potential. But if you’ve made it somewhere, you probably deserve to be there.
Or at the very least, deserve the chance to find yourself there again.
I haven’t been great at posting. And honestly, that’s okay.
I see a lot of yall sharing these big apologies for not posting or even taking breaks, and you deserve better.
We’ve become conditioned to doing our part for mommy algorithm. Pouring heart and soul into beautiful works of art. Just to have them broken down into their smallest piece, distilled into viewer retention metrics, devoid of soul.
Yet we persist. To play the game, to feed the system and feed ourselves.
And on the very rare occasion. To nourish the life of another.
And that another is me.
So if you’re out there struggling to feel heard, sacrificing sleep to stay relevant and produce, or feeling that your identity drift from your work and you have nothing to share.
I see you, and I love you. You’re making beautiful things and I promise in me, you always have a fan.
Even if you don’t post. I love when yall send me your work, your little adventures, shoot ideas with me and no filter Fridays.
Despite the ads and algorithms, this place is still the very best to celebrate each other and connect. I wouldn’t change a thing. And wherever you are, I hope to see more of ya
How to shoot a billboard campaign:
So I’ll preface that I am NOT a commercial photo expert. This is just a fun example of a simple gig that paid my rent for a year.
If theres 1 thing I’ve learned. It’s that there are no set rules and everyone is making up shit as they go.
Artists, brands, and creative directors are constantly testing new approaches make work and get paid.
A lot of this is because there is LITERALLY NO FUCKING COMMUNICATION between working artists about how they handle projects, rates etc.
SO.
Let’s start change that.
Kona reached out about an upcoming billboard campaign. This typically means pictures you’ll see on a highway, or at 7-11
They asked me to present a few concepts in a brief.
Lately I’m really into these playful, fast paced group shots. So my pitch revolved around that.
Kona opted for a skateboarding and a bodysurfing / beach scenes. Buying 10 photos of each.
This meant 2 locations and 2 days of shooting. 1 at Yokes and the 2nd at Kualoa ranch. Both private with meant securing shoot permits.
Day 1 we had a cast of 5, BTS, a producer and a safety. Took us 7 hours.
Day 2 at Kualoa. We had 5 hours there.
Another cast of 5, BTS, and 2 safety officers.
Now taking these pics isn’t challenging. My style is just about creating a scene and letting people interact with it. Just making sure to keep them in the good light.
After shooting, I picked my 200 favorites, did a light color correction and sent them off to pick 20 to be retouched.
A fairly simple process that I’ve realized is more about good communication rather than just good pics. You gotta be learn to be reliable and reasonable.
That being said, if getting this kind of work is of interest to you I have 2 takeaways.
1. Learn to pitch. Send those emails, send those DM’s. And always outline how you can be of value to a company.
2. Personal work leads to professional work. So make more, share more, don’t follow trends cause they won’t you noticed. Showcase skill and an ability to adapt.
More to say for sure but the caption has a character limit but im in the comments answering questions!
More great advice I NEVER take myself.
“Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence”
I think so often we get this main character syndrome. And imagine that everyone’s behavior is related to us.
Forgetting that other people have their own lives and stories and things going on in their head that have NOTHING to do with us.
Sometimes someone can act like a dick to you but the truth is, it’s rarely because of you and more likely because they’re going through something of their own.
Give people the benefit of being human and remember we aren’t the only ones with a story and challenges affecting us.
It’s the great American tragedy, that we’re willing to bargain away the experience of being alive for the appearance of it.
Introspective hill country road trip vibes vibes with @annieemacintosh
You’re not wasting time if you’re making a memory. New work from this weekend with @lizzijmorris & @tristinmartin for @immersebikinis
Shot almost exclusively on a 70-200. Getting salt blasted by offshore winds Makapuu did a lot of the legwork making these pictures feel that certain misty way.
I still wouldn’t call it a visual art. Not really.
late nights spent writing what felt like poetry in a language I didn’t understand. Only to receive a visual response that’s somehow a little lost in translation.
A poetic game of telephone. And one I can’t stop playing.
