It was the PPA convention in Orlando and I had a meeting with Dean and his right hand, Tony Corbell. We were all at the Peabody Hotel and I had spent the morning at the pool. I went straight to a meeting in the coffee shop still in bathing attire and t-shirt. It may not have seemed professional, but it was summer time and most of the photographic industry was poolside.

To this day, Tony and I still laugh about that first meeting. It was one of the only times in their lives that Dean and Tony had ever put on suits. They showed up, dreading a meeting with some knucklehead named “Skip” from Polaroid, imagining that Hasselblad was about to move to aisle 7 in Kmart. After all, what could a guy from Polaroid possibly have to offer the number one professional camera company in the world?

Well, they were there in jacket and tie and I was there in flip-flops, cut-offs and a tank top. I know I at least had a legal pad and pen with me to look professional.  Thank God first impressions don’t have to rule relationships the rest of our lives! In all honesty, I don’t remember a thing about that first meeting except I knew I’d just met two people who were going to become important in my life, but I could never have guessed they’d both become two of my very best friends.

This summer Tony Corbell is teaching two days at Skip’s Summer School’s Hands-on Intensive program. Since that first meeting, almost 25 years ago, there are few people I’ve learned more from. Tony is typically referred to as the King of Lighting and there’s nobody that teaches it better.

The video below really demonstrates Tony’s passion for photography, for lighting and for never compromising on quality. Even better is the way he teaches and the fact that he’s never said “no” to anybody who ever needed help. I love this short video on his philosophy, but there is an important qualifier. First, if you’re thinking about taking his hands-on workshop at Summer School, both days, August 6 and 7 are already half full. We will not allow any workshop to go over 20 people.  Second, Tony went to work on getting in shape and he’s back to his fighting weight, having dropped 140 lbs over the last three years. I couldn’t run this video without sharing a more up to date head-shot!

While a big part of the importance of Summer School is about improving your skill set, a bigger benefit is expanding your network with some of the finest instructors in professional photography today. Right at the top of the list of somebody who should be in your network is Tony Corbell!

This year’s program is in Chicago, August 5-8, and the instructors are outstanding. Tony Corbell, Clay Blackmore and Calvin Hayes, Roberto Valenzuela, Michele Celentano, Kevin Kubota, Jerry Ghionis, Bobbi Lane and those are just for the hands-on segment. Ross Hockrow and Jeff Medford will be doing film making and rounding out the platform programs are Catherine Hall, Scott Bourne, Melissa Ghionis, Sal Cincotta and a special panel discussion on couples working together in photography with Kevin and Clare Kubota, Vicki and Jed Taufer and Bob and Dawn Davis. Plus,there are two lunch programs featuring this year’s sponsors and the senior management team of Resource Magazine.

Everybody has lots to choose from when it comes to education these days, but there’s nothing that compares with Summer School. See you in Chicago!

New photographers don’t realize how small the industry really is. While Michael and I share a whole bunch of mutual friends, we’ve never had any time to just sit and talk. In fact, the only real conversation we’ve ever had was on a couple of podcasts at GoingPro. What made the evening worthy of a post is the variety of topics we hit, the most fun for me, being some of the stories we exchanged and so many common paths and friends.

• When Michael was 14 he knocked on Richard Avedon’s door, literally. Interested in photography, he was able to meet one of his idols.  I was 50 when I met Avedon in Tucson when he turned over his archives to the Center for Creative Photography. We wound up that night in a little all-you-can-eat Mexican bar. Over the years that followed I’d catch up to Avedon every few months in New York.
• The late Dean Collins was an inspiration to Michael and he’s got Dean’s full series of DVDs. Dean and I met in 1987 and we were absolutely the best of friends. Tony Corbell was Dean’s right hand at the time and there’s another friendship started. Tony and I did the introductory video for Dean’s DVD collection.
• Michael “studies” two hours every day. He experiments with new techniques, reads about new ideas and finds himself obsessed with constantly learning. My good buddy, Don Blair, was still taking notes in other photographer’s programs right up to a few months before he passed away in his late 70’s. He was convinced that as a photographer he could never stop learning.
• Michael photographed Sal Cincotta’s wedding. Sal just agreed a week ago to be our closing speaker at Skip’s Summer School.
• Michael and I talked about couples in photography and two of his good friends are Byron and Wendy Roe. I met them for the first time at Photographer’s Ignite. They’re also friends of Kevin and Clare Kubota’s. Byron and Wendy are tomorrow’s guest post here at my blog.
• Michael was a professional chef and had his own business.  I love to cook and almost set the house on fire after a cooking class a few years ago.

Michael uses his own images on his stationery, a point I’ve been reminding photographers about in my marketing program for years.

Michael and I got going, talking about the industry. He got here at 3:30 and left after 11:00 and it seemed like only an hour. I’ve written a lot about the importance of industry friendship, but what makes them so special are the common denominators so many of us share.  The one topic we talked about the longest related to “good enough”.  The digital revolution has brought with it a lot of photographers willing to settle for mediocrity. Actually, they’re settling for crap!

I’m talking about those “professionals” out there who provide a client with images that aren’t any better than Uncle Harry produces.  Anybody can book their first client, but the key to success is booking your second client after word gets out about your work. It’s about that first client coming back again for more images or booking another event.

There is no substitute for quality and for knowing and understanding the craft! Each photographer has to decide if they’re building their house of bricks or cards…

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” – Steve Jobs

“There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey”. ~John Ruskin

In this Photoshop Cafe/Software Cinema production they’ll share a wealth of information in under five minutes! It’s remarkable the power of these videos in such a short window.  This one is all about outdoor portraits, a key ingredient to great on-location work and essential to your success and growth as a professional photographer.

And if you like what you just watched here, imagine the amount of content in the full DVD. This is an exerpt from “Classical Portraiture Design” and available through Photoshop Cafe.  This is about expanding your skill set and fine-tuning your craft.  If you like what you saw here, the Software Cinema crew has worked hard to give all my readers a special discount code. Enter “nov20″ for 20% off  on all your purchases on both the Software Cinema and PhotoshopCAFE web sites. 

Software Cinema was founded by my old friend, Dean Collins. Dean wanted to establish an incredible educational resource for professional photographers. With the help of his staff and Photoshop Cafe, his legacy represents true leadership in photographic education. Expanding your skill set and becoming a stronger artist are all just a click away!

Dean may have passed away almost seven years ago, but the legacy he left us is one of the treasures of photography.  His dedication to producing great educational videos has continued with Software Cinema and through next Monday I want to highlight some of both Software Cinema and Photoshop Cafe’s productions.

Best of all, with every one of these short segments on the blog, there’s a more in-depth presentation in a full DVD. This is all about expanding your skill set and fine-tuning the craft.  If you like what you see here, the Software Cinema crew has worked hard to give all my readers a special discount code. Enter “nov20″ for 20% off  on all your purchases on both the Software Cinema and PhotoshopCAFE web sites. 

I can think of no better way to kick off Photoshop Cafe and Software Cinema Week than with a great clip from Jane Conner-Ziser.  Jane has constantly reinvented herself, staying on top of all the latest trends in image manipulation. She’s recognized as one of the finest artists in our industry and if you see Jane on the platform of any convention or workshop get there early for a seat!

Being a successful photographer is dependent on so many different variables. Even if you’re not directly involved in Photoshop or related activities of the artistic process, it’s important to understand the extent of what can and can’t be accomplished. Survival is no longer about the fittest, it’s for the most creativity and diverse.

This five minute clip is from “Photoshop CS5 Portrait Retouching Advanced Techniques”  which features many of Jane’s tips and will help you build the quality of your images.  The topic on this one is straightening crooked teeth. While it’s a specialized topic that would interest primarily a traditional portrait artist think about the technology it takes Jane to go from start to finish. Understanding that same technology is invaluable to helping you build your reputation as a photographer and artist.

I hope this video introduces you to two of my favorite companies, Software Cinema and Photoshop Cafe!

This video clip is a spin-off from the Capture and Creativity tour Clay did together with Jane Ziser and is loaded with idea after idea showing you examples of how Clay adds a solid dose of “fun” to every client relationship!  This is about event photography like sweet sixteen parties, bar and bat mitzvahs just to name a few. It’s loaded with ideas on how to utilize great images when you’re involved with virtually any kind of event. 

Clay Blackmore has been photographing Washington’s families for 25 years and is without question one of the most creative photographers we have in our industry.  His success is obviously about his skill set, but you can’t overlook his enthusiasm and his goal to always exceed every client’s expectations.

The challenge everyone has is making yourself different from your competitors. This is about going that extra mile, making yourself habit-forming and exceeding expectations! Few professional photographers do it as good as Clay!

I’ve written a few posts about the experiences of having both Tony and Dean as incredible friends in my life. In all honesty, they’ve both made a huge contribution to our industry. Tony simply never slows down. As a photographer, teacher, judge and artist there are few people who maintain this diverse a skill set who are such a kick to hang out with. 

Most of my favorite stories from the “far side” of this industry always involve Tony, Dean and too often mutual buddy Nick Vedros.  Sadly most of the stories aren’t suitable for a blog post, but just trust me that we’ve laughed far more times than any of them combined ever clicked a shutter!

e.e. cummings wrote: “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”   These guys have never wasted a day in their lives!  

It might seem strange to drop a head shot of Tony in with these videos, but I did the same thing a month ago with another post that featured his philosophy. Tony lost 130+ pounds over the last couple of years and there are so many of us proud to not only have him as a friend, but know his health is in great shape and we’re going to have him around for years more to abuse!

They might be infommercials, but what a great educational experience – thanks to Profoto. For the past two Summer School sessions, lighting has been the top request for help from everybody. Once you understand how to control the light, regardless of whether or not you’re in the studio environment or not, you’ll find yourself a better photographer in all aspects of the craft. This is all about your control over your environment.

Tune in tomorrow and I’ll post the three light and four light video.

If you have an appreciation for the technology that got us to where we are, then I believe you can be a better photographer. I’m in no way trying to turn back the clock. I love where imaging is going and the creative tools at every photographer’s disposal today.  I haven’t shot a roll of film myself in ten years and I love what I can do with a digital file. 

But, what if every time you picked up your camera you composed, exposed and shot as if there was no choice but to get it right, pretty much right out of the can – would you do things differently? Would you take more time to set up the shot? Would you pay more attention to the light, the shadows and your exposure? Would you compose differently?

I found this clip on YouTube of my old buddy Dean Collins.  Dean was only 51 when we lost him in 2005, but to this day he remains one of the finest presenters I’ve ever watched. He was an incredible commercial photographer, but there wasn’t anything he couldn’t shoot. His specialty was light – understanding it, controlling it and making it do anything he wanted.

I’ve attended hundreds of workshops and nobody compares to Dean’s style and comfort level when it came to being up in front of a crowd. He was quick on his return volleys too. Once being asked, “Dean, it’s no wonder all your images are stunning, look at how beautiful all your models are? Don’t you ever photograph any ugly people?”  There wasn’t one second of hesitation as he responded, “Of course I do and why don’t you get your family and come up here right now and we’ll do a portrait!”

Give yourself seven minutes and enjoy this clip I found on YouTube. It’s from 1998 and it was all about film and controlling the light. There was no Photoshop to do what Dean did with lights and reflectors. Again, this is about understanding the craft.  

Imagine if you had the same assignment today and there was no Photoshop, no Nik, no OnOne, no Kubota Image Tools; just you, your lights, a few reflectors and your camera gear.Would you know how to do what Dean did? When you get to the point in your career where you can answer, “YES!” you’ll truly be ready to take on just about any assignment!

The PPA convention was in Orlando that year and my first meeting with Dean and his right hand, Tony Corbell, was going to take place the day before the convention. We set up a time to meet at the hotel in the middle of the afternoon. It was pre-show time and I had little to do and wasn’t smart enough yet to know I should be using the time to network, so I spent it at the pool. It came time to head to the meeting and I slipped a pair of cut-offs (am I dating myself or what?) over my bathing suit along with a black “wife-beater” and headed to my meeting.  There stood Dean in the only suit he owned and Tony, along side him, also in jacket and tie!  They had dressed the part to meet the president of Hasselblad!

Tony would tell me in later years how all he and Dean could think about was “Who is this idiot from Polaroid that’s taking over Hasselblad? What kind of an adult has a name like Skip? How long will it be before Hasselblads are sold at Kmart?”  That started one of my oldest friendships in photography and we’ve been laughing ever since.

None of this is honestly relevant to Tony’s expertise on lighting, but for those of you relatively new to the industry there is a point. Cherish those new faces you meet today, because twenty years from now they’re going to be the core of your network. Look for friends who compliment your short suits.  Take advantage of every program you attend and meet as many people as you can at every workshop. The best part of this industry has nothing to do with photography, but the friendships that come out of everyone’s mutual love for the craft.

And yes, this is about Summer School. The networking aspect is one of the biggest parts of the program and I’ve watched friendships grow year after year. I’ve watched the chatter on Facebook and Twitter as this network of new friends support each other and build on the challenges of creating better images and marketing programs.  ”Three Buffet Brian”, Haley from Utah, Gokhan from Chicago, Brian P., Greg from Michigan, Melony from Vegas, Christy and Beverlee and the list goes on and on.  Every year the program has grown a little more and more photographers have been able to learn from the very best in the industry, picking up business and some times life-changing tips to help them grow.

Tony is teaching what he knows best and loves even more, lighting! He’ll be the first program, right out of the blocks on Tuesday, August 3, but he’ll be there throughout Summer School to answer questions and help you figure out the challenges in building your business. Just like the spirit he brought to that very first meeting with me and Dean in 1987, he’s never stopped giving back to the photographic community!

This image is directly out of the camera.  NO post production.  To produce the color I simply set my camera on tungsten (incandescent) color balance even though in a daylight or shade situation.  Then, I added a warm toned amber gel inside the softbox aimed at lighting my subject.  The daylight areas go blue and the face warms up.  Simple technique and doesn’t require time after the shoot to edit in post production. Tony Corbell

Tony Corbell is one of the finest lighting teachers in our industry and this year he’s joined by seven other spectacular instructors in the new hands-on programs. Hope you can join us at Summer School 2011. I can promise you a life-changing experience that will help build your skill set, expand your network, give you new ideas on marketing and diversity and recharge your battery!

This year at Summer School, thanks to requests from attendees over the last two years, we’re dedicating an entire day just to lighting and even a little posing. We’ve got eight great programs featuring some of the country’s very best photographers and teachers, all doing hands-on demo programs throughout the day.

I hope you can join us at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas from July 31 – August 3. If you can’t, at least check out Software Cinema. They’ve not only got the complete collection of all of Dean’s work, but educational videos from dozens of other photographers on just about every aspect of imaging!

Well, it’s amazing the things you find when you’re just surfing through cyberspace! Most of you probably didn’t know Dean, but his lessons on lighting were timeless. From his legendary road shows to founding Software Cinema, he set the standard for education. His contribution to the way so many photographers learned to see the light was so huge it’s hard to believe he was only 51 when he passed away.

Understanding lighting is one of the key things you can do to separate yourself from Uncle Harry! So, enjoy the next two minutes as you watch the master work his magic. And, if you’re looking for a more extensive trip through the mind of Dean Collins check out Software Cinema’s longer videos. They’ve got the full set and nobody does it better than Dean!