The First Album The first official album cover for my “Off The Record” project has been completed and was unveiled today – appropriately enough – in London during my program at SWPP. I decided to start the project off with an iconic album cover from a British band that helped define 80s music – Dur...
Anyone Remember Records? The era of the vinyl LP is pretty much behind us. Sure, there are a few die-hard collectors and DJs who still covet records, but by-and-large, the music industry has left them behind. Remember when you were a kid and you got a cool new album for Christmas? It was always ob...
I am excited to be a part of the PROSPER eConference Summit January 14-23. This summit brings together 15 of the brightest minds in the industry — leading photography experts who will share proven strategies, real-world techniques, and hands-on tools designed to help you: • Attract, close, and thril...
Don’t get me wrong- there are certainly days when I long for the “good old days” – when we used film and people didn’t stare at their phones all day. Technology can certainly be a nuisance. However, sometimes it comes in pretty darn handy! OFF TO THE ARCTIC This week I was scheduled to speak in Mi...
Back Where It Started Fifteen years ago, I joined the Dallas Professional Photographers Association. I didn’t really know anyone there and was just learning the ropes of photography. I knew so little, that I didn’t realize how far I had to go – if that makes sense. In hindsight, it turned out to ...
Every year, I teach a darkroom class to 8th graders at The Westwood School in Dallas. Although it is truly a dying art, I think there is still a lot to be learned from the whole development process. You have to work to get a nice image and can’t just shoot 1000 shots and hope to get a good one. Whi...
I get a lot of emails asking which Photoshop filter plugins I use on my images. By far, my favorites are the Topaz filters. I like the fact that they offer easy-t0-use presets, but also allow you to go in and fine tune the look as much as you want. I don’t really endorse too many photography items...
Guest Post by Brian Testa From a Renewed Bingo Setting to Instant Photo Sharing Capabilities Social media has already made its presence felt in the photo industry with more technologies that cater to portability and ease of access. Although the DSLRs are still a must for professional shutterbugs, ca...
Last year I wrote a post about the Death of the Point and Shoot where I talked about how the Point-and-Shoot camera was going the way of the dinosaur. I mean, really- when was the last time you saw someone shooting with one? It makes sense really. Why carry along an extra camera when you can just us...
This project has produced some very emotional stories, but this is one you won't forget. Here is Marsha's story.
It is that time of year! This year, our studio is once again participating in Celebration of Smiles- a promotion to raise money and awareness for Operation Smile. The Professional Photographers of America have participated in this for the past several years and this will be our third Celebration. O...
Read moreThe Next Album As we work our way through the Off The Record Project, I thought it was time to mix in a fairly modern album – a movie soundtrack actually. While the Les Miserables soundtrack isn’t necessarily an “iconic” album, it is definitely a very recognizable cover. On top of that, it is actu...
Read moreBowie Time The time has come to release another addition to my Off The Record project. This time, we decided to take a crack at David Bowie’s iconic “Aladdin Sane” album cover from way back in 1973. Brian Duffy’s original creation featured a startling portrait of makeup-clad Bowie in a version of ...
Read moreReady To Up Your Game? There is no question that photographic competitions are one of the best ways to improve your photography. The bad part is, there can be a bit of a learning curve. I’ve seen both sides of the process, both as someone who enters competitions and as someone who judges competition...
Read moreIts time for another installment in my Off The Record Project and this time – its personal! If you are new to the project, you can read more about it in the original Off The Record Post. Band Of Brothers I’ve always been a big fan of Hall and Oates. They’ve had so many great albums, but my favori...
Read moreOff The Record We are entering the last few months of the Off The Record Project. If you are new to the project, you can read about it here. Back To The 80s The latest addition to the series is one of the most-recognized album covers from the 80s – Van Halen’s iconic 1984. The album went to #2 on t...
Read moreJanet’s Control For the next installment of the Off The Record project, we are staying in the 80s for another memorable album cover- Janet Jackson’s “Control”. The album went to #1 in 1986 and sported a very memorable red cover. It even ranked #28 in Rolling Stone Magazines “Top 100 Albums of the ...
Read moreThe Age of Glam Metal The 80s were know for a lot of things, but “heavy metal bands with big hair” would certainly be high on the list. For this addition to the Off The Record Project, we decided to explore the work of one of the biggest hair bands of the 80s – Motley Crue. Released in 1983, the ba...
Read moreGetting Modern Welcome back for another addition to the Off The Record Project. We’ve been doing a bunch of older album covers lately. This is probably due to the fact that the 80s produced so many iconic cover images. For this one, however, we decided to get a little more modern, with an homage ...
Read moreOTR- Nugent Style For this installment of the Off The Record Project, we are going all the way back to 1977 for the third album by guitarist/singer/songwriter Ted Nugent. Cat Scratch Fever was a big hit for Nugent, going multi-platinum. His crazed look helped to make the album cover very memorable...
Read moreOFF THE RECORD: Mamma Mia! This one has been in the work for months! I’ve been photographing Skyler her whole life and wanted to include her in the series, we just kept running into obstacles. We couldn’t decide on a cover, then couldn’t locate the right dress. Finally, the stars aligned and we ...
Read moreImagingUSA is right around the corner! For those who don’t know, ImagingUSA is the once-a-year photography extravaganza, hosted by the Professional Photographers of America. This thing is HUGE with loads of great educational programs and a mind-blowing trade show. If you are anywhere near Nashvil...
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