Lessons
Lesson Info
Bambi Cantrell
So my next speaker is someone who I'm sure most of you have been in this business longer than a week no and it's bembe cantrell and miss bambi and I got to tell you what she is miss awesome sauce okay but when I first started going to conventions this is you know gosh I say how long it was bambi that I've been seeing you a a c is the princess of imaging your source lay up but when I won the first workshops I went to a lot of years ago was one of miss bondi's workshops and I was immediately impressed all these workshops that I went to she was there at the door introducing yourself to people which is something that I've seen you do many times she's actually takes the time to say hello to every single person that walked into her room and from that moment on I liked her and I didn't care what she said it could be like the worst programmer but I was like I love you you're so nice you're so awesome but the top it all off for program was exceptional she is one of the most exceptional instruct...
ors and inspirational people in industry she's also the mother tio very, very lovely of god like cameron and I think for any parent that's one of the crowning achievements as being a great mother, a great wife, a great husband for me not away and so you should be very proud of that she's she's teaching a workshop if you guys interested in learning from bambi sponsored by metropolitan bride is that right coming up very soon so I heard about and if you get a chance to go to in workshops please do bambi control come on. Okay? Because unlike your oldest freaking photographer in the entire universe on the one who knows how to reinvent themselves and you know in order to reinvent yourself you have had to invent yourself which means guess what? You got to know one f stop from a bus stop, folks okay? And you also need whoa! We cannot have gotten to that slide yet. That's okay? I'm not gonna worry about it. You need to understand the way light crosses the body you need to understand how to pose people and make them look their very best because, you know, at the end of the day if you don't look good, we are not gonna like the pictures. So chamber I just have one question just my butt look fat in these pants. Good. I'm glad to hear that. I really believe that it all begins with the art of communication it's about knowing when to tell people to turn one way or the other and I believe that visual cues are absolutely the very best that you can do if you stand over here and you say, hey, turn your feet this way I promise you their whole body is going to go that direction it's not going to stay flat footed it's also important for us that we would keep the mind of a child you know, you gotta have patients like little children do you know if you look at this little kid, you know they're not going to just give it up for anyone and I have to tell you, when I started in photography I was absolutely petrified to photograph little kids I mean terrified I would rather run from the room that photograph children I'd better photograph mature older women like this because that kind of related to them but one of the things I've learned is that no matter who the subject is who you are that you have got to get engaged with that particular person and it's gonna take effort that you cannot sit back on your little lazy behind and wine and gripe because it didn't go the way you wanted it to go, but only because you didn't do anything to do it. So I say instead of sitting back on your haunches, get that that reflector or get that mirror in that photograph dragged down to the beach, be willing to work really hard to get what you need to get done lay that fine foundation and then they will do something crazy like create a dress out of newspapers which is what I did with this photograph I really believe in saying what if well what if I create a dress out of crazy things like newspapers what's going to happen you know what happens your client loves the experience and the experience is the most important thing that you can give up give him a great experience and that they will love your pictures also I want you to think of abstract things as in a way that becomes something else some other words think of a chair as of becoming a potential background be willing to have little kids go running down the hallway throwing their arms up and screaming at the top of their lungs because what happens right after that you get the holy grail you get people doing what happens naturally and get amazing experiences that couch right there that you see in this photograph was the background that you saw early in the girl with the hair the crazy hair thing going on and it's been my experience that if I take that experience and I keep the what if attitude going on and if I pre plan in my mind concepts not pictures but concepts for creating imagery I can go very, very far I can have a blast with those clients so I believe that it's important to have that foundation but again to continue to pay attention to who the client is you know this girl who's got this big tattooed heart on her chest you can't photograph her the same way or with the same parameters that you do somebody who's wearing this big poofy ball gown with a little tiara on her head you have to think about who that subject is and how can you interpret them and that's? Why it's important to continue to try to look at what they're wearing or what they're not wearing in this case think about it she's got great legs are you going to show them off? Maybe crop it in an interesting way? Is she the little princess who loves the wear a tiara on her head? One of my favorite things to do I love going to thrift stores and resale shops and junk stores and consignment stores I love them because they really helped me to find all kinds of crazy little props that air super inexpensive I drag him down to the beach and we have a ball with them and it's a really cool way because it creates an experience I get great pictures, but more than that the client goes home going, oh my god she took this couch down to the beach and we had this fabulous time and then the funny part is they'll tell all their friends about that nutty it's off and then their friends will come to hire you, but they won't want that. So have the attitude of a little kid and be willing to take the experience and the chances and not be afraid to try those wonderful things. If you have the attitude that child, how many of you have ever seen little kids and that they're not afraid to try something new, they say, well, what happens if I do it wrong? No big deal who? It's all right, you and I are the ones that get ourselves so worked up in tomorrow you brought it out so very well and that we're the ones who work yourself up into a frenzy and, oh, if we make a mistake and we take a bad picture, we beat ourselves to death for weeks about it. I say put it in a rocket ship, shoot it to the moon because you cannot change that. All you can do is move forward and go from there. So with that said, my goal is this, that is that you have a great experience. You learn how to take great pictures because you understand the technical aspects of photography and you learn enough stop from a bus stop, thanks a lot.
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Outstanding! Definitely inspiring and making me want to move forward. :)
Olive Park
INSPIRED! THX!
a Creativelive Student
You bastards make me cray every time ! And I love you for it. Amazing heart and mind boost ! Godspeed to all of you.