Lessons

Lesson Info

Emily Soto's Keys to a Successful Career

Okay, cool so I'm going to go over a little bit about my experience today I'm going to tell you guys how I got started in fashion photography I started a few years ago and I'll go over just a few sets I don't want it to really be about me, but I wanted to be about how you guys could get started as well then I'm going to go over the moola beauty dish and sponsored by mullahs and it's the beauty dish I used a lot on location as well a studio so be showing that to you guys today as well as the different lights that I used with that afterwards we'll be doing a live fashion photo shoot I have an amazing model here and really cool styling today so so something a little bit more whimsical and prettiest, so it'll be really fun show you guys my style there as well that's where I'll be bringing out my polaroids I have a land camera and a spectra cameras so be sure you guys the different film might use teo after that I'm going to be going over post processing I like like they were talking about I...

developed fashion actions dot com whenever I started, a lot of people were asking me how do I out of my photos? I shoot I'm really known for my outdoor photography so I should a lot outdoors using flares and different kinds of colors so I'll be showing you guys that this afternoon, so I'm going to go ahead and dive into it. I started photography my husband's here with me today you guys were going to meet him in a little while, but when we started dating we would go out with love to travel, so we were just got into a lot of landscape photography. He went to the art institute in san diego, so he was he was doing some wedding photography, assisting wedding photographers and as well as working for an nfl team the charges in san diego. So he told me he started teaching me how to use the camera for my wedding t about me, he actually bought me a camera, and so it was a dream or just like to travel and go out and do photography in twenty ten, one of my friends was starting to get in a modeling, so I had assisted back on a couple of a couple of weddings and I enjoyed it, but the structure wasn't really my kind of thing. So when my friend was in a modeling, I asked her if I could do issue with her, so we did it and it went really well I really like the creativity and being able to go out and do different kinds of styles with the model a supposed tio wedding photography so I started shooting her, and through that, I started making other connections. She had a lot of friends that were in the modeling, a lot of newer girls, but through working with her, she introduced me that then they started wanting me to take their photos, and it all just went from there and it's been a really awesome journey really fast and a lot of work. I have my bachelor's degree in hospitality and tourism management, which is nothing like what I'm doing today. I didn't dream I'd be here, but I going, whenever I was in school, I I changed my degree a lot. I wasn't really sure what I want to studio, and as soon as I did that first shoot with my friend ashley, I knew that that's what I wanted to do, and I just fell in love with it. So so, like I said through this model, I started networking with other creative, she did a lot of runway shows, so I would try to go to the runway shows, and I would go backstage and I would bring my business cards, and I tryto just sneak back there and pass them out energies myself and through that, I was able to meet a lot of models, a lot of young fashion designers and stylists. I definitely recommend that if you guys have, like, any fashion schools or just a regular college that has a fashion program, it's a great way that to go in there and started meeting people that can make your shoots a little more creative, I didn't. When I started photography, I didn't know anything about how it worked or how or what steps to take, so so I was learning I was brand new, it was learning, I knew I wanted to do something more creative rather than having models wearing their own clothes. So that was a step that I took in a lot of the designers that air students, they have these cool pieces, that no one's really shot, and they don't have anyone to shoot them, so they're they're just as eager as you are to have a photog for coming and shoot their pieces. I once I had about I've done maybe three or four shoots, I created a model may ham account, I'm I think laura was talking about that earlier is it's a great way? Whenever you're starting off to start networking with models and hair and makeup artists, you need about five or six images teo join, and after that, you're able to get on there and start start just networking, and I I still use it today, especially I like they said, I go out and do workshops around the world, so I'm always trying to find hair and makeup artist if I'm in a new country that I don't know anyone there, I'll search through and see if I could find here in makeup artist, if I don't have any models, look for models in there, it's, just a great tool. Sometimes you do have toe, I have to kind of dig through and make sure the people are professional. I definitely recommend calling our meeting them before the shoot, but it but it works really well. Broken doll models is another website. I joined their kind of similar to model may ham there, california based, and they're kind of cool because they feature photographers as well as models designers, so it's cool to just call toby on there. When I first started, they featured me a lot, and it really just helped people start seeing my work, and I was able able to get more quality models through that and through broken doll models of modeling him that's really where he started the girls, I started twenty agency girls on there, and they were they were so helpful to me, they reckon they gave me their agency contacts were like, you should shoot more models from the agency, so just started from there and bill talkto working with bigger and bigger agencies right when I started photography I maybe my third shoot I my husband back you came in and did a behind the scenes video so so at the end of twenty ten I started doing as much social networking as I could and I started the utility and so he did just a short behind the scenes video the first one that I people watch all the time isn't really my style anymore of it people really like it and it really helps with my social networking and following through facebook and flicker and dv and art on fashion tv is now a tv channel throughout asia and europe and they started playing all of my videos so so for me that I was so new and that was a great method for me to start building up a fan base I was also on flicker all the time I worked an office job after I graduated from college and I would spend my lunch breaks just sitting there it's like everyone thought I was crazy client skipped lunch and just really focus when when putting my workout their messaging creators and joining groups so all these social networks I definitely recommend being and then being active meeting people they're a great way just whenever you're starting off tow, get inspired and meet people as well I started after that I started doing magazine submission so once I had these young fashion designers that I was working with I would bring them in and we would come up with a concept and I was able to I would try to do maybe four or five look I was really new to it so everything was pretty conceptual whenever I was beginning but I was able tio to put it but the looks together and have created a story from my shoots so I would start submitting it to magazines and through the magazines it's not usually when you're starting it's not really something that paid but it's great exposure and the team's really like it as well especially if you're working with designers and stylists sometimes they won't really want to work with you unless you're planning to somebody so I highly recommend just looking through the internet it's a lot of research just finding magazines that takes emissions a lot of them will have different themes and topics as well so you can look through and see what their upcoming themes are and then you can kind of based her photo shoot will not I started working with local magazines in san diego that's where I started started doing fashion photography with san diego it was really cool for me there are a couple of print magazines in san diego that I started working with and they would bring in a full team a creative direct director they did some local celebrities a stylist hair and makeup but the cold thing for me was working with the creative director because he wanted to make sure that everything I did was perfect in camera, which I wasn't used to. So if the hair was out of place or if the clothing was a little bit offer, the post wasn't right. He was right over my shoulder telling me what to fix. So if you there any local magazines, I definitely recommend applying, and a lot of magazines started finding me through flicker and stuff to cite another magazine in san diego found me on their email me, so it was a good way from me just start building up my portfolio and learning how to work with a professional team. Really? We just wanted to jump in and explore that a little bit further because a lot of people I think, are in this just getting started phase. What were some of the things that were hardest free? Or or when you look back, sort of you say, gosh, I learned from that one, oh, goodness, what one like I think my first year, I was really just trying to develop my style and figure things out, so definitely finding models in learning hair and makeup, because if I look back at some of my old work when I first started, I would do like very conceptual shoots that now it was too much makeup to the paris crazy and like I mentioned the first the first video a day that was not really my my sail at all because it was very it was the girl's me in close and a little more sexy and my personal side is more romantic in one's local now so I think the hardest thing was just finding those creatives and knowing what I wanted from the shoot and being believe being in charge of what's going on with definitely the hardest part it's fantastic I mean it's really exciting to see how someone gets started and goes from being you know where they are, where they're trying to find anyone who will even shoot with them at all to where you are now and that's something that I think is again is something that a lot of people are relating to with you is seeing that you know you are just someone who started out and are now where you are now so the question is how what was the biggest change from then to now? Do you approach a shoot differently? Do you start out with the same mindset or what? What is it that you do now differently? Well I think now I got it's a totally different mindset I understand what I'm looking for a cz faras the booking of the right model for each look so when I started, I wasn't I was just like, oh, great, I have a model it I'm going to do. I want to do this stat this kind of concept, and I would just put it all together based on what I had available. And now, it's more. Okay, I have this concept I want to do let me find a face that fits this concept. So so looking at what was needed to execute that concept, what kind of hair and makeup is needed, as well as what kind of model? Her movement and just really having a better developing my eye for those kinds of things that are really important. Thank you. Thank you. So think this was one of my first years I found this model a model mayhem, and this was the first ship when I really realized that I really like the soft romantic kind of style I went all not with all natural light for this. You so for me today, I'll be doing studio, but whenever I'm shooting outdoors, I really like using the sun is rim light shooting it a a really low aperture, and I love it when I have flowers or anything that I can shoot there, so I'll show you guys some of those techniques today. But this this was one of those shoes where I was like, wow, I really like this I wanted to go kind of in a different direction I do still used I use them all a lot of really low power outside so that I just get a small pop of light and khun still shoot it a little aperture so this was just kind of a monumental shoot for me I'm going to tell you guys just some keys that I've learned over the years teo become successful photographer the first one is self motivation I haven't been doing this very long but I have worked so hard I think it's in twenty eleven I quit my my office job and went full time with photography the first year I didn't make very much at all. I invested a lot of money into my career, whatever I could for my from my office job when I was working full time in the office I would in the weekends I would go shoot as much as I could I would come home late at night and at it and it got to the point I was like, I just want to do this full time so I quit and was really self motivated and making myself spend that all that time on flicker and all these social networks so I think it's really important just just to stay motivated time management is something really important, it's really hard for me because I always have so much going on, but I definitely recommend just trying to manage your time as much as you can and put investing and what's important is definitely good toe shoot, especially whenever you're starting off, shoot as much as you can and try to develop your style until you until you get to that point, but but even now I'm trying to spend a certain amount of time on social networks I'm trying to shoot, shoot as much as I can whenever I've got opportunities that come up as well as my clients over here, and I do workshops so so it's a lot to manage, but making sure that you don't neglect things because there have been times in my career where I have neglected certain social networks that now are huge or different things that that I could could have benefited from if I had made that extra time being inspired. I have a lot of photographers tell you guys that got the minute that I that I love looking tio for just for inspiration so so always just making sure that you're inspired that you love what you d'oh, I love to travel paris is my biggest inspiration, just being there and just seeing the people in the streets just looked so pretty, and I just want to shoot everything, but just making sure that you find those things that inspire you definitely developing your style, like you mentioned, figuring out what you like, so so going out and shooting, like I said, as much as you can until you find your style, I think it's important, that you're not going out and replicating someone it's great to be inspired, and should take different aspects of their photography and make it your making it your own and changing it around, because if you're doing something that that you're not inspired by, you don't like what you think, that's, what you need to be doing, it's not gonna work, and you're not going to enjoy it on challenging yourself for me, I'm always trying to challenge myself. Last year, I started shooting with bill and polaroids, and and I've tried out so many different film cameras, I'm gonna show you guys some of my favorites today, but just finding different alice little challenge yourself. I moved from california to new york in july, and it's been a huge challenge for me, and that was part of the reason I wanted to go there is because in california, I kind of felt like I was kind of floating along so so it's been really good for me to learn new styles, new techniques and and I'm just always trying to find more things to do yoda to take myself to the next level yeah, as you moved from california where a lot of your work is very floral is outdoorsy and then going to new york hyde was that an intentional like was that part of the intention was to kind of force yourself to shift that a little bit or was it just something that attracts you to no, itwas I like tio right now, my my work is seen is very a theory on beautiful and I really like that, but I want to challenge myself and go more into the fashion industry. So eso in california I shoot with a lot of clients. A lot of my clients are more look books and more of the california style which I love, but new york is a completely different style and I'm learning and it's hired, but I really enjoy it. Well, um, definitely like twenty guys the first year I invested a lot in my career just, you know, the normal stuff that you have that I would save my job and buy a camera by the next ones that I needed but also investing your time, so if you have good opportunities that come up, if with me, even if I have certain certain model agencies that are always like, hey, we test this model will you do that? And I tried to make the time for it as much as I can I don't want to overwhelm my schedule because it's pretty tight, but but when I have that opportunity, I really want to go for it because you never know what's going to come out of that and if people are giving you this opportunity something's they're hard to find so even so I have to go into it motivated and and with it out look that I'm going to learn something from this shoot so so going into going into the chute saying okay, like maybe I'm not getting paid, but what can I learn from this? And what? What kind of new techniques can I use? So so making everything a learning experience, whether it's a task or whether it's a job just learning new techniques and learning, I learned that everything will shoot that ideo but also investing, investing that time and investing whatever you can financially as well. It's really important to have a support team because my husband has been my biggest support throughout my career married to me you'd be here has to be there through all those moments so he's amazing and I also have some just some amazing friends that I've made for other years and and some of them are for italia first tell martin, but they're just so encouraging to me and I met with one a few weeks ago she's like I just want to be your chair later, and it just meant so much to me because you need those people in your life, it could be a really hard industry it's an amazing thing because I am so passionate about it, I wouldn't want to do anything else, but there are times where you hear no a lot. So it's it's good to have those people that to encourage you to keep you going. Lastly, I know I told you guys really invest your time, but also learning to say no whenever you need to heal. So so taking the jobs that we're taking, the opportunities that you know will benefit you, but don't say yes to everything because otherwise you would have, I wouldn't have time for anything that that was beneficial for you, so so we need to say yes, if the right opportunities and no to the wrong one. I learned a lot my first two years, I still continue to lined on certain things that I shouldn't have agreed tio yeah, a heart of sort of as you're developing your lab and figuring out what does work or what doesn't totally what are some of those, maybe experiences well, I think the big thing is that I learned when I started people I would have different designer stylist like hey let's do this concept's anybody okay and the and I'd go into it it wasn't my anything I was light would be like shooting something that may be the styling just wasn't didn't fit my personality and I think that unless as a photographer you have to be really invested into that theme or it's not gonna work because you're gonna have what the stylist wants over here and then you're gonna have with the makeup artist wanted me here so it's really putting out like putting out what you want in that photo shield and making sure that that you're kind of in control you can work I work with style is all the time and we developed together the same sometimes but but we're on the same page so it's not me going and shooting this you know something that's not my heart's not in it so that's probably the biggest thing thank you so for me modern women portraiture what it means to me is is challenging myself I really am inspired by a lot of film photographers so I really like kathleen on joe if I talked a little bit about her yesterday she issue ah lot of polaroid and film and just has amazing styling and very wins the colin pretty I also lapel oversee his polaroids and tim walker he has just used his amazing natural light and just awesome props so so those are the people that I really looked to for inspiration so last year he started shooting a lot more with film and polaroid to try out those techniques and I just love the rawness of the polaroid film but I also shoot a lot of digital so I try to bring in some of those techniques and in my judgment digital photography as well I'm gonna show you guys some of the film that I'm shooting with today this is an example of positive negative film that I'll be that I'll be shooting with this is a p three thousand v it's a pill apart film so what I do is I have a positive and negative I go in and I scan the negative so later in the afternoon whenever I go over post processing I'll be showing you guys that I invert the negative and it turns out too just being awesome photo gets a lot of grain and texture so these are just some examples because like they said, we can't tether it so so you guys know kind of what I'm doing before I start these were just some photos that I did in paris but you guys can kind of see some examples you can stay discontinue this film about I would say three or four months ago but you could still easily accessible fashion. Ah, gopher dot co is coming as a new company coming soon. And they'll be selling it as well, as well as the camera's up. You think I share this with the land camera, and I'll show you guys that in just a minute.