Lessons

Lesson Info

3:00 pm - Personal Projects

I want to really go into this a little more because it's really important america really has taught me to dream big, so I have a question for you where will you be in one hundred years? More importantly, where were you images be in one hundred years and what will they mean in twenty one twelve what we were images me think about that for a second if you had the chance to use photography to change the world, how people see how they dream big, what would you do? I want to invite everyone to join me and helping the world dream big and I've been working on a project all this year and I would include you in the project so if you've been following me on twitter, you know I've been going all over america, dragging lights around even in my video usually dragging lights around america, taking pictures for my project and those have been following the project no it's called the future project the future goals one hundred years into our future and today after class these students are coming with me...

to do the forty seventh shot my project, the project I am going all over america doing fifty portrait ce I'm taking my students with me today to do the forty forty seventh image, so the idea is to inspire people to dream big that's harmless say right now if you want to find out more, follow me on twitter at matthew jordan underscore iss and join me and these students as we helped the world dream being not just for today not just for today but for the next one hundred years and using photography to do it now I know I won't be here two hundred years but my images can speak to the world and inspire the next generation future generations to dream big so more on that later I want talk about the business part of photography because we really get into that a little bit put on way of course and pumping up matthew I could have heard this wrong but I think that you said your twitter handle wrong so I just want to make sure you pick your please correct from missing in my own twitter matthew I understand for jordan but I'm matthew jordan underscore I want to make sure you're right there follow matthew underscored jordan s thank you very much way have any questions about that? Because I will give out one hint they like but only one hit I have so many questions you know I do we've already been over this um I don't know I'm trying to think of a good question that I don't I haven't already asked you about well here's here's here's a riddle for you not really a riddle but how can you use photography to inspire the next one hundred years how can in photography inspire the next one hundred years? And I would love folks out there online too. China man in the chat room and let us know what your answer is. It is just such a it's. Such a kind of inspiring question to ask what? Well, what will your images mean? One hundred years from now? Absolutely. It just really puts your photography into a completely different perspective. Was it mean what does it mean? What is the value what's? The value of your pictures. Not today, because we all we are all this world we think about value right now. What about one hundred years in twenty one twelve what? With the value of your pictures being it's? Not only your children but your children's children, right, that's what I was just gonna say from me, I think about generations for generations and culture and cultures. For me, I think about cultures that are dying out, everything's changing, moving so quickly, there's so many traditions and cultures that will be gone in one hundred years gone going. And, um there folks out there who that's their sole purpose of their photography is capturing that absolutely, I have one question when you say you're taking fifty portrait's, are you taking one portrait and every state I'll give that away on ly not ready to give that away yet but they're getting there they're getting there I have been traveling I'll say this I have been traveling all over america from sea to shining sea so so yes so folks are treating turn tuning in our timing in that's what I was going for andy far says my answer might my images will show my interpretation of the world as it wass just interesting because we all know differently all of us I like that well also when you look at photos that were taken one hundred years ago how amazing they are to us now because they're mean you just can't even imagine life right? In fact they're more valuable now than they were when they shot them in just for one hundred years ago are more valuable now than they were they were they shot think about that I hope will be able tio see all of our images that were taking digitally in one hundred years I think aboutthe time I think about that all the time how can you ensure that make prints that fill up ten times back up to what yeah to the cloud that's not the conversation tio really these dvd somewhere where you put them far far away I will say for me personally seeing a photo from a hundred years ago it is the closest thing you get to that that time because you can watch period movies or you concede drawings or art but it doesn't seem to have the same effect on me as seeing actual photograph from a hundred years ago like I get closer to a hundred years ago that way then in any other way I agree I agree so thank you go people are certain to get curious now matthew talking about film talking about plates, old school photography, archival di transfer interesting, interesting way have many tools for sure um talk we start with film it's now a digital what will it be in the future? Nobody knows, but how can we ensure that our images are around for a long time to inspire your children's children's generation and mohr working on that and you guys are now part of something hopefully really, really big, so this is not completed yet, but you're now part of something really special and you're the first ones to see it. You're the first ones to see the creation of this. The rest of america has been in suspense there's the world for that matter, but you're now part of it and inviting you to be apartment and follow me on twitter and join in because this is going to going to grow and years from now hopefully you and your children and you shouldn't shouldn't we talk about this moment right now that's all about this for right now we'll get back to other stuff so yes, this is all about working with models but as you can see, I've learned a lot in my career beyond just being a fashion beauty photographer yes, the very beginning my career the idea was to just shoot fashion and beauty but so much more has happened how did it start for me? How did I get work after I start testing models and getting the agencies to give me more models? How did that lead to me getting work? Well, those first shots I did I permanent portfolio use that put forward to show the people showed up other agencies and get work through all that testing I was doing agencies were seeing my work and send me more models. So those models go out on castings all over new york city and see tons of clients so all this class is now seeing my work. All those agents bookers clients now seen that work from my test shoots. So back then I had no idea of the impact that that would make but then an agent. So my work through models from my tests and called me in for a meeting and decided from seeing my test shoots that he want to represent me so then I get work that's not working more and more and more and I'm just shooting fashion and beauty I'm doing at that point I was doing small pictures for the front of a magazine and the magazine work led to me getting bigger spreads in magazines and then I still doing just fashion beauty so then fashion beauty led to enter seeing that work said, you know what I love the way he shoots I want to see that on a celebrity so they get hired to shoot celebrities then one let's let me leads two to two leads to four and it's turning to his career now if you will know me mohr fashion celebrity work they're for shooting fashion and beauty or maybe it's like half and half then that has led to shooting ports of people beyond the world of fashion and beauty and entertainment is that to shooting ads for for banks and other entities and even companies outside of the fashion world? In the beginning all I want to do wass fashion and beauty must lead to everything else and all that training considerate training has given me inspiration to use my photography as a platform to inspire others. So I think about not just myself in my career but your career and the next generation photographers and beyond that happen we speak to them and tell them what we've done we have this great platform of crave live to share and teach until I had this this synergy between photographers and mohr the first, this sort off being just photographers and is much more now. We had this voice and we are blessed to have a camera that we use to speak and tell the world how we feel about everything. How do you feel about fashion? How do you feel that beauty? How do you feel about your country? How do you feel about women or men? Know relationships. You have a camera to speak to the world and tell them how you feel. It's. A wonderful thing to be a photographer. So I would go back into how I first thought getting work. When I first thought testing on get my first agent, my agent took my faith his favorite picture and turned it into a promo card. And the probable card looks like this it's like five by seven has the picture. Has my name on the backside, has my agents name and information. He sends this out to clients or prospective clients. He does this four times a year, four times a year. He sent out a promo card. Clients see this it's small enough. We can put it on their desk and just get it in the way. If it's bigger than this like eight by ten. Sometimes it gets in the way they don't want to keep it because it clutters up their office but this is really like the perfect size just to use to promote yourself lot even want promote using just email and from what I've heard from clients are art directors art buyers editors is there all inundated with email and nobody's doing this anymore I still cindy's out and it gets more attention now than an email promo because no why since anything tangible with while computer people have to have your email that go to the computer turn it on and be at the disk with this they could be anywhere and they could do this they could walk to another editor's office and say have you seen matthew's work they're not going to take there computer off and take it and have you seen this is very different but they can actually hold the image in their hand something tangible and that is so powerful so don't forget about the power of touch don't forget about the power of touch with question in our situation before we even have agents would just say it's ok to do that on your absolutely because remember you shouldn't be out to do this before you get an agent you should be shooting jobs on your own and learning how to put them together produce them of hire the hair makeup medic yours whomever you should learn that first on your own and then an agent helps you get more work and manage that work when it's overpowering you can't do it all yourself. The agent helps in that point, but you must learn how to do it first yourself it's a great, great question thank you for that and follow up to it. Would you say who to send it to other than agents? It's just oh, so how does this go to who lesson that promo card to ice in it to prospective clients and for me, it's for a buy in the fashion and beauty world, all the magazines, all the editors, and by an advertising who those fashion and beauty I talk it just that world, just the world of fashion and beauty, you get other work, that's all great, because remember oh idea first was work on getting fashion and beauty work specifically beauty work, and it led to everything else in my career. I didn't go approach anybody else about shooting celebrities I didn't have that dream at all it happened, my focus was fashion and beauty that was it so you want make a list of you could buy a list through add basil exit access these are lists companies that sell a subscription to all the mergers and magazines around the world and by, you know, just the east coast, just the west coast all america america in europe american and can you break it down like that you want but they have the names addresses for all the magazines all the advertising agencies out there agency access on what's the other one again actually they're all the same that they were boarded by easy access so that's that's the one that's the standard now basically and that's how you get work and how you make your meetings by using that source to go and send your problem pieces out send your e mails out as well so I think he had to do must do both and then make the calls and make means and get your foot in the door into doing fashion and beauty think question about that and I keep this you may keep that absolutely you may keep that one that one is yours great also I'm gonna put it on my wall that you say that again can you say that you know my wallet and that's why I want editors to do put it on their wall when you close your computer you can forget about it and they may like your work if you sent in email promo out of your work they may love your work on monday but by wednesday they've gotten one hundred more e mails from other photographers around the country trying to get work and they forgot about you possibly where this could say on their desk with your picture and your name, and remind them all the time if they like, the work is very effective, so we're getting a number of questions about the cards themselves. Ok, when I bring him over those, um what information to do put on the card, how many photos would you send something else? Along with the card or just the hard it's, usually just the card by itself. The information of the car is very simple. You will make sure has your website on there or your agents website on there so it's communities find you quickly with a number for the agent or you. If you have an agent it's your number and your name so on my card, I'll get back to you know, my agent, you're right back to you, it's about agent sitting it out, it's one picture to be one powerful picture of sometimes less is more and I fight with my agent about this should you do this picture or this picture? And that picture or these four pictures less is more sometimes so it's one single image my name and I said, if this format four years, nothing will change for year so for those four probables, it's the same feeling look