The Last Shot of 2008....

I have had such a great and productive year. I am so looking forward to all of 2009. So i'll end the year with my baby boo "Rudy"

Lighting Info: This shot was taken in front of my glass patio door. I shot it at 1/8 f/4.0 200 ISO i wanted a nice bright wrap of the morning light. my son held a reflector (white tile board) near her for a little added fill. to make sure i did not blow here away.
I shot about 10 of these trying to get the shutter drag thingy. but my god. i had to post this one because i could not get over the Big Brown eyes.
Happy 2009. See ya next year.
www.guilloryphotoart.com
View On White

More Music Artist

These are 2 shots from my Dec.19th shoot with Rap Artist "Blaze" and His Producer "hero"

Simple  light setup.  Trying out the New Elinchrom lights.

Blaze in the Apartments he grew up in for his Promo CD insert.

Music Producer "Hero"  this was one of the money shots of the day.  when i saw it in the camera i got so excited.  and you can see why.

This image is of an artist from the group Str8 Aim.  This is one of my favorite images from the shot. More to come.

First Cover _ ConVibe Magazine

Thanks to all the folks over at Convibe Magazine for giving me a chance to get my work on the world.  I have the Cover of the Premier Issue which will be available and on newstands in Jan. 2009.

Cover Model- R&B Singer 'Taylor"  this wonderful young lady has a voice of gold.  And i am sure you will see HUGE things from her to come.  and at only 15yr. old.  Watch the rise of a Star.

Strobist Information:  (1) 285 HV on stand camera left.  Set high for rapid fall off.  Bare bulb and images has NO photoshop work at all.  This image was striaght out the camera but shot in RAW and Converted in Abode Bridge.

Here is another one of my favorite images i shot of Ms. Taylor

Still Going Strong!!!

Lastly I feel like a have made a major turning point my my life and career.  Just as i thought the year was winding down.  I keep getting calls to do sports event,  Promo material and Model Portfolios.  ( What Recession??  LOL)  I am now with ConVibe/KMG Management, who will handle my booking and things in 2009.  I have a public relations lady now, Upscale PR and Events.  all there contact inof can be found on my web site at www.guilloryphotoart.com.

 Next, I was called on last Saturday at around 11am to shoot a pro basketball game at 6:30pm.  This iwas my kids pro game.   I am normally use to shooting kids sports which are alot slower.  But i quickly ajusted and got some very cool shots of the players and cheerleaders.  Also to make this personallty sweeter for my my 11 yr. old son was with me court side shooting images and he did a Wonderful job.  I love you Shemar.  He is my future.  So here are some images from that night.

The team is the Southeast Texas Mustangs Men's Basketball, which are members of the ABA.

Thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to shoot this game, i really enjoyed myself and made alot of new friends.

As 2008, year winding down i am reflecting on the ups and down of the year. I started my recovery from Back surgery, Hurricane Ike hit my little town of Orange Texas, I evacuated twice to Dallas. Photography and my family was the only thing to keep me sane and happy. I did meet and started working with KMG management, CIDA, and Mr. Hilton Kelley. They have beena great team of folks to work with and for. Alot of new things are coming in 2009. So stay tuned and see how we gonna set 2009 on fire. I am just gonna post some images no special order, no special point just some re-caps of 2008. This is an image of Don Giannatti and I from the lighting essentials Workshop in Houston.

Photoshop and Photography

I was recently asked a common question which is simple to understand but hard to explain. Q: Can you fix another photographers image with photoshop? A: Simply, YES!!!! BUT: No matter how good someone is at photoshop. If the Photography is bad upfront sorry only Jesus and a pray is gonna save it. Photoshop is a tool used for photography, design and graphics. Dealing with photography. It is meant to Enhance an image. not to fix mistake or unskillful work. I look around alot at other folks images and i must say it is very sad to me how many folks call them selves photographers and every image they shoot has over done, destructive and just plain bad photography. I am not say i am the best at what i do but I feel I am not the worst. If an image is garbage right out the camera it's a garbage image. 1. We as photographers have to learn and care about the art of it and strive to get better. Not strive to take alot of thick T&A images. (T&A= Tits and A$$) 2. We have to learn how to do proper beauty retouching. Tell tell sign are look at the eyes for sharpness. Look at the hair line for nice blend. Look for colors that pop. Look at the background and see the mistakes. 3. We have to learn how to light an image and just just snap it a pray for good exposure. There is a thick line between lighting and image and simply exposing it. When you really learn the difference expose will not be enough anymore. 4. Ask your self, if i had a client who need images ASAP. Could i give them raw images right out the camera, with no Photoshop or adjustments. Would the client ever book me again. Here are a few great photoshoppers and photographers: Today's lesson, all these images where top notch right out the camera. www.joeyl.com - this kid is on 18. www.davehillphoto.com - this guy goes hard. http://dustinsnipes.com/blog/ http://www.amydresser.com/ - a master http://lyndonwade.com/ http://www.timtadder.com/ - a master http://www.dongiannatti.com/ - a good guy and friend http://www.dbrownphotos.net/- another Texas superstar http://mjs-exp.com/ - shoot big time blakc celebs http://www.platonphoto.com/

All Images have photoshop done to them.

Street Camp Movement Shoot

Welcome back,  many new recent photo shoots of Up and Coming Music Groups from Port Arthur TX.  Street Camp Movement and Str8 Aim.  Shout out to all these guys you will be seeing alot more from them.  I am finally putting together a new lil studio on Woolworth in Port Arthur.  It will be up and running Jan. 2009.  Starting the new year off right.

Here's the Cover of One of My favorite new groups Street Camp Movement.  I really enjoyed the shoot and it went smooth as silk.  One minor glitch.  My old Faith SV 300 I Light finally died and went to that big studio in the sky.  So good bye SV it been fun and HELLO Elinchrom.. Hooray.

Take a listen to there Music at:

http://www.myspace.com/youngzoofthestreetcamp

http://www.myspace.com/streetcampmovement

Booking Info: streetcampmovement@gmail.com

Street Campaign Mixtape is coming Decemeber 08.

Make sure you listen to Brain Storm  this is my favorite track.

Young'N Shoot

Today, i enjoyed a shoot in Port Arthur TX with one of the livest young groups i've heard in awhile, Street Camp Movement.  We had a good shoot and got alot done in a very quick amount of time. 

One Small mishap happen, my ol faithful SV 300i strobe was dropped during the shoot it fired intermittedly during the shoot so in the clutch I move on the my Vivitar 285HV strobe (3)  we wrapped up the shoot with that and backed those up with my ABR800 ringlight.

So here is a shot.

3 light setup.  Ringlight overhead on axis about 2ft. from subject face tilted downward for rapid falloff.  One 285HV camera right  pointed at legs feathered toward the ground.  One 285HV set camera left for fill.

The only more i would have desired is the reallyt wet the ground to add those highlight and reflections that would have given this shot more pop.

Samples:

Lionheart Boxer

On Nov. 5th, i had the pleasure of shooting the boxers at Lionheart Boxing gym located in Port Arthur, TX. This is a type of shoot have always wanted to do. Male boxers in the gym in the ring. The Staff and team were great and very helpful. In total that day we shot a total of approx. 400 images, some still shots and some action of the boxers sparring and shadow boxing, speed bag and heavy bag. This is an image i picked out to show the lighting and PP work.
For this look the PP work was much easier when the image out the camera gave me alot of what i was after.

Three Light Set-Up

As you can see we have the build-up shots, one to test rim light placement, and one with main light added.  All the combined to get this image image.

Pre-Final Image

Next we did a little photoshop work.  to add a little mood and darken background.  Added skin highlights and skin smoothing.  We use TK Lumino. mask, a little dodgeing and burn to create this our final image.

FINAL:

Lighting Essentials Workshop

Nov. 1 and 2nd, i attend the Lighting Essentials workshop with Instructor Don Giannatti. If you have never attended his workshop it is a must for any photographer who wants to learn light or to brush up on your skills. Don teaches so clear an am. casn get it and a seasoned pro will not be bored. This workshop really helped me developed my natural light photos along with strobe outdoor and studio. Being this was my first workshop ever, i was surprised that it was not a commercial for Don or some equipment sponsor. It was about the students and how to improve. Don took the time to really make sure we understood each concept. I would highly recommend this workshop to any and everyone. Here are a few of my shots from the workshop. Also see more of Don's Work at http://www.dongiannatti.com/ or http://www.lighting-essentials.com/


Jercoria Outdoor Shot


Outdoor Ambient Light and Strobe.




Studio Hard Light

Mr. Hilton Kelley

Mr. Kelly is a community organizer in Port Arthur, TX. He is an amazing man who is doing so much for our area and the community he loves. Read more here it's worth the read:

http://www.cleanhouston.org/heros/kelley.htm
http://blip.tv/file/6053/
http://www.refineryreform.org/Kelley_testimony071602.html

White is Right!!

Been doing alot of shooting on white background. For some reason i have been on this kick for awhile. Tomorrow i am shoot a local Cityman Mr. Hilton Kelly of Port Arthur TX EPA Rep.) and Of course on white. My biggest hurl i had to learn was to light my background in a way to min. spill and flare. Shoot with Canon 40D, 4 light setup.

FashionPhotographyblog.com

I found a wonderful site for fashion shooting. The Photograher is Melissa Rodwell ( www.melissarodwell.com ) . She also has a flickr page by the same name. So take a view and enjoy. She has updated with a tutorial of a recent model. Shoot wait till you see this.
http://fashionphotographyblog.com/

Shooting with Pro Models - FashionPhotographyBlog.com from Melissa Rodwell on Vimeo.

Q. Guillory Promo Video 1

Q. Guillory Photogrpahy Promo Video Trailer 1
Model Errika Hobbs of Dallas, Texas
Video By Chance of Ikon Media Group
Photography by "Q" of Q. Guillory Photography
Location Lake Charles, LA