Elite Photography by Mike Lapadu

Week 8: Is she fair game?

2012-02-27T11:48:00.001-08:00

"Professionals, academics and students owe it to their readers to be sensitive to unethical practices that demean the profession and reduce the credibility of journalism." Lester, Paul. Photojournalism Ethics timeless Issue. 1995. Web. <http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/photoethics.html>.
The movie, Roman Holiday depicts a news reporter who befriends a Princess who is out and about in public as a normal person. Princess Anne, played by Audrey Hepburn decides to escape her royal duties and wants to live life like any normal citizen. She wants to experience life like never before and in her adventure she meets a reporter that decides to make it into an exclusive story without her knowing. He brings a photographer friend to snap photos of her without her knowledge and hopefully benefit from the exclusivity of it. The comment made was, "she's fair game" and that is where the argument lies. Is it because she is in public that she's fair game? Is it because she's a public figure that entitles us to know more than we should? Do individuals who carry a higher social status have a greater right to privacy than the "common" person? This argument goes back to what Ron Galella and Jackie Kennedy went to the Supreme Court for. Is someone who is oblivious to the fact that their personal behavior in public is being photographed a victim of society's need for pointless information? Society is so impatient, so intrusive that it has been groomed to expect more and more from our "news" sources. Web forums are full of arguments the defend both sides of the argument and no one can really decide which side is right or wrong, "celebrities privacy ." . N.p., 07/2. Web. 29 Feb 2012. <http://debates.juggle.com/should-celebrities-be-more-protected-from-the-media>. The end result of all this is that we as photographers have to draw our own moral compass and decide if we want to profit from intruding on someones personal life. I choose to make my money a different way.

Week 7: How do you show the light reflection on eyes in an oil painting?

2012-02-26T13:17:00.002-08:00

The reflection in someones eye, what is that really? We can be technical about it and say that it is light coming back to the pupil and reflecting what the viewer sees. The colors, the intensity of the light and the shapes that sit in the foreground. The “dash” of white that appears either left or right shows up in oil paintings and it gives reference to light coming in, a sense of direction for the viewer. As an artist we can manipulate where the “dash” goes. We can also manipulate what the viewer sees. How? In the example I provided I show myself in the reflection of the eye. My model, was told to look at the lens and I positioned myself so that my head was covered by the pupil but you could see the rest of me. I could have easily told her to look away and I could have shifted myself and I would have been whole. Photography is controlling light, controlling my environment and making the image my way. Is there a story to be told in my picture? Maybe not but there are ways to find a story in the details of all reflections.

The biggest challenges to completing my business plan.

2012-02-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

The biggest challenge to completing is making the time to sit down and carefully analyze my current situation. Life is so fast paced that it seems that 8 hours of sleep is a myth. I work full-time, go to school full time and I work part time for my sister. If I don’t count sleep, which averages about 4-5 hours a nite I may have about 18 hours of free time a week. Ok, 18 hours sounds like a lot, but per day that is approximately 2.5 hours a day. Hmmm? 2.5 hours a day to research, write and come up with all the right answers. Its sounds like enough, but it is not. This is not a pity party of what I can’t do, but this is more of a statement of WHAT I already do. I maintain a GPA above 3.5, work hard to be responsible adult and pay my debts and I take care of those I love.
This business plan is wonderful tool, a stepping stone to success. I know that I will eventually refer to it when the time comes to go “live.” Not that I’m not already live but it feels that everything I’ve done to this point is a “beta” version. I’m working out the kinks, refining the product and making sure that what I put out there represents my company accurately. Photography is a passion of mine that has been burning for a while and I do not intend to make excuses up for why I can’t. I need to push forward and refine everything I do so that efficiency is tool that gets me to the top.
This business plan does have a lot of parts to it but it requires the same dedication that I put forward into my photography.

Paparazzi Photo

2012-02-20T03:25:00.000-08:00

Paparazzi, a so called celebrities worst nitemare or favorite photographer. The "mosquito" that swarms around looking to take advantage of an exposed individual in public areas has slowly become a despised, hated but most desired person to the tabloids and its readers. Ron Galella is a great example of an photographer that earned a very good living taking pictures of celebrities in open spaces. Yes he may have been a little extreme but the person who picked up the paper or tabloid appreciated his effort. They may have not expressed it directly to him, but how many times has an image been spoken about time after time and only to be reprinted again years later. It is a very fine line of respect and privacy that a paparazzo walks on and most of the time it can be close to illegal. A good example of being illegal is when the late Princess Diana was chased to her death by paparazzo many years ago. Had they allowed her to leave peacefully and met her another day, another time she may still be around. The problem with that is society wants to know everything about anyone who is someone. Who decides it's enough? Programs like TMZ, publications like, Star or the Enquirer or even People magazine put the spot light on certain stars and society feeds of it. They engorge themselves in pointless news that makes no difference in their lives or in the lives of the stalked celebrity. So is the paparazzi a favored clique in the photojournalist world? Probably not, but they do make a good living of it and who can blame them when money is being thrown at them....

Week 6: EOC Ron Galella and the First Amendment

2012-02-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ron Galella was and still is an important advocate for photographers and their ability to make pictures in a public place and profit from it. He did go about it in a relentless way but he was entitled to. The question of whether he intruded in on Jackie's privacy is subjective and only answered by the courts. The first amendment does entitle us to free speech and the ability to write and present our interpretation of events. Ron presented images of an iconic woman of the times and felt the public had a right to know. Jackie always acted as if she was intimidated and feared for her well being but Ron never did anything to create that hysteria. Ron was very public about his intentions and only presented images that were of Jackie in public places. Ron's persistence, paid off and iconic images were made and admired by millions. Did he go overboard? At times the argument can be made that he was extreme and wanted to be the only person with a one of a kind image. A good example is of Liz Taylor on the boat putting up screens to create privacy from passers bye while Ron was in an adjacent building with a birds eye view of the happenings. There you could argue he invaded privacy, but she was in an open air boat in a public area so the lines of legality are very thin and subjective. Ron achievements only come from pushing the envelope and having good representation to defend his Constitutional rights. A lesson that all photographers should learn from.

Week 6: BOC Painting with Light

2012-02-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

Painting with light is exactly what photography is to me. It is a way of making a long exposure show creativity with light. To to become a proficient photographer you must master the light and control the amount of its glow. Setting your camera on auto will not get you the desired effect. In order to create a proper image you must follow the steps. Keep in mind that everyone may have different needs and the amount of light that will be used can vary.
The proper tools needed for this are, a camera with a manual or bulb mode, a shutter release cable, a flashlight and a tripod. You simple point and click camera may not have a manual mode and if you’re not able to adjust aperture, shutter speed or ISO you might as well stop. While in manual mode set your ISO to 100, the shutter speed to 20 seconds and the aperture at f/11. Place you camera on a tripod and set you focus and prepare to create.
Once you’ve lined up yourself or your model for the shot, have it all in focus and ready to begin, turn off the lights. Release the shutter and begin to draw with your flashlight or light source.
This is where a being wild and free with your movements can create a beautiful and interesting image. I’ve done quite a few portraits of light writing and it never gets boring. Writing words or drawing symbols or outlining objects is just fun. The best example of light writing I’ve ever seen comes from a very creative person, Freddie Wong and his youTube video, light warfare. This stellar example of creativity is what inspires me to have fun with my shoots. Never be the stiff uninteresting person and allow myself to be free and creative.

Week 5: Wedding Photo

2012-02-12T23:04:00.000-08:00

The wedding invite tells your circle of family and friends that the time has come to share your life with another person. Moments like this tend to be very special and important in a couples life. From the moment the soon to be husband proposes to the day after the wedding all the attention is now placed on the bride to be. The expensive, lavish wedding needs to be recorded in time and that's where a photographer comes in to play.
Weeding Photography can be a very lucrative business and with the right marketing and common sense a person or team can be very successful. Las Vegas is the wedding capital of the world and here in town if you’re not marrying in a casino you will more than likely will receive the services from a local professional that can charge in the on the low end of $1500. You get what you pay for so don’t be surprised to hear upwards of $7-10k for such a person(s) and their services. Time spent to prepare for such a day and the preceding events can quickly add up. There’s the engagement session, a possible boudoir session, a trash the dress session etc... The list can include so many options that the costs to the couple can quickly add up. The advantage of wedding photography is that creativity can determine how much money you make. If a photographer just adds the basics they can expect a hustle a lot more and get paid just as much as a person who up sells and works half as much. I’m not saying that its done on purpose but time is money and so is the cost of every little thing expected and wanted from a bride, yes I said bride because we all know she in charge. Take a look at my post from last weeks blog and notice the services offered, they’re not cheap and that's exactly why i plan to look at that side of the business very soon.

Week 5: EOC Racehorse not Unicorns

2012-02-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

Executive Summary:

Elite Photography LV is a Vegas based company that is a partnership between two talented photographers, Mike Lapadu and Jennifer Camacho. Both photographers have studied Photography at The Art Institute of Las Vegas and focus on event photography as well as editorial. The business will focus primarily on wedding photography and other rights of passage events. Photography will be provided in the Las Vegas area but travel to other cities and states will be considered if a client desires our services.

The primary service provided will be Wedding photography. Prices will be based on what a client orders from an a la carte menu. After sitting down with potential clients and determining what level of needs will be required the photographers of Elite will prepare. Preparation for a wedding involves scouting the event location and determining what type of lighting and equipment will be needed. Other required items such as engagement photos and boudoir photo sessions will be offered and scheduled accordingly.

Once an event has taken place the photographer(s) will then edit the photos using industry standard software such as Lightroom or Photoshop. The only photos retouched will be the photos decided upon from the couple hiring the photographer. The photographer will make suggestions but will allow the client to make a reasonable requests. All images that have been selected will then be placed in a physical album and also put online for the couple to share with family and friends. The virtual gallery will be hosted for 3 months after the wedding date and then removed. Any and all images can be purchased separately or all together if a client decides to.

Elite Photography is well aware that the Las Vegas market is saturated with a good amount of Wedding photographers and intends to provide a competitive product for the price. The ability to have to educated photographers who understand light and composition is not easy to come bye and that will be used to the company’s advantage.

The goal is to average 25-30 wedding a year with an average earnings of $2500. Estimated amounts of revenue after expenditures is approximately $62500 - $75000. Overhead is typically low for such a business and a large amount of extra revenue comes from up selling of products such as albums or additional photography photo shoots. The Las Vegas market can allow for this type of growth with the proper marketing and business management support. Accounting will be handled by a third party company as well as council from an attorney to protect all parties involved in any and all transactions.

In order to achieve these numbers an estimated loan of $60k would be required to cover lost income from current full time jobs that both photographers have. This would allow for proper marketing and preparation for a successful “once in a life time event.” Proper marketing and creative images will allow for word of mouth referrals and long term clientele that will eventually have a growing family that will need photos.

BOC Week 5: Competitive Analysis

2012-02-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

Competition is never easy, but doing your homework and figuring out the strengths and weakness of that competition helps prepare you for what to expect. Photography in Las Vegas is very “dog eat dog.” The market is small compared to the next “Mega-City” of Los Angeles. Here in Vegas everyone who wants to be successful must be able to produce something that another photographer doesn’t do or know how to do. The market is swapped with photographers who picked up a camera and never had formal training or have no idea what classic lighting is or how to even use elaborate lighting setups on a consistent basis. If they do have the skill it is because they finally learned it over time.
I recently attended the Bridal Spectacular here in Vegas about two weeks ago and interviewed about a dozen photographers. Some of them admitted that they had no formal training and others were proud to say they did. The quality of work was the elephant in the room. Walking bye a display for photographers I noticed that the quality of work was substandard for about 75% of the possible competition. Whose standard did I use? Mine of course. I feel that the what I have learned over the past two years at the Art Institute of Las Vegas has been very helpful and has given me a discerning eye when it comes to quality of work. I look at lighting, post production and style. The examples that were presented to the public were scary. I know students here in town that can produce a better image. Am I being harsh? I am, but is necessary for the reader to know that just because someone owns a camera and some fancy lenses it doesn’t mean they know how to make an image.
Below I’ve listed some wonderful examples of work that I was impressed by. Not only were the images beautiful but the faces of each one of these companies were knowledgeable and had a good understanding of what it takes to be successful.
Orange Soda: a fun company that makes handmade albums for their clients. Beautiful work bound by a beautiful album. A great example of going the extra mile for the client. They mentioned that the covers can be made of practically any material and usually come from something sentimental from the couple.

Lorenz foto: A small “mom and pop” company. a Married couple that has been doing business in the city for over 15 years. Very simple concept but consistent in the quality of work. Plenty of experience that shows.

Alt-f: The originators of “Trash the Dress.” From what I gather from this successful local photographer he is the Donald Trump of Las Vegas. He has had much success but failures that have helped him build an awesome company. A real trend setter and great example of never giving up.

John Morris Photography: The most conservative and most business like model from the four companies I have chosen. The company provides an exterior “image” of success and quality. Beautiful photography that is followed with great customer service.

Week 4, Scary Legal Issues

2012-01-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

Scary legal issues will make any business owner run and hide. The scary issues depend on the business and the services offered along with the size of the company and employees accountable to provide the services. As a photographer the scary legal issues that would worry and bother me would be:
Error and Omissions: I would be worried that a client felt that I wasn't able to capture a once in a lifetime moment, like their wedding, a baptism or any rights of passage ceremony. The ability to capture these moments only happens once and to have equipment failure, illness or even an act of God interfere with the moment can ruin a families special day.
Bridezilla: Sounds vague, but the thought of having to deal with a Bridezilla can scare most photographers or anyone involved to just run for cover. This type of client is never satisfied and will attempt to get everything for cheap and possibly file a law suit to make you pay for damages they believe occurred. Each situation will be different but it is still one filled with headaches.
Copyright: This is more than likely the scenario the one scenario that as an artist we will all face at least once in our career. Someone always will claim to have some intellectual right to the idea or have a similar image or thought and take you to court for damages. David LaChapelle recently dealt with a similar situation where he did a photo shoot for a famous musician and they turned around and used the same concept for their music video. He sued them and won. Copy written material is the one security blanket that ensures us some form of justice.
All these examples come to mind because they are always in the limelight some way somehow. Picking the right client, pre planning and knowing our rights will protect us from these scenarios.

Week 3: Sports Photography

2012-01-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Sports photography requires passion and skill. It is a game within a game. You need to have the ability to anticipate a shot that expresses drama, passion and movement. In order to capture a moment like that you need the valuable tools that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Look at any major sporting event and you’ll find an army of photographers on the sidelines waiting to make an image that can take them to the next level. In the old days (talking about maybe 20 years ago) the goal was to be in Sports Illustrated, nowadays with the arrival of the internet anyone can be published they just need a voice loud enough to be heard.
The image I’m providing this week is an image of a baseball game. The pitcher on the mound is staring at his pitch as it’s flying towards home plate. The batters’ hands seem to be tightening up and the umpire ready to make his call. The drama is in the image, the motion is there too. Watching the release and the motion of the pitcher along with the stare guiding the ball down to the catchers mitt.

Week 2 BOC: Crime Scene

2012-01-23T01:59:00.000-08:00

A bloody knife on a cold floor laying next to a cold lifeless body. What was the cause of this death? A pair of dress shoes neatly placed next to the arm, why? The person laying on the ground looks to be male. There is blood on the forearm into the palm of his hands and onto the handle of the knife. Was this person standing where he currently lays? There are some blood drops splattered on the ground in front of the blade. The shoes seem placed a little to neatly and have no dirt on them. If they belong to the deceased it shows that he had clean habits. The location of this mystery seems to be in a kitchen or dining area. The angle of the image does not allow for much more interpretation. The question no lays into “why?” Why was this person murdered? Is the knife for protection or was it used to assault and hurt someone? No one will know for now, only him.
Crime scenes like this may happen more often than we imagine and it is the detail of the clues that helps investigators. Crime scene photography can be crucial in helping fill in the blanks but also help preserve the details. The important thing about a photo like this is that it can answer a few questions. Can it answer the, Who, What, Why, Where and When for an investigator? Look closely and it can answer at least three of the five. The Why and When are the only two that cannot be determined just by looking at the photo.

Week 1: Photo Challenge

2012-01-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

A look into who Mike Lapadu is. There are so many things that one person can lay out that relate to their everyday lives but the items I placed out represent who I am today. This image contains an image of my kids. They are the reason for my desire to complete school. I want to provide for them and give them opportunities that I may never get to experience.

I show my three forms of identification. One is for school and the other two are for work. Theses three id cards are the core of my daily grind. I work full time for Southwest Airlines and go to school at the Art Institute of Las Vegas. The watches represent the small luxuries in life that I like to collect. They are not very expensive or flashy but they are simple and get the job done. The car keys are my mode of transportation, and i like to travel in style. Its my entry level to luxury and my way of treating myself to something nice after all the hard work.
My two must have items that represent who I am are the phone and camera. The phone is another appendage to my body. I usually have next to me and it is my way to stay in constant communication with those who matter most to me. It is a tool that help me sell my services and find new clients and keep in contact with old ones too. The camera is my tool. It helps show my interpretation of the world as I see it. My camera allows for freedom, creativity and my opinion to reach others. I usually have at least one camera with me at all times just incase something or someone catches my eye.
All theses items represent who I am today. They represent where I do them, when and where but also why. I’m sure that over time, these items will change but for now they do a good job of showing “Me.”

Week 1 EOC: Discuss Haute Couture vs Discovering Art as a Photographer

2012-01-10T00:55:00.000-08:00

“Haute Couture is a French phrase for high fashion. Couture means dressmaking, sewing, or needlework and haute means elegant or high, so the two combined imply excellent artistry with the fashioning of garments.” (http://fashion-era.com/haute_couture.htm) This style is out there, completely different but appealing. The designer, artist, model and photographer have to be in a different mind state than your typical photo shoot. Finding the art in the clothes and not the model is the key to the success of Haute Couture. The success is when you recognize a design pattern, a color pattern and look and feel that makes you not even recognize or remember the person that is wearing it. The ability to discover the art behind this fashion style is not easy. Thinking outside the box is just the beginning and it only gets better when you add even more oddities in to the mix. Haute Couture is an art form in itself. The most outrageous ideas are put together and worn and push the limits of extreme. The art behind the art of Couture is putting the pieces together. Each individual item can stand alone and evoke an emotion but when you put pieces together and allow for creativity to flow it snowballs into more fun and outlandish themes and ideas. As a photographer the elements of organic and inorganic shapes, the ability to play with light patterns and to create a mood unlike anything else ever seen, that is the fun. The moment of creation for a me as a photographer is when I look into my viewfinder and see what no one else has seen yet. I look to put small details into perspective and allow my viewer to create their own story and interpretation.