Finding SuperMan

Everyone loves their favorite teams; It's extraordinary that I have been privileged enough to work with my favorite ones over the years.  Then when you get to work with one of your favorite players, it makes it even more special.  That was the case when we I was contacted about doing a promo piece for the Charlotte Hornets for Lending Tree, and they told me the players that we would be shooting.   

Going back to my days of covering All-Star games for the NBA, I have been a huge fan of Dwight Howard.  I have always based pro athletes by the way they handle themselves around kids.  Dwight is one of those rare people that is downright amazing with kids.  He has a pure heart that makes everyone light up when he walks into a room, and if that doesn't do it, then the 6'11' 265-pound massive frame will do it for you (ladies).  

The Hornets were about to announce a new multi-year founding level partnership highlighted by jersey patch with Lending Tree.   We had a short amount of time with each player since they had just returned from an eight-day trip on the road, so we had to make it quick and to the point.   Howard was not the only ones coming to the shoot, we had Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, and one of the best point guards in the NBA Kemba Walker too.  

Next up was Dwight, I can say that he brings a smile to everyone when he shows up.  He instantly starts to market the jersey and the new Leading Tree logo.  Before we knew it, the shoot was over, and the art director was super happy with all of the images.  It was instantly downloaded and off to the press ready to go for the adds that would follow along with the press conference video.  So when you see Dwight Howard at the next game, I would make sure to yell his name...he has been known to look you dead in the eye, and smile.

Dwight Howard of the Charlotte Hornets

Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets sports the new Lendingtree jerseys.

Great Images

One of the questions that I get from students all the time is how do you create images that stand out from the others.  First, It's always a compliment to hear this from photography students who are looking to become better photographers.  My only response is that it didn't happen over night.  

I recently when back to some of my first images, and realized that I was way off in my approach to lighting and style, but I did make a few interesting images by accident.   The more images that I created there did become a sense of style that started to show up in my work.  As I changed as an artist, I found out more about myself and the people who I was photographing.   It became more about what message that I was trying to create with the images and less about the distractions.  

All I can say to new photographers is that it will not happen until you push the button, and I plan on continuing to push the button to find more and exciting images over the years.  

Ad campaign for Visit Charlotte.  

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.
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— Elliott Erwitt