FRED EGAN Blog

business socks

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:55:00 -0600

It's Friday kids and you know what that means? Another weekly installment of Business Socks...the column where I answer your business questions that you emailed me this past week. So let's get into it, it's business time.

Jackie asks,

"Last week you mentioned that you were once married. Do you ever think twice when mentioning that in regards to how bride's-to-be view your overall image?"

In the beginning I rarely mentioned it. But now I don't skirt from it because I every so often I do mention my boys. People wonder where they came from and I'm always open to share. The best advice I can give you is be honest with yourself...be yourself. People like transparency. No one's going to throw rocks at you from their glass houses. If they do, the jokes on them...because now they have a hole in their glass wall. That could create a draft.

Melissa asks,

"How did you know what you wanted to photograph? Weddings vs fashion vs architecture vs landscape?

I don't think anyone knows exactly what they want to photograph in the beginning. It's an evolutionary process...and can be an exciting one. I was drawn to wedding photography for several reasons. I love the aspects of a well produced wedding because in that environment you are shooting fashion (people dressed to the nines), architecture, landscapes, still life and lifestyle photography. In addition to that, there is the excitement of knowing that certain moments only happen once...no do-overs.

As I continued to photograph, I found myself loving lifestyle photography more and more. This came out of years of pouring over Bruce Weber's work in A&F Quarterlies as a teenager. This is why you've seen my wedding photography veer in this direction, in addition to the shoots I produce for myself.

Melissa also asks,

"What is the thing that you learned/discovered that completely changed the way you saw the world through your lens?"

This is a great question. The one thing I discovered that completely changes the way I see the world through my lens is pre-visualization. Pre-visualizing shots in your mind is like exercising your photographic eye. When the moments arises your instincts kick in because your mind is heightened to the presence of the moment. Most photographs don't happen my chance, you have to make them.

And Melissa again asks,

"Will you mentor me from afar?"

I'm very important. I have many leather bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. So, no.

Chantz asks,

"How long did it take for you to start turning a profit and getting your name out there enough so that your photography could be the sole source of income?"

Another great question. I'm still waiting to turn a profit! Your initial investment in this business is no walk in the park. Spending $30,000 up front is easy to do when you need branding, marketing, hardware, software, equipment, paperie, iPhones, websites and full body massages. Small businesses typically don't start turning a profit until their fifth year. As far as getting your name out there...it takes time people. And by time I don't mean two years. Try four, five, seven years...it just takes time. Be patient. Some people seem popular within the wedding photography industry, so what. Don't be disillusioned by this. Are they popular with people in the market for their services? That's the answer that matters.

If you have a question, please email me at fred@fredegan.com and use the subject line" Business Socks."

olivia

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:49:00 -0600

Imagine my knee-jerk reaction when I walked into a pink and green bedroom..."we are definitely shooting in here!" I don't shoot indoors that often so I do it whenever I get a chance. Olivia's graduating next May and has quite good taste in music...which never surprises me when a graduate hires me. It seems to be something we usually have in common. I finally had my make-up artist, Chelsey, make it out and she rocked Olivia's face off. Big props to Olivia's best friends for being on location also. They kept it fun and entertaining!

Thanks to my peeps at Into the Darkroom for a better way to view my photographs on my blog (hop out of your RSS reader to see what I'm talking about)...scrolling is so archaic!

business socks

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:13:00 -0600

Business socks can only mean one thing...it's business time. A new weekly column is birthed today to answer the questions a few of you ask me via e-mail. Every Friday I'll attempt to best answer your questions within this new tongue-in-cheek format, Business Socks.

Clark asks,

"How did you get your start in the photography business?"

My start in this business actually goes back to a childhood love for art. Somewhere in the process of high school graduation I extinguished that passion out of a supposed need to "grow up." Oil painting, drawing, photography...I had my iron in a number of fires.

Fast forward seven years...I'm slaving away-uh-working for a bank and tolerating 40 hours/week of my life. That year, my wife at the time left and took our two boys with her. I was devastated. Everything I knew was changing...and it was good as time as ever to change my career. I knew I'd developed some-what of an eye for photography and decided to go for it after being inspired by a friend. I bought a camera, some glass and started shooting.

The first lead I received arrived via a contact while I was still in banking. The job? Photograph a Quinceanera. I'm not hispanic, nor did I grow up around Hispanic culture, so I honestly had no idea what photographs they were expecting from this party. I just photographed it the only way I knew how. When it came time to show them the proofs from the party, I didn't have online proofing software, projection or anything else that resembled a professional shop...I had a 20" iMac G5. And yes, ladies and gentleman, that is me knocking on the door with my 20" iMac G5 box in my hands asking, "So, where's your nearest outlet?"

I boot up my "portable" Mac and show off my first ever paid job via the "professional" slideshow feature. [silence ensues...what would follow would completely blindside me] Utter dissatisfaction. They couldn't have been more displeased and certainly weren't keeping it to themselves.

What followed was a series of battering doubts and questions that knocked the breath out of me because our art is often close to our heart. I eventually got over it and realized my first important lesson in this business: Never accept a job with the wrong type of client. Every year I turn down dozens of jobs because of this first experience. From there, I kept believing in my ability and moving forward to where I am today...and there is still much further to go.

Brandon asks,

"I noticed that you don't watermark your images that you display on your website or blog? Do you copyright all the images that you post or are just not worried about it? I just started a photoblog and I've been going I've back and forth on the issue."

There are a slew of reasons I don't watermark my images on my website or blog. Watermarks are an eyesore, distracting, annoying (when repeated on image after after image after image) and archaic. I don't copyright my images nor am I worried about it. There are so many other talented photographers, why steal from me? If you are starting out in this business, worrying about others stealing your images online should be the least of your worries. Figure out how to start turning a profit.

If you guys have questions, feel free to send them to fred@fredegan.com and it could be answered on Business Socks.

yearbook photos

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:56:00 -0600

I'm almost certain I found the number 1 time wasting website on the web to date...yearbookyourself.com (knock yourself out). From 1954 to 1998, I laughed myself through Cliff Huxtable sweaters, mullets, coke bottle glasses and Girbaud vertical striped hoodies. Apparently I gained 45 lbs in my 1998 photo. If I do say so myself, I look most dapper in the '70s. I mean...ladies, is the long hair and turtleneck duo not kryptonite to your Superwoman???

free people mix

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:38:00 -0600

While I was in Santa Monica a couple of week's ago I managed to fly back with Free People's September playlist...and that deserves a "WHAMMY!" I've carefully hand picked my personal favorite 25 songs/artists for your discovering pleasure (please exit RSS readers...um NOW).

I've found most great mixes consist of hits, staples and new discoveries...this mix fits the bill, enjoy :)

And to continually show my appreciation for you guys that stop by...and take time out of your day to share your thoughts with me, I'm giving Amy Teegan of Amy Teegan Photography $10 to iTunes-whoop!

photograph of the month . sept

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:48:00 -0600

I usually don't have a penchant to photograph clouds...but they are starting to grow on me. This one will find a home as a large wall print in my bedroom. It'd be really nice to stare at while I'm slipping into a Sunday afternoon nap.

pch girls

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:37:00 -0600

While I snuck away to L.A. this past weekend, I pulled together a creative shoot I'd drawn up several weeks ago. Jet Set Models provided some great models and I got to cruise around L.A. in a VW Westfalia for three days. It was rad...the times it would start.

emily and rob

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:51:00 -0600

Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas

Rehearsal Dinner: The Ferry House Restaurant

Preparation: Pelican Bay at Lucaya

Make-Up: Chelsey Trumphour

Hair: Senses

Ceremony: Private Bahamian beach

Reception: Pelican Bay at Lucaya

Photographs: FRED EGAN | Weddings

perception/deception

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:27:00 -0600

I've seen this Dove film clip (exit RSS readers if needed) more times than I can count. While I never tire of viewing the end result, I'm torn...inside. This ideal of beauty isn't the whole truth and yet I want it...look for it, desire it...I want to photograph it. Whenever I work with models, I find this battle of perception/deception harder to fight as I'm immersed in a world of conditioned ideal beauty. Everyone's thin, has good bone structure and has not a care in the world...and the rest of the public tries to conform to that standard via plastic surgery, eating disorders and limb lengthening surgery. I feel it's a deception partly responsible for the countless insecurities we, women especially, wrestle with.

Can this industry (avg. female model: 5'8"/115lbs) harmlessly co-exist with the real world in which the average woman is 5'3"/162lbs? Or is the industry the true ideal and we're just not measuring up?

On the other hand, this topic also begs the question, "Do we really want to exchange the distorted version of reality we've created for the truth?" Do we want to look at ugly people? If we're honest with ourselves, we may or may not like our answer.

inspiration from shorts

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:51:00 -0600

As the still photograph medium continues to bleed over into the moving pictures medium and vice versa, I continually find myself inspired by what some very talented commercial photographers are doing with moving pictures. It's a natural progression, really. Check out the links below and watch the shorts. I will be doing this some day...soon.

Ladies, if any of you have ever wondered what will turn my head...cute girls in prep digs. It'll do it ever time.

shotgun in dublin

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:25:00 -0600

Driving Dublin! from FRED EGAN on Vimeo.

As soon as Victor and I landed in Dublin we hopped in the rental car and tried to get adjusted to the right side of the road, traffic and Gaelic.

janine walker

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:49:00 -0600

The tattoo peeked out of Janine's left Ted Baker coat sleeve. It's significant...it's the Chinese character for "Fiery," the nickname her father gave her as a little girl. I found that interesting because (half of my heritage hails from Taiwan) Egan is an Irish name meaning the very same thing..."Fiery." We met up while I was in Dublin for some portraits to update her web presence...and had a brilliant time of course! Thank a million Janine :-)

Janine Walker photographs weddings and portraits in Portadown, Northern Ireland while keeping a fun blog that chronicles her professional and personal life. Married to her wonderful and supportive husband, Andy, they entertain 2 lovely dogs and butt heads over laundry day.

the glamourous mammoth men

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:06:00 -0600

Our Mammoth Man blog was recently featured on the blogs of Glamour and Apartment #34. I'm a little shocked at how many people outside of the wedding photography industry read and kept up with this little chronicle of our adventures. Here's to the upcoming third trip!

ireland: off the top of my head

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:40:00 -0600

The warmth of the Sun peeked through the throw blanket of cloud cover for the first time all week as Victor and I trekked to Dingle, Ireland. We managed to cover the width of the country in my first ever visit to the island. Tomorrow we shoot the wedding but our travels up to this point have been adventurous.

A. Driving has been quite entertaining...near collision experiences abound as Victor tends the wheel (from the opposite side of the car) and I decipher the numerous maps.

B. Brazen Head pub...supposedly serving brew since 1198, it's Ireland's oldest pub and quite quaint and nostalgic. I did fish 'n chips here. Classic.

C. Guinness Storehouse tour...this tour of the Guinness factory was one of my favorite segments of the trip. So much history behind Ireland's most famous porter. I learned how to pour my own pint...I'm a pro now.

D. The Fitzsimmons pub in the Temple Bar/Barf district was the only place Victor and I could mooch free wifi. We often found ourselves enjoying a pint of Smithwick's and responding to emails via iPhones while enjoying LIVE covers of U2, Oasis, Sno Patrol and The Beatles. Wonderwall is still a rad song.

E. Victor has this thing when booking hotel rooms where he thinks a "double" bed is two beds in a single room...when in fact it's a "full" bed in a single room. Due to this technicality in understanding, we shared a full size bed the fist night in Dublin. You have my permission to laugh.

F. I've never gone nine rounds with Jet Lag...seriously, who's he been training with???

G. I finally got to use a Dyson Airblade to dry my hands while at the Guinness Storehouse. AWE-SUM!

H. I linked up with Janine Walker, a photographer from Northern Ireland, in Dublin for a shoot. I love meeting new people via my blog in person!

I. The best slice West of Italy can be found at Gruel in Dublin, Ireland. Hands down the most incredible pizza to ever touch my lips!!!

So that's what's going on in the Irish Summer Time zone. Cheers!

austin city limits imix

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:36:00 -0600

Austin City Limits is less than a month away and I'm pretty excited to be experiencing my first one...I know, I've lived in Texas all this time-what's wrong with me??? I have no excuse other than festivals haven't really been my scene...until now. Once I return with some photos, then the jury will be in on the experience. Until then, I threw this playlist together of the artists I'm looking forward to seeing in Austin, TX (exit RSS readers to view the iMix).