Lucima Podcast

This is a two-hour podcast. I was going to break it into two or three pieces but what's the point? You're either going to love it or hate it. I'm betting if you've gotten this far, the subject of conversation will interest you. Further. I can't remember what we talk about but really, I can't remember what we don't talk about. Brian (http://brianventh.com) is visiting LA and you might be able to catch him before he leaves. You'll find all the links to his social media and sites there. Brian was on the podcast a while back so this is his second stint as a guest.

In this podcast, I shoot fashion nudes with Brian Venth. That was funny until I imagined what that might actually look like. Anyway, Brian (http://brianventh.com) is visiting LA and you might be able to catch him before he leaves. You'll find all the links to his social media and sites there. Brian was on the podcast a while back so this is his second stint as a guest. And we really do talk about fashion nudity and other things. It winds up being a 2.5 hour conversation but this is the first segment.

2 shoots and 4 models drop out in a few minutes. This podcast talks about how I schedule shoots, how to address dropouts, and how to learn from these situations.

Defining and recognizing a cycle. Knowing how to stoke a cycle and how to get out of a funk. How I work with my own cycles.

I talk about a few shoots I've had in recent history and my thoughts about them. Sorry about the sound quality!

What am I literally looking for when I'm shooting? What am I analyzing? What am I processing? What am I aware of? What am I not looking for? I had a chance to think about these questions during a private workshop. The results were a little surprising since it's been a while since I've given this series of questions any thought. Apologies for the poor sound quality. I might have to find a better way to do this going forward!

Photographers often tell me stories where they are the victim of circumstances they create. Everything from letting models and agents choose pictures to retouch, shooting all the new faces at an agency, assembling full teams and paying for extravagant shoots for agency models... And they cry about how they are unappreciated and how these people take advantage of them. What do you want me to say? :)

Getting grilled was no fun. But now that I've had a little bit to process all the questions, I fire back. Photographer Gianni Skolnick visits the studio and I get a chance to bounce my ideas off of him. What is the major difference between a pro and an amateur? Why have I historically hated the questions about clients and money? Why do you guys have such a curiosity and at the same time failure developing your own style? I have a theory. Tell me I'm wrong.

Part I wasn't enough. I decided to push the conversation and have Jang ask me more questions. This time we talk about skin, makeup, beauty, fashion/clothes, models, nude male models (what???), white/asian/black models, racism in fashion, photographer influences, the fashion nudity movement, shooting frequency, evaluating the shoot I had yesterday... And much MUCH more.

I complain when people ask bad questions. And then when they ask good questions, I complain that they're hard questions. You just can't win with me. I invited Atlanta-based photographer Jang Choe to the studio when he mentioned he was coming to LA. Jang is one of the few photographers that has perhaps consumed everything I've ever written or said. He could probably guess how I was going to ask each of the questions but I tried my best to surprise him. We talk about a ton of things. I want to make a correction on record and say that Keith was employed at LUCIMA, Inc. for over a year. Based upon this specific podcast, it sounds like he was an intern. No one is crazy enough to intern for me for a whole year. These two recorded conversations with Jang were eye-opening for me. We hit a lot of topics and answered a lot of questions which then raised new questions. This is one of my favorite conversations ever. Brutally good conversation. You can find Jang and his work here: https://www.instagram.com/jwctp/

Profile picture courtesy of Carey Hess

Brian doesn't say much in this podcast... probably because he doesn't have a microphone. Carey and Dondee come in and they're already midway into a conversation that started long ago. It's about Instagram, fashion vs. glamour, staying true to yourself vs. chasing the likes, models, and much much more. It's a long one. And there are lots of references to ball gags. You'll have to listen to find out. Just letting you know in advance. References in this podcast: https://www.instagram.com/careyhess https://www.instagram.com/dondee_q https://www.instagram.com/bbarreto https://www.instagram.com/charleslucima

Eww, lighting. I almost didn't upload this podcast. Not sure if I did anyone any favors by putting this out there but oh well. People (sometimes still) ask and since I generally don't talk about it, it's a nice change of pace! Okay I just listened to this and it's not terrible. I don't like it but that doesn't mean it's terrible. You get the picture. References in this podcast: Waterfall Coffee Table at Restoration Hardware - https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod2420311 Picture of the studio - https://instagram.com/p/BDyFPuIEwhV/

A while back I asked if talking with models is really necessary for shoots? This time I break that down and why it really messes with my ability to produce images. Speaking of talking. Now that I'm doing makeup, are my pictures better? From a rapport perspective? I've always envied makeup artists for their ability to build rapport with models. But does that help me? References in this podcast: The Boat and the Model (Part II) / Is Talking Really Necessary - http://lucima.podomatic.com/entry/2015-08-04T09_30_47-07_00 I just listened to this podcast. It's pretty funny. And it contains some solid thoughts.

I was going to link references but I'm not sure that I should. I haven't seen Ren in a bit so we catch up on all things photography, social, industry. Our conversations tend to skew a little more candid :) References in this podcast: FML backordered everywhere AGAIN! Sony E-mount Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 - http://www.adorama.com/zi8518e.html Comparing the 55mm vs. the 85mm https://instagram.com/p/BD_pxYmkwnP/ https://instagram.com/p/BD30Hk-kwt3/ Flower set with Lindsay https://instagram.com/p/BD9Dd3NkwsM/ https://instagram.com/p/BDrDdmgkwtJ/ https://instagram.com/p/BDzTPa-Ewgm/ Ren's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ren_lara_photo/ LUCIMA Ice House http://lucima.com/laguna-beach-ice-house-studio-fashion-photography-workshop/ "Ice House on crack" I can't show you just yet :)

Some of you guys heard I was asking about new displays on the LUCIMA Facebook Workshop page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/185656974814125/) where I heard about the BenQ SW2700PT being a consumer-grade color accurate display. I decided to give it a try. Here are my initial thoughts! Here's a great review I found while I was doing some basic research: http://us.hardware.info/reviews/6564/pro-benq-sw2700pt-vs-dell-ultrasharp-up2716d-review-adobergb-battle The profile picture for this podcast is from my iPhone of the panel uniformity that I keep harping on during the latter half of this podcast.

I had recorded 27 minutes before I realized that I didn’t have the mixer on. FML. So this is the re-recorded podcast. I didn’t get through many of the nuances that I covered in the original. But the ideas presented in this podcast were much more structured and tighter than the other. C’est la vie. So what did I talk about? I had a shoot today. Talked about that. It was a good shoot. Model let me “drive”. Talked about making decisions in general and being in control. I then segued into shooting more and how things have been better for me. I covered the three main reasons that I could imagine would explain what happened when I stopped shooting and the 2 main reasons that explain why I started shooting again. It’s just personal insight into my own ebb and flow. I don’t think I made any references in this podcast so there are no links. Unless I made a mistake, then tell me :)

In this podcast I talk about shooting. A lot more than usual. Booking nearly every day of the week and then filling in the drop outs. Instagram. Life after Keith. Understanding beauty. And how to shoot with confidence. Yeah, it's a lot! There were a couple links I promised. Not sure if it was this podcast or the last podcast but unfortunately one of the specific links is now gone (had to take it down). Those of you that saw it know what I'm talking about. It was a before an after video of a closeup/beauty/head shot. I don't like having those things floating out there so it had to go. Oh and what the hell with the podcast pic right? Since I can't show you the before and after beauty pic, this is the next best thing. I found this gem in my "successes" folder where I keep all my awesome retouches. The story behind this beauty is that my buddies were messing around in group chat and superimposed my friend's head onto some web dude's body. Except it wasn't done well. iPhone app and rough copy-paste-with-your-f

How many followers on Instagram do you need? Here's a breakdown of the numbers as I see it and why! References in this podcast: http://lucima.podomatic.com/entry/2015-07-14T14_44_39-07_00

A followup to the previous two-part series about drowning in edits. All of the following questions are addressed as they pertain to photography/retouching. Have you ever been indecisive? How to your curb indecision? What's the source of indecision? How do I learn to be more decisive? Are there any benefits from indecision? Isn't a little indecision good for "flexibility" during shoots? Any parables from your past? So what do you want us to do? References in this podcast: Just Say No podcast - http://lucima.podomatic.com/entry/2015-11-12T14_10_49-08_00 Blondes Have More Fun... - http://www.modelmayhem.com/education/photography/326-blondes-do-have-more-fun-in-black-white