It’s been a few years since I earned my living with a camera. The truth is, after 20 years of working with the fitness industry’s top magazines and the world’s best athletes and models, I was done and ready to move on. I loved the art form, and the models were absolutely wonderful to know and work with. It was the industry that developed around the athletes, and the shenanigans that bubble up and fester whenever you combine money, power, and attractive women, that took the air out of the fun balloon.
When I set my camera on the shelf, I let the dust settle for a good long while. I didn’t miss photography until one day when Ana got the urge to model for me again and shoot something for fun at home. Ana and I have shot thousands of images over the years, and many of them were published in print as well as online. She is the most versatile model I have ever worked with, and as my wife, we always had the most fun working together. That photoshoot got me interested in photography again.
Two weeks ago, Ana launched a new online retail store called Faith Home Love. She sells faith based tee shirts, coffee mugs, jewelery and of course, fitness wear from her other company, Blessed Bodywear. This time, she asked if I would shoot two dear friends of ours, but not the usual catalogue shots. She wanted something more intimate that would bring out the model’s personalities and their natural beauty inside and out.
When it comes to creating any sort of art, I think something is lost when the creative process is micro-managed by anyone other than the artist. And that is the problem with being an artist for hire. The guy who is skilled at filling bank accounts and writing checks often times thinks he is a better artist than the artist. It’s never the case, and if the artist bends to his wishes, the work created is usually sub-standard. Ana isn’t like that. She leaves the photography up to me.
I got to be that photographer again, unencumbered by a checkbook-toting micro-manager. I had the time of my life shooting three incredible women who are wonderful inside and out. And we got the look that Ana wanted.
