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Well I am mad at myself for forgetting about our two assignments yesterday. I have not missed ONE of our assignments and I just threw away 150 points. So that’s my sadness for the week, on the other side of things I ran the Glass City Half Marathon yesterday with a friend and we finished 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 46 minutes, so I am pretty proud of myself.

I guess this post is to talk to everyone about there activities outside of VCT. I enjoying running and would consider it a hobby, what are you hobbies and interests that relax you outside of the VCT world?

Knowing that there are only a few weeks left is keeping my head up. I am ready to complete these last few assignments for this class and be done with class for a while. I graduate in August and not May, but still, all I have to do is continue to work part time at my current co-op and I’m home free! Not much will change from this semester to summer, other than not being in this class anymore. I think my work load is going to grow.

On a bright note, I am shooting three weddings this summer, and I had my first wedding sign the contract yesterday! I felt so official. Considering I created the contract and questions to ask the bride and groom myself, I am very proud. I quoted a price a while back, and stuck with it and was able to even get my retainer fee yesterday. So today I am going to the bank and creating a new account, for business money only. I am so excited, I feel like I am already on my way to becoming a successful freelancer, now to find a real job!!!!

So this week I have a wedding album I must finish, a wedding contract to finish by sunday because I am meeting with a bride and groom to go over all of the details for their wedding and payment. I also have the project for this class due sunday, and I have to edit some photos and finish a portfolio shoot for an art student I know, all the while I work part time at my co-op and serve 3 days at Reverends this week. There are not enough hours in the week! This week won’t be the funnest time ever but I am ready to tackle all of this, I need to realize to take on one thing at a time or to just do parts of each every day so I am not stuck with any one of these things in full by the end of the week. What do you all do when you are stressed and have a full plate for the week like I do? I could really use some good advice.

I have not done  much editing to the photos that I took last week. I was out of town this weekend and took my mini vacation all the way through Monday. Seeing as today is my first day back into the work week I am trying to keep myself motivated. I  have some other freelance work, including a wedding album that I need to finish before I start on the food photos. I plan on  merging a few photos of each of my favorite shots together to get the perfect photo in my post production work. I can’t wait to say my to-do list is gone, but I don’t think that will ever happen. As I was saying in a response to another class mates blog, it’s best to tackle one thing at a time and not try to do parts of 3 or 4 different projects, because then nothing for sure gets finished and I stay stressed out.

Yesterday I did my photo shoot, it took about 5-6hours. Nathan Dreimiller was my awesome assistant! We shot about 6 entrees of food, including; burgers, tacos, salad, appetizers, etc. We took a break to eat and then shot about four specialty drinks that Reverend’s is known for. I cannot say it enough, but the photos look awesome! I won’t be editing them until next week, but what originally came out of the camera was some serious work. Not only were the photos technically sound, but the lighting was great, and the composition was awesome. We had a lot of props to play with, my boss was very involved and excited himself. I feel like I have possibly earned a whole new level of respect with my boss, but I’ll let you know if that changes!

Well I have finally gotten a for sure go for the shoot, it will take place next Tuesday, March 20th at 1pm. After coming back from a week off I was a bit out of it, so we pushed back the shoot from today to next tuesday. Now I can go look for some different place mats or fabric for the shoot. I have all the details worked out except for what exact dishes and drinks I will be photographing, but my boss is supposed to tell me that by the end of the week so I can have some sort of an idea. I have my options narrowed down for backgrounds and colors for place mats, now it’s just time to get in there and shoot! I can’t wait, excited for next tuesday to be here.

I was supposed to meet with my boss last week and he couldn’t so we are supposed to tomorrow after I get done with my serving shift. He is not taking this as serious as I want him to, especially since this is free work that is being done. I guess I am kind of venting because I hate when people don’t take me serious about photography. I will just have to prove how awesome I am once I do the shoot and the photos turn out great! I hope he starts to realize that this is business and not a joke.

I am supposed to meet with my bosses this week, either today or Thursday to talk about the details of the shoot. I want to be as prepared as possible and I need to pick my bosses brain to know what kind of look he wants to go for. A lot of food photography is very clean with white dishes and hi key lighting, but there are so many decisions to make as far as details go. Background composition, style/color of dishes,  hi or lo key lighting. I have a lot of samples to show Garrett, and a few questions to give me a better idea of what to look into. I am nervous to set up this shoot, but excited because I have been doing a lot of research. I hope my boss takes me serious!

I took my lights outside for an engagement shoot last Thursday, and I had so much fun. Although I wish I would of asked someone to be my assistant because my light stand blew over (thankfully it was ok). But I should have thought about how my soft box would be a big target for wind to blow into and knock over. I still need to get a better idea of light placement for different lighting techniques but that will come with more time and experience using my lights. The photos turned out great and my client was very pleased, so that was a relief. Does anyone else ever have anxiety about whether or not a client is going to like your work? I always wait for their “omg we love the pictures you posted on Facebook so far” text and I tend to breathe easier after.

As far as my project, I have looked up a number of different ideas as far as food photography goes. I am going to set up a brief meeting with my bosses at Reverends for early next week to discuss plates, and the set up so that we can get all of the necessary items.

Today is the day, UPS should be delivering my transmitters, receivers, soft box, and reflector. I got my stands last week and can’t wait to put it all together. I work with Nathan Dreimiller at my co-op and have been talking to him about food photography, he has done it before and I trust his judgement. Hoping to go on a shoot with him soon to teach myself more about my lighting equipment since he has the same gear. I hope to get the actual shoot set up for a few weeks from today. I have talked to my boss a bit about what he wants and I am planning on showing him some examples of different styles I would like to try out for this project, and hope that we can agree on something.

I am so excited because last night I ordered my light stands, transmitters, receivers and a softbox to go with my 800 Watt Alien Bee strobe lights that I have. I am eager to use my new equipment to photograph food and drinks. I have been looking up different tips and tricks on food photography, also different photos that I want to try and use for reference. I hope my equipment comes within the week so that I can practice with it before I go and set up a shoot at Reverends. Since the managers of Reverends are also my boss there, I really want to impress them with quality work.

I am currently working on getting my assessment done for sunday and it’s going really well. Now that I actually know exactly what these guys at Reverends want I am ready to get started on some thumbnails and mock ups to show them. I am still in the process of making my timeline for this project, but it should be pretty simple. My idea is to basically follow the steps that I would take in a print or photography class to start this out, with thumbnails and research. I am excited because I am about to order the rest of the equipment that I need in order to set up my strobe lights for this shoot!

I was able to talk with my boss at Reverends a few days ago and he finalized what he needed. I will be photographing the restaurant, some food entrees, and some specialty drinks. I will also be re-designing their drink menu and they wanted me to make a to-go menu if I have time. I am very excited to work on making specific deadlines and create fresh new looks for some of Reverends pieces.

My name is Katie Cole and I am currently in the process of talking to my bosses at my serving job, Reverends here in BG. I want to take new photos for their website and make them a to-go menu, I am pitching the whole idea to them early next week!