Kims Posts | Darren Hull

08-10-10

Melissimo

Words by KimAThomas

What better way to make use of a beautiful, sunshiny day than to pump it even more with good tunes (we have a lot of gangster rap fans around here…), a stunning model and a killer view. Darren, Natel and I were on location early afternoon to begin setting up for a day that took us well into the night. We were approached by Melice a few months back to help her create a modelling portfolio. After a few meetings with her, some shopping for outfits and props and a lotttt of brainstorming, we were able to put together a full, commercial shoot.

When creating this shoot, Natel and I wanted to give Darren a variety of different looks to work with. We were inspired by some photos of Tyra Banks, and with Melice and a great team behind us, we were able to create more than what we had originally entailed.

View the Shoot

For many of us, music is key when it comes to creating. It allows such a good energy to stir and really helps set the mood and the character of who we are trying to capture. The music allowed Melice the freedom to move naturally and if anything, the right headspace and motivation for the rest of us to keep the day running smoothly.

The preparation for the day was enormous. We had equipment set up all over the property (which was the back yard of a beautiful house overlooking all of Kelowna – pool included) and also had different scenes set up throughout the yard that were ready to go when we were. It didn’t take long before Darren and I were both in the pool, shooting and holding reflectors, (which I admit, on a 35 degree weather day was incredibly refreshing) trying to get the absolute perfect shot. Really, it was the huge amount of effort from the team we had that day that made the shoot so successful. I certainly love all the work we do and all the different shoots that includes, but I tell ya, it’s nice to be able to, every now and then, shoot something entirely different. It’s amazing to actually create something and then see it come to life.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with this shoot!
@dahul – Photographer
@tellinatellina – Producer and stylist
@kimathomas – Production and associate styling
Melice Bell – Model
@timfeeny – Videographer
Shani – Hair stylist
Jenny McKinney – Make up artist and stylist
Cairy & Richard – Location

05-11-10

The grand opening of Sparkling Hill Resort

a post by Kim A [thomas]

Just over a week ago Darren and I had the incredible opportunity of shooting the event photos for Sparkling Hill Resort’s grand opening. To describe the resort in one word: stunning! We headed out of Kelowna around 3pm to make our way to the Resort. Neither of us really had any idea what to expect except that it would be a late night (which turned out to be us checking out around 2:30am). Our biggest fear wasn’t coverage for the event but rather dress attire. We had been informed that there would be a variety of wealthy (understatement) people there, including the winner from Austrian Idol (no, not American, but Austrian…). Darren didn’t own any ballroom gowns and I didn’t want to wear my old grad dress, so yes, we were under dressed, but thankfully the ‘let’s wear all black’ decision we had made earlier ended up being a good choice.

Turns out coverage was an issue. With two human bodies, only three camera bodies (Darren, two; myself, one) and four to five different lenses, we were on our toes the entire night running from left stage to right stage to behind the audience, in front of the audience, above the audience… I couldn’t really tell you what all went on during the event; I was too busy trying to get every possible shot rather than paying attention to the actual dance piece / opera song / etc etc etc being performed. Lucky for us, we filled each others’ gaps – Darren capturing the majority of the event and my own photos adding a feminine touch.

Most of the shots we got were candid – people talking over dinner, watching the performances, saying hello to an old friend… situations like this make it difficult to get a photo without seeming like a huge creeper. For this very reason, I’m glad we both had telephoto lenses so we didn’t have to get up in anyone’s face. Instead we were able to creep from 30+ feet away, catch the person(s) in an entirely genuine moment and move on to our next target being virtually unnoticed. There were some staged portraits that took place at a nice looking bench we found with some (real!!!) crystals behind it. People came to Darren throughout the night to get their portrait taken.

What did I learn the most about shooting this event? I learned how to capture an emotion struck photo in an event that was rather bland. Sure, it was fancy and the people looked great, but it was a lot of talking and a lot of them sitting and eating. It was great to watch Darren capture people’s expressions at just the right moment.

All in all, the event was great. It was definitely a learning experience for me, one I am very thankful for. You can view some of the images here:
http://www.sparklinghillphotos.com/grandopening/welcome/
-kim a. [thomas]

04-23-10

Hanging at CATO – by Kim Thomas

@Dahul speaking at Cato – Aril 22, 2010

Yesterday Darren was asked to speak to some photography students at The Center of Arts and Technology – CATO. Lucky me was able to join him for this and give my own two cents to the class (which literally was only two cents). Not to poke too much fun of him, but it’s Darren and he’s quirky, and yet in my opinion (and I say this with no money behind it), he ROCKED it. I didn’t expect him to be much of the lecturing type, but I ended up more fascinated listening to his little speech to the students than I have in any of my own university classes.

The experience was cool – classroom full of students, a really awesome instructor, a couple of Macs (which, of course, we forgot all of the power cords (etc) for), Darren, myself and just over two hours. In short, Darren basically spoke to the students about his experience as a photographer and how he started. I ended up taking some notes out of my own interest and wanted to share a few.

(Oh, and again, these are just some cool points Darren brought up that stood out to me during his talk. None of this is meant to be black and white, just things I found helpful for my own photography.)

Clientele
Your client is more important than you think! When a client contacts you and wants you to do their photos (for whatever event), it’s up to you to produce the image they want. This is not about your portfolio or about becoming an artist; this is about presenting the client with the images they want. This doesn’t mean you can’t be artsy (after all, they’ve seen your work and they like what you do), it’s just important to first meet the client’s needs.

The relationship you build with your client and the images you produce to them are what will either get you your next gig or not. Really, your ass is on the line; your success is entirely in their hands. Make your first priority to fulfill exactly what the client wants, make your second priority your own artistic shots that will hopefully wow the client and give them even more than what they were expecting. If they like what you give them, they are going to pass your name along (self explanatory from there – more clients, more shoots, more money to expand your photography and plan out your own self-inspired shoots).

Are we cool? Cool.

Tech tech tech tech…
I find myself too often focusing on the technical aspects of a shoot – what is my shutter speed at?, where’s my f/stop?, do I need to fiddle more with the strobes?, and so on… The tech stuff is great as you can produce quality images but I’ve found for myself that when I focus too much on this stuff, I lose the emotion in a shot. When it all comes down to it, it’s not about presenting the crispest image with the perfect exposure; it is about how the photo makes one feel. Who cares if the photo is a bit blurry; you’ll find more life in the photo. Focus on the composition of the image, not the technical stuff. Throw your camera in P for awhile and click, click, click!

This goes along with equipment, too. Most of us don’t have the money to invest in strobes or new lenses. Stick with what you’ve got and know everything there is to know about that lens. Zoom with your feet. Get out some flashlights. Use one of those sun blocker thingies that go in your window as a reflector. It will add to the mood of your photos.

You actually do not want to be the best photographer in the world because if you are, then what?

There is sooo much more to learn out there. Just because your inner circle of close friends and family constantly oodle and awdle over your work does not mean you actually are that great. Listen to their feedback but then judge your own work. You should not be striving to be the best photographer in ‘x’ location or however big you want to be. Take photos because you love to take photos. Do it as your hobby and do it better than everyone else. Your hobby is what you are passionate about. At the end of the day it won’t matter how many more gigs you have booked, you’ll simply be content that you were able to get out and shoot passionately. Focus first on your passion and secondly on how your hobby will, in turn, pay the bills.

 If you love your work and want to scale it on a bigger picture, kick it down and judge it, otherwise, I say just run with it and enjoy what you do.

- [k]thomas