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Tampa Photographer Blog - The photography adventures and photography session anecdotes of top Tampa photographer Chris Passinault. For more, and to read everything, read the Tampa Photographer Blog mirror at BlogSpot.

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Tampa Photography Blog - C. A. Passinault Blog - Tampa DJ Blog - Tampa Film Blog

Words and pictures by Tampa photographer Chris Passinault, lead photographer for Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design

If you are a client of Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design, your information is confidential, and this includes details about your photography services session. Photography session anecdotes presented on this blog are not published without the express written permission of the participants. Aurora PhotoArts clients are not required to allow details of their session to be published, and this choice is strictly up to them. By default, all photography session information is confidential unless the client elects to participate with the publication of session anecdotes. Tampa photographer Chris Passinault will not write about you unless you give him permission to, as you have rights, and those rights will be respected. Signed releases are on file.

See the photography portfolio of Tampa photographer Chris Passinault at his Tampa Photographer web site, Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 8:27 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Dealing With Evil Tampa Boudoir Photographers

Please note that, in no way, is this a response to a recent personal communication with Dolly, who is into glamour photography. I’ve been thinking about this subject for months now (and vigorously addressed it back in 2008 with TampaBoudoirPhotography.Com and TampaGlamour Photography.Com), and it is a coincidence that I’m posting this now, just days after we corresponded on this subject. Thank you for understanding that this is not aimed at you.
I feel that boudoir photography and glamour photography is high risk work, and that it is not for amateurs or beginners; you have to understand the potential risks and pitfalls before you get into these highly specialized fields of photography. Too many guys with cameras are simply picking up cameras and aggressively pursuing these types of photography without understanding the power that photography has, and the respect that it demands. Pictures are forever, and photographs which are taken can never be undone.

It’s that time of the year again, leading up to valentines day. Last year, a local paper ran an extensive story about Tampa boudoir photography services for valentines day, and some of the photographers who they covered were not exactly at the forefront of this field in the Tampa Bay market. Had they properly done their research, and spent a few seconds on a search engine, they would have found Tampa Boudoir Photography, and it would have been included in that story; the way that it should have been.
I read that story, and I was pissed off. Some of those photographers were questionable at best, and the work wasn’t that great. We should have been in that story! One of my photographers had the pleasure of hearing me rant about it on the phone for a good 45 minutes. What can I say? I take photography, and the Tampa photography market, very seriously.
So, what was questionable about those photographers?
Well, for one, it’s almost a cliche. Sure, you have dirtbag male photographers exploiting women doing so-called boudoir and glamour photography, but there seem to be an awful lot of female photographers offering these services lately, and what causes me to roll my eyes is that they market those services using the “be more comfortable being sexy with a woman taking your pictures”. Ok, here’s a thought. With society being so liberal these days, could it be different with a woman taking sexy pictures of other women than with a man taking the pictures? Could it be that aggressive women can exploit other women? I’m sure that what I’m bringing up is controversial, but let’s get real here. Let’s explore the angles. I am a man, and I am a photographer. I prefer to take pictures of women because I find women to be attractive. I would have issues taking “sexy” pictures of other men, because I don’t find men to be attractive. I do great shooting headshots and modeling portfolios with male clients, but it is not what I prefer to do, and I certainly would not be inspired shooting glamour, or “sexy” pictures of men (since I am not gay, I don’t find men appealing or attractive in any way. Sorry, but they don’t inspire me).
I’ll lay it out. I suspect that some of the female photographers who aggressively market boudoir and glamour photography are into women, which in itself is just as risky as if a man does it, but it’s even worse when the female photographer misleads women by marketing themselves as a “safe” alternative to the lecherous man.
Hey, I don’t have anything against lesbians, but I don’t think that lesbians are “hot”. I also don’t think that a lesbian taking boudoir pictures of unsuspecting women is “safer” than if a man takes the pictures. Exploitation is exploitation. I’ve heard horror stories of male photographers sexually harassing women during “sexy” shoots, and I’ve also heard the same types of stories regarding lesbian photographers who use photography and “sexy” shoots to meet and try to convert women to their lifestyle. Some people will justify what they do any way that they can, even to the extent of conning themselves.
It’s ok if you are a woman who likes to take pictures of other women is various stages of undress. Just don’t put down the men who do it, and portray you as a safer alternative, unless you want everyone to wonder if you have unprofessional, and unethical, motives.
Photography is a career. A professional photographer should be primarily concerned with taking great pictures which put their client in the best light. That’s art. Photography should never be used as a means to mislead people and a means to hit on them.
I’m also annoyed about the persistence of amateurs in the misguided who constantly promote high risk photography as normal, and safe. It isn’t. Nude, glamour, and boudoir photography is high risk work which demands experienced professionals, an understanding of the risks, and the utmost respect. There are too many people out there who don’t comprehend how risky these types of photography are, or who have the idea that they are going to take advantage of others. This makes it especially risky.
As a professional photographer, I never felt comfortable doing any kind of high risk photography which could be easily taken out of context and used to exploit women. I recall a story about a Tampa photographer who used to take pictures of models in risque swimsuits, thongs, and bikinis, with the models posing is suggestive poses. There is nothing wrong with that by itself, but what made it bad was that the photographer used those pictures out of context and sold them to adult entertainment companies and 900 phone sex line companies to be used in ads. Did I say one photographer? Actually, there were several, and they laughed their way to the bank at the expense of the models.
I take pictures, primarily, of models and talent. I’m very good at what I do, and this is the field that I specialize in. It offends me when these glamour and boudoir shooters, who mainly seem to shoot exotic dancers and chicken wing waitresses, promote them as models, and then try to move into my modeling photography market without knowing anything about what makes a good modeling portfolio, or anything about modeling for that matter. Some of these guys are not bad at taking pictures, but they fail to understand why that, despite their equipment and skill, they have a difficult time making a dent in the modeling portfolio photography market. They also get frustrated when they have a hard time competing with me.
I’m established. I’m the standard in Tampa modeling portfolio photography and Tampa headshots. Deal with it. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I understand the details far more than most of the others. This said, glamour and boudoir photographers had little to fear from me because I’ve always resisted doing high risk work. I didn’t feel comfortable doing it.
Until now.
I’m at the point in my career where I feel that I can do high risk photography with minimal risks to my marketability, and the professional integrity of the model. I have also come to realize that there needs to be a professional, ethical alternative to the crap that it currently out there. It’s the only way to minimize the risks, and to establish a standard. I can do that, and my experience photographing models and talent, which few Tampa glamour and boudoir photographers have (or will ever have), gives me an advantage.
So goes my next big project. I’m going to take the Tampa boudoir photography and glamour photography markets (and also swimsuit, bikini/ lingerie photography, which can also be high risk). In the next few years, I intend to become one of the best in the world in high risk photography markets, as well as my more traditional photography markets. There will be no more free reign, and lack of opposition, with me around.
The present, however, is a bit different.
At the present time, I do not have a glamour or boudoir photography portfolio. It’s going to take some time to build. I am, however, partnered with photographers who are very good in these fields. They do excellent work, and are ethical and professional.
So, starting next week, it’s on. I’m sending out press releases, and will be talking to media contacts. Craig and Andy can handle the Tampa Boudoir Photography work. I’m not set up for that right now. I’ll handle the portrait photography, which I do a great job with.
There isn’t a single photographer who was covered in that article last year who can compete with us, and that’s the greatest thing about it. We are going to deal with the evil Tampa boudoir photographers, and we are going to take their business away this year.
In closing, I’ll be writing more about the issues that I have with people in the modeling and the photography industries promoting high risk photography as a part of “mainstream” modeling, and why their information is dangerous. Wait for it.

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Saturday, December 5, 2009 - 8:30 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Are You Ready For What's About To Begin?

What a machine. What a magnificent machine. It's decades ahead of anything else out there. It sure took long enough to build, though. Oh, and it works. It really works.

Alrighty. I'm like a pilot going over a checklist as I prepare to launch the most powerful, advanced jet in the world. All the pieces are in place. Infrastructure has been built. Everything has been tested and proven, again, again, and again. I've been preparing for this moment since 2003. I am now ready to implement what I've been working on, and am confident in how it will perform because I've tested every component in the overall machine extensively, and I have hard data to reference. History is about to be made. The Tampa photography services market, and the business of photography itself, will be changed forever. My lead in the market is about to increase in a very obvious, pronounced way. My market leadership will be indisputable. The modeling industry, likewise, is going to be hit hard. The modeling industry is on the verge of revolution.

First, however, I really have to get these Tampa Bay Film sites up to spec. Next week, it begins, and I'll never look back. At the moment, however, admire my plane, and listen to the hum of its powerful engines. I can't wait to see what this machine can do!

Once it begins, it will take on a life of its own, and it'll be unstoppable. Many will notice it, too, especially when my photography business increases, at the least, over one hundred fold. For now, look at all the pretty web sites... there sure are a lot of them!

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009 - 8:12 PM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

The Next Level

Or, more to the point, expanding my markets as a photographer. As we all know, for the past eight years, I've done great business as a photographer specializing in talent headshots and modeling portfolios. I've also done a lot of work as a graphics designer (and a web designer.... mental note.... a webmaster blog and web sites marketing my web site services are now on the board). As we also know, I am against the exploitation of models, and of women. I respect women. Because of these, I've never felt comfortable shooting glamour, boudoir, nude, and even a lot of swimsuit photography. As of now, I don't have a single nude in my portfolio.
This is going to change.
I'm now at a point in my career where I feel comfortable shooting such genres so that they do not exploit the model, or put them in a bad light (pun intended). I'm at the point where I can do such photography work without feeling that the work can be taken out of context, or used in a way that could reflect badly on me, or on my models. Much of the exploitation being done to women today is on the fringes on the modeling industry, in the glamour modeling segment. Obviously, this is a specialized field of modeling, and demands the utmost professional responsibility. It is not for beginners, and you have to know what you are doing in your career before you even attempt it.
It's just too bad that so many amateurs clog that market. Many aspiring models destroy their modeling careers before they even begin, feeling that modeling is being "hot", or "sexy" (it CAN be, but that is only a small part of it. Modeling is a visual form of marketing, and sometimes the visual message can conflict with others, and, in that case, it limits careers), and not really understanding exactly what modeling is, and was is appropriate for certain markets. Likewise, you have these guys with cameras who take advantage of young women.
In the Tampa Bay market, I am about to run serious interference. I'm going to take the glamour, boudoir, swimsuit, nude, and fashion photography market away from the "photographers" who have been taking advantage of it for so long. For many years, I have stayed away from these genres of photography. I have left these photography markets alone. I've now realized, and concluded, that I'm going to have to take these markets. It's the only way to save them. Some of these photographers are "fake photographers", using fill flash to cover up the lack of skill in photographic composition and other shortcomings. They mostly shoot "fake model", women with self esteem issues who undergo cosmetic enhancements, and who could never make it as a model. Many of these women are in the consumer market, and not the professional market, and are not at all qualified to evaluate photography or what makes an effective photograph worthy of a portfolio. Some of the things that I have been seeing lately simply piss me off. It's time for me to do something about it.
Right now, I have marketing infrastructure in place to do work in these markets. I own the best marketing web sites for these markets. I own TampaBoudoirPhotography.Com and TampaGlamourPhotography.Com. For now, one of my photographer is using Tampa Boudoir Photography, as he does excellent work, and it was the only way to save aspiring models who wanted those types of pictures. By 2011, I will be using both of these sites, and will be working those markets. The Tampa Bay photography services market is mine, as far as I see it. I'm going to work it harder than ever before, increasing the advantages the I enjoy. You haven't seen anything yet. Once I get the Tampa Bay Film sites where they need to be, and get the modeling resource site modeling jobs boards up (which should be the end of this week), I'll be free to concentrate on photography, and the photography services business.
I didn't become a photographer to hit on models. I think that it is inappropriate. I'm about taking great pictures. I am about maintaining the integrity of the professional photography market. Some of you know who you are. Enjoy what you are doing while you can, because I am going to take your business away.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 8:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Do I Hate Tampa Photographers?

People have been asking me if I hate Tampa photographers. Well, the answer is no, but if you look deeper, no answer is cut and dry. Nothing is simple anymore. At least, not as simple as it was in the beginning.
As a photographer once told me, he doesn’t hate anyone (although he acts like it). I don’t hate anyone, either. I do, however, have some observations, some reservations, and many educated opinions.
I am not currently in direct conflict with any photographers, let alone Tampa photographers, although I do have issues with many of them, and respect very few. Well, allow me to qualify that. There are very few professional, ethical Tampa photographers. Those are the ones who have earned my respect, and I don’t have any problems with them. Also, most of those few photographers are friendly with me, or work with me.
Ironically, the Tampa photographers who qualify to be my competition are the ones who I both respect and get along with. The Tampa photographers who do not have any hope of competing with my photography company, however, I often do have issues with. The reason? Well, besides not earning my respect, these photographers are not really photographers. They are people who pick up cameras, claim to be photographers, and do damage to the integrity of the Tampa photography services market as they take shortcuts and stumble their way in business. History has also proven that these aspiring photographers will be the first to try to rip me off in some way.
I will be the first to admit that I am somewhat skeptical of everyone if I don’t know them. I tend to assume the worst until I have evidence to prove otherwise. How, and why, did I lose faith as far as others, and their intentions? I am a student of experience, and let me tell you that I have had a long run of experiences, covering at least a decade, with so-called Tampa photographers.
Allow me to share a little about what I’ve been through.
I started my photography company in 1994, when I needed photographs to support my creative projects. At the time, becoming a photographer was not in my plans. I was a writer, an underground DJ, an actor, an event planner, and was going to school for television production and filmmaking. The photography came about from a need, and it soon took on a life of its own (if you told me then that I would be making most of my money today as a photographer, I wouldn’t have believed it). I directed my first shoot, on June 10, 1994, for some photographs for one of my DJ releases (Nicole Angel, who was a model for that shoot and was my DJ partner, asked me about the modeling industry around that time, but I didn’t know anything about modeling then- If only I knew what my destiny was regarding that). I didn’t actually pick up a camera, however, until the following year, and didn’t start doing shoots with a lot of models until 1998. The shoots were needed to provide family-friendly images for my first web sites. I built, and launched, my first web site in late 1998, and more pictures were needed.
I wasn’t very good at first, but I spent a lot of time and money on shoots (I don’t ever want to hear models whine about spending a few hundred on a professional modeling portfolio when I spent thousands to build my portfolio; it wasn’t easy, either. Not that I have any complaints about my current work or what I charge, however). As time passed, my shoots evolved. I also started working with more experienced models, and they taught me a lot. In 2000, I became involved with a woman who found me online and began to talk to me. I had no clue that she was a fashion model until we met, and it made sense that she would be a model because we had a lot in common; Diana was also a professional designer, too (Diana later used my photographs of her to compete on the “am I hot or not” web site, was voted as one of the most beautiful women in America, and eventually was signed to become their spokesmodel). Diana went through my portfolio and told me that it had potential, but was lacking. She made some good points about what needed to be improved with my portfolio. So, we began spending weekends together. She’d drive to Tampa every Friday from Orlando, we’d shoot all weekend, and then she would return home on Monday morning. This went on for many months, although after the first shoot I was already on the verge of turning pro. Shortly after Diana and I started working together, I did turn pro. I was well on my way. Oh, and to the current “I’ll just shoot whatever and fix it later in Photoshop” generation and the “I’ll cover up my lack of skill with a camera with fill flash and other gimmicks” generation, I learned how to get it right from the start. When I turned pro, my pictures were shot well from the beginning, and the prints that I obtained from the developer were already professional quality. I didn’t shoot sloppy and alter the image digitally to correct my mistakes. Even today, I don’t have to Photoshop my photographs to “correct” them, as they were shot correctly to begin with, with attention to detail and strong composition (if any of you Tampa photographers out there even know what composition is- I see too much of your work which screams “idiot aspiring photographer fumbled with camera and started clicking the shutter button while waving the camera in the general direction of the subject”...... I’m sorry, but if you’re running marathons, and see someone who claims to be a professional photographer crawling around, it’s really hard to take them seriously). Other than minor adjustments to brightness and contrast, a common byproduct of utilizing natural light, my photographs don’t need work. I believe that this is one thing that gives me a major advantage as a photographer, and it is the reason that I can shoot circles around most of my competition. More on this point shortly.
By early 2001, I had built an impressive portfolio using a 35MM SLR camera, and did so by sinking a fortune into film and development. At that time, with my bank job (which I had started in 1994, ironically) nearing the end, I took out a large loan and invested in my first digital camera. My first digital camera was a 3.3 Megapixel Nikon 990 consumer camera, and it cost $1,000.00. With 64 MEG CF cards going for $150.00 at that time, I ended up spending $1,600.00 on that camera and the accessories that I needed. I began doing modeling portfolio shoots with two tiny CF cards; a 64 MEG card and the 16 MEG card that came with the 990.
That 990 did a fine job, even when compared to the professional digital SLR’s that I use today. It was slow, but the resolution was high enough to do great 8 X 10's (the weird thing is that I have a Nikon L10 today, as my personal camera, and my old 990 is better than the newer camera, despite its lower resolution and twist ergonomics. I use a Canon 10D for my professional camera right now, and will be investing in a newer 50D this year. Next year, I may be investing in the 5D Mark II, as well as more lenses, portable lighting kits, and accessories).
And that’s how my photography business started. I really can’t recall when I first started making money as a photographer, but I do remember that it was with a 35 MM film camera. I think it was in 1999, just before turning pro.
In 1998, a newbie on the Internet, I knew web sites were the way to go, and began my research into web sites and web site development. In early 1998, I didn’t even own a computer, but owned a massive video game collection. So, while saving up for my first computer, I bought two 28.8 Netlink modems for my Sega Saturns, a PC keyboard adapter, and a Sega mouse, and I used that to get onto the Internet. One of the first modeling sites that I found was Florida models, and I contacted Kitty, the model who owned that modeling site. We became friends, and she and her boyfriend Ken were very helpful in my quest to learn how to build web sites.
In mid 2001, my banking job ended. I was beginning to make serious money as a professional photographer, and noticed how popular that the Florida models web site was. So, I took some ideas about modeling that models had shared with me and began working on my own modeling resource web site, Independent Modeling.
In early 2001 (before Independent Modeling), I did things the way that I was supposed, and expected, to. I went around to all the main Tampa modeling and talent agencies and introduced myself. My portfolio was strong. Networking with the modeling agencies, however, was difficult. They seemed to have their preferred photographers already, and they all gave me the run-around on why they could not refer me any modeling portfolio photography or model testing photography referrals. I was frustrated. I had paid my dues, had started to make money as a photographer, and was doing what I was supposed to do. I quickly learned, through research and experience, that most Tampa modeling and talent agencies had their own agendas. My eyes were opened to the fact that modeling agencies were not the answer, and that I had some decisions to make if I wanted to make a career as a professional photographer, at least when it came to my preferred field of modeling portfolio photography and talent headshot photography (the irony was that this reason was the reason that Kitty had started Florida Models. No modeling agency would represent her, so she took matters into her own hands, booking herself into modeling jobs). It became obvious, especially after having lunches and meetings with ex-agency employees and bookers, that if you wanted to make money as a modeling portfolio or a talent headshot photographer (which was quickly becoming my specialty), that you had to go through the agencies, and if you did so, that you had to be shady and unethical (although I have seen a few exceptions). The modeling agency way was monopolistic, and ultimately, corrupt. The way that the modeling and talent industry was set up was flawed, with way too many middlemen and politics. Ah, yes, and there were a hell of a lot of modeling scams, too!
I really didn’t have anything against modeling agencies (and I still don’t), but I learned that going through them, especially since I worked ethically and professionally, was not an option. I would have to find another way to obtain business. This said, I was on good terms with at least one Tampa modeling agency at the time, and to their credit, they did refer me shoots, but that would not last with my future course of action.
Kitty once told me that she started her Florida models web site because she was given the run-around when she started her modeling career. The modeling agencies were only interested in referring her to expensive modeling portfolio photography services, and wouldn’t get her any modeling jobs. So, she became an independent model, and started her site. She obtained her own modeling jobs, and once the modeling agencies realized that she was booking, she finally obtained representation from them and began to book modeling jobs referred by agencies, as well.
I decided to start my own modeling resource web site, having learned a lot about modeling from models, and advertise my photography company on the site. After several weeks of hard work, I launched Independent Modeling on September 4, 2001. It launched as Tampa Bay Independent Model, and soon, the agencies noticed it online.
By 2002, my web site marketing was working well. I began booking a lot of modeling portfolio photography work and headshot photography work. I had no issues with the modeling agencies, and was doing what I needed to in order to book photography work, but soon, I learned some interesting things. I met with a radio DJ for a modeling portfolio photography consultation, as he wanted to get his teenage daughter into modeling. I had two consultations that day, and had just booked one. Now, it was his turn. We talked a lot, and then he landed a bombshell on me. He told me that he had contacted a big Tampa modeling agency to inquire about me, and that they had told him that I “was not a photographer”. I was surprised. Ok, if I wasn’t a photographer, then what was I supposed to be, in their opinion? If I supposedly was not a photographer, and I was going around marketing myself as a photographer and selling shoots, were they implying that I was misrepresenting myself and was some sort of modeling scam? I didn’t do anything to the agencies, and they were badmouthing me for no reason. I smiled when he told me this, and showed him my portfolio. I asked him what he thought. He told me that I was obviously a photographer, and a really good one. I asked him which modeling agency was saying things about me, and he wouldn’t give me their name. He told me that I shouldn’t worry about what they were saying, and that I should just keep doing what I was doing. I suggested that the agencies were saying things about me because Tampa Bay Independent Model (Independent Modeling), was showing models how to book modeling jobs on their own, without being dependent upon an agency, and that the agencies knew that the information on the site worked, and they didn’t like it (Man, one day, this is going to make a great book, especially what’s going to happen in the near future).
Well, I don’t think that he accepted what they told him. He looked at my photography portfolio, and like the previous model, booked me, anyway. He also told me about the model search scams that were advertising on the radio, and that the radio stations were well-aware that they were scams, and accepted the marketing anyway (oddly, seven years later, in 2009, modeling scams advertised on the radio is a huge problem. The commercials are constantly running, and I’ve never seen a legitimate modeling job advertised on the radio, or in the paper). I continued to have my eyes opened. Still, I wondered why the modeling agencies would say such terrible things about me when I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I also wondered which agency it was, and soon obtained a hint on just who said what.
Sometime in 2002, I did headshots for an actress named Kerry, and sent her to one of the top Tampa modeling agencies. The headshots were excellent, and she was ready to obtain representation by some local Tampa modeling agencies.
She woke me up one morning knocking on my studio door. I met her at the door, half asleep, and asked her how it went.
“Chris”, she said, “They don’t like you.”
She told me that the agency booker loved her headshots, until she saw the Aurora PhotoArts credit on it. “Oh, God!” the booker exclaimed to Kerry, “I don’t believe that you got your headshots done with him!” Kerry asked what the deal was. They told her that they didn’t approve of me, or my web sites. Of course, they still represented Kerry, despite her association with me, as she was a top actress and model, and they used the headshots to market her. Kerry told me that the booker loved the headshots, and said that is was the best that she had seen in the Tampa market, and that only when she noticed that I had done the headshots did she start running her mouth. “Obviously”, Kerry mused, “you did something to piss them off”.
Did I, or was it only the local modeling and talent agencies who had a problem with me? I didn’t get any sort of problems with the big modeling agencies. Tampa model and actress Roxanne Kowalska, who I got into modeling, and who became a regular Dillard’s catalog model, had a modeling portfolio mostly shot by me. She went down to Miami and met with agencies like Elite. Roxanne met up with me in Brandon one night at the Macaroni Grill, with seven other models and myself having a business dinner that night. She had just returned from Miami. She looked cute in her cool retro glasses, and she smiled at me from across the long table. “Chris”, she reported,” Elite Miami looked at my portfolio. They ignored the pictures from the other photographers, and were blown away by yours. All the agencies love your work.” The other models looked at my book, too, and agreed.
I was happy to hear it. Obviously, the smaller, local agencies had other issues with me. I began to become annoyed with the Tampa modeling agencies, after weighing out the facts. I was leaving them alone and doing my own thing, despite learning about their shortcomings. I kept my mouth shut, and was all nice and politically correct, like I was supposed to be, and they were badmouthing me. Well, no more. I was being penalized, despite taking the safe route. I realized that I had to start speaking out. What the Tampa modeling agencies were trying to do to me was simply an act of war (in 2003, in fact, I met with an attorney to discuss suing them for slander, and this remains a strong option), and I was quickly building the resources that I would need to do something about it. It was obvious that modeling agencies were never meant to be the end-all, be-all in the modeling industry. The modeling industry was changing, and change was needed.
I began to talk to a lot of models about their issues and experiences with the modeling industry. I also studied everything that I could find about the modeling industry and how modeling agencies worked, and how they were supposed to work. Because of the unethical things that I was witnessing, and the modeling scams that were all over the place, I also worked hard to become an expert on modeling scams, and business scams in general. I began to study how modeling scams worked, and noticed that they really were what they did. They all had distinctive activity patterns which helped to define them, and those patterns could not easily be altered without the risk of losing effectiveness. These activity signatures would later become important in building new modeling scam fighting tools and modeling scam analysis databases for Independent Modeling and three more modeling resource sites which would come along in the future. I studied modeling scams like a researcher would study a virus. I would engineer scam fighting tools from that research, often taking components of the scam and using it to enhance the tools which were designed to undermine and combat them.
In 2003, Tampa Bay Independent Modeling simply became Independent Modeling, matching its domain name-branding. I added its first model scam board to it, and it grew. Around this time, too, I began to have problems with Tampa photographers, many of them aspiring photographers who coveted my success as an independent photographer, and who were jealous of my work. My web sites put me on the radars of a lot of people in the modeling industry, along with the crazy ones were the ones who were trying to make it on the fringes.
I never had any issues with photographers before that. Seriously. Between 2000 and 2002, digital cameras capable of professional results were still new, and many photographers were shooting with film cameras. Because of the overhead of using film cameras, there was an investment required to build a photography portfolio, and it was easy to determine who the professional photographers were, and who the pretenders were. There were not many photographers in Tampa, and those of us who were there in the market were seasoned professionals. We had no clue on what the upcoming digital revolution would bring, and how it would serve to clutter the Tampa photography services market with fake photographers who were unethical and unprofessional. The floodgates were about to open.
As digital photography became more mainstream, more and more people decided to become “photographers” because the cost of buying film and paying for the development of film made taking pictures practically free, once the initial outlay for the camera was taken care of. Of course, the cost of the cameras came down, too, and soon, everyone seemed to have access to a digital camera. I remember my first service agreements, which had services divided between film photography and digital photography, with the film slightly more expensive to offset the higher cost. The film photography services, however, were dead on arrival, as “digital photography services” simply became “photography services”.
With more and more aspiring photographers entering the promised land, some with unethical motives and unprofessional intentions, the old TFP arrangement was highjacked. TFP, which is a term which means Time For Prints, was originally a professional collaboration between professional models and professional photographers. All who were involved in TFP were working professionals who had established portfolios, and they were usually paid for their services. The models were normally paid, and so were the photographers, and when they collaborated together in a TFP arrangement, their pay would cancel each other out (that is, as long as none of the parties involved stood to make money from the work, which would turn it into one party ripping off the other). The TFP was done as a mutual collaborative effort between qualified professionals, and each would help to refine their portfolios.
TFP became TFCD, or Time For CD. Since digital cameras were now used, and there was no film and development, the parties would receive their pictures as image files on a CD (and later, on other media such as flash drives. I love flash drives). The terms changed, too, as TFP / TFCD was hijacked by amateurs. Further degrading the investment done to establish careers, amateur photographers and amateur models would collaborate to establish their portfolios for free (and, of course, this reflected in the quality of the portfolio. It is obvious that you get what you pay for). They would also use freebie portfolio networking sites and social networking sites to market their careers. This led to the rise of a new class of photographers and a new class of model, the “deluded amateur”.
With no investment into their career, it was no surprise that these people were not professional. Standards and expectations dropped to a new low, and a new generation of models and photographers became convinced that you didn’t have to pay anything, and shouldn’t have to pay anything, to start a career. Of course, this proved to be a false economy, and was more of an annoyance for the working professionals in the industry because the amateurs cluttered the market and muddied the waters. Values of everything plummeted (ahem- I have developed many ways to counter this trend, and they work. My photographers and I benefit from my ideas).
Of course, credibility was now in question, too, as there was no longer an investment into a career, although careers started that way usually didn’t last long. With no investment, there was no accountability, and professionalism became undermined. Aspiring photographers could go out, buy a camera, and then trick aspiring models into shooting with them. If the arrangement went bad, which usually happened because the work was not professional, the photographer could simply pull up the stakes to their tent and set up shop somewhere else, often using a different name. Some of these characters became photographers to meet beautiful women, and many women became victims of crime, seduced by free shoots and false promises. The amateur models, on the other hand, felt entitled, and with no investment into their career, they didn’t treat their careers with respect; they also did not treat anyone else with respect. Amateur models became demanding and unreliable, increasing the occurrences of so-called models who flaked out on jobs. This was annoying to professional independent models because the flaky amateur models would give modeling on your own, without going through an agency, a bad name. It would also allow modeling agencies to monopolize the modeling industry longer than they should have been able to do.
In retrospect, however, I do believe that the annoyances that we experienced were more perception than reality. Of the professionals, the ones who knew what they were doing, and who were able to adapt to the new environment, were relatively unaffected. I don’t know of a single instance where modeling or photography was given a “bad name” by the actions of amateurs, and that bad name made any of us lose business. Indeed, it really wasn’t difficult to figure out who the professionals were, and who the amateurs were. The amateurs were giving themselves a bad name, but the professionals were not affected. The new modeling and photography industries became split.
The amateurs used freebie services for their “career”, and it was obvious that they did not invest into their career. They operated off of portfolio networking sites and social networking sites such as Myspace, worked with other amateurs to build free portfolios, and really didn’t know what they were doing. They also took shortcuts, and were not inclined to learn how the business worked, and what they needed to do. The result was that they did not book any work. The professionals, on the other hand, invested in their career, and it was obvious. They had professional web sites that they paid for, professional portfolios that they paid for, took the time to learn the business, and had their act together. As a result, they made money in their careers.
I’m telling you this right now. In the past eight years, I never had anyone ask me for TFP. It was usually “how much is it for this service?”, and they didn’t bat an eye paying what I asked. I can’t recall a single time where they tried to talk me down, either, and I get paid what I’m worth. How do I do it? Well, it’s obvious that I mean business. I have a strong portfolio, have invested in the best marketing resources in the Tampa photography services market, and have a long history of satisfied clients. I don’t have to tell anyone that I don’t work for free, because once they look at my work, it is obvious that I am a professional photographer, and that I make money doing photography.
The funny thing is that I’m not all about the money. Sure, I get paid what I am worth, and I’m worth every dime, but getting paid is not what my primary goal is. My primary goal is to give my clients photographs which they can use; quality photographs that are effective. I also respect my clients, and photograph them in a professional context, where they are put in the best possible light. I’m all business, but I am also an artist, an artist who knows what art is, and respects the power that my photography has. I make money by default, because I have my act together, and have professional priorities. Of course, many models and photographers will also tell you that I have integrity which is beyond reproach. I do the right thing, tell it how it is, and work toward improving the integrity of the Tampa photography services market, the modeling industry, and the entertainment industry.
The work that I do ultimately benefits all professionals.
Is it any wonder that many of my friends are professional models, actors, photographers, and talent? Is it any wonder that many of those friends started out as clients? I don’t even have to go around saying that I am doing things right. My actions speak for me, and define who I am. Everyone knows that I am one of the good guys.
And this, my friends, rubs the bad people the wrong way. It was only a matter of time before my growing dominance, and leadership, of the photography services market would catch the attention of unethical, and unprofessional, photographers. It also attracted the attention of a lot of misguided photographers, too, many of whom were misled by con artists.
In 2003, I noticed that a Tampa photographer had posted an ad on Florida Models for “Teen modeling web site work”, which basically exploited underage girls with “sexy” clothing and provocative poses. Well, Independent Modeling had deployed a modeling scam analysis database, and we posted a warning about the dangers of teen modeling web sites (actually, I think that it was an alert about a “Tampa photographer starting an exploitive teen web site”). I looked over his web site, and cringed at the poor photography and the boastful claims on his site (He claimed to be a professional photographer and a “combat” journalism photographer with over ten years of experience, but his portfolio of snapshots made him out to be an obvious liar). I tracked down a model who he had worked with, who I knew, and asked her questions about him. She told me that she thought that he was a nice guy, but that he was really hyper and chain-smoked a lot. She then went back and told him that I had been asking about him (A modeling agency owner pulled this on me with another photographer once, and it really annoyed me because it was a violation of confidentiality. That photographer claimed to get models referred to him from agencies, which was not true, and the agency confirmed that they did not refer models to him. Later, that same day, he visited the agency to try to get on their list of model referrals, and that’s when the agency owner told him that I had been checking up on him. He was angry and contacted me, and that’s when I stopped talking to the agency, as the modeling agency had violated my trust in them. I told the photographer to quit lying, which further pissed him off, and that was that. A few months later, I sent some models to that agency to get their photographer referral list, as the agency had refused to give it to me, and he was on it at that time- the point was, however, regardless, that someone was lying, and at the time that the photographer was making that claim, he wasn’t on the list. This further harmed the credibility of the modeling agency, as we had proof that they were referring models to unethical photographers). At any rate, the teen modeling photographer called me up, angry about my inquiry, and we talked. He blamed the teen modeling site gig on a web master, and claimed that he was duped into working with him (despite the fact that he was the one who posted the job ad), and I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. This proved to be somewhat of a mistake, because, as time would tell, this photographer was a con artist, and he was the person who was really behind the teen modeling job. He merely made his webmaster a scapegoat, and played cool with me because he was out for revenge. In his mind, I supposedly alleged in my conversation with the model that he was shooting kiddie porn, and he was determined to get close to me so that he could learn enough about me to take me down. This, of course, would prove to be impossible, because there was no dirt to find on me. I am very careful, and very ethical, about the way that I conduct business (often, my opponents have to resort to making lies up about me and slandering me. Soon, I’m going to start suing people over slander. I already have one case in the works. In the next few months, lawsuits will start to fly. Debate with me if you wish. Disagree with me, too; I don’t care. Those who persist on slandering me, though, will face the wrath of my attorney. At the rate that things are going, I am going to end up with a reputation as someone who sues people, and those people will have to realize that they did it to themselves. At any rate, I see the lawsuit arena as an inevitable part of big business). He quickly found out that there wasn’t any information that would serve to bring me down, or to eliminate me from the market, so the photographer set out to become my “friend” so he could use me for what he could get. As a beginning photographer who didn’t make any money doing photography, despite what he claimed, he quickly realized that I made money as a photographer, and that I was friends with the models who he wanted to shoot with.
Oh, and speaking of models, I never spoke to that model again. She violated my trust in her by going back and stirring things up with that photographer. If I inquire about anyone, it is very important that the inquiry remains confidential. I am very serious about this, especially looking back. That stupid model and her big mouth set in motion a chain of events that would lead to a Tampa photography war and some ill-will between me and some photographers which still exist today, six years later. I learned the hard way that you really can’t trust anyone until they earn your trust. I also learned to trust my initial instincts.
I was, after all, proven to be right about that photographer.
Well, the photographer was determined to learn the business from me. I swear, he called my studio EVERY DAY. I didn’t have any problem talking to him, as he complained that he wasn’t getting any work (which made sense when you looked at his work), but he always seemed to be fishing for information. Oh, yes, and he also wanted to start a photography association, which I was down with.
We started the photography association. We had a group of photographers who had regular meetings, and we planned on opening up a studio for all the photographers to use. One of the photographers in those meetings, Andy, was a friend of a Craig, a photographer who I had met through a model, and I had initially met him at one of my auditions for a indie film project in 2002, where I had set up him and my other photographer friend to take pictures of the actors and models who were auditioning (I was too busy casting with my staff to do any shooting myself, as I am also a professional casting director). At any rate, Andy and I became better friends through the experience (Andy, Craig, and I remain good friends to this day). So, we had these photography association meetings, and we all planned on doing this joint photography studio. It was then that some questions about the photographer began to emerge.
I went on a location shoot for a magazine in Ybor with that photographer and a group of photographers, some who were not in the association, one day. I didn’t bring a camera, and was merely there to observe. The shoot was ok, but there was some mistakes being made my all the “pro” photographers there. They were shooting in an alley with some models, facing east, and they models were horribly backlit. The composition of the alley was also bad, and the pictures were horrible. I sat around for a good half hour, noticing a better setting, and waited for the photographers to figure it out. Finally, I grabbed a camera from one of the photographers (politely borrowed, that is), and took two models in an adjacent alley where I was shooting to the west. The pictures were great. Within minutes, all of the photographers and models migrated to the new location, and that, my friends, is where the magazine cover was shot. What bugged me, however, was that all of these pro photographers didn’t seem to know how to work a location, despite their expensive photography equipment. Oh, and there was also a reason why I did not bring my camera along. At the time, I was shooting with a consumer-grade Nikon 990 digital camera, and I really didn’t want the photographers to know that. It was enough that my work was good, professional quality, and that I was making money as a professional photographer. None of them, at the time, had any clue that I wasn’t using what they had. In retrospect, that Nikon 990 was proof that good equipment did not make up for a lack of talent and skill. Using that 990, I was able to shoot circles around many photographers who had professional equipment.
Despite the amateur work that this photographer did, as demonstrated on that shoot, there were other questions. He wanted to name our photography association a name very similar to a well-known one, and the name insinuated an association with the established one. I didn’t agree with this, and told him so, as it was misleading and deceptive. He also named his photography company the same name as an already established one, and knew that the name was already taken. I didn’t agree with that, either. The photographer was demonstrating, through his actions, that he was dishonest, and that he didn’t respect anyone. We also disagreed with what to charge with photography services. I told him what I charged. He freaked out, and at first, I thought that the issue was that my rates were too high. I was shocked when he said that my rates were too low. He insisted that the rates for modeling portfolio photography and other photography services be over $1,000.00, which were commercial photography rates. He took a drag off of his cigarette, and exhaled. “As photographers, we shouldn’t even open up our camera bags for less than $1,000.00". I shook my head, already knowing that no one did modeling portfolio photography work that was worth that; not me, and especially not him. I asked him if he at least got my rates. He evaded answering at first, and then admitted that he did not. I then asked him how he expected to get such high rates when he was unable to get the rates that I charged.
I continued to charge what I had been charging, and made money doing photography. He didn’t make any money. He accused me of ruining the market for everyone else. I began to wonder if he knew what he was doing, or if he was trying to manipulate the competition by convincing them to overcharge for their services. In my opinion, he was proving to be greedy, too.
But wait, it gets better.
He started to bug all of my contacts (the ones that he could find on my web sites). He composed these badly-written emails and contacted as many of my models as he could find. He contacted my photographer friends, and tried to get them to get involved with the “association”. Ann Poonkasem, who was Miss Tampa Bay, a professional model, a singer, and a good friend of mine (we still are close friends.... God, Ann and I have been friends now for seven years!), was contacted by him. She called me up, laughing about the email, which seemed to be written by a third grader. She asked if she should work with him, and if he was any good as a photographer. Not wanting to bad-mouth the poor guy, I told her to look at his work, and use that to decide if he was worth it. Ann decided to ignore him.
The photographer continued to call me every day. He had lots of questions. He wanted tips on web sites and search engine optimization. I told him some techniques, but stressed to him that it was a lot of work and that you had to do it a lot to make it work. He continued to learn as much as he could.
Not getting anywhere with my models, he tried to get some of my photographer friends to get involved with the “association”. By this time, I was getting suspicious about his motives. I looked at his latest work. I smiled. Shooting like he did, I figured that no model in their right mind would want to work with him, especially with his poor writing ability. I relaxed, not realizing that the guy was a good talker, however, and that he had a natural salesman ability.
I decided to humor him. The photography association went to Ybor city to check out the site of our studio. After the visit, he and I were talking in front of the store with some of the photographers hanging around. We began to debate about photography rates again. “You know” I said, “the models won’t allow you to charge that much for modeling portfolio photography services. You’re trying to charge too much.” He became irate. “F the models!” He exclaimed, “We are photographers! We don’t answer to any models! We do whatever the F that we want!”.
Well, I was friends with a lot of models. He was disrespecting models. At that point, I had enough of his nonsense. I quit the photography association, and pulled out of the studio deal. A week later, his listing in the photographer resource section of Independent Modeling disappeared. He called me up, and asked what happened to his listing on the web site.
“It should be listed” I replied, acting like I didn’t know what was going on, “It should be there in the resource section. Are you sure that it’s gone? It is? Well, I’ll have to ask the models and see what’s going on.”
Despite my apathy toward him, and my lack of participation with the photography association, he continued to call me EVERY DAY. This didn’t last long, however. One morning, bright and early, he called and woke up my girlfriend, who had stayed over. She just happened to be a model, and she went off on him. After she told him off, she hung up the phone, and we had a good laugh over it. At the time, however, what I didn’t know what that he went to all the photographers in the association and told them that I was unethical because I “slept with models”, which wasn’t the case at all. It’s a different story when you are dating someone, and are involved in a relationship. The irony, however, was how he conducted his career, as he proved to be the one trying to sleep with models.
Around this time, Craig called me up and asked me about the photographer. The photographer had been contacting Craig, and Craig was now suspicious about his motives. Craig asked me if I trusted the photographer. I told him that I did not.
A few days later, I noticed something odd. I went onto the photographers web site, and noticed some unusual code in his source code. There were Meta Tags copied from my web site source code, with my keywords removed and some added mis-spelled keywords for him! He had stolen my source code! I told Craig about what I had found, and then had a revelation. Could it be that the worst scam in the modeling industry was right under my nose the entire time? At this time, I knew that I would have to fight the photographer. I knew that a war was inevitable.
More information about Tampa photography scams went up on Independent Modeling’s modeling scam board. Around Christmas, 2003, the photographer called me. He complained about the photography scam information on Independent Modeling, saying that he was afraid that models would think that it was about him. He threatened to get his lawyer to send me a letter. I laughed, and told him to do what he felt that he had to do. Realizing that threats would not work on me, he finally tried to be pleasant with me. We ended the call, and that was the last time that I spoke to him.
Well, he tried calling me up once more. I posted an ad on Florida Models for a commercial client that I had. A model responded who had a portfolio full of his pictures. The pictures were better quality than the ones that he shot a year before, but they were still flawed. I told the model to go out and get a portfolio done by a photographer who knew how to shoot a modeling portfolio, as I could not submit such flawed photographs to my client. The photographer later tried to call me, and the model sent an E-mail to Craig stating that she would never work with me and that I sucked as a photographer because I used a consumer camera. The funny thing was that she praised my work when I talked to her; it’s funny how people change their story when they are angry. Another thing was that I outshot many photographers with my 990 when I was using it to shoot with, and that my camera had no bearing when I was doing excellent work. Another thing? I bought a Canon SLR in 2004, and was no longer using the 990.
The model later went on to do nude modeling on adult web sites, and that amuses me. I never heard from the photographer again, at least not directly.
That was not, however, the end of it. War had begun between us.
The situation was both interesting and aggravating. The photographer was bad-mouthing me and spreading rumors about me. I had walked away from him before he could scam me, and it pissed him off. He also began to scam other photographers with his “photography association”, learning photography from them and stealing from them behind their backs. There were reports of him going into photographers computers and stealing their contacts (he went into the computer of a magazine publisher, stole his email contacts, and then began to spam the contacts. I found out about this after the publisher sent out a mass email telling everyone what had happened). When the other photographers brought their clients, some of them models, to the studio, he would try to steal the clients, too. Many photographers realized that they were being ripped off, and left. Other photographers, wanting a studio to work in, replaced the photographers who had been used up and discarded. There were reports that he was ripping off models, too. He’d set up TFP’s, only to bait and switch them by selling them prints. He photoshopped fake tear sheets with fashion logos on them, misrepresenting himself as being associated with big companies. He also lied about his work history and his contacts. Within a few months, learning from the photographers whom he victimized, he was shooting well enough to convince people that he was legitimate. He started booking shoots and making money through misrepresentation and bait and switch. It was working for him, and because none of the victims bothered to address his unethical and unprofessional conduct, he was getting away with it.
He ripped me off again, too, determined to scam me as much as he could. He resorted to plagiarism. He went in my web sites, and stole whatever he could. During a routine search engine check, I noticed a composite card company set up in Tampa between him and a Chicago photographer. The web site had my composite card sales pitch and information on it, and it had been stolen from my web site! From what I found out, he stole the composite card ideas off of my site, and then used it to bait the Chicago photographer into working with him. After leeching off of the Chicago photographer, he then used him up and moved onto other victims.
Oh, and does it get better.
In 2004, I began to debate with one of his studio photographers on a modeling message board. I took the photographer to task that he was who he associated with. The scam photographer then told all the photographers horrible lies about me (I’m not sure what exactly, but I’m sure that he claimed that I was a scam photographer, that I had ripped him off, and that he kicked me out of the association; all lies, of course, but none of those photographers knew that, and believed what they wanted to!). What happened next was annoying. He and the photographers ganged up on me.
At this point, my friend Andy was working in that studio, and was fed up with all of the crap. I suggested to Andy that he leave the studio, because I was going to give these people a taste of their own medicine. I was about to question their credibility, their association, and what they did in a very public way.
Andy left, and I got to work. To make a long story short, Independent Modeling got involved. I slammed the photography association, the studio, and the photographer. It got nasty, and the fight raged on for many months. I’m guessing that his photographer minions finally figured things out, because they began to distance themselves from him, although we were still fighting. It almost became a legal matter, too. The photographers were planning on suing me for libel, supposedly wrote by me and aimed at them on Independent Modeling.
In October 2004, when Tampa Bay Modeling launched, it had a mostly-experimental message board. The photographers immediately began a harassment campaign on the message board of the new modeling site, and that’s when I learned of the legal threat. That’s when I decided to end the fight between me and the photographers in that studio. It really wasn’t because they were threatening to sue me, as I believe that would have been a big waste of time and money for all parties, but because I didn’t want to give the con-artist photographer the satisfaction of knowing that he got all of us fighting. So, I called up the smartest photographer, we talked, and I met with two of them at lunch with one of my people. Our fight ended, and you know what? They weren’t bad guys. The one which I initially contacted actually turned out to be a cool guy, and the other one, who still does not like me, was a bit of an asshole, but he was alright, too (I did have the pleasure of hearing him rant about how I offended thousands of people, etc, which amused me). This, of course, made me feel really bad. The fighting went too far, and I felt bad that the con artist photographer instigated a feud with photographers who I shouldn’t have been fighting with to begin with.
So ended the first Tampa photography war of 2004. We ended it over lunch.
Oh, and the con artist photographer continued on. He made contacts, and continued to learn from others. He faked it until he made it. Today, he actually does good work as a photographer, and makes a lot of money doing it, but his success did not come at my expense. He didn’t take any business from me, and still cannot do so.
Eventually, I’ll get around to going after his clients. I’ll take business away from him, and, if I don’t put him out of business altogether, I’ll at least put a dent in his cash flow.
The story isn’t over, either. There’s more to tell, and I’ll tell it soon.
In the end, however, I don’t hate Tampa photographers. If you are a professional photographer, we can get along even if we are competitors. I’m all for that, and you should be, too.

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Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 8:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

A New Era For The Tampa Photographer Blog

Ah, progress. Some of my blogs are undergoing some overhauls, and the Tampa Photographer Blog is no exception. This is why some content (for this blog, 75% of its content) has been removed, and the blog is now leaner. There will be more adjustments, soon, too.
In all honesty, I’m not going to be able to voice my opinions here or give away details about my photography business which could undermine my position in the Tampa photography services market. I will, and can say, that I stand behind all my opinions, and am not changing my mind about anything that I have posted here in the past. My opinions, however, state the obvious, and provoke a strong reaction from others in the Tampa photography industry. I’m not here to post anything negative, or anything that could be perceived as negative. From now on, the Tampa Photography Blog will be about my passion of the photography business and my adventures as one of the top photographers in Tampa. I really do love photography, and am rightfully proud of my work as a professional photographer. Note, too, that these changes did not come about from any negative feedback or anything like that, it’s just that the blog had to be made appropriate for our new business directives.
Please keep in mind that I will not be posting stories and anecdotes here from every shoot. I need the client’s permission if a client is involved. All information about my clients is considered confidential, and I respect their privacy, as well as their rights. Of course, many of my clients do elect to have their photography sessions written about, especially my modeling and talent clients, as their careers are in the public eye. Additionally, if the client does give me permission to post their Tampa photography session story on the Tampa Photographer Blog, they are given the chance to read over the anecdote before it is published.
Public events, however, are another story. For example, I often attend events, and recently have been judging beauty pageants. Those anecdotes about public functions may be published without the permission of the participants. Not that it matters, though, because I will rarely write anything that could be perceived as negative.
Special projects, such as professional collaborations, are a different story, too. In those collaborations, publication of details may be part of the job.
So, the Tampa Photographer Blog enters a new age. The PR age.
Change is in the air. Consider this to be my spring cleaning.
It’s been busy, too. I was out conducting client consultations all day yesterday, meeting photography services clients back to back. The sales went well. I’ve been getting a ton of consultations lately, and it’s a result of our excellent, and highly effective, Internet marketing efforts.
Change is the theme right now. I made some business changes which were long overdue, and am looking into changing my photography portfolio. I initially built my printed photography portfolio back in 2001, with the leather case and inserts. Since then, it has been updated a few times, and a lot of great photographs were added. It’s been very, very effective over the years, and has been the main tool responsible for my high sell-through ratios. It’s worked well, but there were a few tweaks that I noticed over the years, and it can be even better after it is overhauled. I am about to add a lot more pictures, and will organize them better. It will cost me a few hundred for the overhaul, but it will be worth it (although my portfolio case is still in perfect condition, I may be replacing it with a high tech, custom portfolio case. I will be printing all of the pictures from scratch, and will be using the latest insert technology. Hmmm..... Maybe I should just retire the old port and keep it as a backup. Ok. It’s done, once the new 2009 portfolio is put together.)
Other changes? My business cards were obtained in October of 2005. They need to be replaced, especially since some information is outdated and the overall layout and design of the cards is a little safe and conservative. This week, I will be designing new cards and will be investing a few hundred dollars on another order (yes, my cards are not cheap, but they are worth it). I will also be designing more cards for my other endeavors, such as Tampa Bay Film and its online film festival. My design work has come a A sample of some of my latest design work. This composition took me several hours to do, and I am very proud of it. log way over the years, as you can see from the recent sample to the right. It will be a fun challenge to see how much I can push the new business cards design-wise. Hmmmmm.... perhaps a business card with a vertical layout? Then again, maybe not.... but I haven’t decided, yet. I have a lot of good ideas, and I will be spending plenty of time playing around with the design.
It looks like the “design” aspect of Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design is well-earned. I’ve been earning money doing professional-level design work the past few years, anyway, so it’s beginning to keep pace with my photography work. Actually, I’ve found that my experience as a professional photographer has enhanced my ability as a designer. On the subject of design work, Aurora PhotoArts will be doing all of the design work for my Tampa advertising agency, Eos MediaArts. My Tampa advertising agency is already licensed, and although it has been booking work for a long time now, it officially starts business operations as a full-scale advertising agency this summer (can you see commercial photography work and modeling jobs? I can!). The Eos web site is almost done, too, and will launch in May 2009. I only have to complete the layout and write the copy.
Ah, writing. I’m doing a lot of that, and will continue. My new 2009 photography service agreements (service contracts) for Aurora PhotoArts are just about done, and I am waiting for my attorney to approve them so that we can start using them with clients. When I had all of those consultations this week, I had to use the old agreements, which were versions from 2006! The new 2009 agreements were originally started in 2007, but I’ve been booking so many photography sessions that I never got around to finishing them until now. It’s weird. Back in 2002 I started booking shoots, and had to have contracts drawn up to get the terms of the work in writing. I never did get the agreements as updated as I wanted to, because my work on the contracts were always catching up with all the shoots that I was booking. I was too busy shooting to do a lot with the service agreements (my latest service agreements, the 2007 Talent Connection Project agreements, were very slick, very advanced, and a nice prelude to what I was working on, although the new 2009 agreements are a lot more advanced, now). They worked very well, however, and my attorney liked them. The new ones, however, are exactly what I’ve been wanting, and they will be much better than their predecessors (I’ve spent years taking notes and writing down ideas for inclusion in the new agreements, such as new usage terms and other things. The new agreements are designed to be simpler for the clients, and I wanted them to be at least half the size of the old ones page-wise, but the new additions kept the size up. Ugh. I had to use the old ones this week, which was fine. Next week, I get to start using the new ones.
You know, while I’m at it with the new contracts, I’m also going to overhaul our filing system. I came up with a new way of organizing digital media files for the core computer system that we are building, and the format can be used for old-fashioned contract filing, too. I may even file the paper contracts in a paper file system and scan the pages into the computer for digital copies.
Then there are web sites. I own a lot of them. I recently merged my photography service marketing with several of my resource web sites. This has been very successful, and business is increasing because of it. Of course, my main Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design marketing site has largely been neglected. It’s been working fine, but it needs an overhaul, especially since it has barely been updated in a year. I will be adding lots of new content and will be redoing some of the graphics. I’m in no hurry to add new pictures, however, because the current ones work quite well. I’ll refresh my online photography portfolio on my main Tampa photography site later this year, for sure.
I did launch two new Tampa photography web sites recently, now that I think of it. They both have exceeded my expectations as far as their marketing effectiveness. One of them, the Aurora PhotoArts Tampa headshots marketing site, has been sending us a lot of headshot photography leads. Headshot photography bookings have set records because of it.
I’ll post again, soon. I may even have an anecdote to share.

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Saturday, January 17, 2009 - 9:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Photography Is Supposed To Be Fun

Well, photography used to be a lot more fun than it is now. Once I started making a lot of money doing photography Photography used to be fun, and still can be. This was a fun shoot for a Tampa indie film project. professionally, it seemed to lose something. I’ve done a lot of good work, work which I am proud of, and have made a good amount of money over the years, but it was never as fun as it used to be.
There’s no reason that it cannot be fun again, despite making money. I think that it all comes down to my attitude. You see, my shoots are still fun, and I enjoy working with people and getting out. It’s just that I don’t embrace it like I used to.
This will change. There is no reason while I cannot have fun while I work my photography and design business. God knows that I should be happy with my income and my work.
Take this Tampa Photographer Blog, for example. While I tend to whine about the Tampa photography services industry on my Tampa Photography Blog, the Tampa Photographer Blog will be a little more light hearted, and fun. It will deal with anecdotes.
Just remember that I shoot a lot, and it would be impossible to post stories about every shoot that I do on here (both logistically, and for the reason that I don’t want to give other Tampa photographers a clear picture of how many shoots I do, where I shoot, how I shoot, who I shoot with, and who all my clients are). I will post anecdotes about the coolest shoots. Also, I just bought some more cameras and some indie filmmaking gear which is ultra-portable, so effective immediately, I will be capturing videos of my shoots. From now on, I will carry a DVD quality DV camera with me in addition to my photography SLR cameras. This means that I will be posting online videos of some of my adventures. Hmmmmm...... I’ll also get a portable tripod, so I can get videos of me doing the shoots. There is a lot of good stuff on the way, such as this huge swimsuit modeling / bikini shoot that I have planned in the spring with at least six swimsuit models.
I’ve been going over my ancient files. I’ve looked at photographs and anecdotes from as far back as ten years ago. They all make me smile. So many memories. A lot of those people have moved on, but our memories stay real, especially with all the photographs.
It was exactly ten years ago. It was a blast of a shoot in the middle of a cow pasture. In January, 1999, two models, Ah, the pasture shoot on January 30, 1999, almost ten years ago! Shown here, from left to right; Photographer Manny Torres, model Michael, and wandering model Kristen Willyard. Why we had a tripod on this location shoot, I couldn't tell you. another photographer, and I went out shooting all day. I can’t say that the photographs came out that well, because they didn’t, but I’ll cut me some slack because I had not worked up to pro yet. It wouldn’t be until 2000, when I started dating a model by the name of Diana, where she helped bring my skills up to where they needed to be (the weekends that she spent with me were more like boot camps. She made me study fashion magazine photographs, and taught me things such as composition, which she knew because she was a top art director and designer as well as a fashion model.
Ok, going back to that shoot back in January of 1999. I have a picture of it to the right. As you can see, we had quite the set up, and why in the hell we had a tripod at this shoot, I couldn’t tell you. The tripod belonged to a photographer friend by the name of Manny, who has is standing holding his wrists in the photograph, and in reflection, in all these years of shooting modeling portfolios and actor headshots on location, I have never used a tripod! The funny thing is that I’m now coming full circle, and while I will be bringing a tripod to shoots starting this year, it will be for my DV video camera, and not my photography camera. It’s weird how things happen before, and they eventually happen again, with unique twists.
Man, I’m telling you. Give me a time machine, and allow me to take my photography gear back to this shoot. I’d tear it Same pasture location over seven years later. Model Jinelsa Rosado. Note the same tree in the background. up. The second photograph here of model Jinelsa Rosado, taken over seven years later at the exact same spot as the 1999 shoot (notice the same crazy tree behind Jinelsa), shows just how far that I’ve come. Photographers always say location, location, location, but composition has a lot to do with it, too.
Ok, I just found the exact date. It was Saturday, January 30, 1999. Roughly two weeks from now, it will be ten years.
I also have the official shoot log from the web site that I had at that time. Here it is:

“The Crush”
SHOOT LOG
Saturday, 30 January, 1999

This time, a team of models and photographers traveled to the mine fields of moo moo land. “The Crush” was an apt title, as our models, Michael and Kristen W., looked a lot like the Actors in the movie of that same name. Kristen, however, resented being constantly compared to Alicia Silverstone.
The day began interestingly enough. It was a warm, clear Saturday morning. Haze from the blanket of cool fog that filled the countryside began to lift. The air would have been serene, almost perfect, if not for the overhead droning of a helicopter. A police helicopter. Passinault glanced out the window.
Police cruisers blocked the road leading to the studio. He was not amused. That was the road that his models would have to pass.
The police proved to be a trivial nuisance at the most, as they were looking for some toddler that had wandered off. Passinault picked up Kristen, and upon making their way through the thicket of officers, they relaxed and waited for Michael to arrive. They snacked on donuts, Kristen made a phone call to the Cayman Islands, and Passinault jammed on a a quick game of Time Pilot 84 on the Studio’s MAME 32 arcade emulator. Michael showed up, and Kristen called her friend Jolene, who was also slated to model with her that day. Jolene, unfortunately, canceled.
At that, Kristen and Passinault loaded up his mini truck and cruised into Brandon with Michael and his jeep following. They picked up Manny Torres, the other photographer, who rode with Michael, and headed off for breakfast.
To their dismay, it was to early to eat at their first choice, Hops. So, they settled for Steak and Shake. The food was- Bland. Kristen and Passinault had a laugh, though, drawing a “rest in peace” cartoon on the napkin and placing it over a dish of fries.
The conversation, however, sparkled in contrast as they bounced topics between the four of them.
The first stop after making a pit stop at the studio was a field off of Rhodine road. It was an abandoned pasture. Passinault, as a teenager back in 1986, had hiked through this very pasture. He observed that, other than the paved bridge crossing Bell Creek to the east of them, it had not changed. It was still quite beautiful. Even the dark land mines that the grazing cows had left behind had a certain charm.
Manny had brought a recorder with him, and he proceeded to interview the party as the shoot began. The models eased into the act, even to the point of dancing around to the dance mix of Party Zone RMX, which blared from a boom box.
They next traveled to the store for a quick lunch, and proceeded to the boardwalk in the Waterford community, where Kristen had posed for shots just two weeks prior. Passinault discovered that the gate was shut, and relished the thought of using the “Kelly Code”, 325, which he had learned from his highschool friend Kelly Duvall ten years before. He had told Kristen the previous shoot that, in a private community of this size, it was hard to change out codes, and the ancient code probably still worked.
To his disappointment, there was a car in front of them, which opened the gate. Passinault’s pick up and Michael’s jeep followed closely behind.
He pulled into the parking slip just inside the gate. Michael’s jeep purred in beside them. “Hey, there’s some lady behind us. She doesn’t look too happy.....”.
Manny’s voice. They looked behind them. A red Cherokee, idling off on the curb. A middle aged woman glared at them from the drivers seat, her face scrunched up into a scowl. She was well dressed, and, under normal circumstances, Passinault mused, would be attractive.
“We should leave. I don’t think she wants us here.....”
Manny’s voice again. Passinault frowned. He was right, they’d have to leave or the whole shoot would be in jeopardy. The grinch in the Cherokee would have them towed while they shot back on the boardwalk.
He cursed to Kristen as they left, pointing out the beautiful shots that they would have to miss out on. A thought spilled out. “We should have taken her picture!”. Kristen laughed.
They decided to go to a large park in Valrico to finish the shoot. Upon arriving a half hour later, the had an impromptu picnic at a table, then began shooting in an area with hills. During the shoot, a young fan begged to have his picture taken with Kristen. It was the highlight of his twelve years.
The shoot wrapped with a parting shot of Passinault posing with Michael and Kristen. They parted ways, Michael taking Manny home, and Kristen going back to the studio with Passinault. After getting a bit lost, they found their way, and Kristen started to fall asleep from exhaustion.
Upon arrival, he let Kristen take a nap as he washed the truck. He then woke his star model up, and they took pictures of her pottery on the smooth, hard lid covering the bed on the back of the pick up. That done, Passinault took her to work.

Ah, memories. Too bad the pictures weren’t usable.
The shoot in the woods on March 2, 2002, with four models. Horses came up on us, and the models pause to check out one of the horses! You know, I wrote that I had hiked through that pasture when I was 16. I used to hike a lot as a teenager. Come to think of it, I was a photographer back then, too, even though I did not know how to use a camera, I appreciated the beauty that was around me as I wandered the countryside. I remember once, when I was 16 on one of those twelve mile hikes, I saw a valley near that pasture to the south. It was lit well in the morning sun, and at that moment, I wished that I had a camera. It’s not that I could not learn about cameras. My Grandfather had tons of photography magazines laying around my parents house, and I used to thumb through them because I was interested in aerial reconnaissance photography (long story- I used to fly simple cameras thousands of feet over my community and take pictures of my neighborhood using my flying platforms- it was kind of like KAP years before people were doing KAP. I built one such platform which could stay aloft almost a mile up for days. Sometimes, weird gadgets would come crashing down on my neighbors from the sky, or other things would drift down on huge parachutes. Those were the days. It was amazing some of the things that I did as a kid with little money or technology). Anyway, I found my Grandfathers photography magazines to be boring. This is not the case with photography magazines and books these days.
Ah, that valley. I still remember how it looked. I’m sure that it’s somewhere near that pasture. You know the weird Models Kitty Park and Shannon Cameron look at a horse during our photography shoot. thing? Doing fashion modeling photography shoots with professional models from all over Florida in the same wilderness areas that I used to hike when I was a child.
On March 2, 2002, almost seven years ago (!), I went into a densely wooded area in Riverview with four models and another person. We did a shoot on the same trail that I had hiked on growing up. It was surreal, and what amused me the most was that we were all grouped together doing this shoot, and people walking the trail, riding horses, or jogging would stumble upon a photoshoot and freak out with all the models running around. I need to do more shoots in that area. The last time that I did a shoot back there was with Jinelsa Rosado on March 11, 2006 (I think- I do a lot of shoots). When Jinelsa and I shot back there, getting pictures that blew away the 2002 shoot, we didn’t see a single person. I guess that my wooded areas, areas which were turned into parks, were busier back in 2002.
You know, I did good work nine years ago, which was around the time that Diana and I spent our weekends together and I turned pro. Some of my marketing for Aurora PhotoArts, however, sucked. Oh, and THOSE RATES..... my photography rates were so out of whack, no wonder I didn’t make any money doing shoots (you can tell that I’ve been looking back at my archived files.. Some things were brilliant, and were signs of things to come, and others were so stupid that they make me laugh). At least I am good at keeping accurate records, so when I write things like this blog, and can cite people, places, dates, and times. Expect that tradition to continue.
Augh.. Those photography rates were a joke! I guess it is because I was transitioning from film to digital, and had dual rates for both types of photography, too. Here is something from 1999, which is a year before I turned pro as a photographer:

"Agenda 2000"
Monday, 9 August, 1999

1) MODELING COMP CARD PRICING PLAN ADOPTED

A COMP CARD is a business card for the working model. It is an important tool that is used to obtain jobs in the industry. A typical Comp Card is a 5 X 7 laminated card with several photographs composited onto it and modeling stats for the model. Typically, these cards usually cost anywhere between $400.00 to $900.00 to fabricate; photo shoot costs included. Our cost to the Iris model, after all the costs are factored in, start at $140.00 .

a) Photo Shoots (72 frames, 3 looks, 3 locations) $80.00 Necessary to obtain the raw photographs another location on the March 2, 2002 shoot with one of the models and a bunny. needed for the Model's Comp Card. The model coordinates with the assigned photographer to do the shoot, and pays the photographer the fee. Most of Aurora PhotoArts Photographers are quite good, but it may take more than one shoot to get the "Grail" shots that can be used for the Cards. Regardless, the Model gets SLIDES of every frame shot for their trouble. These slides can be used by the model to put together a PORTFOLIO, another valuable career tool.

b) Comp card setup fee: $20-25.00

The selected pictures are digitized and edited on a computer workstation via PhotoShop 5. The edited frames are then composited into a custom Template designed by Michael for the standard Iris Comp Card. Extra pics crammed onto the card constitute a higher fee.

c) Comp cards $2.00 each, min order 20

The finished Comp Card is copied onto an Iomega Zip Disc and taken to a second party print shop with an Aurora PhotoArts business account. Here, the cards are sized, printed, laminated, and cut. Additional cards are made for Iris to be placed on the Comp Card board to be placed on a wall in Geomedia 3.

2) 1999 Photo Shoot format discontinued

As of Saturday, 7 August, 1999, the Aurora Photo Shoot as we've come to know it was discontinued. There will be sponsored Commercial, Editorial, and Promotional Photo Shoots in the future. AES sponsored shoots will be booked with all the required permits, planned, storyboarded, and shot.

I was sunburnt in this picture, and could not smile because I had braces on. Er...... It after a shoot in Clearwater in 2001, and there's me, a model, and model Lowie and her boyfriend. Dinner was good, and the shoot went well! Alrighty. Riiiiiiiight.... Laminated composite cards? I’m glad that this never happened.
Oh, and the use of “Grail shot” to describe a money shot in a modeling shoot; that term is still in use today. It’s interesting to see how far back the term Grail shot goes.
For those of you scratching your heads over some of what was in that email, well, I was confused, too. I still can’t figure out what I was referring to when I stated that the “Aurora Photo Shoot as we've come to know it was discontinued”. Hmmmmm..... Maybe that’s the point where my shoots started on that long road to being less fun and more work. Er... “storyboarding” a shoot? Ok, whatever. That never happened, and I’m glad it didn’t. That idea would have bogged us down and made a shoot many times the work that it needed to be.
Oh, and “Iris” models refers to my models back when I was planning to start a modeling and talent agency and didn’t quite know what one was. It took several years of experience and study before I became a modeling expert. I learn fast.
Oh, and those composite card rates are crazy! Even today, no one in their right mind would pay those kind of rates for comps. They are way too high!
Good God. Those rates..... I could not survive today with those photography rates! $80.00 for a 3 look shoot? Although within a year my work was professional in quality, no one would invest in services which were that cheap. Listen, photographers, and especially those of you who go around shooting TFP shoots for free, there is a lot of psychology in this business. If you are too cheap, or are giving it away, no one will want what you are selling, or, for that matter, respect what you do. It’s true! I had to learn it the hard way. There is something called perceived value, and if you sell yourself short, people will discount your work and not want to buy it, event if it’s awesome. If you sell at a discounted rate, you may find that your photography services are harder to sell than if you charged more. This is why low-rent photographers and TFP photographers don’t hurt my business. They get less work making less money (or none at all), and I book more work making a lot more. People tend to take you seriously when you are serious about your photography, and you charge what you are worth.
In 2000, when I turned pro, I made good money working as a banker, and spent thousands of dollars on my photography, as I was developing my photography portfolio and improving my photography skills. Jessica, a swimsuit model who I was working with at the time, came by my office at the bank one evening to pick up her pictures, pictures which she did not spend a dime on, and which cost me over $60.00 for film and development. She was over at my desk, and proceeded to nitpick the pictures and bitch me out. I stood my ground, and defended the pictures (looking back, they were quite good, even today). She smirked at me, looked at the rest of the prints, and remarked that I had “potential”. By this time, a dozen of my banking coworkers were up in arms, and wanted to lynch her. She wrapped it up, and left with the prints. After she left the building, my coworkers told me that my work was great, and that she had no right putting it down like that. I thanked them for their support. My friend Leanne, who was the top This is Diana, the model who made me the photographer who I am today. I miss her, too. Beautiful woman. salesperson at the bank, sat down with me and gave me “the talk”. She told me that my photography work had improved dramatically in the past year, and that they were all impressed by it. She was blunt, and told me that models pay a lot of money for the quality of portfolio photography work that I was doing. She stated that Jessica and a few other models were using me for free portfolios, and that it was obvious that they were. She told me that she was my friend, and she and the others wanted to kick Jessica’s ass for the rude way that she had treated me. “Chris”, she said, “You need to start charging for your photography work. I’d pay for it, and I’m sure others would, too. Don’t sell yourself short anymore, and charge what you are worth”.
That’s when I became serious about making photography a business. It wouldn’t happen overnight, however. I also began to put rude models in their place.
For the record, I began booking modeling portfolio photography shoots in 2001, and back then I was getting $250.00 for a five look shoot (this is NOT my current rate, so please don’t call us and try to book a five look shoot at that rate). The evolution of my photography services, and the improvement of my business and marketing techniques over the years, is fascinating to look at. It improved quickly, and my services grew under a working environment of booking shoots and making money. It took on a life of its own. The difference of my marketing contracts between 2001 and 2003 is like night and day. So, how was business? Since booking my first paid shoots in 2001, I haven’t looked back. Progress and sales have been impressive, and I’ve booked a lot of modeling portfolio photography and talent headshot photography shoots since. Here is a breakdown of those years of business as a professional photographer.

2001- Booked my first paid shoots and began to make money as a photographer, as my portfolio was strong, and Model Diana in Hyde Park, We'll always have Paris, baby. We had fun all those weekends in 2000. sold my photography services well during sales consultations. Hell, I’d even buy what I offer!
2002 - I was not longer working at the bank, and the economy was bad in the wake of 9/11, but business improved. I booked a ton of shoots this year.
2003 - Marketing improved a lot. Business was good. My Aurora PhotoArts marketing web site began its journey to market superiority. The first seeds of a business future were envisioned, and planted.
2004 - A record year for photography business! By then, I had the marketing, service consultation process, and sales down to a science. I became very, very good at selling my photography services. By 2004, no Tampa photographer or Tampa photography business could touch my photography business.
2005 - A solid year, but not as busy as 2004. Marketing tools moved to a serious professional level, and became the best in the Florida photography services market (it seems that the years that business is slower are when I am sidetracked working on business support infrastructure. You have to work your business, people! You only make what you put into the business!). Oh, and I invested in new cameras and equipment, too.
2006 - Another solid year. My photography marketing web site was redone, again, and this time the new Venus class marketing site emerged from the years of tinkering and hard work. In 2006, Aurora PhotoArts had come of age, and had one of the best photography services marketing sites in the United States. It was clearly the best photography services marketing web site in Florida.
2007 - Another record year! I booked more photography work in 2007 than in all the previous years combined, and Oh! The bunny nibbles the model! actor headshot photography services started a trend of becoming a hot seller.
2008 - A slow year compared to the others, but this was due in part because I was not working the business as much. I spent a lot of time doing television interviews and modeling industry work. Infrastructure had to be overhauled, too, as I had big plans for 2009, and this sidetracked me. I changed my phone number, and streamlined support infrastructure, too.
2009 - I’m ready. This will be an interesting year. It’s time for a full rollout, and make more money than all the other years combined while making the work fun again. Oh, and this will be in spite of the horrible economy, too. What I started working on in 2003 is now ready to be deployed and worked. What Aurora PhotoArts will introduce to the Tampa photography services market this year will revolutionize the photography business, and I anticipate the start of an arms race of sorts as other Tampa photographers and photography companies notice the dramatic increase in my business, and they desperately move to copy what I do.

Ah, 2009. This is going to be an awesome year. So far, business has been good, but what is going to happen in the next few weeks will change this market forever.
I have the business down to a science. I make more money doing modeling portfolio photography and actor headshot photography than any photographer or photography company that I am aware of.
Last Sunday, I had a meeting with one of my photographers, who had just returned from doing a magazine shoot with a fashion model. Last week, I referred a shoot to him from a law firm client, and he booked it (I have an obscenely effective array of marketing tools from years of work and development- my phone is always ringing off the hook with One last nibble on the model by the evil bunny. I love this shot! people wanting photography services). I was happy that he booked the shoot that I had referred to him, but was not happy when he charged them half of what he should have (I also bitched him out when he paid a model to shoot with her a couple of years ago, too- He gets paid as a professional photographer, and she gets paid working as a professional model; if they want to collaborate, it should even-out, and it should be a no-cost collaboration between established professionals- this is different than TFP, and I’ll explain why in another post, soon). Anyway, I told him that a law firm would not try to talk him down in rates, as they had money, and the person booking the photographer on behalf of the business would not care (this works in event planning, too; I’ve never had a business try to book my DJ’s for a reduced rate). I told him that I never had to discount my work, and that I got what I asked for consistently.
That’s when I told him “the process” that I used for my consultations and booking process. After giving him pointers, one of my photography services clients called. I put him on the phone with her, and had her give him the run-down, too. She was happy with the work that I had done for her, and she paid full rate. As a matter of fact, she paid twice as much as the law firm paid him. I told him to quit selling himself short, and to stick to his guns. His photography portfolio was excellent, and he deserved to get paid what he was worth. He agreed.
Talk about full circle. Thank you, Leanne, wherever you are.

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 5:25 PM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Merging Talent Photography Operations With Talent Sites

Effective immediately, I am merging some of my assets. The merger will be apparent later this week. My top talent web sites, which include Independent Modeling, Independent Acting, Tampa Bay Modeling, Tampa Bay Acting, and Florida Modeling Career, will become dedicated marketing platforms for my modeling and talent photography services. My photography company, Aurora PhotoArts, will join forces with my talent resource sites to sell photography services directly from the talent resource web sites.
There are many Tampa photographers who are now upset. Some of you are crying, because you know how popular, and how prominent, these web sites are. I feel for you. Really, I do. Now, if you excuse me, I have your business to attend to. I have to take most of your market share, and I’m really sorry about it.
Over the past few years, many Tampa photographers have expressed that this scenario would be a nightmare for their photography businesses, as it will become impossible to compete against such an array of marketing tools. Well, it’s here. Frankly, I am tired of piddling around, and from now on, will do everything in my power to further the lead that my Tampa photography company enjoys in the Tampa photography services market. To put it bluntly, this is necessary to combat the increase that the Tampa Bay market has seen in modeling and talent scams (although past and present scam-fighting efforts have proven to be very successful, and it has cost Tampa talent scams a lot!). I will take business away from the modeling and talent scams by offering superior, legitimate services.
Hey, guys, if you want to have a business where you market modeling portfolio photography and development services, that is your right, and I would never get in the way of a legitimate business. Hell, I welcome the competition, as it keeps us all on our toes. When you bait and switch aspiring models with the promise of modeling jobs just to sell them overpriced modeling portfolio photography services and modeling portfolios, however, I have a problem with that. So do other professional photographers. It’s dishonest, unethical, and unprofessional! If you are in the business of offering modeling portfolio photography or talent headshot photography, just be up-front and honest about it! It would be cool if certain services were marketed like that, and it would be fair to all of us, including the models who you pitch to.
The modeling job scams must be getting desperate, because there are a ton of ads out there for modeling jobs, and none of them are the real deal. They are like vermin, and there seem to be more and more every day.
What pisses me off are all of the ads for “modeling jobs for major department store fashion shows” with “no experience necessary” on the radio and the modeling job ads in local papers such as the TBT. They are all bullshit! Why? Allow me to explain.

1. No “major department store” is going to book a model with no experience. The model would have to have experience, a full portfolio, professional composite cards, and tear sheets of modeling jobs that they have already done. Don’t believe me? First, learn about how business works, and how businesses minimize risks by investing in professionals. Then, feel free to call up these modeling job scams and have them cite exactly who these “major department stores” are. If they B.S. you and give you the names, call the department stores up. Ask them if they are affiliated with the modeling consultation company advertising the modeling jobs or if they book models from them. Don’t be surprised if they say no, or more probable, they don’t even know who they are!

2. Is the company advertising the modeling jobs a licensed modeling and talent agency? In Florida, you have to be licensed as a talent agency in order to make money by referring (booking) models and talent into jobs. Additionally, if they ARE a licensed modeling and talent agency (and I am not aware of any legitimate modeling agency advertising modeling jobs on the radio), it is ILLEGAL for them to make money by selling models and talent photography services or by splitting fees (obtaining referral fees or kickbacks) from photographers who they refer you to. So, they are a modeling consultant or model management company? Ok, how do they make their money? A modeling consultation or management company can’t make money by referring models (or talent) into those modeling jobs, so just how do they make their money? If they do modeling portfolio photography or model portfolio development, why aren’t they up-front about it? Why do they advertise modeling jobs that they can refer models to if they are not legally able to make money by doing that? Are they going to work for free, out of the goodness of their hearts? I’m sorry, but that’s not the case. If they’re not a modeling job scam, then they do really stupid business if they work for free, and they don’t. Simply because they are still in business. The modeling jobs are only bait so aspiring models can be tricked and manipulated into buying overpriced photography services.
Such deceptive marketing, also known as a deceptive trade practice, is fraud. If they lie to you and mislead you in order to get your business, can you trust them? I wouldn’t!

3. So, they claim that THEY can give you the modeling portfolio and composite cards so you can book the modeling jobs that they are advertising? Don’t believe it. How can you trust anyone who has to mislead you to get your business? Ask them if they are in business to offer models portfolio photography services and modeling portfolio development services, and, if they are, how can they make money referring models into the modeling jobs that they advertised if they are not a licensed modeling and talent agency. Believe me, it takes work to keep up with those job leads and modeling job contacts, and no one is going to do it for free.
Additionally, never pay any more than $600.00 for a six-look modeling portfolio photography session in the Tampa photography market (I’m not giving away rate information, here, either, but I will say that my rates are lower than that). You need at least five looks to start a modeling portfolio (a normal composite card covers five looks). I’ve seen examples where these modeling consultants charge $1,200.00 and more (one was $2,800.00!) for crappy modeling portfolios, and the aspiring model was manipulated into buying it on the promise of modeling jobs which failed to materialize after it was all over! Don’t get scammed!

4. These Tampa modeling consultation and management companies make money from the stupidity and the ignorance of the people who they market to. They advertise modeling jobs that they cannot legally make money referring models to, and are not honest with the fact that they are using modeling jobs as bait to sell models an overpriced service. Why are they overpriced? Well, because many people wise up when they realize that they are being bait and switched, and walk away. To increase their profit margins, they have to charge more to the suckers who fall for their pitch.
Oh, and there must me a lot of idiots out there, too, as it is obvious that they are making sales. When the ads keep running, you know that they are making money. This said, I know for a fact that my talent resource sites, such as Tampa Bay Modeling, are costing these con artists a lot of money. It’s now time to finish them off by taking away their business and, ultimately, putting them out of business.

5. If you must invest in a modeling portfolio, shop around. Compare the photography portfolios of different photographers. Even do it with me. Compare my photography portfolio with the photography portfolios of other Tampa photographers (Now you know why I book the most business)!
None of these modeling consultation businesses or model managers can give you what you need as a professional model, and their work has far less quality and is far more expensive.
Speaking for my own photography work as a professional Tampa photographer, not a single one of them can compete with what I have to offer. I know, because I’ve looked at their work and have heard horror stories. Their work would be amusing if it were not for the fact that they were scamming aspiring models and ripping them off!

For more about this modeling scam, check out Tampa Model Search.

Ok, I know some of you are asking what is the difference between them and me?
First of all, my photography work is much better than anything that they have to offer. I know what I am doing.
Also, I am honest about selling photography services and do not use deceptive marketing to get those sales. That makes me legitimate, and is a big difference.
Sure, I could beat them at their own game by running a modeling scam of my own, and I would be better at it than they are. I am, after all, a modeling and talent scam expert. I would never do that, however. I am honest, and I respect myself and my clients too much to do anything unethical or shady. There is a so-called photographer out there who preaches “integrity” all of the time, and his actions betray his words. He is, by far, the least professional, and the photographer with the least integrity, that I have ever know. He’s “slick”, too. He’ll network with other photographers just to learn from them, steal from them, and take their clients away. He’ll mislead his clients just to make a sale. That’s wrong. I will say that this one photographer is responsible for the most advancements in modeling scam-fighting technology. Studying his cons, and his scams, has actually benefitted models with the resulting modeling scam-fighting technology and modeling scam-fighting tools. He is the perfect modeling scam, and these modeling jobs scams almost, almost have him beat.
You see, I practice what I preach. Unlike the slick con-artist photographer, I actually have integrity, and this has always pissed him off. Not only am I better than he is, but I don’t have to lie, cheat, and steal to make money as a Tampa photographer. He has always hated me for my integrity. I am up-front with what I do. I am a professional photographer, and I don’t mislead anyone to book a shoot. I don’t have to, as my work sells itself, and even if it didn’t, I still would not resort to such shady tactics. If I were an average photographer, or even if I were the worst photographer in the world and found myself starving because I couldn’t sell my photography services, I still wouldn’t do anything unethical or unprofessional to sell what I do. That, my friends, is true integrity. Anyone can be supportive of good causes and a good person when times are good and they have food on the table. Anyone can be charitable when they believe things are going well. It’s when they are down and out, and their back is against the wall, they their true character is revealed.
People, there are a lot of con artists out there. There are a lot of photographers and modeling scams who will trick you into buying their photography services. Educate yourself. Trust your gut instinct. Check their references. Be a smart consumer.

With my photography services being directly marketed through my talent resource sites, it’s not only legitimate, but it will serve to undermine what those modeling job scams are doing. How so? Behold.......

1. No misleading marketing or deceptions are used to sell my photography services. Everyone will know that the talent resource site and my photography business are owned by the same party, so there will be no “we recommend them” misconceptions where they are led to believe that we are two separate parties (there was a time when there were more than one party involved, but this has changed. I now own everything).

2. No bait and switch! There is no obligation for anyone who uses my talent resource sites to pay for anything or to buy my photography services. The information on the sites, and the resources, are available free of charge, with no purchase necessary. I will not be using the promise of a modeling job or the lure of a modeling career to sell modeling portfolio photography services. I’ll be straight-up with what I am selling.

3. The modeling jobs on the modeling job boards and the talent auditions on the talent audition boards will be available free of charge. So, what is this that I said about working for free? Well, in this case, it is killing two birds with one stone. The modeling job boards don’t take a lot of work, and instead of working to give models modeling job leads, the job board is updated by default during the work done on the modeling resources sites in an effort to undermine and fight modeling scams. (Ahem. I will have to explain about the cost-effectiveness of online modeling job boards in more detail, later, but not now, and not on this blog. I’ll post about it on the new Modeling Blog which will be on the re-launched Independent Modeling web site later this week. There are always exceptions to the rule, and the modeling job scams are not the exception).
When I last checked, both Tampa Bay Modeling and Independent Modeling has top search engine results for modeling jobs. This is why I receive a lot of modeling job offers from businesses who are looking for models and who find my sites.
Do the modeling job scams who advertise modeling jobs have the advantage of top modeling resource site? Not at all. For them to work to find modeling job leads, it isn’t cost-effective to do so, and they would have to do too much work for free. In my case, it isn’t that way at all. Oh, and did I mention that there is no obligation to buy anything from me to use the job boards?
Remember my key point: I will offer legitimate, professional alternatives to what these modeling scams claim to offer. I have it all figured out, and I expect an ongoing measure / countermeasure cycle to begin and to never end, although I will always be several steps ahead of them.

WARNING: Tampa modeling job scams out there who are reading this and have the bright idea to find leads on my modeling job boards.
Don’t do it. I’m ready for it.
Besides, here is something to ponder. Think about it. You bait models with modeling jobs, as they are valuable leads and the models are led to believe that they can only find those modeling job leads by buying what you are selling. What happens to the value of something when the market is flooded by less-expensive, or in this case, free things of equal, or better, quality? Well, the value of what you are trying to sell drops and crashes. Your bait becomes less effective, or useless.
Also, what do you suppose that your models will do when they already know where you stole the modeling job lead from, and are trying to sell them information which is already available for free?
These are interesting times. For some, your business nightmare has begun.

Thursday, November 20, 2008 - 8:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Tampa Photography Business Soars

It's been very, very busy this week. It's been so busy, in fact, that it is hard work just keeping up with the inquiries and setting up consultations. I have booked several shoots already, and my cameras will be in use a lot in the coming days and weeks. This increase has nothing to do with my new Tampa Headshots web site, and I'm not entirely sure on what is causing it. I suspect that some of the calls may be attempts at competitors to shop my Tampa photography rates and services ( a few years ago, one local Tampa photographer went so far as to pose as a model and pay for a modeling portfolio photography shoot- well, I did get paid after he gave me a check that bounced, and I withheld his pictures until he drove to Brandon and paid me in cash. I later found out that he was a photographer who was, and still is, attempting to compete with me). Effective immediately, I am operating under new security protocols. At least three people (model / talent friends and other associates) will know where I am going and who I am meeting whenever I set up these consultations, and I will check out / check in with them at specified times (I started doing this last year after dealing with a rather scary person- I had four models checking in with me on that day seeing if I was ok after the meeting). I will keep detailed files on contacts and my schedule, and all my phone records will monitored by a second party (especially after I rerouted all of my business calls to the new client services number, and priority client calls are forwarded to my cell). With negotiations which could be considered to be sensitive, and those would normally not be photography consultations, but rather things like vendor negotiations, I will have at least two people with me at all times- and this includes public appearances. There will be other security measures, too, which I cannot go into in this blog. Safety first, people- I am a professional and I don't do anything wrong. Recent events have demonstrated to me that trust must first be earned, and you have to CYA (Cover Your Ass) so people cannot try to set you up and try to undermine your credibility with sleazy schemes. I'm too important to put at unnecessary risk, and so are my celebrity friends. With an increase of Tampa photography business which will not have anything to do with this weird current trend, screening contacts will be more critical as the number of contacts increase. In my most recent consultations, clients have told me that they had watched some of my television interviews and read many of my online musings. God, I've always disliked unsolicited contacts, but soon that won't be an issue. The trickiest part about unsolicited contacts? Verifying the age of the prospective client. On that thought, the 14 year-old teeny boppers can stop trying to book me. I refuse to even talk to them. If you are underage, and you're serious about booking my photography services, have your parents call me. I get along with parents quite well. Also, even if you are not underage, if you are a college student, I would like to have your parents involved.

Oh, and those of you who block their number from my caller ID can call someone else. I will not talk to anyone who I cannot verify, and neither will anyone else who works on my staff. A few weeks back, during the summer, this one lady called me on a "private" line which did not show up on my caller ID system. She told me that she liked my work and that she was going to book my photography services. After talking to her about the photography services that she was looking for (a modeling portfolio and composite cards) and answering her questions in a ten minute call, I asked her what her name was and she hung up on me. I was not impressed by this unprofessional, and rude, contact, and I used my phone system tracer to trace back the call (yes, I can do things that an average photographer or photography company isn't able to do). Who did she turn out to be? A so-called Tampa photographer who has just shopped me! After researching her Tampa photography business, I learned that she was one of my aspiring competitors. Her photography portfolio didn't have much variety, creativity, composition, or any professional quality. Pathetic. Although I understood why she had been unprofessional with me, I proceeded to forward her information to my photographers and to my modeling and talent network. It seems that they were not too impressed with her, either, and I am sure that she fielded at least a few calls from several models who wasted a lot of her time on the phone and didn't book anything from her. Remember - top models and talent are my friends, and they won't fall for your B.S. because they are too experienced and too smart for that. Well, that's why they are my friends, and aren't yours. The funny thing? Most of my top model and talent friends started out as clients. I guess it pays to be better at photography than other Tampa photographers. You hook professional clients because they recognize the best Tampa photography, and then they find out that you have a hell of a lot more to offer than just excellent photography. I'm also not boring, know a lot about a lot of different things, and get along quite well with professionals who get to know me (despite my arrogant, condescending tone in my blogs that most of you mislead yourselves into believing- could it be that I do this just to piss off the unprofessional, unethical photographers who read my sites? Don't you just love it when you sell yourself short by convincing yourself that you know what the deal is with someone without checking out the facts? Consider this an effective means of filtering out morons).

Professional Tampa photographers, hear me out. Be careful. Weigh out all photography business contacts. Photographers can be scammed, too, and they can become bogged down in business which is not profitable for their photography business. You must qualify your potential clients to make sure that the business contracted is both productive and in your best interest. If you are unsure about the motivations of a contact, it is best to pass on the offer and move on. If you feel that a client is high maintenance or that it will be difficult to fulfil your photography services contract, realize that it won't be a good sale and won't be productive. Sometimes you have to fire your clients. You could simply refer them to your competition; this is something that I do. While my competitors are stressed-out and wasting time sidetracked with the less desirable, issue-laden clients, turning down work because they are tied up, I'm out there booking photography work with clients who are worth what I can give them as a professional Tampa photographer. Hell, when you're not begging, you can be choosy about who you work with. Other Tampa photographers don't have the luxury of choice that I enjoy. Remember that I negotiate from a position of strength. It will always be this was because I am one of the best photographers in Florida, and I am the top professional photographer in Tampa.

If ANY prospective client gives me a hard time or something does not add up, I walk, and don't book the photography business. It is more their loss than it is mine, because I'm not desperate for the business or the money, and even if I was in the position of being in sever need of booking work, which has never happened, I wouldn't compromise my position or allow the situation to influence my judgment. If anyone tries to mislead me or I catch them in a lie, I'll fire them as a client. I'll walk, and I'll smile at the thought of what they will do to my competition- that is, unless they are somehow involved with my competition.

If anyone wants to book another Tampa photographer because you feel that they can match my quality and experience at a lower rate, go for it. Just don't come crying back to me later when you find out the hard way that they cannot do what I can. Oh, and models and talent- don't get on my bad side. In the future, I will have the jobs that you are begging to book, and these things work both ways. I may be selling to you today, but you will be selling to me tomorrow. I remember. I'll remember.

Well, I have to go now. I have to edit some pictures and polish my blogs before starting on my Tampa photographer site, which will tie into this blog and my other Tampa photography blog, tonight. I ought to have that baby launched by next week.

Monday, November 17, 2008 - 3:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Tampa Headshots Aurora PhotoArts Web Site Launched

Oh, yes. My latest web site, the Aurora PhotoArts Tampa Headshots web site, is finally finished, and I just uploaded it to the server. It is now online, and it has officially launched. The Tampa Headshots web site is the third Huey Class web site designed by me through my Tampa advertising agency, Eos MediaArts. It joins its sister Huey Class sites Tampa Photography Society and Tampa Boudoir Photography. I talked to my good friend, Atlanta and Orlando photographer Craig Huey last night, and he exclaimed "Yay!" when I told him that another Huey Class site was about to launch. Efficient little sites, they are proving to be very potent in Internet photography marketing, and are high-performance in SEO numbers (the latest SEO performance numbers on the last Huey Class site, Tampa Boudoir Photography, is 93%, because I used some of my latest enhanced SEO tools when I launched it back in March 2008 - it is ripping up the search engines right now. The first Huey Class site, Tampa Photography Society, is currently pulling a SEO performance of 89%, because it needs some upgrades, but it's still great; it pulls in a lot of web traffic numbers. In comparison, my main photography web site for Aurora PhotoArts pulls in a SEO performance rating of 94%, as it is an advanced Venus Class site. For their smaller size and more compact design, The "Venus-lite" Huey Class sites perform very well. The newest Huey Class site, Tampa Headshots, should pull in the best SEO numbers yet- I'm projecting at least 95% after the search engines index it- Hmmm..... I just checked, and it's already pulling 94%. My estimate wasn't off by much).

I can't wait until some of those no-talent, so-called "Tampa Headshot Photographers" see this site. They are going to freak out, as they cannot compete. I'm not finished, either. I have another Huey Class Tampa photography marketing web site set for launch later this week. This upcoming site is for me as a Tampa photographer, and will tie into all my photography marketing web sites, Tampa Bay Photographers, Tampa Photography Society, and both Tampa photography blogs. After that, I will be upgrading my main Aurora PhotoArts Venus Class web site, and then will be completing and launching my Tampa Advertising Agency web site. So far, everything is proceeding as planned. I'm ready for what's coming in January 2009. Gotta run. I have to update my Tampa Photography Blog now with a post about my Tampa Headshots site launch and the latest on my SEO efforts, and then I have to work on the studio- I have to swap out a computer monitor and rewire a sound system / DJ rig for my Tampa event planning company.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 9:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Rally On Search Engine Placement For Tampa Photographer Services

It's been busy this year. Not so much in doing Tampa photography shoots (at least when compared to my numbers last year), but doing everything else. The modeling sites and television interviews took a lot of work. So did the 50 sites that I own. I've been horribly sidetracked, and I'm paying for it now.
This said, I did good business this year as the top Tampa Photographer. Just not as much as last year, and that's only because I sat back and took business as it came to me instead of working my Tampa photography business like I have the past few years. Just call it my version of taking a break, but as of now, I feel as if I have been Pearl-Harbored, and I am not pleased. As I became complacent, several sleazy, unethical, unprofessional Tampa photographers have snuck up on me, doing things like spamming search engines, and have stolen some of my Tampa photography search engine placement rankings. I am now determined to work hard at restoring my place in the search engines, and will do so without employing any unethical Black Hat SEO, cheating with search engines, or taking shortcuts like these Tampa photographers have. Their web sites hurt my eyes, their photography work is horrible, and their site copy is hard to read because of all of the keywords spammed into them. They do not deserve the search engine rankings that they have obtained through cheating, and I feel that I am the most relevant search engine result for those search inquiries. Those unethical Tampa photographer Jackals are pathetic, and they don't have my respect or the respect of any legitimate professional in the Tampa photography services market. Fortunately, my web site and search engine optimization skills are superior to theirs, and I don't have to take short cuts to beat them in the search engine fight.
Much like the stock market, I've watched my Tampa photography web site traffic take a hit as my search engine placement declined. I'm actually very good at search engine optimization, and of the fifty web sites that I own and maintain, most of them are at the top of most search inquiries. That's good, but sidetracked from photography SEO, it led to a decline which will take me at least three months to reverse.
The irony of all this is my Tampa Photographer Blog and my Tampa Photography Blog are enjoying top search engine results for Tampa photography and Tampa photographer. They both are lead-ins for my Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design business web site, so those lost traffic numbers from search engine are really no loss at all. Did I say that I had decreased web traffic? Well, directly from the search engines, yes, but overall my numbers have skyrocketed due to lead-in web sites and referrals. I just want my search engine numbers back.
When I launched over twenty new web sites earlier this year, my Tampa photography business web site was one of the top results. I had to make some adjustments and use the high rankings to kindle search engine traffic to the new sites. This is now done, but I took a small dive for it. It's now the time to rally those search engine results on the original web sites.
I am fully awake now, and have researched the situation completely. Effective immediately, I will invest 100% of my resources into my Tampa photography web sites. Three new Tampa photography sites will launch this month (All three have been in the works for several months now, and are almost finished!), and existing sites such as the Tampa Photography Society web site and my Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design web site will be overhauled and expanded with fresh content. I audited the Aurora PhotoArts web site over the weekend, and entire sections, such as the online photography portfolio section, are incomplete. The thumbnails have to be replaced, the online photography portfolio format has to be adjusted, and new content has to be added. In twelve weeks, that site will be roaring back to life, and will rightfully dominate search engine rankings just in time for the January 2009 business surge in modeling portfolio photography and model testing services.
Not that we need to have top search engine placement anymore, with the new marketing and sales programs coming online. For me, it'll just be icing on the cake, and will send a message to those aspiring Tampa photographers who are cheating, and taking shortcuts, in their attempts to compete with my Tampa photography company.
The game is over. I'm coming after you guys, and will knock your keyword-spammed sites off the top of the search engine results. As I have stated before, I could care less if their sites come up alongside mine, just as long as my Tampa photography site is seen, too. Once the people compare their work to mine, they will be booking me, and all of them already know this. We already know that the Venus class Aurora PhotoArts web site is the best Tampa photography services marketing web site, too. It's very advanced, has the perfect layout. and needs to be fleshed out and worked instead of idling on the Internet. Behold, the sleeping giant awakes, and it will shred the business of any Tampa photographer who dares to attempt to compete with it. I will not rest until I dominate Tampa photography services marketing in all areas, and save people who are looking for Tampa photography services and Tampa photographers from making the mistake of booking Tampa photographers who cannot give them what I can.
My prediction? That many of these photographers will see our Tampa photography site dominate the search engines in 2009, and will steal ideas from them. It's in their nature, and unprofessional, unethical Tampa photographers are very predictable. You know what, people? If those Tampa photographers steal from us, they will surely steal from you, and will rip you off. That, too, is in their nature, and it is the main reason that they are in business as a so-called Tampa photographer.
Knowing the search engine performance of every single web site that we've pushed this year, search engine domination of our Tampa photography sites are a given. It's never a question of "if", but rather "when". I will state it again, too, that we are in the position where we no longer have to rely upon online marketing solely to book sales. I just want that marketing venue cornered, boxed, and gift-wrapped, as well. Those who try to ignore and dismiss my predictions concerning the search engines don’t have to accept it. They only have to observe, and watch it all unfold. The only reason that my Tampa photography site is not at the top of the search engines right now is because I have been sidetracked with other projects, and have not done much with it in quite a while. This changes now; as of now 100% of my resources will pour into these neglected web sites, and by early next year those efforts will transition to my event planning and stage production sites, as well..... Speaking of updates, I just overhauled the designs of both the Tampa Photography Blog and the Tampa Photographer Blog. I still have to upgrade the meta tags on both blogs and finish some sections with the relevant content. I also have to adjust the Tampa Film Blog, because some of its incomplete directories formatted from the Tampa Photography Blog are showing up on search engine inquiries for Tampa photography, which that blog has nothing to do with (Hmmmm..... But, it could, with some new Tampa photography-relevant additions!).
So, which sites will I launch to support my position as the top Tampa photographer? Can't say- yet. Let it surprise you. Just keep an eye on the search engines, and you can cry when you finally see them in all of their glory (God, I absolutely just adore my photography work.... and so do the clients who other Tampa photographers are trying to market too; I rightfully take photography business away from the other Tampa photographers, and most of them don’t have a clue that I do!). Or, you could be lucky and I might decide to link to them from my Tampa Photographer Blog or my Tampa Photography Blog. They are tops right now in the search engines, after all (I recall booking at least twenty Tampa photography shoots this year alone from people reading my Tampa Photographer Blog and my Tampa Photography Blog. I know this because my clients told me, and they all dig what I have to say about Tampa photography and my Tampa photographer anecdotes).
You have all probably gathered that I’m pissed off about some of the shady things that I have seen Tampa photographers do in 2008. You bet I am, and I am also pissed off on behalf of the people who they are ripping off.
In 2009, Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design will book more Tampa photography work than all of the previous fifteen years that we’ve been in business. How and why, I’ll leave it to you to find out in due time, but even if I published the details of how this will come to pass, there isn’t a damn thing that any of you can do about it. Anyway, Aurora PhotoArts will also directly market from my event planning web sites and dozens of other web sites. Effective this week, those web sites include leading Tampa modeling resource web site Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida modeling resource web site Florida Modeling Career, and Tampa acting resource web site Tampa Bay Acting. All of our affiliated sites will pull their Google ads and will put up marketing exclusively supporting Aurora PhotoArts. They will all have affiliation disclaimers, too, so they anyone responding to these ads will know that Aurora PhotoArts is directly affiliated with these sites so other Tampa photographers cannot accuse us all of deceptive marketing practices. Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career will have ads marketing Tampa modeling portfolio photography and Tampa model testing photography services. Tampa Bay Acting will have ads selling Tampa actor headshot photography services. In the next month, Independent Modeling, Independent Acting, Independent Talent Network, Talent Online Database, Talent Online Auditions, the Tampa Photography Society, Tampa Bay Photographers, and Advanced Model will join them in directly supporting and marketing our Tampa photography services. Tampa photographers can have fun trying to compete against that kind of marketing armada, and they won’t be able to do it!
Hey, those Tampa photographers were expecting some sort of response to the market share that they were stealing. I'm sure that they regret provoking me and my business interests now. This is an all-out business war, and I'm going win it quickly through a coordinated marketing and sales blitzkrieg. Tampa photographers, your nightmare is here. Tampa modeling searches and Tampa modeling portfolio photography scams, I'm looking at you, too! Are you up to the challenge of staying in business?
Anyone in Tampa in the market for Tampa photography services, or who are looking for a professional Tampa photographer, can thank me later. I’m out to set the Tampa photography services straight and make sure that anyone in the market for Tampa photography services obtain what they are looking for. I will also support professional Tampa photographers who I find, because bringing integrity and professionalism to the Tampa photography services market is one of my main goals.
So, how will I support other professional Tampa photographers? What are the details about my business philosophy of collaborative competition? I’ll post more about that soon on my Tampa Photography Blog.
On the subject of the Tampa Photography Blog, I would like to take a moment and clarify the differences between the Tampa Photography Blog, and this blog, The Tampa Photographer Blog. The Tampa Photography Blog is a Tampa photography market-orientated blog where I post as C. A. Passinault. This Tampa Photographer Blog, on the other hand, is a blog that will mainly deal with my photography business and photography session anecdotes, with critical details omitted so other Tampa photographers cannot learn the photography business from the study of my Tampa photography blog.
Glad that I could clear that up. Go away, unethical, unprofessional Tampa photographers and aspiring Tampa photographers. You won’t learn any of my trade secrets here or on any other blog, and you certainly won’t find any of my important ideas to steal for you to gain from. If you are a professional Tampa photographer and I choose to collaborate with you, sure, I’ll do what I can to help you. If you’re a Tampa photographer who takes short cuts, cheats, steals, and takes advantage of people just to make a quick buck at the expense of your clients, you’re best chance of surviving in the Tampa photography services market is to adopt a low profile and stay off my radar. If I find you, and you are doing something wrong, I will take business away from you and will steamroll your photography operation out of business. I have you beat in every way, and after you go out of business, if you were using any quality photography gear, I will be sure to take advantage of the discounted going-out-of-business sale you will have. Your photography gear will be in the hands of a genuine, professional, talented Tampa photographer, and I’ll get the best pictures from that gear that its ever done.
It’s time to deal with this nonsense. Tampa photographers, the game is over. I am coming after your market, your business, and your clients. I am fully mobilizing my resources now, and beginning this week will make substantial progress. I am looking forward to posting details of my progress on the Tampa Photography Blog later this year, and will delight in posting anecdotes from the front lines on this Tampa Photographer Blog.

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Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - 12:25 PM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Tampa Photographer On The Move

It's been an interesting year as the top Tampa photographer (check out my Tampa photography web site for my photography services company, Aurora PhotoArts Tampa photography and design, to see my Tampa photography portfolio). I've simply sat back and booked lots of shoots through clients finding my Tampa photography web site through search engines and then booking me as their photographer of choice. Does it bother me that other Tampa photographers can be found through the search engines? Not at all, as long as they are using ethical and professional business tactics to do so. I still feel, however, that I deserve the top search engine results, and my work towards that goal is proceeding nicely.
I am confident that, as long as my Tampa photography web site is seen along with theirs, that the quality and the value of my long history of doing outstanding photography as the top Tampa photographer will make the choice for the client. They will choose me as their photographer once they compare my photography work to the others.
Honestly, if I were looking for a Tampa photographer as a client, not knowing any more about me than the others, I would choose me as a photographer based on my photography portfolio alone. The hack Tampa photographers in this market simply annoy me, and every Tampa photography shoot that I book makes me smile because it is a photography booking that I am taking away from the wanna-be Tampa photographers who don't deserve to book anything at all. The client also gets photography services that are worth it instead of wasting their time and money with a so-called Tampa photographer who can't get the job done.
I also don't like the so-called Tampa photographers who seem to be in business only to make money and not because they respect the artform of photography. How many Tampa photographers do we see who are merely guys with cameras who are out to make a quick buck, take advantage of their clients, and try to do something with aspiring models which rhymes with that quick buck? How many Tampa photographers do we see who do not have any professional boundaries, and do not know how to segment their markets, and who try to take pictures of naked women or try to turn exotic dancers into models? Some things don't mix, amateurs. Show me a Tampa photographer who will shoot anything and everything, and I will show you a Tampa photographer who doesn't know what they are doing, and who will hurt the careers and the reputation of their clients rather than be a benefit to them. How many times have I seen a Tampa photographer who talks an aspiring model into doing "artistic nudes" as a look for their professional modeling portfolio. Is it any wonder that those models handicap their careers despite any modeling potential that they may have had?
Additionally, if a Tampa photographer is only in business for the money, and don't actually respect or like photography, do you expect them to be around in the future? Can you depend upon them for your Tampa photography services needs if they cash out in the future?
This year, I have sat back and booked clients as they came from my web site. I could afford to be laid back. I have recently come to the conclusion, however, that they only way to put these hack Tampa photographers in their proper place (out of business), and fight modeling photography scams is to compete with them and take their business away from them. I'm a better photographer. My photography portfolio is stronger. I have the ability to take their business away from them, without resorting to underhanded, shady tactics, because I am the better deal as a Tampa photographer. Not that I would ever consider using shady tactics, either, as I have integrity and could not live with myself if I ever misled or was dishonest with anyone.
I am proud of my photography work as the top Tampa photographer. I love what I do, and am well compensated by satisfied Tampa photography services clients for the work that I love and respect. My clients also know that I respect them, too, as many refer others to me and some have even become my friends (two models / actresses who started out as actor headshot photography clients, Sarah Bray and Harmony Oswald, come to mind, among others).
No longer will I sit around an let work come to me. It is time top become aggressive in marketing and sales. I have had a sales agenda that I have been sitting on for the past nine months. It is time to implement it, and once it begins, I will no longer depend solely on search engines and referrals. There is a saying that you only get out of something what you put into it. It is time to work on expanding my status as the top Tampa photographer and becoming one of the top photographers in the country.
Why have I delayed my sales and marketing efforts for so long? I've been tied up with Tampa modeling web sites (Tampa Bay Modeling) and doing television interviews. There are more television interviews on the way, of course, but they are not my priority right now. Tampa photography services marketing and sales are.
The Tampa photography services market belongs to me. Soon, this will be an indisputable fact to those Tampa photographers who aspire (er.. try) to compete with me. I would especially love to see the looks on their faces when my television marketing begins.
Although owning the Tampa photography services market is a given, and it is well deserved, there is something that I would like to see more than anything. I would like to see a Tampa photography services market worthy of my respect, with qualified, competing professional Tampa photographers who I can respect. Perhaps that should be my dream, because right now it is simply a dream, and is not reality. If that came to pass, however, I would be happy, as people would be able to, if not through my company, obtain the professional Tampa photography services that they deserve.
Well, that's it for now. I have work to do. You may also wish to check out my latest entry in my Tampa Film Blog (I took all the photographs on that web site, too). I will be very busy in the coming weeks and won't have much time to blog or to update web sites, although I do intend to make the time to update my main C. A. Passinault Blog.

Monday, June 30, 2008 - 11:29 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Tampa Photographer Keyword Spam?

Grrrrrrr.... I've been so busy with television interviews and working on modeling resource web sites that my SEO efforts for my photography company have been on the back burner for months. Many of my web sites enjoy top search engine results. My Aurora PhotoArts web site, which is designed for top search engine performance and is the most advanced photography services marketing web site our of any that I have seen, has been idling, and I haven't been able to push it yet. Search engine results for that site have been ok, but there are a lot of so-called photographers and wedding photographers spamming the crap out of search engines and PAYING for search engine results. Once I can put some effort into my Aurora PhotoArts photography site, this shouldn't be a problem. Right now, however, I am tied up with modeling web sites, and the sloppy, half-ass efforts of these Tampa photographers is annoying me. I've invested far more than they have, and yet they seem to be enjoying more returns for minimal work than they should be.

Perhaps it is because they are using black-hat tactics and are spamming the web sites with repetitive keywords. I have been accused of doing this in the past, but as I grew and learned what I was doing (and began to allow Google to advertise on my web sites), I had to clean up my act. Still, it's annoying to fumble around on some Tampa photographer's web site and read "your Tampa portrait photographer" this, "your Tampa wedding photographer" that, and "your Tampa headshot photographer", etc, in the site copy and crammed into single paragraphs! The copy is obviously written to spam keyword counts on the search engines and not to benefit the human readers, as the copy is poorly written and is hard to read with all of the repetitive "Tampa", "photographer", and "photography" keywords dropped every other word. It's like "Hey, I is a writer! I be using this here word processing to write about Tampa photography and Tampa photography advice for the Tampa people looking for a Tampa photographer, and I be dropping Tampa and Photography words every chance I gets". Jeez. There is this one "crummy" photographer who did not show up anywhere on the search engines a few months ago and who is now a top offender. Reading his site hurts my eyes, and I have never seen such a rape of the words "Tampa" and "photographer" ever (oh, and my models, who really dislike your work, and I have reported your site to the search engines for keyword abuse, by the way). I have learned, however, by studying his site just how tolerant that search engines are of such abuse, and how using a freebie blog account owned by a top search engine can bump up search engine results even when they are not the most relevant for the search terms entered. This guy has obviously looked at my search engine dominance and is gunning for me. He is now on my radar. My friend, model and actress Sarah Bray, told me yesterday that she constantly see's all of my sites are the top of her search engine results. I told her that it was not enough. I want it all. I deserve it all. She agreed (keep in mind that Sarah and I met four years ago when she was a photography client of mine paying me for her actor headshot photography. We've been friends ever since). Another thing that annoys me is that I paid good money for this domain name and spent a lot of time coding meta tags, which the freebie blogs don't have or support. This is the most relevant web site for those keywords! I suppose that the search engines don't work like they are supposed to, have sold out, and play favorites. Well, like a good game of chess, I will match their moves and continue with advanced moves of my own.

You wait. Just wait. I am almost done with my modeling and talent web site work (which all have top search engine performance, by the way). I haven't had a chance to do anything with my Tampa photography web site- yet. Anyway, I am a professional writer. I am able to write better and much more than anyone else in this market. I don't have to spam search engines with keywords, cut corners, or CHEAT to be successful (does cutting corners and cheating apply to their work as a Tampa photographer, as well?). I also have a web site which absolutely kicks butt (why no one has tried to rip off the design surprises me, but I am convinced this will happen once the true potential and the power of the web site is realized). My Tampa photography web site IS THE most RELEVANT search result for any Tampa photography or Tampa photographer search inquiry, and I will not rest until these low-rent hacks are put in their proper place and I get the search results that I deserve. Look at the search engine results for my modeling and talent sites, and you will see the future of what is coming for my Tampa photography site. I am going to kick their butt in this search engine fight and take their market share from them. For people to settle for what they have to offer sells the people short, and is a tragedy. Looks like I have a new project. I will have to save people who are looking for a Tampa photographer from the ones who cannot do what I can do for them. The main reason? Because I really do love photography and I really care about my clients and future clients. Some of these photographers are in for a big surprise when I go to work against them. By this fall, many of them will notice that the real deal is dealing with them.

Ah, yes, and I have a freebie blog mirror supplement to this Tampa Photographer Blog; check it out at Tampa Photographer Blog. I figure that I will begin by matching their lame tactics and then ramping up with my own.

Sunday, May 4, 2008 - 3:36 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault

Tampa Photographer Blog Launched

It had to happen. My Tampa Photography Blog split into two separate photography blogs which will serve as one large binary blog separated into two categories. This new blog will retain the original Tampa Photography Blog design and will focus on my photographer anecdotes and adventures. The original Tampa Photography Blog will focus on the Tampa photography services industry and my opinions regarding the photography industry. I will post more shortly, and update the header. Here, I will post as Chris Passinault. At the original Tampa Photography blog, I will post as C. A. Passinault.

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Related Blogs by Chris Passinault, AKA C. A. Passinault:

C. A. Passinault Blog (The main, official blog for Chris Passinault under his professional name)

Tampa Film Blog

Frontier Society - Tampa Bay Film - Tampa Film Blog - Tampa Indie Film - Tampa Bay Modeling - Tampa Bay Acting - Tampa Bay Talent - Tampa Production Jobs - Tampa Talent Scams - Talent Online Database - Tampa Photography - Tampa Events - Tampa Stage - Tampa Productions - Orlando Convention Photographer - Orlando Tradeshow Photographer - Passinault - Atlanta Photography - Orlando Photography - Tampa Sports Photography - Tampa Event Photography - Atlanta Photographer - Orlando Photographer - Tampa Sports Photographer - Tampa Event Photographer

Scroll Class web site blog by Tampa Advertising Agency Eos MediaArts. Tampa Photography Blog online 02/28/08.

Tampa Photography Blog Web Site index refreshed: 08/13/08. 01/21/10.

The Tampa Photography Blog covers, but is not limited to, the following Tampa Bay and Florida markets:

Tampa, Ybor City, Hyde Park, Westshore, Apollo Beach, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Saint Pete (St Petersburg), Palm Harbour, Brandon, Plant City, Lakeland, Orlando, Winter Park, Sarasota, Bradenton, Daytona Beach, Miami, Miami Beach, South Beach, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Key West, and Palm Springs.

Tampa Photography Blog Disclaimer

The views and the opinions shared on this blog are those of the author and are not neccessarily those of Aurora PhotoArts Tampa Bay photography and design or any other party. Presented as-is, with no guarantees expressed or implied. Informational use only. Tampa photographer Chris Passinault is not legally liable for the content on this web site blog, and use of any content waives him from liability. Anyone using the content on this site or attempting anything described on this site assumes all legal and civil liability. Please be familiar with with your local laws before using this site. Information on the Tampa Photography Blog is not to be taken as legal advice or advice which may be covered under any licensed or regulated profession. Opinions expressed on this web site are those of the individual contributor and may not be shared by other contributors, models, photographers, or businesses who may be involved with this web site or our online community.
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