editing yesterday's shoot

my shoot yesterday with vocalist extrordinaire vernon bush was fantastic! i just made my first pass of editing and i have a lot of strong hero-shot candidates. i'm excited to do my next editing passes and get cracking on my retouching. i'll post a note when they go up on my site in the next couple of weeks.

the smugmug event was a hit

thanks everyone for coming out to my talk yesterday for the san francisco smugmug group. there was a big turnout and i got tons of positive feedback about my presentation. there were lots of insightful questions asked and i got to share a lot about my own career path as well as talk about photography business and marketing. if you missed it, don't forget that i do consultations for photographers in which i'll talk to you about anything you want! thanks to gustavo for inviting me out and to joey for running the night so smoothly. also thanks to doyle who took and tweeted the above photo.

shooting galore

i have a big week ahead: 4 personal shoots! yay! i'm shooting tomorrow and next monday-wednesday. each day is a different model and concept. i'm very excited to have lots of new work in my book before i go to nyc!

my first shoot with the new camera

last week i did my first real shoot with my new camera. it was yummy in more ways than one because not only did i get to relish my camera, i was shooting my assistant and chef, eric webster which left my kitchen smelling delish. the shoot was lovely and i think our images came out great. check back on eric's website soon to see the contact-page images we shot together.

video learning 101

in the last 24hrs i've come to seriously love lynda.com. so far i've been through this lesson for video basics and i have my sights set on this one to learn final cut express in the next couple of days. i already feel like i have a much better grasp on video than i did 3hrs ago!

don't become a truck driver

"my primary objectives right now are to breath and survive. i’m at that point, 3 years in, when most sane people get out. it’s the true test, are you crazy enough to go forward when a brontosaurus-sized neon sign is flashing “ABORT NOW – BECOME A TRUCK DRIVER!” as photographer, keith carter, says, “you have to learn to embrace a life of uncertainty.” so i gotta breathe in. stay the course. surviving the photo industry is one part vision, one part business and all heart."

thanks to photo coleslaw for this amazing piece of wisdom. very well said.

i'm speaking at the next sf smugmug event!

come listen to me talk about my work, my business plan and my marketing at the next san francisco smugmug event:

when: tuesday january 26, 6:30pm
where: sports basement 1590 bryant street... how to find us "meet me in the "grotto" on the 1st/bike floor"
rsvp here 

overview of my talk:
Photographer Lisa Wiseman will discuss how her career and her unique style of quiet portraiture has emerged over the last few years. She will talk about how to staying true to her vision while embracing creative marketing and solid business practices have played heavily into her success and will finish with an open question and answer session about marketing and business related issues.

"hi, my name is everest and i'm a learning curve"

with the wonderful addition of the 5DMKII to my life, i've just completed the circuit and have now installed apple's final cut express for video editing.  i know woefully little about motion so i'm officially entering a very steep video learning curve.

if you can please be a tad patient and give me a moment (ah-hem, a few weeks) to get myself very-very-quickly up to speed on how to shoot/edit/deliver video, i have a cool motion-based project planned which i hope to be on my way toward starting soon. updates to follow.

consultations for photographers

due to many requests, i am now available for personalized consultations for photographers!

i will cover any topic you are interested in talking about! no topic is off limits. let me help you get a jump start or a fresh perspective on your career by sharing my knowledge and experiences.

i am most often asked about the following:

- marketing and business strategies
- promotional pieces
- portfolio or website reviews
- website redesigns or design help
- social/new media training (i.e. "how do i use twitter?")
- using social media to your advantage (i.e. "why do facebook/linkedin/etc. matter to me?")
- advanced retouching - must be in person
- software training (photoshop, lightroom, etc.) - must be in person
- shooting on location
- using natural lighting to your best advantage
- location scouting
- transitioning from assisting to shooting
- what to know when you're starting out
- is art school for me? how do i choose one?

please email or call me at 415-999-6145 to schedule a consultation.

$100/hr by phone
$120/hr in person, in san francisco
$80/hr by video chat
1 hour minimum

i am available for retouching and software training anywhere in the bay area, travel fees may apply

i'm on sfgirlbybay!

check me out today on one of my favorite blogs: sfgirlbybay. it's a post featuring personal back-stories of three of my favorite photographs.

the powerhouse behind sfgirlbybay is victoria. she was so delightful and amazingly generous as i met her borrowing her magazine-worthy apartment for a recent shoot. i've come to have an even greater appreciation for her stellar taste and i'm flattered to have my work on her site. please have a look :)

take a little part of me home!

i'm finally selling my fine art prints online at the beholder! the beholder is a truly rad site and i'm thrilled to be in the company of wonderful artists such as catherine ledner, aya brackett and arielle sandler. the beholder was founded by a wonderful graphic designer, suzanne shade. i feel very lucky to be part of the group!

nyc here i come & how to travel with gear

nyc here i come!

i'll be saying hi to my east coast clients, friends and the cold/wet weather on february 27... unless of course you or someone you know wants to hire me and send me there sooner! i'm being proactive this year so i purchased my ticket well in advance. i'm going earlier than my usual march/april trip to show my book because i'm so jazzed about all my new work and i can't wait to get back there. i'll brave the weather just to have my h&h bagels early. mmm.

this leads me to an announcement: i recently got a canon 5dmkII!!! video here i come! this yummy camera prompted me to finally address my issue of long needing a bigger camera bag. combine this with knowing that i'll be packing for nyc in 8 short weeks plus happilly stumbling on a rad @chasejarvis tweet/post this evening about how to pack camera gear for travel makes me a fortuitously happy girl. the video is below and it's fantastic. pay attention to 7:15. you can find the super-amazing tsa.gov referenced document here. make sure to print it the next time you travel!

soo... if you have one of the following three cases:

lowepro proroller x200
tamrac 692
or the tenba roadie large

and want to work out a trade for my awesome tamrac 697 case let me know. or if you just want to buy it let me know. mine is in great shape.