I began taking photographs as a hobby as a pre-teen and have loved photography to this day. Over the years I learned that my passion was photographing people. Other photography didn’t interest me as much as working with a live subject did. I worked with a small agency in the 70’s, helping aspiring models portfolios.

I take my photography seriously and expect professionalism from the people I photograph. They expect the same from me. I have never done anything to make a model uncomfortable with the photography process or with me and never will.

I freely admit that I prefer photographing females. I enjoy conversation with my subjects/models, finding out about their likes and dislikes, anything they are willing to talk about. This conversation serves to bring us closer together as a team. That's what a successful photo session requires, two or more people working toward a common goal, excellent photographic images.

I'm asked from time to time what I charge for a photo session. I'm not a professional photographer; I make my living in the technology field. Photography is my avocation rather than my vocation. I would only charge a client to photograph a large event or, perhaps family portraits. Normally I consider my compensation for photography to be the enjoyment of the process, meeting fun people and adding to my portfolio.

Just because I don't ask for payment doesn't mean I'm going to use a smart-phone for snapshots. I use a professional grade digital SLR with multiple choices of lighting and lenses as needed. I provide my subjects/models with CDs or DVDs of the images at little or no charge. I have invested in software and hardware that enables me to do many of the things to images that the true professionals do.

I try to not let a photo session get too serious. I'll crack a joke here; make a flippant comment there, anything to keep the mood light and friendly. I'll show the model a few images from time to time so she can get an idea of how the session is going. I encourage my models to "wing it" and "get silly"€ to lighten the mood and dispel tension. I like to think that my sessions are fun for the both of us. The bottom line is that I enjoy photo sessions and want my subject to enjoy them as much as I do. Models are under no pressure to go any farther than they are comfortable with. They can wear street clothes, a party dress, lingerie or nothing at all. I may suggest removing clothing items, but never insist. The model makes the decisions on what she will or will not do.

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