Tuesday, October 27, 2015

One New Everyday Girl - Illyanna

President Calvin Coolidge said a powerful quote about persistence. You definitely will want to go online and search for it. It was patience and persistence that led me up to shooting with beautiful, everyday girl Ms Venus, after one year. And because she had a friend who appeared on my radar as quickly as she disappeared from it, I had to double my patience and persistence. Ultimately, it was what allowed me to shoot our newest everyday girl Illyanna.

The first time I saw Illyanna's picture, she wore a floral dress with flats. Oh, how I wanted to experience her flats! Unfortunately, as with Ms Venus, she was not leaving her location. I didn't give up until I had to when her page and picture disappeared. So the day finally came when I was able to get Ms Venus to come, and she loved the shoot. She loved it so much that she told me she had a friend who was interested. Ms Venus showed me a previous friend who I didn't want to shoot. I let her know the type of girl I wanted, and then brought up the girl I once saw on her page. Its been so long that she forgot. But then she told me she had a friend who fit what I wanted. When she sent over the picture, I was floored that it was the same girl in the flats! After going over the clothes and shoes details, she sent pictures of the shoes she had. Let me tell you, Illyanna loves heels and sneakers! She has a collection that resembles the one Mariah Carey has in her closet! Unfortunately, she didn't have any flats. You are probably wondering how that is possible when you consider how much girls love shoes. One...its possible she threw them away. I've requested girls to wear the same flats I saw them wear when I met them. Only to find out they threw them away. Two...she may have left them at previous living/staying place, or put them in storage. As much as I wanted her in flats, her number of alternative choices more than made up for it.

I requested Illyanna to wear her stinkiest pair of sneakers with no socks on the drive to me. She did just that and brought along all the other shoes and clothes I requested. That went a long way in my book because even girls I shot before forget things. Here I had a new girl, and she didn't miss a thing! Illyanna definitely is a unique girl because all the shoes she brought smelled like a Trinidadian or Indian restaurant! Even her stinky sneakers smelled like curried food. But they left a different odor on her feet when she took them off to shoot. And what a shoot she did! I had Ms Venus do a quick video before I shot with Illyanna. And it was almost as if she wanted to outdo what she saw us do. No complaints about that here. But there was a major one I had. Ms Venus brought her baby son with her, and didn't let me know. He was quiet at first, but later, added some background vocals which I had to mute in the videos. Illyanna and I both held back because of the baby, as did Ms Venus and I. Had he not been in the equation, it would've been no holds barred.

We all had a really good shoot, but it could've been infinitely better if it were just us three. Girls have done that to me more than I care to mention. The age ranges were from a few months old, up to prekindergarten. Lots of noise, and lots of whining about wanting to have their pictures taken too. And 9 times out of 10, they will not tell you they are going to turn the shoot into a daycare. One did, and I told her to find a sitter, reschedule, or don't bother coming. Obviously, they know if they can get the child there, and we can't shoot, I will still compensate them in some way. That has to stop! I don't have the money to be a philanthropist!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

One New Everyday Girl - Ms Venus

Fans...I've really been off my game for months. And I don't meant just a few, I mean lots of them! Please don't think I hadn't tried...because I had. But it seemed things are off with me, my delivery, or maybe its me using my original business cards instead of new ones [I ran out of them]. More on that later.... Its October, and I'm still hitting the Internet for girls who would be down for a foot fetish shoot. One beauty appeared on my radar approximately one year ago in November to be exact. This girl, I simply had to shoot. Her pictures were fantastic! Each time I saw her updated page, she looked hotter and hotter. She even posted pictures with her feet showing, and even one with her hands posed with her feet. So not only was she hot, she had amazing arches. I text and called, but she wasn't doing anything away from her location. One time I reached her, she said she would come do the shoot. Unfortunately, she flaked. Persistently, I kept trying, just to stay visible, so to speak. Then finally, it happened. She updated her info, and said she would travel. That was how I finally got to meet our newest everyday girl Ms Venus.

After getting only one reply from my old cards, and it went down the tank when the girl's older sister who was a stripper, escort, or both, got involved. She wanted to shoot too, and insisted on up front payment. The moment she called me from a blocked number, I knew the conversation wouldn't go well. Too bad...the girl had on a pair of very stinky looking black, crochet flats when I met her. I went to shop for new cards. One place had a staff member who said my card couldn't be done with the images I placed on CD. So I went back to the company which printed my new cards, but it was no longer at the same location. Furthermore, I only got a voicemail when I called the number on the door, and it didn't mention a new location. So I decided to try something totally new, and gave VistaPrint a second look. At first, it seemed like a daunting task for me to create the design online instead of in person the way I usually do. But after a few minutes, I got the hang of it and placed my order. The amount was half that of the brick and mortar company I used to get glossy cards! So once they arrive, I will see if they make a difference. It usually helps when your card reflects how serious you take what you do. I will couple that with my modified approach techniques and openers. And I have to exchange info, or at least push for it.

Alright, but to our newest everyday girl. Ms Venus was a really cool, laid back girl. She even sent me pictures of the shoes she had, which she could bring to the shoot. I remember each time we spoke by phone, she sounded out of it. But I found that was just the way she talked. She had an incredible smile, and super long, auburn hair. Usually, I go over the shoot again if I haven't spoken with someone for a while about it. But I had a good feeling about everything, so I explained the parts of the shoot as we went along. She loved the shoot, and immediately asked if she could see the pictures afterward. Ms Venus was pretty darn phenomenal, and had really steady hands when I handed her the camera for some video from her POV. Needless to say, we both enjoyed the shoot, and can't wait to do another sometime!