25th Annual PDN Self-Promotion Award

Its been a crazy couple months. Besides an influx of work, there has been an influx of awards which have fallen into my lap. The most recent one is this year's PDN Self-Promotion award (third place)!! Out on news stands now. Needless to say i'm thrilled and very surprised. In years past, looking at the winning promotions, i thought to myself: "pfft! Way out of my league!!" Most every photographer or organization that won had been in business for a while and able to throw a whopping load of cash on their beautiful promotions. Behold, i snuck one in there with less than two years in business and a budget under $200!!

The idea behind the video was to show my ability to direct models, photograph a cohesive story, show my process and incorporate multi media/video into my work. More and more, clients are expecting photographers to shoot both print and broadcast versions of their ads or editorials. With my background in film production and editing, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to incorporate motion into my work.

So what is a self-promotion and why give awards for it? well, in the very competitive and crowded field of photography, taking a good photograph isn't enough to garner work. To get the attention of art directors, art buyers, creative directors and photo editors, it has become increasingly important to deliver a cohesive presentation that is memorable, effective and showcases the photographer's brand. Or so i believe!! Some photographers team up with a creative group to strategize and deliver unique promotions and their results are nothing short of stunning.

Not having the budget to do the traditional promotions, i turned to viral marketing. But there was also something more personal that i needed to face: i'd never ever shown out takes and unedited work. Ever! This was a chance for me to break that bad habit and build my own confidence in the work i do and how i go about it. Thats where the idea came from and it looks like it has paid off.

Some very deserved credits are due here: Playing the parts and modeling are Giselle Raposo and Femi Olagoke. Laura Dominguez assisted with lighting and everything else on the set. The music is by the Afro-Celts Sound System.

So go pick up a copy of this month's PDN and check out the amazing work of other photographers. An online gallery will also be posted soon, and i will update you on it soon.