For The Pro's
Enjoy - and THANK YOU to Daniel for sending me these!
eliesa
Q: How do you choose/hire your employees and assistants?
A: I'm a HUGE believer that certain people come into your life for a reason! Every single person I have brought onto the Photogen Inc team has been a very natural transition. When I met Brandon, he had never shot a person in his life - I LOVED that and hired him immediately, because I didn't want to hire anyone who had a pre-conceived notion of 'what photography was suppose to be' - especially when it came to weddings!
For Cadence, I remember we were walking around the lakes last summer and talking about photography and her passion to pursue it more and I was like....DUH! Why don't you assist me? Why haven't we discovered this before?
With Liz, Brandon introduced me to her at an art gallery and after 5 minutes, I knew she would be a bigger part of the Photogen Inc team.
Every choice I have made with the company has been and easy and obvious answer - and the way I always want my business to be run!
Q: After meeting you and your team in Las Vegas, I couldn't help but notice your chemistry! How can I connect with my assistants like that?
A: Have FUN! There is obviously a certain level of expectation for my assistants and I expect them to go above and beyond that! I take my assistants very seriously! They are so talented and so amazing - and I realize their potential! I try to take the time to critique their work (though I should be better at this - it's one of my goals!), have yearly reviews and set goals! Overall though, we have amazing shooting chemistry because we have great relationships! It makes all the difference!
Q: Does Brandon have a girlfriend?
A: NO LADIES! HE IS SINGLE!!
Q:Do you advertise?
A: Nope! I've been too busy to advertise! Sometimes the thought crosses my mind as to 'What if? How would that effect things?' But overall, I feel that by getting published (which is usually a monthly basis) is the best exposure I could ask for! People are seeing my true work, in many different ways and not just an advertisement. Not saying that I won't EVER advertise, but for now I like being the hidden gem!
Q: How do you get such correct exposures in direct sunlight?
A: Easy. Seriously! Many photographers are scared to bring their subjects into direct sunlight - and it definitely takes practice! There is no magic exposure, but go ahead and try test shooting! Remember to bring your ISO all the way down and your shutter speed all the way up! Also, remember to watch the shadows - the sun is like a big spot light!
Q: Can I come along to shadow you? Can you help me with pricing?
A: I can not even BEGIN to tell you all of the requests I have had for other photographers to shadow, observe and assist me! It's a little humbling, because I am not a technical shooter - and again I feel like I am invited into people's worlds and I just get to hang out, play and take photos everyday! We will be setting up a program for photographers who want to learn more from Photogen Inc in the future!
Hopefully this helps! Have a fabulous week everyone!
eliesa
The event took place at the Uppercut Boxing Gym and was put on by Metro Magazine!Our team assembled at 8 am (and we didn't go on until 10pm!) to begin running through hair, makeup, styles and test shoots!!!
First off - a HUGE and ENORMOUS Thank-You to my team! Brandon, Micah, Gabi, Trevor, Christian and Colin - THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! You all brought so much creativity and passion to this event, I couldn't have done it without you all!
The clothes we used for FFN3 were sponsored by Humble Fashion and Belle Reve Boutique!
We BROUGHT the competition and ROCKED the event - and WON!
Colin joined our team last minute (literally the morning of!) and I am SOOOO happy he did! He absolutely brought the energy we needed and was amazing to work with - and the perfect addition to complete my DREAM TEAM!
Also, for all of you reality-show-lovers, Colin will be making his debut THIS TUESDAY on Bravo's Make Me a Supermodel!!! CHECK HIM OUT!
Here are some behind-the-scenes images from our prep!
The place was SOLD OUT with 800 attendees!!!
My awesome friend Olivia took these photos of our team in action!!!
Round 1: Gangster - and YES - That is a TOMMY GUN!
Round 2: SEX BOMB!
Round 3: White Trash Wedding!
Thank you once again to all of the fans who came out to support Team Photogen Inc and I last night! The energy was AMAZING!!! We have some AWESOME footage from the event that should be up soon so those of you who didn't make it can experience it!
ROCK ON!
eliesa
It was a long day - models, hair and makeup showed up to the hotel at 3am, but it was TOTALLY worth it! We were also able to experiment with outdoor studio lighting in direct sunlight vs natural ambient light!
Many photographers joined me and it was a fabulous excuse to try out new techniques!
A HUUUUGE thank-you once again to all of the photographers, models and talent who joined me on this shoot! We had an amazing time!!!
eliesa
While we were in town, we had the pleasure of catching up with Jenny and Reed who's wedding B-Funk and I shot this past season!
Jason Domingues of Domingues Photography
Lisa Robbins of Lisa Robbins Photography and Blu Domain
Jeffrey Lawler of JNP Studios
Dalisa Cooper of ALTF
Jennifer Longaway of Jennifer Longaway Photography
Paula Luna of Luna Photo
My new best friend - Sarah and Chris Rhoads
Cesar and Tanya Perez of Perez Photo
And my fabulous new friend Brooke Schwab of Brooke Schwab Photography
eliesa
Today we had a full on photoshoot with some FABULOUS photographers...more images from that to come!
Right now, I need a nap! :0)
The UBER fabulous Jason Armond!
I won! I won! One of my competition prints received the highest rating in the 'Awards of Excellence!' - SO. FUCKING. AWESOME!!!
A BIIIIIGGGGG group of us out for dinner!
Our days in Vegas have only begun! More photos to come!
eliesa
This year, we are celebrating a fabulous year by taking the entire Photogen Inc crew out to Vegas! This week is going to be filled with scoping out the new hot products, seeing old friend, meeting new ones, shooting some OH-SO-FABULOUS images and...PARTIES!!!
If YOU will be in Vegas and want to meet up with Photogen Inc or simply see what we are doing: FOLLOW ELIESA'S TWITTER!!!
This week is bound to be BRILLIANT - stay tuned for MANY photos!!!
If you need anything, please e-mail me at eliesa@photogen-inc.com
eliesa
Brandon's Images:
Ryan's Images:
Eli's Images:
Cadence's Images:
The Crew!
Enjoy!
eliesa
WOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! FASHION FIGHT NIGHT 3 is coming up and I am soooooo excited!!! We had our first team meeting last night and it is going to ROCK! We have some killer plans for this year, so make sure and BUY YOUR TICKETS!!
What is FASHION FIGHT NIGHT?
It is a LIVE photo COMPETITION between 6 of the TOP PHOTOGRAPHERS in the Twin Cities! The shindig is put on by Metro Magazine and the energy is AMAZING! The battles take place in 2 boxing rings and our photos are shown STRAIGHT out of camera for the judges to see!
The best part - proceeds from your tickets go to the LEAD Foundation, which is a SUPER awesome charity!
I will be defending my title from last year and it is going to be INSANE how much my team and I are going to BRING IT! Check out photos from last year!!
The event is scheduled to sell out, and I would LOVE to see all of my FANS there!!
SO BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!
The UBER cool 
