A Rant for Photography Assistants

Alright…I’m angry!

I kept saying that if I heard of another story of how a photography assistant was taken advantage of then I would just pop!  OMG!  I used to assist so whenever I hear about an assistant being mistreated I cant help but to feel their frustration.

Photographers, times have changed since when YOU were a photography assistant… if you were ever an assistant.  Now, I am only talking about the good photography assistants here, not the newbies looking for experience or just getting into it.  Nor am I talking about the photography assistants who plain suck and have no common sense or have no idea what “work” means.  That’s a whole other blog!

Photography does not have a union to keep things on track or set rates but PLEASE, photographers REALLY!  $225 for a commercial job is not the going rate and stop telling photography assistants that there is no such thing as over time.  There IS overtime for photography assistants in our industry AND overtime is anything over 10 hours AND it includes lunch!  Why are you nickle and dimming?

Also, why am I also hearing that you don’t know anyone who pays for drive time on far away shoots?  If you were to ask a photography assistant to work with your budget and offer to see if there is room at the end of the job, that would be one thing, but to basically laugh in their faces or talk down to them…what!?  That is the issue.

Why would you not pay your assistant fairly for the hard work that they do?  Photography assistants are such a vital support to the success of your shoot.  Do you not know that?  Why short change them!?!

Oh, and just in case you have forgotten from your days of photo assisting, assistants talk.  They talk about the good.  They talk about the bad.  They talk about how best to assist you, that you prefer tea over coffee or that you drink diet cokes all day long, or that you drive a stick shift and better learn quick or let ’em know!

If you start running out of quality photography assistants to call on don’t be surprised on why.

For the assistants out there reading this…know what your worth and don’t be afraid to ask for it.  Be firm but know when to compromise.

There is obviously a sliding scale on jobs because of budgets.  Assistants get that.  Photographers have over head.  Assistants get that, too.  Treat them with respect and you will have the best support on your shoot.  Most photography assistants WANT to work and what’s even more awesome is that they WANT to work for YOU!  They believe in what you do and are thrilled to be apart of your process and your vision.  Don’t short change them.

Dani
(vetren photography assistant)

Riza and Ryan

Dear Blog…Wow!
As I get deeper and deeper into June the good times keep coming and I feel my relationships with friends, family, my man, and community grow stronger!

This past weekend Tony and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate the union of our friends/cousins Riza and Ryan.  For me, this was wedding 2 of 5 for 2012.  From the minute we dropped the car off at long term parking…it was on!  Literally non-stop all weekend and even now, back home, I rolled right into a week an a half job retouching for Williams Sonoma!

My favorite part of any wedding ceremony is watching the groom as he fixes his eyes on his bride as she walks down the isle.  You can just feel the enormity of his love for his bride.  I always cry…and this wedding was no different!

Another great highlight was finally getting to listen to Riza sing.  She sang two songs that night, one solo and the second a duet with her husband.  Amazing!  There was also a dance performance by a few kids from the  family.  AND!  Guess who caught the bouquet toss?!?!  Oh, Oh!  We even had time during the trip to ride the New York, New York roller coaster, go to the “Old Las Vegas” downtown,  AAAAAND go to Gold & Silver Pawn Shop from the show Pawn Stars!  As I said earlier, things just kept going, the fun building and love growing!

This week I will be preparing for my performance at the Alcove Theater happening this Sunday and lastly, getting back into the grove of my workout routine.  It even looks like I will get to start promoting my new website soon as well!  Cant wait for that!  Then, wedding #3 in NY is only a week and a half away and then we will be in to July already.  CRAZY!

I am loving the month of June!

xoxo,

Dani

The Good Life Gets Fit!

HELLO!

So, I keep talking about all the amazing things that are happening this month but haven’t really told you more than that!  Ha!  I promise, you will get the dish.  For now though, let us talk about this one event happening, uh, TONIGHT!
As you know, I have become an ambassador for Fit Approach.  For the past month I have been planning an event with the Fit Approach ladies and the day has arrived!  We have lots in store!
The idea of throwing this event brought a lot of people together.  Its not just the Fit Approach and the Good Life crew coming together, it has also brought a pretty dynamic group of photo/video peeps who liked the idea of creating original content that will be projected on the wall the night of the event.

We shot for 2 days.  1 runner.  1 Yogi.  Here is a teaser video from one of our shoot days: http://youtu.be/pqlSOO__fOM

So here it is…THIS ALL HAPPENS TONIGHT, Wednesday June 13th from 9 until close at Laszlo.  The Good Life gets fit with the Fit Approach crew!  Great tunes, awesome vids, most excellent drinks, and GOOD TIMES. There will also be all sorts of *FREE* schwag and a super duper PINK drink menu.

Laszlo: 2526 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA

Come out tonight and “Sweat Pink” with me!
Dani

Kristy Got HITCHED!

There are a lot of amazing things happening this month however, the most important happened this past weekend.  One of my best friends got married!
Red eye to Atlanta, coffee break, breakfast, nap, fill up on allergy meds and sunscreen, then my other besty, Christina, and I were on the road to beautiful North Carolina!  When I say beautiful…I really do mean beautiful!

ATL…6:30AM!!!

Coffee Break!

Breakfast time!

On our way to NC!

Beautiful North Carolina!

Once we checked in to our room at Harrah’s it took no time for us to get involved in the wedding festivities. Christina and I were bridesmaids and Kristy’s daughter, Tyra, was her lovely maid of honor.
The Chapel was intimate and as Kristy walked down the aisle you could hear everyone gasp and whisper about how beautiful she looked.  Christina and I high-fived each other, discreetly of course, about our awesome hair and makeup skills.  The best part was when Mark saw her for the first time.  He had the biggest smile on his face and simply said, “Gorgeous.”

The End!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

xo,

Dani

Message.

Have a great day!

Dani

June 1rst

Well hello, June!

You really made an entrance!  You didn’t waste any time getting started with lovingly sending me on a mini adventure with Tony  to the Metreon for the 12:01AM showing of Moonrise Kingdom.  I loved the kids in the movie and the color pallet throughout.  Cute, fun movie!
I think I remember looking at the clock and it was 2am.  Next thing I knew, my alarm was singing me awake at 7am to get up and ready to shoot the video project I am working on with Ellis Au and Marc Virata.
We had a very ambitious shot list for our runner story but our crew and talent did an amazing job making it happen.  I really enjoy being a part of team and I have to say… this is a great team. So great that I am bummed we didn’t end the day with some crazy awesome high five action because of how well we work together!

Watch AWESOME high five action here : HIGH FIVE

Anyway… as I write this I am feeling the day finally catch up to me so I must end here.  Cant wait to see what else you have for me, June.  Its already great and its only the first day!

Good night,

Dani

May Awesomeness!

I don’t really know where to start!  May has definitely been an exciting and busy month!  As the month closes, I look back on what I have accomplished and am beside myself.
I have been doing a lot of preparation work this month.  I have been practicing my songs everyday for my performance June 24^th at the Alcove Theater, preparing my Dani Vox marketing strategy for June, working on my character voices, and location scouting and storyboarding for a short video I am producing and directing with my colleagues, Ellis Au and Marc Virata, for an event I am hosting with The Good Life, Presenting Fit Approach, June 13^th!  That’s a mouth full!

Yes, LOTS in the pipeline for June!  With everything in the works for next month I am sure I will blow May right out of the water!  Did I mention the 3 weddings I am going to?  NC, NV, and NY!  Yup!  All out of state.  I am still trying to figure out which dress I should wear to each wedding!

Back to May…The biggest accomplishment for me this month was to perform my lines as Claire Foster for the independent film Refuge.  I wasn’t nervous until I had arrived at the location where my scene was to be shot.  It was like all of my senses had decided to turn the dial all the way up and concentrate in my legs!  Weird!  I was cold but I was sweating, and I just could not drink enough water.

My nerves slowly died down after watching a few takes of the actress before me and more so, after sitting in hair and make-up.  Time became an issue by the time my scene needed to be filmed but by then I had worked out most of my weird nerves and was trying not to let the pressure of “time” get to me.
Once in front of the camera and time to perform, it was like I was no longer myself.  It was like my brain automatically turned off and I was outside myself as I spoke my lines.  In a way it was freeing.  Anyone who has a mind that seems to be “on” at all times knows how freeing it is when you stumble upon a moment of that beautiful, thoughtless, quiet.
Apparently I knocked it out of the park on my first take!  We did 2 more for good measure, a few takes from a different angle and that was it.  I am still on the performance high!
I can’t wait for my next opportunity to be on-camera!  Who knows…it could be a matter of days!  Wink, Wink!

Thanks for stopping by!

Dani

mom.

My beautiful mom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sister, brother and me.

Happy Mothers Day, Mommy!

❤

Dani

Lessons in Balance

A week ago I wrote a blog about trying to figure out how to “Fit It All In”.  At that time I had felt overwhelmed with what seemed like an endless list of “TO DO’s”.  As one line item was crossed off the list another would soon be added and I wondered how I was ever going to accomplish everything I needed and wanted to get done?  This was an all to familiar feeling for me.  My stomach sank as I started to think back on the days of when all I did was work, until, that is, I became sick and had to put my career on hold.

As an entrepreneur it can be overwhelming to fit work, health & fitness, and quality time with friends, family, and boyfriend.  Not to mention the much needed “ME” time that we all tend to put on the back burner.  So how do you find balance when you run your own business, want to stay healthy, and also maintain your sanity by adding “ME” time or an occasional Manhattan with a few of your closets buds???

I am a retoucher and photographer transitioning into a career as a voice over artist, actress and singer.  (which means I am doing all of the above!)  I have also taken on the privilege of being a Sweat Pink Ambassador for Fit Approach contributing to their blog, creating my own Sweat Pink competitions and give aways with the mission to inspire others to take on a healthy lifestyle.  I am also taking an intensive acting & singing class with Faith Prince and Natasha Burr, I am working on songs for a show I am doing in conjunction with Monique Mallicoat’s class at the Alcove Theatre in June, working on my lines for my scene in the independent film, Refuge, and creating new voices for my characters demo that I would love to create within the next month or so.  Hmmm, yeah.  See what I mean?  While this new path is an exciting one with lots of fun “work” to do, it could be easy to burn out if you don’t watch out.
So, back to the question, how do I find balance while accomplishing my goals?  Last week I got super organized and created a schedule with blocks of time for each project, workout and hang/rest time.  I blogged about my schedule and goals Monday-Friday.

This turned out to be a pretty great excersize for me.  I learned a lot about myself and what balance really is to me by creating this schedule and writing about it.  Here is what I learned:

Visual Record…

After looking back on all of my blogs from this past week I have learned that keeping a visual record of what I do or need to do, has opened me up to really see.  Not just to see what I need to do and how long I have to do it in but really see the world around me right down to where my shift in moods come from, why I am tired, or in contrast, have so much energy!

Balance…

Through this personal project I have learned that balance is organic.  Balance is relative.  Some days its a fitness/9-5/hang time with your friends kind of a day, while other days are no fitness/nose to the grind until its time for bed kind of a day!  Balance is about knowing when to GO and when to SLOW DOWN.  Remembering to eat on those long work days, knowing when to take on a challenge or hanging back because your plate is just too full at the moment.
I can see that keeping these things in mind at all times will help me to maintain and feel balanced even in this crazy entrepreneurial world I live in. Everyday is different for me. Working out when I can, getting plenty of sleep, eating healthy, surrounding myself with positive people, doing work I love to do, supporting causes I believe in, inspiring others, and putting out as much love as I possibly can…doing these things balances my scale whether it is one thing one day or ten the next.

Wow…thanks for following me this week.  Its been an eye opener.

Dani

Thursday/Friday Goals

Thursday and Friday went by so fast its pretty much a blur.  BUT I did say I would post my goals for each of the days last week in order to figure out how to fit everything in while maintaining some sort of balance.

Thursday
6:00-7:00am              work out
Ended up not getting up to work out because of the lack of sleep from the night before.
7:00-8:30am               Get ready for work
Ended up sleeping in until 7:30!  But I still managed to still do the Green Smoothie Challenge.
-Green Smoothie Challenge
Spinach, Hemp Seeds, Cocont Water, Strawberries, Yogurt, Fennel, Kale, lemon
8:45-5:45pm               Work with William Sonoma
Work lasted a little longer than usual.  As  a freelancer within the photography industry you really don’t know what your schedule is going to be like.  Today was one of those wild card days.  Ended up leaving by 6:30.  Not bad, but it did make me late for my next appointment.
6:00-8:30pm               Monique: Songs for Showcase, Run Lines, Give her cd
Since I was late getting off of work I was late meeting Monique for our practice session.  By the time I had arrived at her place it was closer to 7.  Ended up that we both had a long day and were in need of a break.  We breaked for dinner and then went back to her place to practice my songs and run my lines for the movie, Refuge, I am going to be filmed in later this month.
9:00pm                       Hang with Tony
The goal was to be home by 9.  Ended up being 11:00.  No hang time.  Just. Bed.

And finally…

Friday
6:00-7:00am              work out
Nope.  I slept in.
7:00-8:30am               Get ready for work
Actually….I slept in until 10 and did not do the Green Smoothie Challenge.
9:00-6:00pm               Work on personal work from home
Hmmmm… Ended up meeting some out of town friends for brunch and did some shopping.  Home around 2 to take a nap.  Felt exhausted all day!
6:00-?                           Start of out of town friends bachelorette party!  Wo-whoo!
Safe to say that this happened.  :o)

As you can see, I did not complete all of my goals for the week.  I did, however, manage to make everything up on Saturday so I don’t feel so bad.   I think a recap is in order… stay tuned for the next blog.

Dani