Ian Curcio

Nothing to see here, just showing some personal work shot and edited with the new iPhone4.

Last fall I posted a blog on five must-have photo apps for the iPhone, at the time I was using an iPhone 3G. I’m still currently using those five apps as my go-to photo apps, so naturally when I received my iPhone4 last month I wasted no time taking pictures with it and running all the photos through some or all of those apps.

I can’t speak for anyone else using an iPhone4 but I’ve been happy with mine.

Posted by Ian at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a long and winding road trying to decide where we wanted to set up our home base on this crazy adventure of being a self-employed editorial and commercial photographer. Without the safety net of a staff position we wanted to be sure we were making the best choice for us as a whole. In the end, we decided to set up our camp in the Upstate of South Carolina. Centered in the middle of Asheville NC, Charleston SC, Charlotte NC and Atlanta GA. After all, this is where our friends and families are.

So…

We've been breaking in the new studio space for the past few days. Located at 12 Rutherford Road in Greenville SC, close to downtown it's 1800 square feet, has 14-foot ceilings, and comes with two bathrooms and a dressing room. Having the space will allow us to start building sets, work when it's raining and have a place to educate and be educated. It gets us out of the coffee shops for meetings and gives us an opportunity to create our work under a controlled environment.

The above shots are from a white-seamless set up we did over the weekend with a few Upstate film and theater actors. With the exception of that last droid, that's yours truly.

Interested in a Studio Tour? email info(at)iancurcio(dot)com

Posted by Ian at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Getting big portraits with little gear isn't as hard as you might think it is. You need a little imagination, that's all. The above image took all of 5 minutes to set up and execute. It was about 5pm, a 100 degrees and we were in the backyard. The below image shows the simple set up, a "28" Westcott softbox", "AlienBee 1600", a "Vagabond" and a box of instant mashed potatoes. It was also shot with a circa 1977 manual focus "105mm 2.5" lens that cost me about $100.

Posted by Ian at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's tough times out there. No one will argue that statement, especially not a working photographer. Jobs are far and few in-between and competition is in full swing. I shoot more assignments nowadays were I'm standing next to a soccer mom or Nascar dad with a Nikon D3 and an SB-900 hanging around his or her neck then ever before. As an old newspaper photographer I used to gaffer the name on my cameras so I wouldn’t draw attention to the professional equipment I was using. I'm still doing that today but not for the same reasons.

I poke fun but the situation is a serious one. The old "don’t take $200 assignments" truism is a painful one. As professionals and even the professionals-in-the-making we have to educate or clients and future clients on the value of great photography.

Photography is not much different that anything else out there. You have your Mazda and then you have your Mazarati. There are buyers for both. If you give your client a Mazarati for the price of a Mazda, you're not only hurting yourself but you are hurting your industry. Know how to turn down a job. We simply can’t shoot a $2000 job for $200. It doesn't matter how badly we need to pay rent.

Posted by Ian at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm a big fan of using lights. I think understanding how and when to setup strobes gives you an advantage over the photographers who do not. It gives you more options and when you need to be visually creative, having and understanding your options is a valuable tool. It also gives you control; there is something to be said for being able to walk into a situation and owning it because you understand how to light it.

But not all assignments are going to require you to light them; some are going to require a different set of skills. Skills like remaining calm while being at the mercy of variables you cannot control and being able to wait patiently for the perfect shot.

While on an editorial assignment last month, it took me two days to get these two shots while it really only took me a few seconds to shoot each one. It was the prep work and waiting that took so long. Waiting for the rain to stop, waiting of the sun to be in the right location, hoping the wind would stop blowing, these were all variable that I could not control. That car you see in the bottom picture, I had to wait for that, there was no big production. Just me and a camera. The skyline shot, I asked forgivness later and not permission first as I scouted out and climbed random rooftops in Charlotte's South End to get that picture. It took patience.

Posted by Ian at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had a great group of people come out for the lighting workshop in Charlotte this past weekend. We kicked it on the streets of Uptown for about 9 hours before calling it a day. A big shout out to Anthony and Sarah for hanging out and modeling for us while we explored different lighting techniques and to the security guard who simply looked the other way and didn’t bother hassling us.

Posted by Ian at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Before I made the transition from cushy-staff-position photographer to freelance photographer, I had to ask myself the question, what type of photographer am I? When we think about photography as a vocation; there are generally three types of photographers.




There is the Commercial Photographer; they make images to promote a product, person or idea. Think of Commercial photography as print advertising, billboards, annual reports or product packaging.

Then there is the Editorial Photographer; they create images to educate or illustrate a written story. Think of editorial photography as images used to help tell stories in magazines, newspapers, on-line news or textbooks.

Last you have the Retail Photographer; photos that are commissioned for personal use. Think of retail photography as weddings, family portraits, greeting cards or school portraits.

I had a general idea of where I stood but I wanted to research the types of photographers to get a better idea of exactly where I fell in this long chain of photographer types. I think you'll find that many of these descriptions overlap and you might be one or more at the end of the day.

What type of photographer are you? Get the full list after the jump and feel free to add to it via the comments.

Continue reading "What type of photographer are you?" »

Posted by Ian at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I travel the country I have a deep interest in photographing structures. Sometimes these are iconic structures and I’m photographing them for a magazine, which is a bonus because I'm getting paid. Sometimes I'm on vacation and I'm dragging my family around waiting for the perfect light, that's how these images were made.

The idea is to get something different than the mass images that are already out there. The Brooklyn Bridge has been around since 1883, it connects Brooklyn to Manhattan and has been photographed from every direction by almost every photographer living in or visiting the area. What could I do that was different? I knew before heading to NYC that I would only be there for one day. I was visiting family in Philadelphia for the New Year and only had a small window of opportunity. The first thing I did in my research was check the weather. I needed sunshine or at least a sunset, no clouds. We picked our day visiting the city based on this factor. I knew I wanted something with no people and saturated color. I also knew I wanted to get close, for me the skyline was not important, I wanted to focus on the bridge itself.

Here are the two shots I came home with. Shot with a Canon G10 in 4 degree weather.

Posted by Ian at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m heading up to Philadelphia and NYC over the Holidays and I wanted to share what I plan on taking with me.

You can get some pretty amazing photographs with a minor amount of inexpensive gear these days. Outside of using my iPhone, which I do often, I travel with my Domke F-5XA bag, Canon G10, (1) Nikon SB-28s, (1) Nikon SB-80, a Nikon SC-17 sync cord and a handful of filters. The key here is carrying the right gear and this little package offers complete control. The G10 can operate in full manual, a must if you want to use strobes. The SC-17 sync cord and the Nikon SB-28 allow me to get the first flash off the camera and the SB-80 slaves allowing me control of the second light. I can get a folding 6-foot-light stand and a 33-inch umbrella in my suitcase and it still fits in the overhead on the plane. This entire setup takes up about as much room as a pair of shoes.

Shot with the Canon G10:

Also shot with the G10

Los Angeles - Signs

Disney Concert Hall

Venice Beach

Posted by Ian at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I show people images that I've made with my iPhone, I'm always asked, "what apps are you using?" Today I thought that I would share five that are in my heavy rotation. Each of these apps hold their own, but sometimes I find that I’ll run an image through three or more before posting it online or even printing it.

Photogene was the very first photo app I bought for my iPhone. Short of having a clone tool, it's very much like having Photoshop on your phone. My favorite features include crop, straighten/rotation, sharpen, levels, contrast, exposure, color balance and saturation, but it has many more. For the power behind this app, it was easy to lay down $2.99 for it.





The second photo app that found its way onto my iPhone was CameraBag. With filters like Helga, Colorcross, Lolo, 1974, 1962, Magazine and Instant, this app is a must if you like toy cameras and/or a fun vintage feel. It’s fast and simple to use and a great introduction into processing with iPhone apps. I recommend that if you only get one photo app, you spend the $1.99 on this one.





I was using Photogene and Camerbag on a regular basis when I was turned on to Photo fx. Photo fx has way too many features to go over in this review but it was the Center Spot and Grain filters that sold me on it. However you'll find plenty of other uses for this app. It must have at least 100 filters packed into it, ranging everywhere from black and white filters to old photo filters, filters that change the lens perspective to filters that change, night vision, fog, color graduations, the list just goes on and on. You can even upgrade this app for more filters and options. It’s another $2.99 app but I couldn’t imagine not having it.





TiltShift Generator is shortchanged in my opinion; a fantastic app that seems to be overlooked all the time. Its prime function for me is using it very much like a tilt-shift lens, being creative with selective focus. But it also has a powerful vignette filter and a great color filter allowing you control over saturation, brightness and contrast. For $0.99 you really can't afford not to have this tool in your iPhone Photo Bag.





Last on my list and used almost every time I process an image, is Best Camera. Find the app here and its community Web site here. This app has several stackable filters that can turn the worst of images into something you want to share with the world. It’s a romantic app with filter names like Jewel, Paris, Slate and Candy, it also allows you to add vignette, crops and borders. While I highly recommend this app and will easily call it one of my favorites, I must admit that I wish it allowed a little more user control on some of its features. Another $2.99 app that I don't think I could live without.

Find me chatting for 6:40 mintues about iPhone Photos here.

Follow my daily iPhone Photos - here

Posted by Ian at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)