Each and every day I am developing new skills & habits that are transforming into the person I most want to be. Each and every day I am committed to take risks that are about things I never knew or tried before. You can change who are what you are by just changing what goes into your mind. Objects in motion tend to remain in motion and objects at rest tend to remain at rest, are you moving or standing still. Are you moving in the direction of your goals & dreams? The beginning of every journey begins with the first step.
Losers resign their selves to an unsatisfying job and unproductive work habits, unhappy personal relationships. The fear of risk always blocks the possibility of success & fulfillment. Winners are always stretching their potential and seeking new innovations. As people get older and stuck in their habits they forget the excitement of experimentation and discovering new things. They therefore limit new growth and opportunities. They start to buy into a someday I’ll mindset of boredom & unhappiness. They forget how to best use the precious commodity of time. It’s your own responsibility not to squander and waste your time.
Everyone is given all their talents and all their potential at the time of their birth it is up to them to discover these gifts while they are alive. Michelangelo once told a group of people who were in awe of his sculptures that the subject was there in its original form all the time … all he did was cut away the excess. What ware you suppose to be at the end of your life? What talents do you have hidden below the surface? How much wealth & happiness are you entitled to?
Just remember the road to failure is littered with missed opportunities; whereas the road to success is paved with daily action. Opportunity never knows because it’s always inside of us.
Teddy Roosevelt once said “ Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs though checkered with failure , than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much or suffer much because they live in that grey twilight that knows neither victory or defeat.”
What ever you believe to be true in your mind becomes reality. It seems that our outside life is always in harmony with our belief system. What ever we think is going to happen to us usually does. However we start our day usually continues and our attitude about our job is a fulfilling prophecy. Your job is to first begin to work on yourself until you build a stronger better model. You must be unshakable in your attitude. Would you like to have more money... then why don’t you? Instead of listing your favorite excuses try setting new goals and discover new growth solutions. It seems that successful people are very clear about what they believe in. They do not compromise and they do not waiver from the course they set for themselves. Their values & beliefs are always expressed in their actions. Life is a war against negativity and lack of confidence. Winning does not always go to the fastest and the boldest but the person who perseveres step by step, challenge by challenge, success by success. The person who wins in the long run is the person who believes he can. The one who believes there is a divine spark in him that will allow him to accomplish anything in life he sets his mind on.
Everyday we must jump out of bed and eagerly look forward to moving our experiences to help us fulfill the dreams & goals we have. We can look forward to the people we will meet and the things we will learn to become stronger more successful individuals. We must be thankful for the gifts & skills we have and are developing. We pay a heavy price for are fear of failure because it causes a constant reduction of our personality and retards personal growth. Failure is an opportunity for new growth and discovery. To keep growing you must risk new failure. The only people who never fail are the people who never grow. You always become what ever you set out to become. Some people are always worried that someone will laugh at them. You need a “who cares “mind set. Once you succeed in learning what skills create your success … its’ you who has the last laugh. Success & prosperity just don’t happen … they are a state of mind.
Your wealth already exists it is just waiting for you to see it and claim it. For more information callGary R. Miller248-350-1550… The believing Company
PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE PROBLEM SOLVERS
A few years ago I received a call from Boston , a young lady was about to be married and needed a wedding photographer. She had one problem ... she got into a car crash & half of her face was paralyzed and she hated her smile. When ever she looked in the mirror she saw a distorted expression, she then felt terrible. She got my name from a relative and was told I could work magic. I set up a practice session which we put her mouth in every position possible. We both chose the perfect smile.. one that she liked & one that she could easily do.
Needless to say she loved her album, her parents loved their album, the grooms parents loved their album, and the grandparents loved their album. Everyone lived happily ever after. Just remember you can get anything in life you want if you can help enough people in life get what they want.
Another time I received a call from a neurologist asking if I took passport pictures. After explaining that we didn't she demanded I do hers. I offered to do a portrait session with a white background. " Why do you want me to take your passport photo", I asked. She went on to tell me she was going to go on a 25th wedding anniversary cruise with her husband. Moreover, she had never taken a decent picture in her life and didn't want to pull out a terrible passport photo , where she looked " like a monster , in every port. I invited her into the studio for a practice session and saw how she sabotaged every picture. I walked her through different facial expressions & different body language until her true personality came through. Her passport portrait matched her 24x30 wall portrait... and she lived happily ever after. All problems can be solved by asking the correct questions.
Many people have asked me how I ever chose the professional of photography. My answer is that it chose me. From the earliest age , I could not read well nor write well. I was terrible at sports , which made me the last person picked at gym class. This did 't do much for giving me the idea that I was going to be a great success. Self esteem was not something I had much of ... there were many days & nights full of tears. At the age of 12 years old I was sitting in my homeroom class when a counselor from the high school came to help us plot our future. I was informed that I had the freedom of choice to pick an elective and photography seemed to jump off the page. It seemed that photography was something that I could do. While I was barely passing my academic classes ... I was excelling in my photography class. There was freedom of expression in the assignment of photographing a cute girl, who would have never talked to me if there was not a camera in front of my face. Talk to the young lady, light the young lady, learn studio lighting, outdoor lighting,pictures in bright light, pictures in shade. I was obsessed to find the special beauty in every person that stepped in front of my lens. The better I made my subjects look , the more people that talked to me. Math, History, English , Science, & gym were disasters.. could I ever get my brain to be normal.
After 4 years of high school I photographed many sweet 16s, portraits, senior pictures, and many weddings. Being the best was all I could think about. I sought out some of the top legends in the photographic industry. I went to their studios and they shared it all with me. Funny, I found out that the bigger the persons reputation the more he would share with me.
Now it's time to enter college and pick a real career . I thought if I teach elementary school, I should be smarter than most 4th & 5th graders. I love animals so I'll teach elementary science. I filled my room with snakes, lizards, guinea pigs, hamsters, frogs,toads , land turtles, water turtles, . The photographs of the kids and the animals they related to filled the room. Now the students self esteem was raised seeing how brave they were holding a 5 foot boa constrictor. Communication , friendship, and rapport broke down many barriers. This tool of photography was opening many closed doors.
Most of the people I grew up with were on track to be doctors, lawyers, accountants, judges... could I survive as a low life photographer? What would my parents say? what would my friends say? Would any decent woman marry a poor photographer? How could I survive? How would I face the world? How do you get to Carnegie Hall asked the student ... practice, practice, practice.
I've been a professional photographer for over 40 years. People are always asking me whats better digital photography or film.I tell them that with film once you bought 8 or 9 of the best cameras in the world with the best Zeiss lenses you were set for life. Next you would surround yourself with the best retouchers both negative and print along with a photo lab. Next you need to develop your talents in lighting , posing, communication soo you could create the best product possible. Film was forgiving and the softness of its' nature would hide peoples imperfections. The retouchers would do the rest. The lab would determine if a print would appear light or dark or cold or warm. Different lab people would give you different results... you were never consistant.
Now I am the artist, the retoucher, the person who does it all. After each session I sit with my clients and we determine how skinny they want to look, how young their skin should appear, and what imperfections they want changed. Today photographers are in total control of their product. Those who fluff off their responsibility and just turn over a raw disc are cheating their clients. Being at the top of new technology separates the professional from the amateur. We place many 30x40 wall portraits in our clients homes. Bigger is better when you look so good. Some people have opted for our deluxe 4 foot x 6 foot wal portrait to really relive the experience of the day with their family.
It is a pleasure to see the delight your clients experience while the retouching is taking place right before their very own eyes. Men usally start of saying" I am what I am no retouching is needed. As the years and the imperfections melt away their excitement builds and the challenge is on. " How good can I look?" They leave the studio floating on a cloud.
So even though I am chained to my computer, with digital photography & I could play all day with film... the results with digital are the best in the world, when you know what you are doing and you are an expert in the newest technology.
The art of communication begins with an idea. People come to a professional photographer because of different reasons. Some want to look sexy, some just plain beautiful, some want to look wise, others powerful. The job of a real artist is to find out what is in the mind of the client and accomplish all of their goals. If they come in without a goal you must create one together.
Women are more meticulous than men... they have their hair & make up professionally done and their cloths are neat & on hangers ... unwrinkled. Men need more coaching. Power ties, colored shirts, dark suits, fitted shirts & jackets that can be buttoned.
Lighting can make you slimmer or heavier. It can straighten out a crooked nose. Angle can make you seem bigger or smaller. Posing can create warmth, power , attentiveness, or you seemingly being aloof. Expression conveys you being warm, silly, mean, or harsh.
Retouching can polish up the person, whiten eyes and teeth, reduce bags, take away drooping necks. Real pros fix clothing to make it look custom fitted, raise shirt collars& ties, reduce bulges in backs, necks, & shoulders. We straighten the hunched, push in the tummies, slim the arms ... and uncover the beauty that is hidden.
We are the fairy g-d fathers who with a wave of our magic wand create the perfect picture ... stating the perfect message. Snap , snap, snap will take an eternity to get you to your goal. Only a true professional will ask you the correct questions and deliver to you the right product.
I bought the perfect dress. I had the perfect groom. The church was just perfect. I had the best florist. My bridesmaids & their dresses looked like movie stars. The make up was flawless. The band was unbelievable. Everyone had a great time. I bought & hired the best of everything. The food & drinks never stopped flowing, There were different things going on in every part of the reception at every moment. My day was filled up from early morning to way past midnight. I had no time to pose for pictures with an old fashion photographer... like my parents hired for their occasions. I hired a young energetic photographer who promised me she would snap 3000 images of everything that was happening on my special day. She said I will shoot your back, your shoes, your matches, your glasses , your flowers, the top of your cake, your rings.. everything that she felt was important. I'll tilt the camera , be creative... cut the top of you head off. I'll shoot you running, jumping, whirling & twirling.. Your book will look nothing like your parents album. You know my book looked nothing like my parents book. My dress was wrinkled, my veil was chopped off. The train that I paid so much for was in a ball. My nose looked big. My arms looked fat, my stomach stuck out. There was no detail in my dress & I had a triple chin. The color was drab the focus was soft and things were growing out of peoples heads. There were no family pictures, formal portraits. There were no pictures of my extended family & no groups of my close friends. There were hundred of pictures of my back, my shoes, my ring, my flowers , the top of my cake, and part of my face but I did save money and I have all the files. I still don't know what to do with these 1000s of files... who can make sense of them??? I should have hired and worked with the old fashion photographer.
Horses are 1200 pounds of power. They are very skiddish for being so big & powerful. You are basically controlling these huge turbines with your thumb & your forefinger. You eventually become one with the horse over a couple of years... like Pan ... your legs melt into their body. You become sensitive to thier world and they become sensitive to your communication. You only have to turn your waist left or right & they begin to turn. If they get nervous... your calmness says everything is alright. The same is true with people in front of a camera... they are full of fear & doubts about their self image. Your calmness assures them that they are ok. As they become more confident the pictures become more alive & they reveal more of their real essence. That is why I take pictures tethered to a computer where I can share good results with my clients and build rapport & energy. The pictures take on a sparkle and an aliveness ..this is called the Miller Formula. Therefore being sensitive & aware of the person in front of the camera and guiding them throughout their session makes them feel & look more comfortable and therefore the results are more than the subject ever imagined.
Most young brides are attracted to a seemingly new style of photography called photojournalism. Its really exciting when they are looking a photographers samples of brides & grooms running, jumping, & spinning. They love the untraditional look of backs, cut off heads, freedom, tilted cameras and complete emotion. After their own wedding day disappears and all they have are thier wedding photos ... they now are asking themselves... where are my grand parents? Why is my train in a ball? Where are my family portraits? Why is my nose crooked and why do I have 3 chins? Are my arms too fat? Why is a plant growing out of my head. Am I really that fat? I didn't see all those pimples. What do I have to do to make up my own album? Why can't I get my color right? Why didn't you take me & my friends ? Where do I get an album?Can I get more retouching? Whose going to design my album ?
Its' a little late after the fact. Picking the right photographer who will walk you through your day and deliver the perfect wedding Album is most important. Here at Gary R. Miller Photography we specializing in making all of your dreams com true.. Give us a call at 248-350-1550..
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