- Lenny -'s photostream

"i photoshop, therefore i art"
- me
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if you'd like to use my photos, please contact me first for permission, unless you're with city pages in minneapolis... city pages does not today, nor will it ever, have my permission to use any of my images after reading this article.
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i've been getting a few emails about my copyright watermark on my photos. for those of you who sent me the nastier emails: wah... quit crying. it's really not my fault you can't see past a watermark. i feel sorry for you.

for the rest of you (including those of you who don't like the fact that it's there, but weren't NEARLY as rude and childish): in early 2008, i was told that one of my photos had been stolen. it was one of minh, and it was up on a porn site. in no uncertain language, i told them to take the photo down, and within hours, they did. then, a few months later, it happened again, only with a different photo and a different site. this time though, the excuse was more of a copout... "i have assistants building my website and i didn't know and yadda yadda yadda". whatever.

so i started doing the watermark. and since then, as far as i know, not a single one of my photos has been stolen.

i put the watermark right on top of the 'meat' of the image on purpose. i do it not so much to protect me, but to protect the people who spend their time and/or money to shoot with me. and i encourage you to do it.

added on 6/10/2009:
i'm not saying i told you so, but...
and
i'm still not saying i told you so
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new for 2009... there's a group designed to help you get better at designing, planning and taking photos: Shot a Day. basically, you set up your shot (configure your camera, set up your lights, etc), take a photo, then post it. regardless of how it looks... bad lighting, blinking model, wrong pose, whatever... post it. eventually, you'll be able to take the right photo the first time, every time.

sound like fun? join up today!

if you're in minneapolis/st. paul, check out these groups:

Minneapolis/St. Paul Models and Photographers
Minneapolis/St. Paul Sports Photographers

just a guy with a brand new used camera...

----- 9/13/2008:
prints for sale at: ImageKind

----- 8/13/2008:
i've been getting asked more often recently why i don't have a blog. up until today, the answer was that i didn't really need one. but i've been getting quite a few emails asking me how i set up certain shots. so i created a blog, and it can be found at http://lennygarza.blogspot.com/

i'm not a pro, i don't play one on tv, and i'm sure the things i go over aren't original, but if you're curious how i set up certain shots, that's where i'll explain it all.

----- 7/20/2008:
you've probably noticed that i've started watermarking my photos with a copyright notice. this is in response to TWO of my images being used without my permission (that i know of) and one recent instance of another photographer's image being used without her permissiong (the response was swift, nasty and probably career-ending).

so if you like my work and would like to use one (or more) of my photos, i'd be ECSTATIC to license one for your use.


----- december 2007:
so here's the deal: in the last few weeks, i've had many discussions with more than a few people on the best way to get some of my pictures into explore, and i've decided on my path.

some have suggested the 'scratch my back, i'll scratch yours' method, which basically means 'comment on mine and i'll comment on yours (and maybe get my friends to comment on yours too if you get your friends to comment on mine)'. others have suggested posting to various groups. yet others have suggested 'sneakier' ways of driving traffic to your pictures (linking to your pics in an outside blog or starting discussions asking for advice, then including links back to your stream, etc).

i'm not saying any particular method is wrong or bad, or even good or right, but the scratch my back and i'll scratch yours doesn't work for me because i'm not getting honest opinions about my photos. if i comment on someone's photos and they comment on mine in return, how will i ever know my photos are any good? and how can i say i know what i'm talking about if all i do is comment on someone's photos with an expectation they'll comment on mine?

the sneaky method also doesn't work for me because again, i won't get honest views. if i 'trick' someone into looking at my photos, i can't be sure they're looking at them because they WANT to.

don't get the wrong idea... i'm not bashing the methods i didn't choose. if you're using one of them and it's working for you, that's great! it's just not right for me.

so i'm doing what i think IS right for me... i'm posting to groups. if anyone sees them and likes them and comments on them, i think i can probably say they did it because the image struck them in some way... it's an honest opinion of what they thought.

and ultimately, that's what i'm looking for... honest opinions. so if i comment on your work, please don't think you have to comment on mine. if i leave a comment, it's because i wanted to.

and if you feel like commenting on my pictures, that's awesome, please do! tell me what you think. tell me how you'd fix any problems you see. tell me how you'd take the shot better. criticism is great, as long as it's constructive. or if you like my photos, tell me why. tell me what i'm doing right. or just tell me what you feel like telling me.

but please, do NOT insult my subjects... i asked them to stand in front of my camera, and the photos i take of them in any particular pose are of my own doing, not theirs.

there... all done. i'm getting off my soapbox now...

by the way, thanks for reading this!

lenny