Intuitive Photography

I mentioned in a prior Blog called Shutter On The Brain, how I shot approximately 30 shots from a concert. It's not how fast and how many images I could take hoping to get the one great shot.  For me it has to do more with being intuitive and finding that special moment.  Every shot I shoot is personal; it has meaning to me, plain and simple.  The two images in this post were taken from a Charity event back in 2009.  The couple walking away are Anthony Shriver(Kennedy) and his daughter.  They frame the picture holding hands, like the sign "Best Buddies.  It tells a story.  The second image, I loved how the couple fell to the center of the courtyard.  The whole picture shows a lot of movement and tells a story. 
Intuitive Photography, something to think about!

B.O.B. - Bombs On Baghdad

Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. known as B.O.B. is a multi talented artist. Having heard a couple of his songs going into the concert prior, I had an idea it might be a good show. As a photographer covering the event I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of this 24 year old sensation. He is surely not a musician-performer to be reckoned with. Bobby Ray originally from North Carolina, is a rapper, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist. I would try to get to see his next performance when he is town and watch him move up the charts very quickly.

Bulky Camera Bags

A question came about that inspired me to write this next blog: What kind of camera bag do I use?


I usually use a messenger bag or a small back pack. I find them both, easy enough to get into and not bulky. Usually the only equipment I carry in them for the type of shooting I generally do is a flash setup and some other accessories like flash cards, batteries, pen & paper and of course business cards. When I am shooting for example an event, I have my camera or cameras around me ready to shoot with two different lenses attached and a bracket-flash if needed on one of the cameras.

Someone might ask, what about a monopod or tripod. For most shots I am able to handhold the camera or lean it up against something to get the shots I need. If I am shooting interiors, food photography or portraits it is different as using a tripod is a constant. If I was shooting with a minimum 300mm range lens, for example horse jumping, football, concerts from a distance, I would use a monopod as most of these professional events don’t allow tripods for safety reasons.

When I am shooting an event for example a wedding, it is key, to get those memorable shots. As a photographer you need to be ready and quick at all times. How would it be if a short distance away you see an amazing shot of the bride & groom caught in a moment, with an amazing reflection in the scene? Now you have to run back to get the lens that is in your camera bag. Or you’re not quick enough to run over to them to get the shot because of all the stuff you’re carrying. That moment is lost for a lifetime!

The pictures in this blog was one of those rare moments I used a monopod and it wasn’t mine because my monopod was in the car. It belonged to a photographer friend standing next to me. I grabbed his monopod and used it to get the attention of the cheerleaders.  I wanted them to look up to get these shots. My photographer friends next to me from the Miami Dolphins, Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel appreciated it. I would have used my whistle, but unfortunately I somehow lost it.

Feel free to contact me with questions or to book your next event at info@micheleeve.com

ZUMA Pictures Of The Day: News, Sports, Celeb images and more

ZUMA Pictures Of The Day: News, Sports, Celeb images and more

Happy my image got selected as Picture Of The Day!

Rock On!

Personal Work At The Tattoo & Car Show

This past weekend I had a bunch of photo shoots lined up but in-between I had some time to shoot some personal work. I couldn’t ask for a better assistant than Tony. He is not only an attorney, a computer genius but also a photographer. I was so happy to have him as my assistant. He assisted me with my equipment, lighting and just all around was a big help.

Some of my personal work from the car show with model Billy.  From Police Arrests, to cooling off with Italian Ices, to Army Trucks.  The public was more interested it seemed in my photo shoot than the car show for a while..It was a real hoot and an overall great day!

The Police Car in the Shoot was a 1984 Dodge Diplomat California Highway Patrol Police Cruiser.  The Army Truck was a 1983 M-35.

Working for Free vs. Not

Getting Published


First let me speak about getting published as so many photographers strive to do for exposure. Okay you get photo credit in a publication. Did you get paid for it or did you just give it away because that you think would give you a feather in your hat. Were you afraid to ask to get paid? In most circumstances you should have gotten paid. Just starting out it doesn’t have to be big dollars but it should be something. Many photographers give their work away and not only are you shortening yourself but you’re hurting the industry. The publication is making money so why shouldn’t you. Even if the publication is making money on advertising and it’s a free subscription they are still making money and if they are not that is not your problem. Would a doctor give away his services for free or restaurants give you free meals in most cases not. Basically you are providing a service that service is your work and it should not be free. Regarding my personal experience, I have been published hundreds of times all over the world and only once did I not get paid. Why did I choose not to get paid? It was early on and It was for a site that gets millions of viewers on a regular basis and it is for one of the most well known billionaires in the world and yes I got photo credit.

Regarding being published however there are a few instances you might offer your image for photo credit. One reason is it’s the cover of a publication and that publication will not only get you noticed by its readers but it is in an area of the business that your are trying to move into and the cover you could use to build your portfolio. A second reason might be for example you shot the opening of something for a paying client and that client asked if you could submit a couple of photos in the local publication. This is a service to your client.

Portfolio Work

Too many photographers spend endless time shooting models for free in exchange for a CD...Is it a hobby or do you want it to lead to something? Doing exchanges is fine in my opinion only with two possibly three instances. You are doing test shots on something specific to personally advance yourself in some way to ultimately make money in that area or you’re starting out in a specific area and building your portfolio. I could go into this further but I will leave it for now. Basically like anything in life you have to have a direction and follow it. Photographing models endlessly because you think they are pretty is one thing but you have to think to yourself , is this how I really want to spend my time or do I want to take it to the next level. Is it about building portfolios at this point or confidence!

If you have any questions regarding anything I spoke about you could email me at info@micheleeve.com

Fast Shutter On The Brain

I was shooting a celebrity event the other evening with some other colleagues of mine and after the time permitted to shoot, we had a discussion outside. Everyone was looking at their images and viewing the outcome and the question came about! All ears wide open. The question was how many images did you shoot?


For me this question brought on a whole topic of discussion with another colleague and doing some personal thinking that inspired me to write this blog.

At major sporting events it is important to shoot many shots per second not only to catch the action but for anticipation of something to come. For many photographers it is a main reason they purchase a fast camera. I can’t speak for other photographers but for myself so here I go.

For many reasons I do not shoot continuous for long periods of time don’t get me wrong, if I was shooting springboard diving, when you want to capture every split second of the diver jumping off the board and going into the water, then I would trigger away. Another example would be anticipation of the last shot of a tennis match and capturing the raw emotion on the winners face.

My touchdown shot at the Super Bowl, I anticipated a straight run toward the end zone bent down and shot the player, wide angle, diving into the end zone suspended in the air in one shot. Was this luck, was it anticipation or a little of both? Either way if I was shooting continuous from the start of the play towards the end of the play, the question is would my brain be doing the thinking and would I have gotten the shot? I honestly think information would have been lost in the image.

The image above was taken at a PETA demonstration. There were many photographers at the event from many major publications. Most of them were just standing in one position most of the time and shooting. Hey Guys, you want to be a professional photographer, well let me tell you it can be exhausting work if you shoot the way I shoot! From the start of the shoot I got there early and walked very quickly around in the heat looking at the lighting, the angles and finding the best shots. I am thinking nonstop because I want something unique on every shoot not only for the people I am shooting for but for myself. I am not in one position shooting continuous. For me the best shot was watching this police officer. He was there for one main reason to see some nudity and make an arrest! From the looks of my image above he didn’t terribly hate this demonstration. PS Photos from the event were published on line and in hard copy for New Times.

Back to my original question above: “How many images did I shoot? Well before I answer, one photographer shot 900+ images, one photographer shot 300+ images and all eyes were wide open when I told them I shot 30 images. To conclude the images were what I needed and I didn’t want to do a whole bunch of editing when I got home :).