Show transcription
Workflows is a podcast about saving you time and money in your photography business. I'm your host, Scott Wyden Kivowitz, a photographer and content Creator who struggles with dyslexia, colorblindness, introversion, and anxiety stemming from years of being bullied as a child. Guess what? Workflows have been my rock.
I have workflows for every aspect of my life. That's why I am so happy to bring you workflows, a podcast Presented by Imagen As a company dedicated to saving you time and money in your photography business, it makes sense to enhance and expand the conversation to all things workflows. Tune in and subscribe.
To hear stories, strategies, and tools that can be your rock. Hear from people just like you [00:01:00] get to work with workflows.
Hailing from Mexico Fer Juaristi has always been creative at heart, beginning in music as a drummer, then falling in love with photography. He approaches wedding photography with the aim to blur the personal end, the artistic as fair experiments. He brings other photographers along for the journey with his educational content and his workshops.
Fer is also one of our talents here at Imagen with the Talent AI Profile, Ti If you haven't heard of Fer or seen his work yet, you are in for a heck of a treat. Without further ado, here's my conversation with F Hello fer. How's it going?
Hey, Scott. All good. My friend live in here, man.
That's right. right. I'm really excited about this conversation. I have been wanting to get you on the show for quite some time, [00:02:00] and I'm glad not only did we make it happen, but it was pretty much a five minute, Hey, are you interested in being a guest? And you're like, let's do it.
So we're here, we are here.
Yeah. Life goes fast man. So if you say no to opportunities, Juju, get lonely man. And just start crying with bonni bear songs, man.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
So, so are you, are you, are you deep, you're, you gotta be deep in the, in the wedding season right now?
Um,
So the, I'm, I'm happy with this because I have like a six week like free season that I'm doing a few editorials and content for education, but six weeks without weddings, so it's like half of my year and it's weird, but I'm happy with that.
Cool.
Yes.
Yeah, it's good to, it's good to, I mean, you've got, obviously different businesses go, you know, like, models going on and different things, so it's good that you're structuring it the way that it's keeping you sane.
Yeah, well [00:03:00] with three kids, two dogs, one awesome wife, and enough weddings to provide for them. I'm, I'm more than happy.
Awesome. So let's dive right in. The first question is the same question I ask every guest, and that is, what is one thing that you do for the photographic process? This is behind the camera. That has saved you time.
Okay. Well, I think for me I shoot everything on black and white. My, that's what I love about mirrorless cameras, that I can see the world in black and white. And for me, that's, that's magical because it removes all the distractions. I don't have to take care about white balance or this color or that.
It, it just focus me.
Yeah, so I do the same. And it's
interesting, this has come up a lot in the, in the magic community recently. We did a live stream with [00:04:00] Sam and Lindsay. Coulter and Ashley Rae were on it, and Ashley brought up the fact that she's shooting all. So she's a hybrid. She does film and, and digital.
Together at, at her, at her weddings and and she's shooting in black and white. And that stirred up a whole conversation in the community about people like, wait, what is this magic that you're doing? And
so I've been doing the same thing for a long time. So it's nice to hear other photographers that also do that.
It's, it is worth noting for anybody who is, you know, wants to go this route is this, this idea of shooting in black and white. And then being able to edit in color only works if you shoot in RAW. If you do jpeg, it
will not work.
Oh, correct. And
disclosure, disclosure.
Mm-hmm.
So, I'm, I'm curious, so you're shooting black and white.
Are you the type of photographer that looks at the back of the screen to frame and compose, or are you still like E V F with your mirrorless?
A little bit of both but yeah.
thanks to the, to the screen. You can [00:05:00] get well, different angles and different perspectives. So, yeah. At the beginning, I, I felt when I started. Myself using more the screen. I was like, okay, I'm, I'm changing watch out. I'm, I'm, I'm not the Classic photographer anymore.
You know, because every generation of photographer has something that, that you have to, to break that mold. No, and, and for, for me, I remember it was at the beginning like, everything's about to light and then this generation came. And who cares about the light? It's more about the emotions and, and then it's about the composition.
And then who cares? Let's break it. And, and for me, switching from viewfinder to screen, I remember feeling that I was like, cheating. You know, like, oh, this doesn't feel natural. But now we, I'm okay with it. You know, we have to be a adapting and aging. It's, it's a [00:06:00] big part of the process. We cannot control it.
So it, it's always good to see what the new guys are doing and then try to implement it
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely.
So that's fantastic. What is now one thing you do for the business that has saved you either time or money? And let's not talk about Imagen yet we will get to Imagen down the road, but for your business.
Okay, well, I, I use 17 hats to help me, like credit contracts generate the, the questionnaires do the charging the, the big box, you know, the 10,000 million that I charge per wedding. That, that helps me a lot just to simplify and, and I'm not one of those guys that if this happens, then this happens.
You know, I, I'm not good at workflows. I, I still do everything by hand.
But, but, but I, I [00:07:00] feel like It, the brand looks more professional at least, you know, but that, that helps me a lot just to, to simplify things. And there are so many options out there. I think it's, it's good to find the one that, it's not trendy, but the one that simplifies your process and you can understand it.
Yeah, yeah. You know, just because you know, 17 hats or any other CRM type tool that is out there. Exists and you're using it doesn't mean you need to use all the automation.
You know, just using it for contracts and keeping track of your, of your customers and payment and all that, that in itself is a huge time and money saver.
Being able to add in a, an any automation is just an added bonus
for, for that.
And, and, and the other one as well, like, using like online calories that can allow you to, to sell without. Extra steps. Like I, I use like pick time for example, and, and then I just receive [00:08:00] money, man, you know, without, without shipping, without sending, without taking care of the files. Album design as well, like a lot of people are like very control freaks and they wanna control every single spread.
For me, I just simplify it for my couples.
Yeah.
Awesome. Yeah, you know, simple. Sometime depending on the photographer, depending on the person. Simple is. Better,
so.
yeah. Yeah. I, I don't wanna be a control freak. You know, I, I, I, I'm not the photographer that it's going to like pixel pip, every single Imageners. No, man. It's like, it's, it's freaking good enough. It, it has my stamp on it. Let's go crazy. Let's follow up what's next? Yeah.
Yeah. Awesome. And I mean, tools like, like pick time as well, which we're gonna get to more like after, after session type of just topics as well. But a tool like pick time, it's so beautifully designed and offers so much that like, your clients are gonna have a wide range [00:09:00] of products that they can choose from, you know, and, and you know, it's gonna be printed well with the, any, any integrated labs and, and whatnot.
So
yeah,
definitely a fantastic thing to do.
nothing.
so. Again, besides from Imagen, let's, let's dive into some Editing. What is one thing you do now for the Editing side that has saved you time?
Uh, Well, I think my magic formula, it's been since almost I started my career.
I export all the JPEGs and I still use exposure. It's, it's, it's an app and I, I love that it's just like a batch process batch. Process for color, batch process for black and white. But I received so many comments from photographers like, why your Imageners look sharper than mine?
Or, or these skin tones and it's one click button using exposure after using all live room and all that stuff.
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that's a, that's one app that I, I, [00:10:00] you know, I, I, I know about from over the years. It's one app that I've never tried and I've tried a lot of apps, but that's one I've never tried. And I think, I don't know, I don't know why, but it, it keep, it gets brought up a lot lately. So I, I think I'm gonna have to try it just to see what everybody keeps raving about.
Yeah. The, the other one I still use, it's, it's a, it's a Photoshop script. It's called Co Code and Hustle. So it helps you Run some actions instantly. So when I export for, for slideshows or for Instagram it adds sharpen for web, the one I want, not the one that Lightroom have, you know, and it it, it makes the files that there's smaller files, you know, so, but still like running the kind of sharpen that, that you want, it's extremely important.
Not, not the normal one.
Interesting.
Yeah. So again, [00:11:00] I, so that one I've never heard of, so I'm definitely have to check,
check that out. I'm not a big Photoshop person, but, oh, interesting. That's cool. That's cool. Awesome. Okay, so we've talked about photographic, we've talked about business, we've talked about a little bit of Editing.
Now what is one thing you do. After a session, you've now you've, you've, you've done the, the, the couple, the, the family, the, the wedding, whatever it is. You've, you've gone through, you've edited all, what is one thing you do after all that stuff, after the session, after it's all edited, that has saved you saved you time or increased business or anything like that?
What is one thing you do after a session?
What helps me a lot, it's, it's try to weave quick on my deliveries. So like sending, like a sneak peek. It, it's gonna, it's gonna bump your, your momentum. So, so for me, it's usually the same day or the day after. I try to have a, a few sneak peeks on, on Instagram and I send them directly as well [00:12:00] on, on their, on their mobile phones as well.
And, That helps a lot. And then controlling the narrative as well. For example I see that a lot of people they call the Imageners, like they go the ones that are worth it. And then they start to remove the bad ones. So for me, I always go to the gold first. The ones that have my signature, my stamp, those are the ones that I want them to remember.
Because I am the boss. I know there is their wedding, but I say like, These are the memories that are worth it. So, so a a lot of people, I think they wanna please their clients and everything has become the client experience. Yeah. It's okay. That shit, that's tough. Sorry. But, but I think we have to see ourself as, as, as artists, as, as creators.
They book us because of how we see things, not because we have the trendiest [00:13:00] or the fanciest. Camera and we have to remember that 24 7.
So when you, when you deliver the sneak peaks are you, Are you asking for them to I I ask the same question to everybody who, who brings up sneak peeks? Are you asking your, your clients to reference your photography business, or are you just letting them do their thing and hope that they reference your photography business?
Yeah. No, I I don't ask them for me to, to tag me or to say thank you. It, it, it will be asking a favor, you know, if, if, if they love my stuff, if they pay me already, that's enough. That's enough for me. Yeah. I, I'm not gonna say, Hey, here are the five steps that you have to follow after I deliver. Like, no, no, no, no.
You own those files. Go bananas, man.
Yeah. Awesome. Okay. We're gonna dive into a section where you are gonna pick a color
Oh, okay. Okay. [00:14:00] Let's go. Orange or jello. Yeah.
Yes. All right. Now I am going to shuffle through these cards and
you're gonna tell me when to stop.
Shoot. That's like a magic trip. One, two, stop.
Okay? The next question is, oh, you're, you're gonna have a good answer to this. I know you will.
If you, if you could try out a job for a day just to see if you like it, which job would you choose?
Huh? I, I think it will be something to do with. Video games, like, video game tester or something like that. Yeah. I, I love, I love that industry. I'm, I'm obsessed with it, with, with the creative process because it's a business, but at, at a, a passion at the same time. So I always relate it a lot with photography.
So yeah, it will be something related like a day at Nintendo.
Nice. [00:15:00] It is, it's funny. I actually have a photographer friend that so I, I'm, my favorite thing to do at photography wise is landscapes. I mean, that's my zen zone. Put me on a landscape I'm good for. Just leave me alone and let me sit on the edge of a mountain and photograph it. I'm, I'm, I'm very happy person.
And, and this one friend of mine, he's in my like photo travel group where like we. All get together somewhere once a year. Hasn't been in in a while, unfortunately. And like, well, it'll spend a week in photograph, whatever, wherever it is. And he is a part-time photographer doing some client work, but he's also a full-time game.
Tester.
So,
Nice.
so, yeah, so he gets to do it from the comfort of his gaming setup in his, in at home. And I don't, I don't even know what company he works for. I don't think he's allowed to say, but
he tests games for a living. So
Beautiful man. Yeah.
definitely [00:16:00]
time, yeah. A few years ago I photographed a wedding in San Miguel agenda of a person Brett, who works at Nintendo. And, and she gave me a lot of stuff, man. So I was so happy.
That's so cool. That's so cool. So, speaking of travel, where is, so you, you travel a lot, you've been all over the world, photographed, spoken at events, things like that. Where is your favorite place to travel and where is your favorite place to photograph your clients?
Well, it has happened in a weird way because sometimes you can be in the most beautiful, exotic place and the couple are not into each other. They're, they're feeling the pressure of, of the day. So I a hundred percent Prefer a shitty place with an awesome couple than, than the opposite. You know, so, so, so, but [00:17:00] like answering your question like the, the most exotic and, and beautiful place that I've been, I think it's one time I was in, in, in New Zealand photographing.
A video game re reviewer and, and a photographer, a couple. So for me, that was magical that, that wedding for me gave me like, A lot of wings. You know, like when you receive an inquiry and you're from Mexico and they're telling you, Hey, come over to my country to photograph my wedding through, through a flicker group, you know, you, you, you don't think you're, you're like alive.
You're, you think you're dreaming. So, I, remember that wedding a lot and, and I still keep in touch with them, so, For me that was like a before and after. Yeah. And as well, like you have doing destinations It's not for everyone.
It sounds super romantic, but at the same time, you [00:18:00] have to work with jet lag.
I have slept with, with my couples the day before their wedding, you know, because my hotel room wasn't ready. Uh uh, and so there's a lot of things to consider. So nowadays I prefer more working at Mexico and Mexico and with international couples.
Yeah, that. See, I wish, I wish that I knew you 12 years ago
you might not like my pictures 12 years ago.
Oh boy. Yeah, so, so for, for those listening and watching my wife and I got married in Riviera, Amaya, Mexico. Where I, I even think that you've looking at your portfolio, I think you have photographed at the resort where I got married
right.
Yeah.
So,
I, I, mikes yeah.
Yeah. So, yeah, it would've been so nice.
But unfortunately I didn't have a wide selection [00:19:00] of photographers to choose from at the time,
Let's, let's do a about renewal. A 15 year about renewal, man. Yeah.
my wife and I have been saying we said at our 10 year anniversary, we'll go back with
kids, whatever kids we had that has passed. So now we're aiming for the next couple years, probably like the 15, 15 year anniversary.
We're gonna get back, bring our kids, cuz that that resort specifically actually has a like a daycare type of thing in
like a kid's area and stuff. So, it, it really would be good to bring the kids back to that resort. So when that happens, When that happens.
Yes. I'll send you the contract in in a few minutes.
Yes. Yes. Okay. So, the next question I have for you is we're gonna dig a little deep. Can you share an outline, breakdown of your workflow from lead to delivery? Looking at like
a 30,000 foot view down, you know, nice little bullet breakdown of, of things.
Okay. [00:20:00] Yeah. Well, I, I try to answer as fast as possible. And, and I send customized links on my, on my pricing. So, so I don't send a generic pdf or a gen or a generic link if, if they say, my names are A and V I create federal.com/uh, proposals a and v. So I have their names, I have their, their dates.
I have the city of where they're getting married. If I have photographed there, I send them slideshow of, of. The venues that are close by or, and then I send them the, the collections. Okay. So, so for me that's extremely important. I want them to feel like this guy is taking care of us because I should between 20 to 25 weddings per year.
So I allow myself to, to treat them like humans and not like freaking numbers. Yeah. Yeah. So, so if, if they, if I am in the range of like price [00:21:00] and. Artistry. The next step will be to have a Zoom. I, I use an app called, mm-hmm. I don't know if you know of it. So in the same, I use a template with their freaking names.
And so everything's like, oh, he's the same guy. And I use, I use a lot of Js and F bombs during our consultation because I want them to see, okay, am am I able to take care of this guy for the next 12 hours on. On my wedding day, you know, is, is he a good human being? Can I relate with him? For me, that's extremely important.
Yeah, it, it, it's, it's all about, are you sure you wanna book me instead of please book me?
Right.
Uh, uh, So yeah, they see full weddings slideshows and, and after that it's just a, a contract. I ask 25% of whatever millions are gonna pay me. And, [00:22:00] and then after that I send them a few links with articles about how it's about to work with me.
You know, like the, the importance of portraits, the importance of documenting without stopping for the picture to happen, you know, about the delivery times. Be pleased. You have to be extremely clear about how long does it take for you to deliver your work. I see a lot of problems there. A a and then I just arrived two days before the wedding in case my airplane.
Crashes or no, not crashes fails. Or if it's no, or
No
Or if it's canceled or anything. I, I like to arrive there. So the day before, I just take it as a, as a Nat Geo assignment. I go and take pictures of trees and the ocean and the mountains and the people because I wanna, I wanna tell this story about the place as well.[00:23:00]
I try to meet them during the rehearsal dinner. Sometimes I bring my camera, sometimes I just bring empty stomach because I, I, I wanted, I wanted to say, that's that guy, you know, he's, he's flesh and blood and he's gonna create try to create beautiful ImagenAI's for us. You know,
But, and, and if you go, if you're not, if you're not hired to also photograph that, that dinner. Right.
Who cares?
to, yeah. And, and you're there to just be a part of
it. Now they're, they're connecting with you outside of what they're paying you, which is actually gonna make their wedding photography even better.
Yes. That's why I, I, I charge millions. So if, if I have to work an extra hour, who cares? You know? And as well, there's a big difference in, in Mexico. In Mexico any other job. It's not paid by the hour. It, it is more like a, like the, the states kind of things. So I'm not thinking about, oh yeah, they have to pay me extra hours, so here's, [00:24:00] gimme your credit card.
You know, it. I don't feel like that I charge enough
to to, to take care of them.
Yeah.
Huh. So, so then we go crazy. The wedding day, usually I feel bad on my stomach because of all the nerves. I, I, I wanna really deliver something amazing for them. And so I feel unsecure like a lot. There's, there's always this experience.
If I get to their, to the bride and, and grooms getting ready and there's no music, I, I know there's something wrong. You know, I feel the tension. Yeah. So, so I'm always trying to, to see how it's, I try to hug everyone so they can feel me, and then I just photograph without any directions. Until the portraits or the group shots.
And yes, I photograph everything. People think that I don't do all the normal stuff, but I do all the normal, all the traditional stuff. I just don't show it on, on, on, on [00:25:00] my website or on my socials because I wanna be considered the weird ones, you know? Yeah. but it, it is what it is, you know? But, but it's, you, you, you control the narrative.
Again, you know, you, if you con don't control the, the narrative, they're gonna be like, why are you so expensive? I get, I have 10 other photographers charging me less than what you're charging me, so,
they're, they're not hiring you for those traditional photos that are
hiring you for that unique. Unique shot that you get for all of your clients.
And cuz that's what, that's what we were portraying. You're getting, you're getting the clients you want based on what you're portraying on your site.
And I think it's,
it's very smart.
Yeah, but it's it's obvious, but I see that a lot of people forget about that. So, so yeah, please take care, take care of that. If, if you wanna survive 10 plus years in this industry, you know, that's, that's always the goal, you know, because at the beginning you see [00:26:00] all this passion from the new.
Forget about the Cubic Q I'm gonna be a photographer, and then five years it's like, yeah, another freaking wedding. You know? It's like, it's, it's so, it, it doesn't have to be soul crushing but you have to control that.
Yep.
So yeah, that's, that's what I keep teaching, you know, just to say, Hey guys, please take care of this.
It, it's not about showing off, it's about taking care of what's important.
Yeah.
And, and yeah, usually after I photograph send them the sneak peek and I say on contract that it takes me up to three months to deliver the final, the final products, because I wanna really enjoy that process as well. Or if I wanna experiment with my post-processing, I can instead of, oh shoot, I have to deliver it.
No, no, no. I like to take my time.
Yeah.
And then, yes, I send them I send them all sneak pigs, and then I wait a little bit and then I send [00:27:00] the slideshow, and then I wait a little bit and then I send the full gallery because I, they, I want them to, to see the important pigs and then the story and then everything else.
Awesome.
Mm-hmm.
You said something really interested in the interesting in the middle there, and, I was actually very surprised by it, but I guess I shouldn't be. So you said that you get nervous and you get worried that you, I think you even said you might screw up or whatever it is. You're, you're, you're getting imposter syndrome basically.
And that surprised me. Just from knowing you from the, from the outside, we, you and I have never met in person. Which is gonna change one day, but but it's, it's really, I was not expecting that. Can you talk a little bit about, like, have you always experienced, cause I, I get it,
I get imposter syndrome, especially when I speak on stage and stuff like
that.
[00:28:00] So yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about, about that?
Yeah, I, I think the, the process is ugly like being in front of the camera. It's awkward. And then you. They're trusting in, in your artistry, but it's, it's not science, you know? So, so you, you might get inspired because of a texture or because of the light or because of their chemistry, but sometimes you are off.
So, so that's the biggest problem. And then shooting a wedding is, it's, it's a marathon. It, it's long hours of that you can, that you have to be in focus, like with the camera and with your brain, you know? And, and then you have to anticipate what's about to happen. And then you have to, oh, create art between, between the chaos and between drunk people and, and bad lighting, you know, so, so there's [00:29:00] a lot of things against the, the, the creative gods.
So you have to be solving problems and then you feel in, in the back of your neck, all your amazing portfolio, Imageners, and then am, am I able to, To go beyond those as well, you know, so it's, it's scary. That's why it's scary. And then you might not like them in person, you know, maybe, maybe you say a bad a bad comment.
And then people look at you like, shut up, man. You're here to photograph, you know? So there's so many things. There's so many things a against, like, for example, I, I don't like. Like fancy restaurants. Like I never go to a fancy restaurant only on anniversaries on my wife's birthday. But going to a wedding, it's like going to a fancy restaurant every weekend.
So, so I feel like social anxiety as well, and, [00:30:00] and I know that my camera, it's my shield. Yeah. And so it, it's tricky for me. It, it doesn't come natural to create.
Yeah, it's what you were just talking about with social anxiety. So like, one of the reasons why I don't photograph weddings on a regular basis myself is that I get that feeling. At weddings, like even as a guest, I'm, I always feel uncomfortable. I mean, I, I'm obviously very happy for whoever I'm, whoever's wedding I'm at, but I've always felt uncomfortable from the perspective just of like, ha you know, having to dress up formally.
I'm not a big fan of that.
And just like being surrounded by people that I don't know. You know, and, and I don't know, it's just something, there's something about it. It's more of the introversion in me that that makes me feel uncomfortable at weddings. So I've, I take on like one wedding a year and it's usually something very, very special.
Or something very, very unique. So, So [00:31:00] I totally feel you on that. And I often get, when I do things that are high pressure like that, it's, can I deliver? You know, can I, same thing. Can I find the creative aspect to, to deliver and be happy with, for me, for myself, which will then mean that the, the client will be happy as well.
Yeah, but, but that's the other thing like knowing your weak points. And then fighting them.
You know, that's, that's, that's the magic. Everybody knows their comfort zone and you know, like being in that place, it's never gonna make you a better anything.
Yep.
So that's one of the things that I keep shooting weddings after 17 years now.
Because you never know you never know if, if you, if you still have it in you. And, and, and for, for me, that's, that's beautiful. And I have seen so many, like generations of photographer that they're still rocking. And sometimes they're like, yeah, after 10 years I'm off. I'm done. I have to do something else.
[00:32:00] And then you see the new ones and, and I love that. It, it, it's an amazing challenge and also to be grateful because people are still seeing something special in your work as well. So, so that's magical because between photographers sometimes there's a lot of respect, and, and they think that when you get to a wedding, there's gonna be like a band playing for you, and they're gonna, they're gonna feed you even better than their guests, you know?
And.
It's not like that,
you know, so, so I love, I love that about weddings like feeling like the under talk and, and, and, and you're, you're like, okay, let's prove all these humans that you can create something beautiful besides social photography, you know? And, and let's, let's show them, you know? And I, I love that.
It, it, it's a chemistry. It's a love hate relationship.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So let's, let's talk a little techy for a little
[00:33:00] bit, with the next question. What does the future of AI in photography look like to you?
It's, it's beautiful. It's, it's something that. I think there's gonna be two links. You know, like, there's gonna be people who are gonna be like, yes, let's embrace it and let's go crazy. Like I saw, I saw a good friend of mine from Australia, Felix, I'll, I'll send you his Instagram link. And, and he did that the, the before and after with ai.
And without ai. The thing is like, it, it can be you know, they, they were like the purest, like, oh, everything's on the film and the green, and it's never gonna look the same. And then boom, everybody shooting digital, unless you are like Aja, you know, and, and those big dogs. And that's it. So disruption is good for, for humans.
We, we need to see we need to feel challenged.
Yeah.
[00:34:00] and and I'm okay with it. I'm, I'm, I still haven't played with it. But I'm okay. I'm okay.
Interesting. I'm surprised you haven't played with it yet. I mean, maybe it's just a time thing, but the, it's interesting cuz the, like Photoshop's new generative ai, for
example, It's, it's a lot of fun. Like right now, right now, like you legally cannot use it in your, in your business, right? You're not allowed to, in theory, right?
That's what the, the league, their, their, their legal document or whatever, says the term in the terms that
it cannot be used for commercial work. So right now it's in, in, in, in theory, it can only be used for having fun and enjoying it and trying it and whatnot. But it is, It is a lot of fun.
Yeah.
It
is a lot of fun.
I I can see it.
yeah. Yeah. I I, I just did a video on my own YouTube channel this week that sh me walking through and showing like, it's, it's the good, the bad, and the ugly
Hmm
And I did one [00:35:00] where it was, I was having some fun. So it was I do a lot of proposal sessions, which are. High pressure of course.
And it was a couple on the beach here in New Jersey and I put a snowman on the beach, like I just selected an area and said, snowman, and it put a snow and it looks so real. It like, I mean obviously that one never happened, but it looks so real, so, yeah.
proposal.
Yep. So, so like, it, it, you know, stuff like that.
But then I try to replace I've, I have this stupid project, photo project that I do when I travel where I photograph litter.
Mm-hmm.
That is like int like somebody left it in a really interesting spot and I'll photograph the litter and wherever the scene is and then I'll throw the litter away. And I have one that was like a I don't even remember. A coffee cup or something. No. Something sitting on top of like a post. And I selected it and I said, replace it. It was a sock. It was a sock. I said, replace it with a [00:36:00] bird. And it made a sock bird puppet. And I was like, that is not what I expected. And it didn't
look real. So like the good, the bad and the ugly, I showed it all.
Okay.
That's beautiful.
Yeah, so for those who don't know fair actually has a Talent, AI Profile with Imagen. And it's not, I don't have. Our talent photographers on as much as I want to. And I'm glad you're here. And so the question I'm gonna ask you is one that is fairly obvious because the impact that we have had in your life is pretty big to the point where you partnered with us to create a Talent AI Profile.
But with that all said, how did Imagen impact your life?
Well. It's [00:37:00] the same as AI at the beginning. Do you think that it's not possible and, and you see your, your brain struggling to, to believe you, you feel like, like, like, nah, like you, you don't think it's, it's gonna be possible. And then with three kids to dogs and a wife, I'm so grateful for it. You know, like I, I'm, I'm still.
I still go crazy with, with, with my favorite ones. I still tweak them because I wanna feel like a, like I'm an, I'm an artisan, you know, but
for, for me and, and my, and my values the pictures are ready to be delivered.
Awesome.
So, so I'm, I'm super happy with it, you know, I'm like, yes, but still, I still do the, the three month delivery for my couples because I wanna keep enjoying the process.
Yeah. So I don't know if you know this, but so we've done a lot of [00:38:00] events, a lot of conferences and whatnot over the past year and that, I'm sure, you know, but I was getting to the point. So, at a lot of these events, we have a lot of photographers who come up to us and say, we love Tierra,
Hmm
but it's. Just needs this tweak for my liking,
right? Like, people love your profile, but it's, it's too grainy is a lot of 'em. Right? Which is perfect for you.
Not always perfect for everybody else. And the the thing was, until recently, there was no easy solution for everybody to make that change. And now we have so many photographers that who had this issue where, They love it, but they didn't love this or they love this and they love it.
And whether it's your profile,
someone else's. Now with profile adjustments they can make that change.
So, for example, there's a lot of boudoir photographers that happen to be, you know, raving about your profile that they just don't want the grain for their boudoir. So they take out the grain in profile adjustments.
How beautiful is that? That, that [00:39:00] now your, your Editing style? In Tierra it can be used by even more people who. Didn't feel comfortable for whatever parameter reason,
you know,
that's magic. I, I have to watch a video of that because I, I saw the update, but then once I, I, I tried to use it. I don't know what it is. So, so I, I have to watch the video on, on how to change before, before uploading. Yeah.
Yeah. It's so, it's so cool. It's so cool. When we're done recording, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll load up my screen and, and show
you, show you, as well, but
Yeah. Like sometimes I, I try to use it afterwards and it's like, shoot, I, I choose one, but they don't know how to yet. I'm, I'm having a, a hard problem with it. You're, yeah. You're kicking ass, man. I'm like, right now I've, I, before this podcast I was culling, I. I'm still with, with culling. I'm, I'm, I'm not a fan because I think people [00:40:00] stop learning, you know, like, like by comparing images, like, oh, if, if I move an inch here, the images will be better.
I stop using like AI culling. I, I, I went by hand again, like, because I, I'm, I'm, I forgot to learn.
Interesting. That's a very interesting perspective on culling.
Yeah, and I shoot a lot, man. Every wedding I finish with more than 10,000 images, so I, I prefer to, to, to take it slow and then to be more analytic on, on the selecting.
See, that's interesting where a lot of photographers are trying to move towards ai. As far as culling goes, you, you reverted. Just so you feel like you're, you're learning from yourself,
which is really cool.
Because when you see a hug, you know, like it depends on your values as well. Maybe you say, oh, I have a hug check. But for me it's like, which version of this hug, it's, it's better, you know? So, so you can see the, the, the body language and you can see this squinting of the eyes. And, [00:41:00] and for me, that's extremely important.
Yeah. I'm curious, would that change? When AI culling is extremely personalized, the way that Editing is personalized with Imagen, would, would, would your perspective again shift?
Yeah, I, I think I, I will give in a chance for sure. But as well, like on, on the workshops that I do that's one of the exercises that we do. Like I show them the full contact sheet. I don't know if you have that book, A Magnum contact sheet. It, it, it's a beautiful book, man. And, and they show you that process.
So for me, that, that still has to be on, on, on school or be, be taught.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Definitely, definitely. Well, Fer. Thank you so much for for taking the time to speak with me, to share all of your different insights and getting a little, little deep with the, with certain, with certain topics. Where can listeners learn more about you, connect with you and of course, see your incredible photography.
Well, [00:42:00] Instagram is the place to go. @ferjuaristi . That's the place and I have a Spanish oriented patron. It, everything's Spanish, so it's not, it's not worth it if you are only speak English, but, or if you wanna learn Mexicans slang. I see there as well.
Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much again. I, I'm, I'm, So happy you were able to join me and including doing it so fast. It was so great that we were able to hop on so, so immediate and and, and get recorded and get this, get this out for the world.
It's always, it has to be like that, man.
We don't have to overthink things. It, it gets paralyzed by analysis. So, Nope. Let's do it, man. Yeah.
Awesome. Thank you so much.
Pleasure, brother.
Thank you so much fair for that amazing, amazing conversation. I know there's so many takeaways that all the Imageners listening to this have to fill their [00:43:00] buckets with.
So grateful that you took the time to speak with me.
You have been listening to workflows Presented by Imagen to hear more from workflows, to find links to our guests, and for an exclusive offer. For workflows, listeners, please go to ImagenAI dot com slash podcast and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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