dinsdag 27 oktober 2009

Eveninglecture bij Kevin Wilson 23 November


We have only 8 places left for the evening lecture with Kevin Wilson.
Sponsors that evening are;

zaterdag 24 oktober 2009

My children....


MyKids

The sandwich of a genetic mixture

Whenever I look at them
They are beautyfull

Whatever they do wrong
I will always forgive them

Wherever they are
I will think of them

They create my emotions
They are my soul

They make me worry
They make me cry

It makes me alive
It makes me feel love

But beyond this romantic talk
It makes me responsable for them
It gives me the pressure to handle
And it controles my life

Still it is what I can love beyond everything.
To see them all together, walking next to eachother.
I just cannot believe this has grown out the little seed and egg of
Christina and me..............
And so life goes on, till we die and they grow up and will have children.
Than they will die and life goes on again.
So where does it stop, where do we go, what is the meaning of this?

No answers, just a surprise of the question itself.
No answers, just the amazing, wondering, the pain, the good, the bad.
Most of all the sence of life itself.

Henk

dinsdag 20 oktober 2009

Cross Marketing




Cross-marketing

It is crisis time and everrybody needs to be carefull how to market the business.
Therefore it is good to share ideas of how to make things work.
One thing I used starting up my studio in 1997, was based on cross-marketing.
Specially now it is important to know everybody, no matter what kind of business, is looking at the same problems.
So why not help each other. Looking for partnership.
Looking for this it is important to look at a share interest. Or at least the opening to look for a common interest. Even if it means something that you could create even.
Main rules:
- same kind of customers (pricerange, status, appearance)
- profitable for both
- same drive and ambition
- same click
- make it work for at least one month

Also it could be a charity as well. Or a project to promote.
Right now I am doing a project ‘Carzy Faces’.
It is together with the town-municipal. I am making images of the presidents of the sportsclubs in our town. The project is called ‘I take my sport serious’.
20 images of crazy faces of the presidents.
It is a huge sized exhibition to come in our town size ± 30x50 inch or 80x120cm.
Huge advertising and the same time very good for promoting a good feeling in the community.
But another option is the real cross-marketing.
Doing a shoot for a shoe-company as a free advertising in there shopwindow, combined with a kind of lottery. All the customers coming into the shoe-company can win a free photoshoot.
Once a week there will be three winners. They get a free photoshoot and for the picture will be payed by the shoe-company.
It looks as if the shoe-company is giving away a free photoshoot but in reality they promote you as a photographer for no costs than only a small picture size 8x8 inch (20x20cm).
This advertises both companies.
Be carefull to find the right shoe-company that ‘fits’ your photography.
Same could work with a hairdresser, carcompany etc etc.
This is a very straight and controlling way of doing business.
Another option is to promote a sportclub by sponsoring the club in photography as a kind of advertising them.
You promote them and you get promotion by them.
Cross-promoting should than be the word.
Be also carefull in this way, to find the right sportsclub to your kind of business.

I ad some images to ‘show’ my words.

Cross-marketing might be a keyword for these times.


Henk

vrijdag 16 oktober 2009

Evening lecture 23 november with Kevin Wilson


We are so happy that we booked Kevin Wilson for our Dutch School of Photography Evening Lecture on 23 November 2009, so soon!

kevin Wilson


Kevin Wilson honed his photographic skills to encompass the current trends demanded by buyers of wedding and portrait photography today. The foundation of good photography is based on lighting and composition, this coupled with available light and the use of various reflectors and diffusers is where Kevin has developed his own style and brand of classical work with a contemporary twist.

Kevin, is the only photographer to achieve multiple fellowships, in portrait and wedding, all with natural light, both with the Master Photographers Association and the British Institute of Professional Photography.

Kodak, Fuji, Master Photographers Association, British Institute of Professional Photography, Hasselblad UK to represent their products throughout the UK, has called upon Kevin.
Kevin has won many awards for his photography, including 17 Kodak European Gold Awards for outstanding photography. He has been voted Kodak Uk Portrait Photographer of the Year on no less than 5 separate occasions.

Kevin is currently chairman of the Master Photographers Association’s admissions and qualifications panel.
He has been a judge for many years and held the position of chairman many times

www.kevinwilson.co.uk email: kevin@kevinwilson.co.uk
www.dutchschoolofphotograpy.com

donderdag 15 oktober 2009

Great new products in our shop to download

Hi Everyone.
Today i put some new produkts on my webshop.
It is all about my master QEP.
The vision, explaining compositions etc etc.Do not miss it!

http://www.henkvankooten.com
shop

dinsdag 13 oktober 2009

International Portraittage. Arrangement by Fotowerkstatt


Workshop in Vienna,

International Portraittage. Arrangement by Fotowerkstatt.
Just back from Vienna today.
Doing a workshop on the sunday.
Was a fantastic experience.
Austrian are very nice easygoing and enthousiastic people.
Was doing a talk and some photography about portraiture.
Arriving saturday evening at Vienna Airport, Robert (Fotowerkstatt) was already waiting to take us to a beautyfull hotel close to Vienna.
Having a good evening dinner we (Christina and I) had a short talk to some people of Epson.
After we tested the computer and lights, we had a last drink and went into our
Sleepingrooms.
My workshop started at 12.15 and went on till almost 18.30. Of course with some breaks.
Portraiture and why it changes, what are the most wanted positions to use in the studio, the marketing, the vision. Why things go as they go.
Use of light and composition. The triangles of posings, of lights.
Concepts of photography in different themes.
Photoshop ideas.
The use of my new way of making black and white, using Nik Software’s
Slver Efex Pro:
See images of the modelshoot and the Nik Software in Photoshop.
I try to show al the steps.
Also the use of color and different lighting systems:
Octobox, new super-spot light and rimlighting.
Difficulties of demonstrating is always the situation you are in.
Using this fantastic model Irina, it was almost as it was nothing to do.
Her posing was perfect, but expression was too much as a trained “how it should be”. That is not what I wanted. Expressions that are so controlled but still look ok. There is nothing wrong, it is even beautyfull, but still it lacks a kind of feeling and sensativity. That is a trained model often.
Irina tried and did good. But who is Irina.......

In this evening I also met David Jay.
An Amarican photographer, doing a programme about marketing, workflow, website and usage of slideshow. About his products: making your personal style of website (great programme) and the use of his programme in creating fabulous slideshows in minutes. For also amazing prices. Just 200 dollar for this slideshowprogramme..... really something I am going to use.
But as I spoke to him we really clicked. He is modest but knows exactly where he is.
So I watched his programme.
Really smooth and no mistakes. His story is very good, his photography ........
Loved his weddingshoot in the rain. WOW.
Must do something together with this great young fellow.
Thanks to lots of people I want to thank, I have a new experience in my heart that I will cherish the rest of my life !!!!!!



p.s
Specially in NikSoftware you should use the Tone Curve in FilmTypes.
I think NikSoftware should put tis more in the top of usage, for now you really need to discover the curves inside the Silver Efex Pro.


You can go to my facebook and read more about niksoftware!!!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home

dinsdag 6 oktober 2009


Photography of love

This is our new advertising in the Netherlands.
Changing the concept of weddingphotography.
Based on a personal believe about:
Purity and love between two people.

No more weddingphotography
No more ‘lookhowhappies’
No more ‘lookhowbeautyfulls’
No more reportage
Back to the roots
The roots of love

The art of wedding
For centuries, love has been immortalized in literature, music and art.
Love is a source of inspiration; it is an art. It is time that photography was added to these genres as a valuable art form.


Henk

donderdag 1 oktober 2009



Intens Invisible

Arms that touch
Nothing to see
Holding the protection
Secure
Sexy
Warm and Loving

The intensity of the arm coming from nowhere.
It is the secret of no face.
If you close your eyes, could you feel?
Feel the arms of your love.

Henk