The 6 Winners have been announced – look below Jerry’s post!
I’ll admit it, I look forward to the Inspire Me Friday’s, I really look forward to them (probably because it’s not me talking 🙂  It’s so much fun getting to know different photographers. I’ve gotten to where for the most part, I have a specific set of questions I like to ask, I was worried this would cause the answers to be to similar but it’s turned out to be quite the contrary and in actuality has been so much fun to see how different photographers answer the same question!
Interviewing the award-winning Australian Master Photographer Jerry Ghionis has been especially fun, you will remember that at WPPI, Noelle and I had our picture taken by Jerry, that was of course a highlight of the trip, in fact it was so great that we wanted to share the Jerry love with all of you. Now it’s easy to see why the ladies love looking at him but trust me, the man is well worth listening to as well! There is a definite brain for business inside that suave appeal. And with that I’m happy to welcome the ICE man!
1. What’s in the Bag?
I have:
– Two Canon 5d Mark II
– 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS
– 24-105mm f/4 L
– 85 f/1.2 L
– 17-40mm f/4 L
– 100 mm f/2.8 macro lens
– 45mm f/2.9 Tilt Shift
– Two 580 EX flashes
– Phase I camera system
with a P40+ back and with it I use:
– 80mm f/2.8
– 150mm f/2.8
– 28mm f/4.5
– 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS
– 24-105mm f/4 L
– 85 f/1.2 L
– 17-40mm f/4 L
– 100 mm f/2.8 macro lens
– 45mm f/2.9 Tilt Shift
– Two 580 EX flashes
– Phase I camera system
with a P40+ back and with it I use:– 80mm f/2.8
– 150mm f/2.8
– 28mm f/4.5
bag.
2. Was there a defining moment when you knew you wanted to pursue photography professionally? For me, it was pretty much the day I was given my very first camera at the age of 15.
3. How long have you been in business? I’ve been shooting professionally for 16 years.
4. If you could only give one speech, for one hour, for one million people, what ONE WORD would that speech be about? Ghionis. It’s all about branding! (Ooops…was I supposed to talk about love or peace instead?)
6. What’s been your best marketing idea? The idea of doing same day slideshows at a wedding. That is where I edit a selection of images during the reception, prepare a slideshow and present to the couple and all of their guests that very evening.
7. What activity always makes you lose track of time? It’s a 3 letter word that starts with the letter “s”.
8. How many shoots do you like to do a week to be in your happy place? To keep me happy it’s not so much about the quantity but instead it’s about the quality of my session.
9. What would be your ideal session? Doing a boudoir session with Monica Bellucci, Salma Hayek, Dita Von Teese and Eva Mendez.
10. Where might we find you if your not working? At the movies, shopping or at a really cool bar or restaurant. Or more probably in a plane.
11. Tell us about you usual workflow. Once the wedding has been photographed, I’ll download the images and edit them in Microsoft Expression Media 2. This is all done on a mirrored hard drive and then I back up the discs (one stays at home and one stays at the studio) and then it gets forwarded to the lab. I work with The Edge Photoimaging where all my proofing is done. I then pre-design all of my wedding albums using Photojunction. Once I present and sell the design to the clients, then my digital artist will do all of the post production. From there, my assistant, Sally Ann Sargood, will do all of the quality control and coordinating of the album production. And then once the prints are ready, we send them off to Seldex Artistic Albums (which is distributed by FINAO in the United States).
12. What is your favorite professional photography product(s)? I love my 5d Mark IIs, although I have to admit that there’s just nothing like shooting medium format on the Phase One
.
s, although I have to admit that there’s just nothing like shooting medium format on the Phase One. 13. Has there been a book/workshop that you feel was instrumental in your early years? No, I can’t say that there is. And that’s a big reason why I am so relentless on being that educational resource for other people in the industry.
14. What have you always found to be easy? I’ve always found that being able to connect with people very quickly comes naturally to me.
15. Have you felt effects from the economy in your business? Not really. I did unfortunately start my boutique studio at the beginning of a recession and although I’m not short of work, I do have to work harder for the same work. So it’s very much about learning how to work smarter rather than harder now.
16. What would you label as your professional weakness? Photoshop. But I do know how to pay someone to do it for me.
17. What question do you look forward to being asked? Do you accept Visa or Mastercard?
18. What has been the highlight of your career? I feel very blessed to have so many events in my career that have excited me. Being included in American Photos’ first list of top ten photographers in the world was a big one for me because I remember buying their first issue almost 20 years ago and I always wanted to be in that magazine someday. So that was quite emotional for me. Winning the album of the year for the sixth time at WPPI was very sweet for me as well as opening a brand new boutique studio, being nominated as an Icon of Imaging from Microsoft and just recently having the privilege of presenting to over 2,000 photographers at WPPI in Las Vegas just this past year. But my most recent and proudest achievement to date has been the start of my charity, The Soul Society.
19. When you’re getting to have “me time” what are you doing? I’m watching movies. I also love going for walks, going shopping and golfing whenever I can.
20.What’s the most common mistake you seen newbie’s making? It would have to be spending all of their time on their photography, rather than on the business of photography.
Now you’re seeing what all the fuss is about aren’t you? Jerry is positively brilliant behind the camera and in running a successful business. He speaks in workshops and tours all over the world and will be accompanying Sam Puc in her 2011 family tour (next year). If you can’t wait that long, don’t worry! Jerry also has the ICE Society, and I’ve asked him to tell you a little about it! The i.c.e. Society is an educational website I have created dedicated to inspiring, challenging and educating fellow professionals. I teach several lessons each and every month and include video footage of me working, there are also anonymous online critiques, marketing tips and several other topics. The i.c.e. Society is now well into its third year with 29 chapters already in the library.
Each month I release new lessons that focus on posing, lighting and how to communicate effectively to your clients. I include several examples of each topic as well as video footage where you can see how I apply these lessons in real life situations. There are at least nine different lessons each month and we’re constantly updating and adding new segments.
I also recently added a live chat feature which has been very popular and so much fun. Each month I do a live video broadcast that is available to i.c.e. Society members only members can twitter their questions to me and I’ll answer them live on air. New members also receive a free DVD entitled Ice Pick (which is normally valued at $150). The Ice Pick DVD contains all of the video footage from the first twelve chapters of the i.c.e. Society so that members can view them anytime even while offline.
A one year membership is $365, but we’d love to offer your readers 20% off of the membership price. They just need to visit the www.theicesociety.com and click on the “Join” link and use “entice” as a promo code.
Thank you so much Jerry for taking the time to interview with Go{4}Pro! I was thoroughly entertained by this interview and know others will be too!
Wonderful website. Thank you.,