I have always shot alone, only because I'm very stubborn and hands on. I've tried to have friends come help with lighting and gear, but I'm too hands-y. I get in this mode, where I see all the technical stuff clearly, then I just do it. The only time I have people helping, is to get the person I'm shooting in their comfort zone. I like to have a few people in the room during the shoot, just to keep the energy up, but not too many so the intimacy of it isn't completely lost. Maybe one day i'll get a team going for gear and makeup, but as of right now I'm happy on my own. I've changed around quite a bit with what I like to shoot. I started off with photos of scenery. Nature. Physical places. Then I moved on to architecture, then to portraits. I've stuck to portraits the longest so far, and I think I'll continue to stick to it for awhile. I really get something out of it. I love working with people. I have three main photography mentors. Platon, because he's gotta be doing something right. He shoots everyone, and he does it well. I love his style, the single light portrait and the wide angle lens. Plus he shoots medium format, which is excellent. The second is Terry Richardson. Though I'm not actually a fan of his photos, the way he deals with his clients is incredible. He has such a good time with everyone he shoots, he's definitely a perfect example of a photographer-client relationship guru. The third is Andrew Zuckerman, because I'm just really drawn to his style. He's a minimalist, and so am I. I love how clean all his shots look, my inner-geek drools over his lighting setups. I'm constantly looking for new inspiration, I always want to try new things. I follow just under 100 art/photography/design/architecture blogs on the internet, and manage one myself where I organize images which make me want to go shoot. www.c0ckpunch.tumblr.com

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