Marcus J. Ranum (Email: mjr@ranum.com)
93 Crowsfoot Lane
Morrisdale, PA 16858
Telephone: 814-345-1723
I love to photograph. Often, I photograph people and usually I find my subjects by just asking people who look interesting, attractive, or who might be fun to work with. My photos are consistently highly-rated in online galleries, contests, and among my friends. This little paper is something I wrote up to help answer any questions you may have; if I’ve given you this it’s probably because I have asked you to pose for me. Please read it and feel free to ask my if you have any questions!
I’m a fine-art photographer. I specialize in black-and-white studio work, using film cameras. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of work with digital cameras because it’s so convenient. My "fine pictures" are all shot in black-and-white medium format and hand-printed in my darkroom.
I’ve sold fine prints to several private clients and have fetched good prices for others at auctions. Several of my photos (mostly boring stuff) are in books – I’ve done corporate head-shots of executives, product shots, and photos for web sites. Some of my photos have been used for limited-issue book covers. The work I do for fun is fine-art figure studies/glamour/fashion photography or photos of old machinery. I am always looking for new models to pose for me.
My personal work is not used for professional purposes. When I photograph someone, instead of asking them to sign a model release granting me complete rights over the photos, I use a model release that grants the model controlling rights over the photos. This is very unusual in photography, and I do it to make my models comfortable – you can feel safe knowing pictures of you won’t turn up someplace unexpected years later.
Periodically I get a great photo that I want to sell copies of or give prints of to friends. In this case I will get the model’s permission first. I’ve never had a model say "no" – for me the easiest way to make sure there are never any problems is to never take a photo that doesn’t make everyone involved in it happy about the result.
Of course.
Yes – several people you can E-mail on the web have worked with me in the past. They’ve agreed to act as references if anyone has questions about working with me. Ask me and I will provide you with phone numbers or Email contact information. In general, though, I don't recommend models ask photographers for references. I suggest you look at my OneModelPlace portfolio and contact models who've worked with me directly. If you're paranoid about a photographer - if you think you may be dealing with a creep - you probably are. I make a point of doing my work openly - that's my home address and real name up there - the guys you have to worry about are the guys who email you from a hotmail account, leave no phone number or address, and want to meet you in an hotel room someplace.
I have a physical portfolio of fine prints that I’d be happy to show you or mail to you for review. Please ask. My online portfolios represent my work very well but online photos don’t have the quality or the impact of a good hand-printed photo on gallery paper.
Generally I pay $75/hr for non-nude (portrait/glamour) models. Nude models, I pay a minimum of $100/hr and sometimes more. If I am working on a specific project I may negotiate a price first (i.e.: a 5-hour shoot, or a shoot involving cold or wet or complicated costume)
It completely depends on you, the situation, what kind of lighting or location is available, and what we agree on shooting. I've done everything from very sincere conceptual fine art to erotic fetish stuff. I love it all. So I'm pretty much happy doing whatever you're happy with. I'm particularly fond of the nude female form, though, I have to admit, so I almost always tend to get my models to show a lot of skin wherever possible.