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I'm a wet plate photographer. In a nutshell, that means I take pictures the way they did in the 1800's, and they look exactly the way they did in the 1800's. A digital photographer might take 100 pictures in a very short period of time, and I can only take 1 picture about every 15 minutes!

There are a huge number of disadvantages for the photographer to do it that way (almost everything), but there is one great reason to do it this way: The pictures are astonishing. They're the finest photo you'll ever own, and you and your descendants will treasure it for hundreds of years. That's a very good reason to go to all the trouble.

I'm fine tuning my technique and building a cool portfolio, and I always have my eye out for new people (men and women) to model (or you might say just to be in my pictures) and new interesting locations. My goal in being here is to just get really streamlined with my process, and get to know lots of different possible locations for future use.

I need reps and portfolio building. If you help me get reps and good portfolio pics, I'll give you the most unique photos of yourself you've ever seen. Each photo is one of a kind, and can't be duplicated, so you keep a couple and I'll keep a couple. We can both take pictures of all of them for our respective portfolio use. The photos are literally a piece of glass (hard to imagine, but that's what they used back then).

As far as what to expect from a wet plate photo shoot, and me as a photographer, it will probably be very different than you're used to. Imagine if you can only take one picture every 15 minutes. There's not much opportunity to try different things and poses with the model and figure out what works, because it wastes a huge amount of time and materials, and the light and position of the sun is constantly changing, which changes everything.

Instead, I try to concentrate on finding a good background that I know is going to look great in wet plate, and then I put a person in front of it. If they're dressed for the picture, and positioned correctly in the background, the photo will be brilliant. The person definitely adds to the photo, but the complete photo itself is the star. You really can't take a bad picture (assuming it is properly exposed and focused, and you don't move).

I wouldn't worry about being able to strike pose after pose and trying to please the camera. One pose discussed beforehand will be enough, which should make it an easy job for the model.

If we get a good pic, then we move on to the next background and start over. Time is always limited, and I do want to experiment to an extent, but I've learned that because every photo looks amazing, it's better to just move on rather than sticking in one spot making little tweaks trying to get the perfect photo. If done correctly, the first photo is the perfect photo. The photos are so unique, it's almost hard to know what to do with more than one of the same background. It's better when there is just one.

If we're doing head and shoulders portraits, then you're probably just sitting in a chair. The background practically doesn't matter, because I use fast lenses which make the background blurry (although to an extent you can see it). It looks really great and puts the focus on your face. I would literally just recommend staring at the camera with a blank look on your face for a really amazing photo. The camera does all the work. It sounds boring, and maybe it is, but wet plate really has a really great look and nothing needs to be added to it, except what you're wearing has an impact on the look and feel.

In any case, I won't stop you from doing what you want to do. I'm still learning what looks good, I just know that if it aint broke, don't fix it. It's not a fashion shoot, it's an 1800's photography shoot. People just standing there look so great it's hard to know how to improve upon it.

While this is an 1800's process, you don't have to dress up Victorian for a really great picture. A woman in a dress or a man in a plain button up collared shirt looks great. Scarves look great. What doesn't look great is really modern clothing, like a Nike polo shirt or something. Something like that really makes the viewer forget that the picture could have been taken long ago.

The actual taking of the photo itself, from the model's perspective, requires about 30 seconds of holding pretty still (you can breathe and blink once you've found your pose), and only about 4-8 seconds of holding perfectly still while the image is being made. It's only tough for young children, and I've never had a blurry picture of an adult.

The last thing I might add is that because it takes so long between photos, and I'm working the whole time, it could get kind of boring. Or you might think I'm mad because I have to be so curt. I'm not. I would love to chat, but the process requires a lot of concentration and going back and forth between the dark room.

I'm not concerned whatsoever that you won't be floored by seeing a wet plate photo of yourself. My only concern is that you'll find the process of getting there boring or awkward while you stand around for long periods of time by yourself. So bring a friend, book, or your phone to occupy yourself between photos.

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