TER General Board

He is lovely to work with.
SolaLove See my TER Reviews 795 reads
posted

Whatever the nay-sayers think, here are my reasons for shooting with Aldo repeatedly over the years:

1.  I hate looking at photos of myself and am uber-critical of the images.  With Aldo I always get *too many* great photos vs. only a couple.

2.  I am not a model, I turn wooden in front of a camera.  Aldo is a sweetheart who can make me laugh and smile in a shoot.  A genuine smile in my gallery?  Priceless!

3.  Again, I am not a model.  He is good at directing me which way to look, what to do with my arms, reminding me to sit up straight, etc.

4.  He has taken amazing shots of me no matter how ill-prepared I was for the shoot - Ex, just rolling out of bed on his arrival with no hair/make up done, and no outfits planned.

5.  His rates knock the socks off just about every other professional I've ever worked with.  I've paid 5x his rate for shoots and have worked with a good half-dozen photographers - And, I like Aldo's work best.  I think he makes ME look like ME, and he will only retouch to the extent a lady asks/allows.  

6.  This IS a business, and I feel I have the best ROI working with Aldo.

7.  Did I say, I genuinely like the guy?

And for those who say his work is "nothing special"?  Guess what - I'll say for a third time.  I AM NOT A MODEL, I am a companion.  I do not want fancy art images.  I do not want to look 6' tall and tan (as one photographer did with my images).  I am not using sex to sell an overpriced car.  I do not want to be on the cover of a rock album.  I do not want photos that will leave someone disappointed, I want lovely, representative images which highlight my assets.  Aldo gives me that.


-- Modified on 8/19/2014 12:50:38 PM

Shane_Falco3066 reads

Another question generated from my time spent on the photos board. I know, I need to find a better way to pass the time.  

It appears to me that almost every lady I have come across who has done professional photo shoots, has done a photo shoot with Aldo. So, it makes me just curious as someone with a background a marketing and promotion, what seperates Aldo from anyone else? What does he do that has some many ladies requesting his services?

several photographers have been sentenced to jail time for materially participating in a conspiracy to offer prostitution services - in most cases with agencies.   If I were a photographer my shoot contract would state that the images I produce could not be used to promote any illegal business, or my name would not be on them....

as far as the imagery itself,   it seems to me to be flatly lit, over exposed, and stylistically boring - very static imagery, without a sense of context or mood -   repetitively so  -   all of these images look entirely alike -

perhaps he markets himself to the business segment?   Photography is one business where talent is not the determinate of success more often than not, but rather,  self promotion and networking....

89Springer1167 reads

Pardon me, but bullshit. I spent 30 years as a photographer and I can state almost unequivocally that you can schmooze with the best of them, but if you don't have talent you're not going anywhere. It's a very tough, competitive business. I watched many no-talent gold class butt-lickers flame out quickly.



-- Modified on 8/19/2014 7:02:51 AM

I am very very familiar with the industry from another angle and I completely disagree -   I see a huge number of highly talented photographers getting nowhere because they do not have the business sense or the marketing ability,  and quite a number of very average photographers rising to the highest levels of the game on nothing more than a reputation crafted from being media savvy...  Terry Richardson being the ultimate example....    there are hundreds of thousands of photographers who could shoot rings around his reprobate bottom but they don't get the opportunities because they are not "connected".....

the days of photography being a meritocracy are well over with in large part because of the proliferation of easy to use digital cameras -   the accepted "standard" of photography has become that which a modern DSLR can produce on "P for professional" mode -   and it is very difficult for someone with real talent these days to persuade anyone that they should look for let alone pay for anything better.....

your viewpoint may have been correct once but is well out of date

the gentleman in question's photography is more proof of the point -    it is very mediocre, flatly lilt, over photoshopped,  with dull perspective and composition -  completely lacking in mood or "pull" -  but he is popular for reasons that the ladies of this thread have elucidated - none of which have anything to do with pure ability at photography -    he markets himself and fills a niche.....

-- Modified on 8/19/2014 2:35:34 PM

89Springer973 reads

As I understand it, Aldo's rate is somewhere just north of $100 per hour. That's wedding photographer rate. I can't say that I've seen his bad work, but for $100 an hour...  His photo of Molly Feinstein in today's Photo Forum is about what I'd expect for that price point.

I thank you for your  perspective, though. I must have spent those 30 years in a cave. You must have been a senior creative director at Leo Burnett or something.

he does a fantastic job and doesnt want to fuck all of his clients..

Well...maybe that's a stretch as you might  LOL

Fortunately many gals avoid him now...for a variety of reasons.

He had a nice run for a while...but too much exposure isn't necessarily a good thing.  Even Aldo and all his photoshopping can't make a beached whale not look like a beached whale.

Posted By: macdaddy1944
he does a fantastic job and doesnt want to fuck all of his clients..

JackDunphy828 reads

So you are saying he wants to fuck SOME of his clients? Which ones?  

I'd be interested in seeing that list b/c that is before he begins his embalming photographic procedures and they may actually look good at that point. Or at least "still alive."

I don't know if Aldo does barter on those however.

Maybe mac knows?

Posted By: JackDunphy
So you are saying he wants to fuck SOME of his clients? Which ones?  
   
 I'd be interested in seeing that list b/c that is before he begins his embalming photographic procedures and they may actually look good at that point. Or at least "still alive."

GaGambler1041 reads

The "biggest suck up" award.

I predict the BSU's are going to be even more hotly contested than even the SPOTY's. There are some many potential winners of this award I don't even know where to set the morning line.

For example if the BSU prefers the Aldo types and IRL are OTHFB just how much credence can you/I put on their "suck ups"?

At least some of the other BSU actually see some here that are at least attractive.

I know it's a tough metric to create...but I think that it's important, given the gravity of the award at stake.

Posted By: GaGambler
The "biggest suck up" award.

I predict the BSU's are going to be even more hotly contested than even the SPOTY's. There are some many potential winners of this award I don't even know where to set the morning line.

GaGambler1136 reads

but I am sure the award committee will work it out over the coming months.

and I do suppose that sucking up to actual hotties will/should earn a candidate less points than sucking up to members of the OTHFBC, We may need to create some kind of metric where sucking up to a ten gets you zero points, sucking up to a nine gets you one point, but sucking up to a three gets you seven points.

...providers go to him for his Photoshopping Fountain of Youth.  He also allegedly engages in "Leica Lipo."

Providers love him; hobbyists - not so much.  Search the board...

GaGambler1012 reads

It's often 20-30 lighter as well.

I think Aldo is so popular because of his willingness to crop out as many pounds and inches as his clients want. He apparently doesn't have the ethics to "just say no".

As others have already said, "Aldo pics" are met with great suspicion, and my advice to the OP is not to follow the thundering herd of OTHFBs who beat a path to his door looking for that fountain of youth and liposuction.

As you can probably tell, I am not a fan. lol

You got that right. Although, in a weird way I can understand it.

If a photographer is "good" at what he does, he will do the best job he can. Someone else mentioned that he doesn't do a lot with light/shadow or motion shots, sort of counterfeit candid, if that's an expression or even a concept outside of the conundrum. So he can paint in post shoot and turn out a catchy design product.

It's like bowling. Every time you try for a strike or a spare, and use all your acquired skill to get the best score. Aside from the money.

FBSM1032 reads

This is how it all started: a few highly rated providers used him and now every provider thinks that shooting with him will get them highly rated as well.  

Related, Audrey Wynn, former #1/#2 provider in the world, used to have her ad link on Tommy's Bookmarks. Not long after, more and more providers created escort profiles on his site and linked it on their TER page. In their minds, they are thinking that Audrey must be doing something right for being #1, so the least they can do is associate themselves with her by having an escort profile on that site. Copy cat effect. It's just providers trying to associate themselves with higher end providers.

Posted By: Shane_Falco
Another question generated from my time spent on the photos board. I know, I need to find a better way to pass the time.  
   
 It appears to me that almost every lady I have come across who has done professional photo shoots, has done a photo shoot with Aldo. So, it makes me just curious as someone with a background a marketing and promotion, what seperates Aldo from anyone else? What does he do that has some many ladies requesting his services?

they are well lit and reasonably posed; unlike most of the selfies that seem to predominate most gals' sites.

I don't think he is an Ansel Adams or Georgia O'Keefe but I'm just glad there are some decent photogs out there to make things more interesting to the eye.

I love Aldo's lighting.

Last shoot I did with him was super fun and looked great. Only problem is I decided not to get hair extensions, so I can't use the long hair photos right now. :(

Lots of women use other photographers in my neck of the woods.  Also, the problem with Aldo is his rep for photo-shopping.  To lots of guys "photos by Aldo" are a red flag.  Personally, I don't care one way or the other as there are lots of ways to find out if she looks remotely like her pix.  This is also why it's a good idea for a gal to include some recent "selfies," even though those can be altered too.

VagWorship793 reads

As I see it, most photographers "retouch" photos of models.  The major difference here is that we don't very often peruse an Internet Porn site, find a hot model, and then get to go and meet her.

I would just assume that every professional photo is retouched.

-- Modified on 8/19/2014 8:48:36 AM

He's extremely affordable and he's the only photographer I've shot with who didn't charge extra to remove my tattoos. The photos he took of me were nice, nothing special, but nice. At the time, I just thought that every higher end chick needed a set done by him to be legit (stupid assumption on my part). I thought the lighting complemented by skin tone nicely, but the poses he had me do were pretty corny and unoriginal. For the price, though, I really can't complain.  

That said, Tim Sapar is the best of the best if you ask me. He's a true artiste in every sense of the word. I'm hoping to catch Megan Love one of these days too.

To know yourself, who you are marketing too, what you find comfortable so you look natural and be able to say no.  

I have had a few shoots done and made it perfectly clear what I wanted and what I did not want to look like. Yeah some poses recommended were not "me" so I didn't do them.  

A great photog should be able to discern your "look or style" and be open to suggestion.

That's why I love Tim's work so much. He never tells me how to pose, he just pretty much lets me go ham and always manages to capture my personality. His assistant Evita is a doll too. I just love them.  

Posted By: hbyist+truth=;(
To know yourself, who you are marketing too, what you find comfortable so you look natural and be able to say no.  
   
 I have had a few shoots done and made it perfectly clear what I wanted and what I did not want to look like. Yeah some poses recommended were not "me" so I didn't do them.  
   
 A great photog should be able to discern your "look or style" and be open to suggestion.

NYC, but he travels all over.  

Posted By: NewEnglandGangsta
As for Tim,  where is he based out of?

IsorokuYamamoto975 reads

Oh isn't this interesting?

Posted By: NewEnglandGangsta
As for Tim,  where is he based out of?

JackDunphy996 reads

Send me a few pics through my "Doctor" here lol so I can check out that hot little bod of yours I keep hearing about. Hit up Aldo to photoshop your face then send them over.

For incentive, I'll send you a photo of my tool. Well, I'd have send you TWO pics b/c I cant fit it ALL in just one. :D

You keep hearing about huh? My bod is an acquired taste, some find it too athletic, others love it. I have mentioned that I have a physique that resembles a figure competitor. Google that and you see me, not as dieted down as in a comp, too hard to do year round.  

Oh and no tool image required, you don't want to stuff up the bandwidth with excessive downloading...lol

Two different styles, two good photographers IMO. I've shot twice with Aldo, once with Tim. I was happy with my images all three times.

I've also shot with other photographers, I love the work of a photographer who is local to me. I also loved my one shoot with Meeshee. For me shooting with different photographers gives the guys to see me in different settings and styles. I think I've shot with a total of 6 different photographers since entering this secret little world here.

Steph xoxo

He knew I was coming with my ideas and wanted a completely different kind of shoot. I booked a long shoot with him, had my own suite, had an on site MUA who helped me change and I was going for old Hollywood glamour and Aldo knew it in advance.

Personally for me, he hit it outta the park. I brought MY ideas to the shoot! He knows I'm picky as hell and I'm not going to be happy with the status quo.

My 2nd shoot with him was in FL and he was feeling terrible but I got a special suite again just for that day so he came over anyway, at my insistence. Again I had my makeup professionally done and some really cool things to wear. I was happy with the shoot and I had input into what poses I wanted, mainly during the shots outside in natural lighting. I do have some of his "Aldo" poses, but guess what, other photographer use most of those poses as well, I see them in print work and celeb photos. Aldo shoots A LOT of ladies so if you want to make your shoot different, it's up to the ladies to communicate it with him or they probably will get a more canned shoot.

And I also recommend letting him know you are PICKY about YOUR shoot. And if a lady doesn't want a ton of photo shopping all they have to do is say so.

JackDunphy1403 reads

Nothing more frustrating than meeting an Aldo girl in person. I am almost always disappointed when that door opens.  

To me, its false advertising. Oh sure, its "legal", but it is legal due to technicality.

Reminds me of the porn of the 70's and 80's vs. the porn of today. Back in the day, the girls were all WAY over made up, every scene was screaming and hollering like they were being harpooned.

Todays porn, much of it anyway, is less make up, more natural lighting, more intimate sex w/o all the yelling and shit. More honest and real, imo.  

I think a photog which brings out a girls sexiness but does so in a manner that doesn't make me wonder if she is some other broad are the best ones.  

Sheep often follow the herd and sometimes the sheep are lead to slaughter. I think he is a fad that is going the horse and buggy route and good riddance.

VOO-doo1029 reads

"hollering like they were being harpooned"

They basically ARE being harpooned. Some of those d***s look like they're over a foot long

lionel.hutz1045 reads

Used to think I was the only one who didn't think his work was anything special.  Nice to see some honest criticism here.

Whatever the nay-sayers think, here are my reasons for shooting with Aldo repeatedly over the years:

1.  I hate looking at photos of myself and am uber-critical of the images.  With Aldo I always get *too many* great photos vs. only a couple.

2.  I am not a model, I turn wooden in front of a camera.  Aldo is a sweetheart who can make me laugh and smile in a shoot.  A genuine smile in my gallery?  Priceless!

3.  Again, I am not a model.  He is good at directing me which way to look, what to do with my arms, reminding me to sit up straight, etc.

4.  He has taken amazing shots of me no matter how ill-prepared I was for the shoot - Ex, just rolling out of bed on his arrival with no hair/make up done, and no outfits planned.

5.  His rates knock the socks off just about every other professional I've ever worked with.  I've paid 5x his rate for shoots and have worked with a good half-dozen photographers - And, I like Aldo's work best.  I think he makes ME look like ME, and he will only retouch to the extent a lady asks/allows.  

6.  This IS a business, and I feel I have the best ROI working with Aldo.

7.  Did I say, I genuinely like the guy?

And for those who say his work is "nothing special"?  Guess what - I'll say for a third time.  I AM NOT A MODEL, I am a companion.  I do not want fancy art images.  I do not want to look 6' tall and tan (as one photographer did with my images).  I am not using sex to sell an overpriced car.  I do not want to be on the cover of a rock album.  I do not want photos that will leave someone disappointed, I want lovely, representative images which highlight my assets.  Aldo gives me that.


-- Modified on 8/19/2014 12:50:38 PM

89Springer1078 reads

I just took a look, and those are all good photos. The newer ones look better to me, and I don't know if they were done by Aldo. The ones that are marked "Aldo" are good as well

The new gallery is a photog who was 3-4x what I pay Aldo.  Yeah, they're nice.  I don't believe that they are "nicer enough" to justify using that photog on a regular basis.  I do like having a variety of photographers and styles - uber pro, semi pro, etc. in my gallery.  I also like doing at least 2 new shoots each year to keep the current gallery *current*, and having just one photographer across the country is not really reasonable for that.  I'll be shooting with Aldo again soon, and I'm always open to new eyes.
;)

Posted By: 89Springer
I just took a look, and those are all good photos. The newer ones look better to me, and I don't know if they were done by Aldo. The ones that are marked "Aldo" are good as well.  
   
 

The dude came to the Carolinas and had them lined up out the door.  He gives his client what she wants or expects normally.  

I did have one of his customers come to me wanting her photos airbrushed and the issues in the pic fixed. Sometimes it was just backround other times it was blemishs and the like.  

But in photography dealing with any business the end result has to pull in the customer desired by said business.  I did a shoot for a band last week that is playing to the college crowd, try to get into that mind set. With that said I believe Aldo works for some but does not work for all.  In Hobbywood I believe real works better and looking to much like a glamour shot is not desireable cause the client will see the real thing and being disappointed at meeting isnt a good thing.

That is my two cent

Homewrecker1007 reads

Then you can get a general idea.  

But don't fool yourself, every photographer photoshops something.

Click Studios is one of the worst, and he's a pig!

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