CEDTalks

"Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah, Well, give me all you got, and don’t hold back, yeah, Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah, No offense to you, don’t waste your time" - Pharrell Williams, "Happy" Find happiness and allow others to have theirs, even if it includes Westwood hats and astronauts. I'm "happy" that Pharrell's song is being received so well. Everyone and their mother (including mine) is walking around doing the Carlton, singing "Cuz’ I'm happyyyyyyyyyyyy!" It's cool. In addition to being a huge fan of Williams' music (if you love “Happy”, check out “Just a Cloud Away” ) and persona, the song is a testimony to my constant sermon that there remains an audience of people who enjoy, appreciate, and request positive images. Every so often we get songs like “Happy”, Outkast’s “Hey Ya”, “Blessed” by Jill Scott, and classics like “Happy Feelings” by the legendary Maze ...

In 2007, I was working with Y.M.e? Photography, a company that my friends and I started at our college. We started in studio photography, eventually expanding to events, but we made a name for ourselves with our model photos. In our heyday we were GOOD; G, Jeff, Rob, and I snapped a lot of classics with Devyn infusing his music genius and Ray marketing the product. One of the intangible skills that separated our photography from competitors was...we found the sexy. Looking at our old pics, it is still evident: We were able to capture the best essence of each of our models. Sexy or cute?  Zooeeeeee.... Doing so, however, would always prompt the question, "Which models were naturally sexy?", which expanded into what girls we knew were sexy and who was just cute. At first listen, it sounds like a vain and pretentious statement but there are great benefits in identifying the difference. Recognizing the stark contrast between cute and sexy allows women to maximize th...