I just want to make something clear that may have been a bit vague before. This is my personal Myspace page. My company, QuiStone Studios, has a site at www.quistonestudios.com. My myspace page is a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere wherein I do post a bit of official stuff, but I also put my amateurish music up front, scribble some moody poetry and lyrics, and speak in a bit of a looser tongue.

I also tend to upload new pictures here first, and a lot more of them. Why? First because I check my Myspace page constantly and it's just convenient, and more because my official site and my company's myspace page, features the work of more than on photographer, and targets multiple fields. I like directing bands here more often, because it helps to even out the family friendly atmosphere of my other myspace.

But the overall purpose of even having this thing is to out myself and everything I do, and see if it connects with anybody out there. I'm a photographer, a music lover, an artist, a writer, and a people person. That last part may sound a bit out of place, but I don't mean it as a skill or a professional trait. I'm a person that loves to meet, interact with, and understand people. So stick around, comment, message me, whatever. Let me know if something cool is going on. Whatever... Just don't send me any freaking app invites. They're about as annoying and impersonal as you can get.

So, anyway, this is me. I am Damien Qui.




Quistone Studios can be found here:
QuiStone Studios Official Site
QuiStone Studios Myspace Page

I specialize in shooting bands and musicians, but I also do weddings, modeling shoots, family portraits, maternity, commercial, and more. I also do graphics, image editing and optimization, and more.

To see my work and network with me, look in the following places:

Galleries
Most complete collection of my work, lo-res - Damien Qui's Myspace Gallery
The work done by and with my company, QuiStone Studios, lo-res - QuiStone Studios
High resolution gallery for QuiStone Studios with print/purchase options - QuiStone Purchase Galleries
Examples of Image Editing and Optimization Services - QuiStone Studios Photo Resources

Networking
Website
   QuiStone Studios
Myspace
   Damien Qui
   QuiStone Studios
Facebook
   Damien Qui
Twitter
   QuiStone Studios

On-Location/hr - $60
Digital Post-Processing and retouching - $15 per image (included on 15 images per  hour)
Adobe Photoshop and Creative Suite Tutoring - In studio = $20/hr, In-home - $30/hr





Current Discounts:
Bands/Musicians with instruments- 20% off (more below)
Fetish photography - 10% off
Permanent Discounts:
30% off for any military personnel looking for shots done in uniform
10% off for anyone with a military ID (military families included)

What you'll get is a guaranteed minimum of 15 choice images from each hour of shooting. That's not to say that there will only be 15 pictures taken (more like 100+), but I will hand pick the best pics and put them through my masterful retouching and enhancement process so that they look as good as or better than the rest of my portfolio.
All selected images will be placed on a photo CD or made available for download with full distribution and reproduction rights, something rarely offered by other photographers without substantial cost.
Printing services are also available in all sizes, from wallet to poster to door size (30% discount does not apply to printing). Please be aware that ordering prints does not transfer reproduction or distribution rights to the purchaser. This is true with any and every photography service in the US since 1976.





Personal Preferences
   Musician Discount - As a musician myself, I love shooting bands. My 20% discount applies until further notice to any bands that want live shots, headshots, group shots, candids or whatever. I say 'with instruments, but that's obviously flexible. I don't expect your drummer to lug his whole set down to a shoot, but the best shots would come of it. The idea is to be identifiable as a band member or professional musician.
So for you musicians, that's $48/hr after your discount. I'll even do you one better, and I'll knock it down to $40/hr during your set, as long as you put me on your guest list (or just make sure I don't pay a cover). Think of it this way; if you're a five part band playing a one hour set, that's just $8 each for what could be the best live photography you've ever had done. Add an hour of candid shots after the set, and that's $17.60 per band member for 30 shots that combine live and posed/candid shots! So for less than you'll probably spend on beer/drinks that night, your band gets a major image boost.
   Military Discount - Our men and women of the armed forces mean a lot to me, and their families mean the world to them. Being Prior service, I know that sometimes these brave individuals are often overlooked or forgotten. That's why I humbly offer 30% off to any active duty, reserve, or retired military personnel having portraits done in uniform. It is an honor to be able to capture this important part of your life in a way that you can cherish forever. If you don't want to pose in uniform, I still offer a 10% discount to yourself or any member of your family holding a military ID, whether the service member is present or not. You may want portraits to send to your loved ones serving overseas or in training, or some pictures together before shipping off, or even just some nice family pictures of any kind.






An average session runs 1-2 hrs.
I know how to read people, and how to portray them the way you wish to be seen. My shots get REACTION, and I love what I do.
If you're ready, please give me a call at 813-731-4380 or email me at damienqui@gmail.com.

I can't wait to hear from you.

Mutual Respect and Appreciation
It has been a long time since I stopped watermarking photos. I never had much of a problem with people stealing my work. Most people I have photographed understand the investments that are made into every photograph before, during, and after it is taken. It's one of those things that separates serious professionals from mere camera-owners.

Why did I Stop?
So awhile back, when I started QuiStone Studios, I decided that I wasn't going to watermark my photos. It's ugly and time consuming, it requires me to double the amount of storage space I use for finished work, and it is generally unnecessary. Why unnecessary? Because Myspace reduces the image quality so much that the end result is barely even suitable as a preview, and most people would rather pay my disgustingly low prices and own the pictures outright. My other galleries are a bit more with the times and have right click protection. It's not perfect, but it keeps the honest people honest, as they say. So I decided I would not bother with the watermarking until I inevitably have to deal with someone too selfish to care.

Time for a change
Well, the clean days are over. My gallery is growing in size, and my images are starting to find their way into places they don't belong. Waiting any longer to make a change will just make it that much more work to accomplish.

New Policy
From now on I will watermark all new images, and I am also going to go back and systematically repopulate my existing galleries with watermarked pics. If you are one of my wonderful clients that has purchased rights to photos featured in my gallery, please contact me if you would like me to leave your images unmarked.

The Law
The Federal Copyright Act of 1976 protects photographs as intellectual works, copyright of the photographer from the moment of creation until transferred by contract to another party. Without permission or copyright transfer from the photographer, you cannot copy, distribute, or reproduce the photographs in any way.
Look it up in Wikipedia, the Library of Congress, or wherever you can google it. It's been the law since before I was born, and hasn't changed in 33 years. For a quick and concise breakdown of photographers' copyrights, click here.

I'm a Dick
I just had to say what needed to be said. Now that it's done, let me point out a few things about how much of a tightass I really am. I don't care if you save a picture from myspace on your hard drive for your own little private digital collection, just don't print it or redistribute it without permission. You remember where you got it, but the next person may not, and the 5th person down the line doesn't even know your name, much less mine.
But why bother? You know how much it costs to get full rights on a photographers photos? Some of you know, and some of you would be shocked. Go on craigslist and request a 2 hour photoshoot with full rights to the finished images, with or without post-editing, and say you don't want to spend more than $100. Make sure and use a dummy e-mail address, by the way, because you are going to get flooded with angry emails from even amateur photographers screaming about how you are a cheapskate, pointing out that the rights transfer itself usually runs a minimum of $1000 for a small shoot or around $300 per image, telling you they won't take the cap off of their lens for $100, etc., etc., etc.
Now look at my blog. Fifteen bucks for individual images, after the editing and optimization has already been done. $40/hr for shooting with fifteen images included per hour with full rights.
Most photographers tell me I'm short-selling myself and undercharging, others get downright angry and attack me with profanity for setting a new standard within such a competitive field (although that's not quite how they phrase it). I'm just secure in my ability, and targeting a different demographic.  I've been doing this for over 15 years. I take better photos, touch up in a fraction of the time, and operate much more smoothly than alot of other players. I shoot what I like, and what makes me feel good. I shoot underground/unsigned bands, portraits for families that typically have little money to spend these days, and struggling models. I give a lot of freebies to the clients I work with regularly, and cross-promote whenever I can help some band I get along with.
But for some reason, I'm still just a dick.

A few weeks back, the State Theater had an awesome metal showcase that I was happy to have been invited to. I met a lot of great bands, ran into a bunch of great people that I've met before, and got a mess of pictures of the many fantastic performances that took place. After the show, everything went a little sideways.






One of my memory cards went MIA. That's bad enough, but it happened to be the one card that had all of my shot's of Suggestion's mind-blowing, competition winning performance. I was more than a little upset with myself for letting it disappear, whatever happened. The next problem came when I got home. Before Departing, I had transferred nearly all of the nights pictures onto my laptop. Imagine my joy when I got home and it refused to power on.





Being a cheap thrifty bastard, I ordered the replacement part needed from what seemed like the best deal I could find online. Three weeks later I was still waiting, cursing the company in Hong Kong that kept giving me the runaround until finally admitting that they never sent it in the first place.






Now that's all over, I've recovered the pictures, worked out a new system for backing up pictures on-site, forgiven the good people of Hong Kong, and I'm processing the pictures and uploading them band by band. If you were one of the bands I photographed that night, you'll get a message when they are up.






I still don't have those Suggestion pictures, though, and that really stings. Of all the bands I've photographed, they are still one of my favorite subjects. Check out the gallery of them at The Brass Mug to see why.






Anyway, if you have any questions about your pictures or anything else, drop me a line at damienqui@gmail.com, or call me at 813-731-4380.






Here is a complete list of the Bands that will be featured from the State Theater Show:

Cosmic Mountain (up)

Dirty Black Halo (up)

Falling Awake (up)

Hangman Jury (up)

Pushmower (up)

Killer Without a Cause

Look Right Penny

Seven Years Past

Stuk

The Dood

Also, there were a couple of bands that I only got a few pics of, which will be uploaded into a State Theater Photos gallery:
Southside Serenade
Not Tonight Josephine
Suggestion (three backstage pics)

This is a video I made for 'The Speed of Pain' using the first five seasons of 'House M.D.'. If you've never seen House, you should definitely check it out. It's one of the greatest shows ever. And if you've never heard Speed of Pain, well, you're in for a treat.

I went on The Morning X yesterday and got slapped around a bit and kicked in the nuts by Paris Kennedy. 97xonline.com should have the video up at some point. I had just woke up, and looked like shit, but it was all good. Got free tickets to Dave Matthews and Incubus. Dave was cool, seein' Incubus Saturday. Was gonna go to fetishcon, but it took too damn long to find my car after dmb that I just went home and crashed. It was all totally worth it. Thanks for the tickets, Fisher and Seth, and Paris... you can kick me in the nuts anytime.

Update: Here's the link to the broadcast -

97xonline : Damien takes a beating