Ken Hansen (OMP Member #189064) took his first photos at age 12. Now, 20 years later, he has worked in many aspects of the industry, including stints as a photojournalist, fashion photographer, and visual artist. He studied photography at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah, and his work has been featured in newspapers, television, and art galleries.

Hansen has suggestions for other photographers just starting out.

"Be yourself, let your work reflect who you are and treat models like gold. OMP is not a place to pretend you're something you're not. If you're just starting out, don't try to fake your way through it and call yourself a pro. You'll make life more difficult for yourself, and for the rest of the photographers on OMP.

"There are plenty of models on OMP that are willing to work with new photographers -- some of them are well-published. It's better to admit you're a GWC ("Guy With Camera") up front than embarrass yourself and waste the time of a model.

"Shoot what comes natural to you. This applies to both the subject of your photography and the style in which you shoot it. Don't try to be the same as another photographer. It's good to look at others for inspiration, but take those ideas and make them your own.

"Models are not a commodity. They are not props. The more respect you give the models you work with, the more successful your shoots will be. Amazing shots don't just happen. They are a combination of a photographer's talent, a model's ability to portray an concept, and often the creativity of several other support persons. In order for it all to function smoothly, a photographer must also be a conduit to channel trust and vision."

The Utah resident's interest in the field developed at an early age.

"I have always been drawn to light and the ability to capture it in a tangible form. However, there are two distinct moments that pulled me in to what has become nothing short of a passion. "The first event occurred when I was on an activity for scouts. We were riding around my small town in the back of a pickup truck collecting donations for Deseret Industries, a thrift shop that is fairly prevalent here in Utah. I remember that somewhere in between stops an old Nikonos camera in a hard case caught my eye. It had fallen out of a bag of donations.

"I picked up the camera, got permission from the scout leader to keep it, and took it home. It became an obsession. I had no clue how to use the camera... I had only used the cheap 110 camera I got from the local drug store. I borrowed books from the library and slowly taught myself how to shoot. Of course, I'm several cameras down the road now but I still have that old Nikonos and its hard case.

"The second event was one of the few things I remember very distinctly from 6th grade. My shop class that year covered a variety of things, from ceramics to drywall repair. However, one day in that class changed the focus of my entire life. That day my shop teacher introduced the class to developing film. I'll never forget watching the roll of developed film being pulled off the reel. To a 12-year-old, it was like magic.

"After that day I had fleeting dreams of doing other things, but my life has always brought me back to photography. It is who I am, not just what I do. Quite honestly, I don't care what I'm photographing . . . as long as I'm behind the camera."

The majority of his early experience in photography came through the world of photojournalism.

"Though I dabbled in attempts to capture images of natural beauty, most of my work generally dealt with subjects that I didn't feel were appropriate to approach as an artist.

"It wasn't uncommon for me to cover a traumatic accident, a feature assignment and a sporting even in the same day. As I became more used to working under the extreme situations a photographer encounters while covering news, I started to look for ways to approach difficult subjects that would allow me to tell the story without delving in to a victim's privacy or assaulting those that viewed my work with unnecessary disturbing details.

"On one particular assignment I was asked to cover a single-vehicle rollover on I-15 in southern Utah. When I arrived at the scene there were bodies thrown all over in a field adjacent to the freeway, several of which had been covered with blankets. One crew was working to extract the last person from the vehicle. Other crews were scattered across the field, apparently performing CPR on other people that had been thrown from the flipping vehicle.

"One by one, I watched the crews load bodies in to seven ambulances. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a solitary firefighter return to the scene to retrieve an unused backboard. I captured an image of him walking back to his truck, backboard under one arm and head hanging down.

"For some reason, that accident had a profound affect on me. I don't know if it was because I was scared that I had started to see beauty in even such horrible situations or if it was all a huge sensory overload -- emotionally, mentally and physically. But at that point I decided I wanted to change the direction I was going with photography.

"It was during this time I found One Model Place. I joined the site with little experience outside of journalism. At that point, OMP had a fraction of the membership it does now. I was attending a college in southern Utah and was able to contact a few models in the Las Vegas area, ranging from amateur to professional that were willing to work with me in spite of my limited qualifications.

"I owe a large part of where I am now to One Model Place and those first few models that agreed to work with me. Because of them I have been able to find a new direction -- one that allows me to express myself on a creative level not allowed by photojournalism.

"The OMP site has been a continuous source of information, as well as a rare way to access some of the most talented models in the world. I'm also constantly using the galleries and member profiles on the site as a source for inspiration. Not once have I visited the site without coming away amazed by someone's work."

His approach to shooting involves a personal style choice to shoot natural shots rather than posed images.

"Because I don't have a bunch of preferred poses, I'm able to draw on the personality and background of the individual models I work with. Because of this, it's not often that two of my images look very much alike. At the same time, I don't hesitate to make little corrections to a model's pose to create a balanced image.

"A relaxed environment, open communication and a common trust are all key to the way that I work. When possible, I prefer to get to know my models a little before we work together. I prefer to have any questions answered before the shooting begins so that everyone knows what to expect. This simple approach is a large part of what creates the natural feel to my images, even in those that are posed."

Hansen has had recent success on Capazoo.com, a new website that has been working closely with One Model Place. In fact, he was featured on the site.

"It really didn't take long for me to realize that Capazoo was different from what other social networking sites offered. Unlike sites that are slanted towards music artists, Capazoo leans heavily towards photos, art, sports and entertainment. I loved the flow of the site and the personal response from the different departments was amazing.

"The other little twist that Capazoo adds is the ability to give and receive tips which members have the ability to convert to cash. To me, the idea is kind of like tipping a street artist or musician for their work. In very little time, I received the equivalent of almost $30 in tips, which I used to pay for a premium membership on the site. It wasn't long before my photography had caught the eye of several of the Capazoo staff and was offered the opportunity to have my work featured in the site's e-zine."

He passes along words of advice for OMP members who are interested in joining Capazoo.

"I've had some pretty in-depth conversations with the staff at Capazoo and they have some huge things going. The company is well-organized and offers just enough of a difference between itself and other networking sites to set it apart. I think that in the near future Capazoo could be just as big of a tool to photographers and models as MySpace is to musicians."

You can see more of the artist's work at kenhansen.net. You can also sign up for your own account at capazoo.com.