Frequently Asked Questions
This was last updated on 6.11.13. If you are reading this a few months after that, much of this is probably out of date. Sorry.
What is Driven By Boredom?
Driven By Boredom is my motto. The basic idea is that whenever I get really bored in life I have to come up with something to do. Usually that manifests in some sort of creative out put. The idea being that I need to use boredom as a motivating factor in my life. Not everyone has the luxury of having nothing to do. Luckily, I did very little work in college and had plenty of time to make this dumb website. Now I force myself to have time for this page, even when I am not so bored.
What is Drivenbyboredom.com?
Drivenbyboredom.com is a website that I started my sophomore year in college (early 2001) as a way to house a number of projects that I was working on online. I wanted to be able to point my friends to things I was doing and have my own personal URL. I wanted my own email account and I wanted to be able to upload the photos I was taking. I had recently made a very successful photo blog, but I was sick of it and wanted to start something else. At the time blogging was not what it is today, and blog sites like mine were part of a genre of websites called E/N sites or everything/nothing. E/N sites mostly consisted of a blog that was constantly linking to other sites, videos and pictures. What set DBB apart from many of the other E/N sites is that DBB was 100% original content.Currently Drivenbyboredom.com is mostly a party photo blog although I hope it is a bit different from some of the other party bloggers. I try to post a lot of different things on this site, but I shoot so many parties that this site has become a party blog. That is not what DBB started out as 9 years ago, and it probably wont be a party blog 9 years from now. For example when I wrote this I shot a lot less naked girls than I do as of this update so yeah, boobs. This site changes as I do. Just keep checking back…
Who are you?
My name is Nate Smith, but everyone has called me Igor since 1995. Want to know why I am called Igor? Watch this. I was born in 1980. I have a BFA in photography and film from Virginia Commonwealth University. I also attended Penn State University for two years before I transfered to VCU. I managed a band called the Gaskets from 2003 to 2008. I am currently working with one of the Gaskets on new projects. Since December 2008 I do freelance photography and this website for a living.
What does NSFW stand for?
NSFW stands for Not Safe For Work. In the case of my web site it means their is probably a nipple or two somewhere in the galleries. Most work computers have my site banned anyway, but just in case, you might want to keep away from the NSFW galleries on your office computer.
How can I contact you?
You can email me at igor@drivenbyboredom.com or you can follow me on twitter @drivenbyboredom. I am also on a million other social networks. If you want to find me, just look up the user name drivenbyboredom. I am probably on there. I also have a mailing list.
How can I hire you? What are your rates?
Just email me. My rates vary dramatically depending on what the gig is but the main factors are where it is, how long it’s going to take and if there is sponsor branding involved. I tend to charge more money if you want me to take photos of people drinking whatever booze/energy drink/ cough syrup you are selling.
What kind of photo equipment do you use?
I get this question more than any other and I kinda find it insulting. I think the question implies that if you had my exact equipment, you would be able to take the same photos. It is simply not the case. For the record I shoot with a Nikon D800 an SB 800 flash and for most event work I shoot with a 24-70 2.8 Nikkor lens. People ask me about my settings a lot too. I change the settings nearly every time I take a photo. I am clearly not an unbelievable photographer, but I do know how to use a camera. If you don’t have an innate sense of what your fstops and shutter speed adjustments do you need to take a lot more photos until you do. This sums up my feelings about this question pretty well.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22rMq0lQLZw[/youtube]
Can I purchase ads on this site?
Yes. Contact me for details.
Can I purchase prints?
Yes. Contact me for details.
Will you take down that photo from last night? I was so drunk!
Yes. I take down everything. I never want photos up that the people in them don’t want up. That being said, it is a pain for me to take down photos because I have to rebuild my whole gallery etc. So if you want me to take down a photo because you have a pimple or something, please don’t. Don’t be so vain. If you want me to take down a photo because you are getting felt up by a guy who you don’t even remember his name because you took Xanax and drank 14 drinks, I will take it down, but please get help.
How do you get girls naked?/Why haven’t you posted naked girls recently?/Why are you such an exploitive creepy?
Look; I like naked girls. I have no idea how I get them naked. It it’s just what I am good at. I rarely post anything that I find “graphic”. The only exceptions are if something insane happens right in front of me. I warn people if things like that are in galleries. I usually only post the tamest of nudes, and like keeping my site, sexy, yet without being pornographic in anyway. And while I do photograph naked drunk girls, if I shoot a gallery of a girl I always make sure she soberly approves the photos before they go up. If some one randomly flashes me in a bar, I can’t always track them down, but like mentioned above, I will always take down photos if I have to. Lastly, my site is not a porn site. I do not really want people coming here just to look at naked girls. I understand that some people do, but if I don’t post any nudes for a while, don’t bug me about it. I am not paying any of these girls, when it happens it happens, when it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If you want to see naked girls, there are roughly infinity other web sites for that on the internet.
You want to get naked for me?
That sounds awesome. I don’t have time to shoot everyone any more and I am trying to be a bit more picky but hit me up and maybe we can make it happen. I try to do trade work with people that will provide good traffic to the site so if you are really hot or have a big following and it makes sense I am probably going to be down. If not you can always pay me. I like being able to pay my rent reasonably on time.
I have questions about your mobile APP.
The DBB App has it’s own FAQ and you can look at that here.