First off, let me say a big “thank you” to the great group of friends who responded to the call to be photographed. It’s extremely cool that you didn’t hesitate to help me out with this photo project. In addition to being awesome, there was another defining characteristic to the people that responded – they’re all distinctively artistic individuals. There were no accountants or lawyers in the group, but dancers, designers, and fellow photographers were well-represented.

As the shoots progressed it was interesting to think about how I’d come to know these particular friends. Some were current co-workers, while others I hadn’t seen in years. A few I knew mainly from group situations, so to spend one-on-one time with each of them was really cool. We talked about art history, Madagascar, water under the bridge, and life’s trials and rewards.

One friend admittedly hated to be photographed (and wouldn’t you know, her photos were beautiful) but she volunteered in order to show me a 2010 photo-a-day book of her family. She credited me with helping to inspire the project, which I took as an immense compliment.

The burning question

If I were asked five years ago, “how many friends do you have,” I’m not sure of my response. Though I’ve known scores of great people over a lifetime, the answer would probably have been something like, “hmmm…maybe…thirty?”

But now, on Facebook, I count over ten times that many people as friends. Why the disparity? I hoped this project would provide some insight…and it did.

To be honest, I had fears that Facebook was devaluing the word “friend.” But I found out that, for me, quite the opposite was true. Though it was easy to click a button and call someone a friend, those clicks haven’t been made without thought.

Unless you’re just trolling to build your friend count (which I guess some people do), you don’t become friends with someone on Facebook just by accident. There’s some tie, somewhere, that binds you together. It may be small or it may be large – a time in your life, a common interest (I know a lot of photographers), or a mutual friend – but there’s something there that can be built upon. And that’s exactly what my friends and I did over the two days of this photo shoot:

We remembered the ties that bind us.
We built upon our relationships.
And Facebook and photography made it all possible.

Which, really, was the coolest possible outcome. Now if only there were time to photograph all of my other friends, too…

- Jim T.

If you’ve been a follower of this blog you know I’m now on staff with a former client, working at the convergence of internet, photography, and video. I still find time to do my own personal photography, though, and a recent shoot involving some Facebook friends was a fun and educational experience, one worth sharing on the blog, I thought.

There were two main reasons I wanted to photograph Facebook friends.

1. Photo aspect – I felt like photographing portraits and needed a few subjects. Being connected to literally hundreds of people on Facebook provided a great resource, one worth tapping into.
2. Social aspect – the word “friends.” Do we define friends differently in this day and age of rampant social media? What is a friend?

Putting out the call

First, a web page describing the shoot was created and posted on my personal blog. Over the next two weeks I linked to this page a couple of times through Facebook updates. Some interested responses came in immediately and some didn’t filter in until a day or so before the shoot. And, of course, there were the “can you do this another time/special request” questions, but the premise was really simple: I had the studio for one weekend only and the photos would be of Facebook friends, only.

I decided to cap the number of sittings at ten and scheduled them fairly evenly over the two-day period. It turned out to be a good number, large enough to satisfy the intentions of the shoot but small enough that we could take our time.

Photo/technical aspect

Wouldn’t you know, the week prior to the shoot turned out to be exceedingly busy, with not much time to think about the set up. On Saturday morning I headed to Daylight Photo with only a loose plan in mind.

My initial intention was to bounce a bunch of light into a side wall and not worry about the lighting too much – just take what it gives me and work mainly on the interaction with the subject. When I entered the studio (after a few month absence) I was reminded that the only solid side wall was covered with cabinets and other obstructions. That’s not good for bouncing light. Time for Plan B.

Out came the strobes and a couple of soft boxes, a 24” x 36” medium for the main light and an 18” x 24” small for the hair light, set directly opposite one another. Maybe I’d play with the lighting a bit more than originally intended, I decided.

The plan for working with the subjects was simple – give them a starting point and then let them be themselves. There were three basic set ups during the shoot: a stool to sit on, standing, and sitting at a table, and a wide roll of gray seamless paper served as the backdrop.

Each shoot was scheduled for half an hour but probably ended up taking 45-60 minutes. Once a subject arrived we’d talk for quite a while, then move through the basic set ups rather quickly, spending 5-10 minutes on each. Our conversations continued all the way out into the parking lot after each shoot was finished.

As far as technical details go, most of the fiddling was done with a large (4′ x 8′) foamcore panel on the shadow side of each subject. This is all pretty standard stuff for studio photographers: black foamcore was used to subtract light, making dark, dramatic shadows, and white foamcare filled in light and softened shadows. I played with both on each subject and am glad that I did. Soft light can be beautiful but when does it become too soft (and all definition is lost)? And at what point does hard light go from strikingly beautiful to simply harsh? I have a good sense for what works best but this allowed me to push those edges on a number of subjects, in a no-pressure situation. And if we’re not continually pushing the boundaries of what we know (or what we think we know), then we’re not learning, are we?

The camera was a Nikon D90, with either the 18-70 Nikkor zoom or the Nikkor 85mm f1.8. The 18-70 was once a standard Nikon kit lens but it remains one of my personal favorites. I find it very versatile for general photography but there’s noticeable distortion at each end of the range, so it’s not ideal for architectural subjects.

Most shots were done with the lens stopped down to f14-16, a very small aperture. Yes, shooting wide open can be beautiful but I prefer that look with natural light. When shooting in the studio with strobe power I prefer the safe route, stopping far down so depth of field isn’t a concern. I know the lenses are sharp at that aperture and there’s little risk of something important falling out of focus, so no matter how fast we’re shooting or changing things up, focus is a non-issue.

All post-production was done in Lightroom 3, which handles 95% of my image making workload (a free trial download is available from Adobe). A minimum of retouching is done  to retain a natural look.

That’s it for the technical stuff. As far as studio shoots go, it was a fairly typical two-light set up with minimal post-production.

Next up: in next Tuesday’s post we’ll look at the social aspects of the shoot and my search to define “friend” in the age of social media.

- Jim T.

Testing, testing…is this thing on? Can anyone hear me?

Hey there, I hope you’re all doing well. It’s been 18 months since my last post here on prophotolife, and a lot has happened in that time. Here’s the short version: the recession really rocked the photo business, so I happily accepted a full-time creative position with one of my favorite former clients. If you’re interested in the long version and this photographer’s view of this recession, well, read on…

When last we spoke, the recession was in full effect and I was looking for the way forward for my commercial photography studio, Daylight Photo. After twenty-plus years in the photo biz, I’d survived a whole bunch of ups and downs, but by February of 2009, it was obvious that the year ahead was shaping up to be an especially bumpy ride.

Clients began canceling projects left and right in the spring of 2009. I’d survived some pretty tough times in the photo biz – the recession of the early 80s, corporate downsizing in the late 80s, the downturn during the Gulf War, the dot com bubble bursting, and 9/11/2001 – but the difficulties in this recession were exacerbated by other dramatic changes happening within our own industry. After months of looking for answers, I seriously questioned my desire to continue running my own business. Yes, the work might eventually return, but would the budgets?

My personal good news is that now, over a year later, I’m still making my living as a photographer, in addition to being a videographer and a webmaster. Established photographers intent on survival understand that they must evolve and be willing to adapt to new technologies and methodologies. I’ve thankfully been able to do that…by adapting my way into a full-time position with one of my former clients, a professional arts organization.

About a year ago, I stopped by their office to pick up some products for a photo shoot. Our conversation turned to their internet needs and we discussed how prophotolife had been created and developed. About two weeks later, that initial conversation turned into the offer of a full-time position in their publications and web department. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I have prophotolife to thank for the skills that helped land this new opportunity. Originally created as a way to share ideas and information with photographers, prophotolife also allowed me to witness closeup the convergence of photography, video, the internet, and the revolution in digital publishing. Was it tough to leave Daylight Photo and much that I’d worked for? Sure, it was. But I’ve always believed in “living to fight another day,” so it seemed wise to jump out of the ring when this opportunity presented itself. It was definitely the right decision.

In recent months I’ve taken part in a number of publishing projects, including the launch of a large organizational website and a site for a regional university. Another large video/website project is also in the works, an arts-related public awareness campaign. We also just shot the cover and inside spread for one of the organization’s monthly publications. So, by climbing the project ladder a rung or two, I’m no longer simply awaiting assignments, I’m also helping to create new vehicles and additional needs for visual content.

A staff position also provides an interesting sideline view of the photo industry. After taking leave from prophotolife in February of 2009 to devote full attention to Daylight Photo, then experiencing the tumult of the current recession as a small business owner, it became hard to see the photo forest for the trees. Now I spend more time listening and learning, rather than teaching and talking, and I’m enjoying the perspective. It’s the right place for me, for these times.

So what does this mean for prophotolife? Well, prophotolife certainly isn’t going away, I’ll keep paying the hosting bills until the content becomes irrelevant. The videos still get frequent views and I’m often thanked for them, which is really nice. The comment feature on the site has officially been disabled, though, to battle heaps of spam and my lack of time to actively manage an online community. It just makes sense.

Will there be any new updates? I honestly don’t know. I recently picked up a Panasonic LX5 that I’d like to write something about. The same goes for Lightroom 3. And there was this thought-provoking ASMP Copyright Symposium in NYC this past spring. But I honestly don’t know if there will be more updates or not. Never say never.

As for Daylight Photo, it’s alive and well and being managed by my former business partner, Bob. He and his wife took over my portion of the business and they’re making a go of it, enjoying some success despite the difficult times. I still help out on special projects at the studio (it’s only a mile from my new office) and we talk often and at length about what’s happening in the industry.

Well, that’s the view from here. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in the States and I thought it would be a good opportunity to touch base again, to let you know that I’m alive and well, and to thank you for supporting prophotolife. I hope all is well in your world and that you have much to be thankful for this holiday season, also. Till we meet again…

Happy shooting,
Jim T.

Since we all enjoy learning about photography it seems a natural to share what I’m learning from starting the photo a day 2009 blog (Talkington Photo Video). What is there to learn? Well, a new blogging program, new processing software and a new camera and lenses. If there’s not something there to learn then I’m definitely not paying attention!

This is pretty much the way I learn. We all have different methods for what works best for us as individuals and clearly defined goals are effective for me. “Photo a day” is perfect for that. There are a number of things on my “I’d like to do that someday” list…and that’s just when they’ll get done: someday. But, hey, announce to the world you’re going to start a project on January 1 and now there’s a greater sense of obligation, a purpose beyond my own learning.

Online photo sharing is still relatively young but it’s dramatically changed the way photographers interact. We’ve become accustomed to showing our photographs and we all enjoy receiving kudos for a nice image. The approval of others can lift us to new heights and the sharing of ideas is an incredible boon. For instance, yz (a photo blogging inspiration) suggested I print one of my abstracts really large. Hmmm, I hardly ever print large but that’s a really cool idea and it has me thinking in completely new ways. That’s one of the really enjoyable things about such a photo project (and it’s nice we’re still talking about printing in this online age…I was starting to forget about printing!).

But, when you’re trying to post 365 new photos in a row, they’re not all going to be winners. There are going to be photos that are part of a process that aren’t finished works of art, they’re just steps along the way to improving as a photographer. While it’s nice to produce work enjoyed and understood by others, sometimes you have to do like that old proverb, just put it out there and “dance like there’s no one watching”. Those are some of the most important images of all.

Trying to achieve a photo goal like this is also not just about the photographs. I realize that 365 photos aren’t just 365 photos. Hopefully, they’re also a wide range of experiences and recollections. Photography has given me many gifts in the form of personal experience.

For instance, I’ve never watched The Surgery Channel and often turn my head at blood and gore in movies. But I’ve had no problem photographing in an operating room, framing incisions and complicated procedures through the lens of a camera. The camera has done that for me.

Extreme heights are something else I’m not particularly fond of, yet I’ve leaned out the side of a plane with the door removed with no problems, all because a camera was in my hands. Go figure.

Who knows? We’re only 3 days into the new year as of this writing but I’m certain that 362 photos from now I’ll have enjoyed some new experiences as a result of photo a day. I don’t plan on hanging out of any planes in the coming year but even seeing my own neighborhood in a new way would be reward enough. Maybe it will be a year of new visions, maybe a year of refinements.

Next week in part 2 I’ll share some of the technical things I’m learning from the initial experience regarding the Olympus E520 and lenses, Pixel Post and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom!.

It all starts with an idea and grows from there. I had a new beauty dish to test out and my friend Kelly (a talented photographer and stylist) and I were looking for a project to work on together. To me, a beauty dish conjures up images from the 40’s, a time before softboxes and strobes. A vintage portrait seemed like a perfect application and an opportunity to try and connect with the work of portrait artists like George Hurrell.

Some photographers like to manage every detail of a shoot like this but I really rely on and enjoy the collaboration with others. Plus, I realize where my strengths and weaknesses are. Kelly had a friend she felt would be perfect for the look and she also took responsibility for lining up the clothing. We knew from the outset that hair styling would be key to pulling off the look, so Kelly offered to find a hair stylist interested in contributing. I would put my energy into studying the technical look and lighting from the era.

After years in the business I do have relationships with other creative people that are sometimes interested in working together on projects like this. You don’t have such relationships, you say? Well, if you know anyone with an interesting look or a hobby that’s worth photographing, why not ask them if they’re interested in working together? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The important thing about testing for me is that, well, it’s testing. A chance to try some new things out and experiment. That’s always been my primary goal, the value of the experimentation. Yes, the hope is to make at least one good photograph but, more importantly, I view it as an opportunity to test equipment and / or ideas in a non-pressure situation. Kind of like the dress rehearsal for a play.

Doing the research

An online search and a trip to the library turned up plenty of vintage Hollywood portraits for study. A closer, objective look at the photographs revealed a few surprises. This is a pretty common part of the process for me. You see, I had an image in my head of what a vintage portrait looked like and it was pretty accurate, overall. But the camera angles, in particular, were lower than I would have thought. Eye contact with the camera wasn’t as common as I’d envisioned. Research pays off.

Study reinforced that depth of field was generally shallow in the vintage images because large format cameras were used. High contrast was the order of the day because of the photo materials available and to “blow out” details in the skin. And, of course, airbrushing was utilized extensively to eliminate blemishes. I printed up a few images as technical reminders and would have them on hand as references at the shoot.

Time for the shoot

With everyone gathered, the collaboration comes to life. Carmen, our talent, was perfect for the role and the hair styling was spot on.

Kelly rounded up a few different choices for clothing so we could make final decisions together. Having options is important in case something might photograph better than another choice. Patterns may not work as well as imagined, certain fabrics may produce a difficult moire pattern or a particular cut of fabric might not behave well in the chosen pose. It’s good to have choices.

So, what did we find once the photography began?

I think of a shoot like this in two parts: first, let’s get the basic technical details worked out and then it’s time to move on to the aesthetic part (clothing, hair and posing). Yes, each part will be continually refined, but I like to feel comfortable with the technical aspects first. Then, when it’s time to really get rolling, fuller attention can be give to the model.

I struggled with the look for a bit, to be honest. We watched the images pop up on the screen in full color while shooting tethered to the computer. The color threw everyone off a bit since our final image would be black and white. Ninety-nine percent of the time we shoot directly to Phase One Capture One software in the studio and it works perfectly. In this case, even though the Canon 5D camera was set to shoot RAW in black and white, the previews still popped up in color. Apparently, Capture One doesn’t recognize this particular setting automatically in the previews. This was news to me and a good thing to find out in a test situation.

Even though I could say, “we’ll just convert them to black and white in post-production” (or convert the occasional image while shooting), it was still preferable for everyone to view a more accurate image as we shot. In order to get the previews to show up in black and white we switched to Canon’s own supplied software, DPP (Digital Photo Professional) and Canon Capture. It was free and available and we keep it loaded on the computer as a backup, just in case. Seeing the images immediately in black and white brought a higher degree of comfort to everyone.

I chose to shoot using a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens, a personal favorite (both the focal length and the lens itself). This is a really sharp lens, though, and we found ourselves focusing on the hard, crisp look to the photos. This was distinctly different from the vintage images. I dialed down the power on the strobes until the depth of field was more shallow (working around f4 to f5.6). This lessened the area of sharp focus but there was still a sharp “bite” to the images. Again, this could all be solved in post-production and everyone was reminded that the vintage portraits had undergone extensive airbrush retouching. But I wanted everyone to have a more accurate vision of the final product so I did what any film shooter would have done: time to reach for the soft focus filter. This would soften edges nicely while keeping the image sharp enough.

For this I used a homemade filter of black stocking stretched over the front of the lens. We also have a white stocking for softening. The black gives more contrast than the white and, with it in place, we began to see more accurate results.

A Calumet Travelite 1875ws Three-Head Portrait Kit was used for lighting with a beauty dish (Calumet 15″ (38cm) Soft-Lite Reflector (79 degree)) on the main light and 40 degree grid spot on the background and a snoot on the hair light (when used). I played with lighting, sometimes blowing out details I would normally try to retain, all in the pursuit of greater historic accuracy. How far can you push it? Testing is the time to find out. As you can see, I’m trying to do what’s possible to create the look in-camera instead of in post-production. This is completely up to the particular photographer and their personal preference. Some photographers may prefer to simplify the shooting process and do more in “post”.

Don’t fall into the technical trap

There is a trap to trying to do everything in the camera, though, especially when going for a very specific look. At some point I have to realize that I’m not using a large format camera, hot lights or orthochromatic film. This is 2008, after all, and there aren’t any awards being give for historic accuracy. Getting too mired in the technical aspects of the shoot will leave little energy for concentrating on the look of the clothing, hair and posing, the next step.

We all pitched in with thoughts on posing and how hair and clothing looked best. It’s great to hear feedback from everyone involved because these test shoots can also serve as an audition. Will we want to work together on future projects, either tests or paying assignments? How do we work as a team?

Good stuff

I was happy with this test in all respects: the teamwork, the final images and the experience and knowledge gained along the way. What you see here has had very little retouching, just a run through Lightroom 2 for basic correction (increased contrast and vignetting) and a quick retouch in Photoshop Elements on my blogging laptop.

A busy shooting schedule doesn’t always allow for shooting tests but we work them in at least a couple times a year because it’s a great way to sharpen the saw. It’s all about having fun and learning, a process made even more rewarding through the collaboration with others.

For quite a while I’ve been planning on shooting more personal work. No specific plans, I’ve just felt that I need to get out and shoot with a camera more, just for fun. That’s why we all got started in photography, isn’t it? The joy of taking photographs. Now, with the internet, there’s also the joy of sharing our passion through posting images and sharing online discussion.

Let me go ahead and give the punch line to today’s post: I’m starting a new photo a day blog in 2009. The goal isn’t necessarily to shoot every single day but to post a new photo every day. I won’t kick in with regular postings until the first of the year so you’re all getting a sneak preview while it’s under construction (the first sample photos you’ll see were all shot this morning with my Panasonic point and shoot). Looking back, I see a trail of discussions we’ve had here at prophotolife that have led me to “a photo a day, 2009″. I hope you don’t mind a little flashback while I link to the posts that brought me around to this new goal.

I’ve discovered a couple of things about learning over the past year (hey, that‘s learning about learning). One of the ways to learn is to have a specific goal in mind and to go for it. That’s very methodical and I’m all for it. The other way to learn is to watch your footsteps going one after the other, day after day, until you eventually look up and find yourself at a new destination. That’s how I came to planning a photo a day once again for 2009. Looking back over a year of prophotolife posts shows the footsteps taken along the way.

Back in July was the post “how a photo a day blog helped me achieve personal photography goals”. This is something I did a couple of years ago and it worked out well. I’ll leave you to read the article if you‘re interested in the specifics of my first go ’round.

Then, after many months of discussion about post-processing here on the website, I took time to download the the free trial of Lightroom 2 from Adobe . To put it simply, I got hooked and bought a license after playing with it for a couple of weeks. Many readers extolled the virtues of the program (along with
Apple Aperture 2) and I agree with their endorsements. We‘re not using it at the studio because of a different workflow for multiple users…but for my own personal work, Lightroom is now the number one post-production tool. It has me more excited about shooting, to be honest, because of all the capabilities. It lets me do simple image tweaks faster and more simply than anything else I’ve used.

Just a couple weeks ago I pulled out my little Panasonic DMC-TZ3 point and shoot to play around with different photo aspect ratios. Wanting to find a new perspective for personal work, the 4:3 format really appealed. So did the little Panasonic! Unfortunately, the little camera doesn’t shoot in RAW and I’m a big believer in the RAW format. But working the camera’s jpegs in Lightroom gave an easy, non-destructive way to edit the JPEGs that made the whole thing feel “not so bad”. I still want to get a RAW capable point and shoot sometime (trying to decide between the Canon PowerShot G10 and Panasonic DMC-LX3K) since I’ll be carrying a camera around more in ‘09.

Then, not long ago, readers shared a whole lot of comments and ideas about online photo gallery options. When I started to dive into the possibilities for online galleries I stumbled across Pixelpost, an open source photoblog application. Hmmmm, a photoblog…

That’s about the time I realized I was nearing a destination. The last pieces of the puzzle? Prophotolife is hosted through GoDaddy and there’s plenty of server space for multiple sites with the different GoDaddy.com Hosting Plans. I’ve also had the url “Talkington Photo Video” for some time and never did anything with it. So, it was time to put the pieces all together.

Not every photo will be great, of that I’m sure…and that’s not the point. Discovering new ways of seeing and working through the process of a photo a day is the important part. I’ll let you know in a year or so how it all worked out!

It’s been awhile in the making but we’re getting there. The production work is caught up (pretty much), the boxes are packed and heaps and heaps of items are getting downsized. Daylight Photo is getting ready for our next incarnation, instituting changes we’ve long thought about. Monday and Tuesday we’re moving the boxes and the following week we’ll be up and running at the new address.

It’s a dramatically different photo studio layout and design, going from a 4,000 square foot facility down to 1,000 square feet. We won’t have all of the same capabilities and the location won’t be as convenient for a few of our customers. Yet it’s something I‘ve been looking forward to for some time. There are a number of reasons for the move and, along with photos posted here, I’ll recap why it‘s simply time for a change.

A little background:

Our new studio is in a building called Essex Studios, a massive former textile factory. It’s also the place we started Daylight Photo some six or so years ago. The reason we called ourselves Daylight Photo is because of the massive windows we had there. Essex Studios is filled with art studios and is “Artsy with a capitol A”. Five times a year there are two-day art walks that draw a large local crowd. It also houses the American Sign Museum.

After Daylight Photo was a year old we had an opportunity to move from Essex to Blue Ash, our current studio, the one you’ve seen in the prophotolife videos. A friend in Blue Ash needed someone to share his studio and I had actually shared that space before, so it was like “coming home” in a way. While it lacked the character and vibe of Essex it was in a great location for industrial work. It also increased our capability for producing larger catalog and room set jobs, something we were interested in pursuing.

Now, five years later, we’re downsizing and going back to where we started out, back to Essex. The reasons?

1. The industry has changed. Building large room sets seems to be becoming a thing of the past and much of our work is done on location now. We just don’t fill all of that space the way we used to and computers are replacing set builders and prop masters.

2. The commute will be much friendlier. A one way trip to the studio will be cut from 24 miles down to 9 miles for me, a welcome change. No more 50 mile roundtrips every time I forget something on a weekend!

3. Our overhead will be cut quite a bit. I have to be honest, we had a really good deal on our big, 4,000 square foot space. But this downsize will cut the lease, utility and travel expenses by more than half. That’s money we’d rather put in our pocket.

4. I missed windows…daylight!

5. The location is closer to downtown and we’ll be surrounded by creative people every day.

It’s easy to see there will be a considerable savings in time and money as a result of the move. But what are the potential downsides? Well, we may lose a client or two because of the smaller studio or because of location. Is that a problem? We don’t consider it to be.

The biggest advantage of the time and space savings, though, will be freedom. Just because you have a large studio and sometimes do large jobs doesn’t mean they are necessarily fun and highly profitable. I think that’s a common misconception. Sometimes the headaches grow beyond the budget and, at the end of the day, it can seem like a beast that needs feeding. And it just seems like this is the right time to reconnect with our roots, the reasons we got involved with photography, and to lessen the business pressures.

Now we’ll be leaner, more agile and closer to the Cincinnati creative community. With less overhead we want to shift more of our energy to producing our own projects (both photo and video), rather than doing just client work. Hopefully now there will be time to grow prophotolife in some of the ways I‘d like to, also.

And, most of all, getting rid of some of the excess should help us to simplify and spend less time on the business of photography and more time on the fun and creativity that is photography. That should pay off in dividends that can’t be measured by time or money!

My studio has a wonderful client that imports printing presses and we’ve worked together many times on various projects. Last year we flew to another Midwestern city to do a large advertising project for them at a brand new facility, a brightly lit shop with state of the art equipment. After two days we came away with beautiful photographs that everyone was proud of…a job well done.

Shortly after that, the art director called and said they had another facility that needed photographed. This job would be different, though, the photos were for editorial use and he asked that I fly solo to Chicago to photograph a particular press for half a day. The photos were “hot” and would have to be sent to a waiting magazine the following day.

“No problem”, I said, and asked for the details.

“It’s just a couple of shots”, he replied, “of a brand new machine in a brand new facility, we’ll email you a few sample shots so you can see what we’re after”.

To date I’d done these shoots with at least one photo assistant, a full lighting setup and shooting tethered to the computer for approvals. Since this was editorial in nature and both the facility and machine were new it would be more of a “run and gun” thing. I envisioned the new, brightly lit facility we’d just worked in and felt my camera bag, tripod, a couple of battery powered strobes and light stands would do the job. The plan was to use available light and pop just a little bit of fill light in with the two small flash units. Just in case, I asked for scouting photos from the facility, to figure a few angles in advance.

The emails started coming in with shot ideas. Very creative ideas, I might add: shooting above the machine looking into the brightly colored inks and dramatic angles shot from the floor. The shot list began to grow in length and complexity. I had to remind everyone that this was an editorial shoot with a simple setup and now we’re getting into much more complex shots. They understood but, as sometimes happens, they hoped that conditions would be perfect and there would be extra time on my hands. I’d do my best but could only promise to cover the original bases. And where were the scouting shots?

The scouting shots of the facility never arrived but the shop owner assured that the new building and press would be in order. No problem, sometimes you just have to roll with it and time was flying by. Before I knew it I was on a plane and in a rent-a-car, ready to spend all of half a day in Chicago before flying back home.

My map to the shop led me to an older industrial area. Where was the new shop? Was this the wrong road? An older building had the correct address but surely this wasn’t the place. I went inside and asked for the owner.

This was indeed the place and the owner greeted me with a smile and a handshake. And then he asked me, in all seriousness, “hey, can you come back and shoot this next week?”.

Uh-oh, I sensed a communication breakdown. I assured him that the photos were needed the following day by the magazine and had to be shot asap. He cautioned that there might be a little problem with that.

We walked back toward the dimly lit press room. The building was far from new, at least fifty years of printing had been done there. Two small light bulbs hung over the press. It turns out this wasn’t a new facility, but it was new to this particular owner. Communication breakdown #1.

As we turned the corner I recognized the machine I’d traveled all of this way to shoot. Imagine my surprise to see that it was in a hundred pieces, scattered all about. At least five workers were around the press, working feverishly. Communication breakdown #2.

But wait, it gets better. Were they putting the machine together? Fixing it? Neither, they were visibly modifying it with new features so that it no longer appeared stock, the way the client expected it to be photographed. They had been working around the clock to get the modifications done in time for a big upcoming print job. Communication breakdown #3.

Now I was faced with a dimly lit older facility, a machine in pieces and, even if it were put back together, it wouldn’t appear exactly as it should. And under my arm was a folder full of beautiful advertising photos and angles the client was hoping to achieve with this quick editorial shoot.

Those kinds of days don’t happen often. Communication is key and somehow, somewhere, it broke completely down. But I still had photos to shoot.

I began negotiations with the owner and the crew in order to salvage something from the trip. They agreed to stop their work and reassemble the machine to look as close to stock as possible. This would take them about two hours and then they’d give me one hour for photography but, at that point, they needed to tear it back down to resume their modifications. They were on a completely different deadline than I was.

I had two choices: either roll with things this way or have the client intervene, complicating things but buying more time for photography. Sometimes I’d choose the latter but in this case, it didn’t seem worth it. More time wouldn’t fix the age of the facility or the dimly lit room. I made phone calls, made everyone aware of what greeted me but resigned myself to making it work in a short amount of time.

All told, I ended up with about 45 minutes for photography before heading to the airport. A series of the machine was shot with the two small flash units and a series with a press operator was taken. Needless to say, there wasn’t time for the “if you have extra time” shots.

No, the photos from that day won’t make the portfolio but the client was very happy in the end, especially given the conditions. The bottom line is that, on any given assignment, a professional photographer has to at least cover the bases, even when everything goes against them.

Like the times we’ve had to shoot in the rain and the client wants a “sunny” look…but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

]]> http://www.prophotolife.com/ever-had-a-photo-shoot-gone-bad/feed/ 13 http://www.prophotolife.com/why-i-like-to-photograph-everything/ http://www.prophotolife.com/why-i-like-to-photograph-everything/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:30:27 +0000 Jim Talkington http://www.prophotolife.com/?p=2160 As a professional photographer I’ve specialized in different areas over the course of my career. From food to motorsports to people (and beyond), I’ve felt fortunate to be granted many different opportunities. In case you’ve missed the discussion on any of these specialties, here are a few links to past articles on prophotolife:

Food photography: how to think like a food photographer part 1 – part 2 – part 3
People photography: one actor, one weekend, seventeen characters
Motorsports photography: my story, magazine / editorial photography

Sometimes I do feel like the old saying: “a Jack of all trades and master of none”. To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. A natural curiousity about different subjects has allowed me to make a living as a professional but still enjoy photography like an amateur. In the end, photography itself has always been my interest, not a particular subject.

There’s definitely been one thing missing from my photographic checklist and that’s the conscious pursuit of nature photography. My perception of a real nature photographer has always involved big glass, macro lenses, ring lights and weeks spent in the wild. Stories from wildlife experts like Moose Peterson can give a glimpse into that lifestyle but, never having made a concerted effort to photograph in the wild, I’ve wondered what my vision as a nature photographer might be like. Just this weekend, after revisiting some personal photos, I caught a glimpse.

On Saturday and Sunday I loaded thousands of my personal images into Adobe Lightroom 2 to give the program a really good test drive. The first task was to edit family photos shot for a friend and I was extremely impressed and pleased with the speed and quality. So much so that I decided to load in my personal images and do a bit of sorting. Yep, I’m moving beyond the trial and finally(!) plunking down my $299 US for the full version of the software (if you’re interested in the 30 day trial, you can Use it today. Download Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 directly. Available only at Adobe.com.).

I began tagging various outdoor photos, many of which never particularly stood out on their own. A number of them were shot in my studio parking lot while walking in or out of the front door (talk about close to home). The images were simple, most shot just as textures and backgrounds. But an obvious style did emerge…and that made me feel good. It’s a start.

Though I may never engage in a fully serious pursuit of nature photography, it’s nice to see that the interest has already emerged in ways that I hadn’t recognized before. I’ve seen this with other professionals, also: the food photographer who shoots landscapes that are never seen by others, for example.

It also makes me realize that, while specializing can play an important role in a photographic career, I’m pleased that it hasn’t limited how, when, or why I pick up a camera. Even if the subject has been shot a million times, even if the light isn’t perfect, even if the idea isn’t completely original. Continuing to shoot anything and everything, whether it’s for fun or profit, is the reason I became a photographer in the first place and the reason I’m still in it today, still trying to learn and grow.

- Jim T.

Have you ever wanted to see your images published as a photo story in a magazine? A key to getting photos published is understanding your chosen subject and market. Today I’d like to share some tips that helped me make a living as a freelance motorcycle magazine photographer for a number of years.

Breaking in to the market

No matter what your interest is, get out there and shoot it. Then find the different outlets for your work and study how they use photos, tailoring your submissions to their potential needs. My goal was to shoot for motorcycle magazines and that meant going to where the action was. While working a 9 to 5 job during the week, I’d attend national championship motorcycle races on the weekends to take photos.

At first I was buying my own tickets to the races and shooting from over the fence with no special credentials. This was in the days of slides so I’d prepare a submission of images afterward and send them off to magazine editors completely “on spec (speculation)” with no guarantees (note: these photos were shot a few years ago with my trusty Nikon D70, SB-800 strobe, 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens and 80-200mm Nikkor lenses).

With no prior introduction, I’d find the editor’s and art director’s names on a magazine’s masthead. After sending my photos I’d follow up with a phone call to make sure the package was received. No, they didn’t take my calls at first but they were getting used to hearing my name! Now, in the age of digital cameras, this would mean preparing a web gallery and emailing a link to editors immediately after an event. Regardless of the medium, a professional presentation and attitude helped me get their attention from the start.

After awhile the magazines began helping me obtain press credentials to events so my photos would be even better. They saw my dedication and professionalism and knew there was little risk in helping me obtain closer access. When I started getting published my name got around and soon there were phone calls from not only the magazines but also the magazine’s advertisers, looking for photos from events. This was a very welcome additional stream of income.

shot with my nifty 50mm lens

Another benefit

This was also a chance to meet the popular racers of the time and one of them, Scott Summers, happened to live very near to me. Scott was a multi-time national cross country champion and, as a result, his image was in demand. Because we were in the Midwest and the motorcycle magazine industry is in Southern California, my presence here became even more important. I became “the east coast guy” for some different publications.

A couple times a year I would visit Scott for a day, creating photos at my own expense that had an instant market. His motorcycles, racing van and clothing would all be shined to perfection, prepared for a day of marketing photography.

This was an ideal situation because Scott had twenty or so sponsors that wanted fresh photos and magazines around the world were interested in his image. When his clothing, helmet, motorcycle, tire, exhaust, etc., sponsors needed an image for advertising they would come to me and I‘d pull something out of the file for their needs.

These kinds of demands meant fully understanding the potential needs of editors and advertisers. We would shoot for a variety of photos during the day, creating action pics, portraits and even images of just his racing bike (often featured in technical articles).

Understanding your market

Each specialty is different and there were some definite tricks for marketing motorcycle images. Viewers liked to see the side of the motorcycle, particularly, so technical details could be seen. This meant photos had to be SHARP. While I liked artsy, motion-blurred images that conveyed speed, that wasn’t what the editors and readers preferred.

I also understood that the action needed to be photographed going both left and right to suit different layout needs. A bunch of images all heading just one direction might not work and, because there are numbers and letters on the bike, the images can’t be flopped.

It was always a goal to leave space for layout type and graphics above, below or around the action. I always tried to shoot verticals as if they might be a cover shot, with space left for the magazine logo overhead. Covers pay much better than small inside photos!

Horizontals would be shot so that the riders helmet never fell in the exact center of the photo. Here I was always gunning for a double-page spread and wanted to make sure that the gutter and staples wouldn’t wreck the double-page potential. Again, there’s more money for an image used larger rather than smaller.

In conclusion

This is how I made my entire living some ten or so years ago and it was the fulfillment of a dream, following a sport that I love. It involved hard work and the constant study of how to make my images better and how to make my editor’s and client’s lives easier.

I’ll be honest, though, motorcycle photography wasn’t a path to monetary riches for me. Many photographers are willing to give their work away when it involves fast vehicles, pretty models or rock ‘n’ roll and that makes for tough competition. And, as long as we’re talking realities, we have to acknowledge that many magazines are struggling as publishing moves online.

Okay, that’s the disclaimer I felt compelled to throw in but, hey, I’ve always been one to follow my dreams. The wonderful memories and stacks of tearsheets are proof that it was worth the effort for me. If being a magazine photographer is on your “bucket list”, then no matter what your interest is, get out there and shoot it!

- Jim T.