You think taking photos for a customer is stressful? Try taking photos for another photographer who is a city councilor who happens to be running for mayor. Good thing is I don't find taking photos stressful. Quite the opposite really. And having Paul Fletcher as my subject here was actually quite beneficial. As I took the shots I'd show him and he'd give me his feedback. I wanted to do a full-length shot since I wanted the street and Paul's shadow shown. Paul suggested the street was boring and I should do a tighter crop. So I did. But I also got my full-length shot (below) for comparison (I still like it).
A couple other key things to point out from these first two photos:
1. This was an open public street so I chose a day when I knew the traffic would be at the absolute minimum.
2. I wanted the light to be on the tower and highlighting the trees but not the street or Paul. I chose 6:00 pm as the sun was going down and this also added a nice summer-warm look.
3. To make these shots look as "real" as possible, I lit Paul from the same side as the sun was setting (the west or right side of photo). I also had Paul exposed about the same as the far background for more realizm.
Another nice thing about doing photos for another photographer is getting ideas from them. Once I had taken the shot I had in mind with the Duncan City Hall tower in the background I asked Paul if he had any ideas. Sure enough, he did. There is a city square just to the left of the above shots where a band stage is set up. The stage is circular in shape and has a few steps going up. Paul suggested we go over and see what we could do with the shapes over there. Ended up being perfect for a casual looking shot with some interesting lines.
I think I've been lucky in photography to enter it having some experience in life. I'm not so afraid of failure or making mistakes anymore. It happens and you learn from it (hopefully) and move on. Some people get nervous about this and it sets them back from either taking on work or approaching people when you have an idea (see It never hurts to ask). I'm not saying take on work that you're not capable of. I'm just saying that one should not be intimidated by who you might be taking photos of. We are all just people after all...
No comments:
Post a Comment