Mistakes made working with people

1. Don't Listen To Your Subject

Regardless of whether your working in a customer wanting a portrait or working with a professional model, they will always have some input into the art being created. And why shouldn't they? They are part of the art. You may be going for a certain shot, look, style, mood or whatever, but your subject might be able to contribute to that success and they may lead you to new inspiration as well.

Ask them quesitons and listen to the answers they give. Their ideas might inspire you and your work.

Meet with the subject and get to know him or her before hand. Learn about the boundries and aspirations the subject has. Learn to read people while they talk. A model might not come right out and say they won't do boudior, but might hint in verbal and non verbal ways to their dislike for the subject. Body language and verbal tones are huge cues. Listen with your eyes as much as you do with your ears.

 

2. Don't Talk With Your Subject

Silence is the leading cause of assumptions. Communication happens both through listening and speaking. And while listening may be the most important factor to communication, speaking might be slightly underated. Communicate the goals of a project and the needs you have the subject before hand can prevent some uncomfortable situations. You don't want your subject learning that this is a nude shoot after he or she is in front of the camera. Sit down, well in advance of the shoot and talk about the goals. Talk about yourself. Be honest and straight forward in your communicaiton.

Let the subject how you communicate when actually shooting. One of the things I learned while working with people is that when the light is dreamy and the shots are stunning I make funny noises. Giggles, chuckles and Mmmmmmm mean things are going well and the photos are turning out fantastic. But when a model is posing for body scapes and is in the vulnerable position of being nude in front my camera and I haven't communicated that, he or she may get the wrong message from those uncontrollable sounds I make if I don't communicate them before hand.

 

3. Don't Intereact with Your Subject

There is nothing more boring than a photographer whose head is always behind the camera. Tweaking camera settings and adjusting lights and barking orders to the subject all of the time just doesn't create an environment where the subject feels engaged.

Tell the model when they are doing something right. Talk with the model while you tweek the lights or camera settings; ask him or her about their kids, their job, their hobbies, etc. If you don't know about their family, job or hobbies you failed to get to know your subject before hand.

Don't make small talk; small talk is a sign of lack of caring. Engage your subjects. Talk about substaintial topics that have meaning to them. Talk about your experience with the topic. Be genuine.

 

4. Don't Be Considerate Of Your Subject

My God, let your subject have a break. Being in front of the camera is tough work, whether you think so or not. It can get hot, uncomfortable and tedious. Let your subject walk around, use the restroom, get a drink or bite to eat and stretch.

If the shoot is scheduled to be several hours long, I have had many of those, have scheduled breaks in between sets, even if you are paying them. If you want your subject to have a good experience you need to do this. A dehydrated subject that has had to pee for the last two hours isn't likely to sign up to work with again. Keep the experience positive.

 

5. Don't Feed And Water Your Subject

I can't even tell you how many times I have gotten a model to come back and shoot for free simply because I fed him or her the first time. Ten dollars in food can go a long way to building a lasting relationship with a subject. 

Keep water on hand and refrigerated. Hydration is 100% related to enjoyment of an event. Water is cheap, so don't be cheaper than water or people won't want to work with you.

Ask them frequently throughout the process if they are hungry or thirsty.

 

6. Don't Follow Through With Your Subject

If you schedule something with a subject keep the appointment. If you promise delivery of prints by a certain date and time keep that promise. Nothing is more aggrivating than being let down with missed appointment and broken promises. Emergencies happen. If this is the case make the subject the first phone call. 

 

7. Don't Gossip With Your Subject

Don't talk smack about another model, photographer or friend. Nothing generates fear more than gossip. I mean if you are talking smack about what a Diva Sally can be, what is your subject wondering about what you say about her when she isn't there. 

If the subject is the gossiper, gently change the subject and move on.

 

8. Don't Stay Calm With Your Subject

You may not be getting upset with your subject in particular, maybe it is lights not firing or maybe your just not into the shoot. But you must remain cool throughout the shoot. Getting upset will upset your subject and that will not only affect the results of the shoot, but it will affect that subject's decision to work with you in the future... and word of mouth can be very destructive to a reputation.

 

9. Don't Respect Your Subject

We all have boundries and those boundries must be respected if you want to have a long lasting relationship with a subject. 

If they aren't into nudes, don't call on them for those types of shoots. If they are allergic to animals, do what you can you prevent them from having a reaction to an animal that may have been in the studio the day before.

To be able to respect the subjects boundries you have to communicate with them to learn what those boundries are. Communicate what you shoot and why you shoot it. Most times subjects will let you know if they are comfortable with something or if they have issue with it. If they have an issue, don't make a big deal about it, just say you understand and respect it and move on.

Toys are nice, but contentment is rewarding

Megapixels this and aperture that and all those video and in camera features, addons and toys. It is interesting watching other photographers drool over toys. Don't get me wrong, toys are awesome. Toys are geek, shiek and not for the meek. But at some point, photography has to be more about the art than the tech. 

When I first got into digital photography, without an ounce of training, I was completely about the next toy, gadget or gizmo. I drooled over other photographer's tripods, not because my tripod didn't work, but rather because it was new, cool and exciting. Lenses, filters, megapixels, remotes, shutter speeds, digital horizon lines... oh my. All of that used to make my lens telescopic; used to. 

What I learned while I was learning photography, was that I spent so much time focused on what's new that I didn't figure out how to fully utilize what I had and my photography wasn't any better for having all of those toys accumulating in my growing collection of bags. 

I had every filter imaginable, but still shot with kit lenses. I had toys I bought for foul weather shooting that turned out to be more time consuming to use and took up way too much room in my bag while my friends, with much nicer cameras than mine were using plastic grocery bag. I had bags of toys that I had no idea how to apply to my photography.

So I gave up my toy quest, for the most part, and focused on how to use what I had. This doesn't mean that I don't look for toys anymore, but rather I look for toys that I need to take me to next level, or to accomplish a goal I have.

Not long after I bought my first DSLR, an Olympus E-510, my quest began on what would be next... possibly an Olympus E-3 or a move into Medium Format and that was not long after my E-510 purchase; I mean a few days later. But as that dream came crashing down to reality, thanks in part to my wife's stipulation that I couldn't by any more toys for a long time (years), I learned to use what I had. I learned my equipment's purposes and limitations. I learned how to get the shot I wanted with what I had. I learned and I learned a lot. 

As I learned and applied this knowledge, my photography made a sudden and swift shifts into the realm of interesting. It wasn't but a year later that I wanted to upgrade my camera, but for the right reasons now rather than for the simple quest of it. I was on the road to creative understanding and growth.

I spent a year pondering the shift between Canon and Nikon. Not because they were any better than the another or even better than my Olympus, but because of the one measurement I had on performance that would justify an upgrade; High ISO Noise Performance. Before I made my choice, I had a long discussion with my good friend Nathan and he argued for Nikon as my choice. His arguement wasn't because he shoots Nikon or that he had a bias for Nikon, even though he does in both cases, but rather because he and two other photogrpahers in my close knit group of photographers shoot Nikons and we could share lenses, flashes and other toys. Now this made complete sense to me. 

Then I visited my local photography shop, Focal Point. Mike, the owner of Focal Point, knew that I was waffling between Nikon and Canon, and was hoping, I think, to convince to move towards the Canon 7D, which has great High ISO Performance. So he was a little taken aback when I asked about the Nikon D7000. 

After some debate about my reasoning behind changing my mind... Mike broke out the Nikon D200. It was easily $500 cheaper than the D7000 and he made this arguement; "Pros were using this camera as their primary body for years. It was good enough for the pros a few years ago, and nothing about it has changed. Mike's arguement was take the money saved on buying this great performing camera and invest in some quality glass. I did just that.

I tell this story to accetuate my point... Had I walked into his store a few years before with the same agenda, I would not have left with the D200. I would have walked out with the D7000 and one lens of less quality. You might be asking what type of quality lens could I get with only $500? I got a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 ($500) in addition to the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 ($100) and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 ($500). I got the tools I needed to accomplish what I wanted. I didn't get get toys because my photography isn't about toys.

I have been asked why the 50mm f/1.8 and not the f/1.4. The answer is easy. As a portrait lens, I shoot at f/5.6 primarily. So what benefit do I get from spending an additional $300 for the f/1.4 when I wouldn't use those extra stops of light or shallower depth of field in my portrait work.

When your photography is about the toys, then your explaination of your photos shifts from the photograph itself, exposure, composition, subject, emotion and light, to what you used to get it. "I used my 85mm f/1.4 with a Hoya ND10 filter stacked on a B+W Multicoated Circular Polarizer sitting on my Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod using my Nikon Wireless RF/IR trigger." All I hear when people do this is "Dollars, dollars, more dollars and chaching for my camera bling." That is far less interesting to me than the work itself.

I have applied this to software as well. I used Photoshop 7 clear up to two years ago. I then got my fingers on a copy of CS2. CS2 was awesome, but it was around this time that I was learning the toys principal and I didn't upgrade to CS3 or CS4. It wasn't until this last year that I finally upgraded to CS5 and I only did it because the tools in the software matched what my needs were. I saved a ton of money, and according to others a lot of stress from bug related issues, avoiding CS3 and CS4 and focused on maximizing my skills on what I had and for that I have a stronger workflow, a stronger skillset and a stronger will to avoid the commercialization of art production.

So are you still focused on toys or is your focus shifting to gettting the most out of what you have? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

 

 

Toys are nice, but contentment is rewarding

Megapixels this and aperture that and all those video and in camera features, addons and toys. It is interesting watching other photographers drool over toys. Don't get me wrong, toys are awesome. Toys are geek, shiek and not for the meek. But at some point, photography has to be more about the art than the tech. 

When I first got into digital photography, without an ounce of training, I was completely about the next toy, gadget or gizmo. I drooled over other photographer's tripods, not because my tripod didn't work, but rather because it was new, cool and exciting. Lenses, filters, megapixels, remotes, shutter speeds, digital horizon lines... oh my. All of that used to make my lens telescopic; used to. 

What I learned while I was learning photography, was that I spent so much time focused on what's new that I didn't figure out how to fully utilize what I had and my photography wasn't any better for having all of those toys accumulating in my growing collection of bags. 

I had every filter imaginable, but still shot with kit lenses. I had toys I bought for foul weather shooting that turned out to be more time consuming to use and took up way too much room in my bag while my friends, with much nicer cameras than mine were using plastic grocery bag. I had bags of toys that I had no idea how to apply to my photography.

So I gave up my toy quest, for the most part, and focused on how to use what I had. This doesn't mean that I don't look for toys anymore, but rather I look for toys that I need to take me to next level, or to accomplish a goal I have.

Not long after I bought my first DSLR, an Olympus E-510, my quest began on what would be next... possibly an Olympus E-3 or a move into Medium Format and that was not long after my E-510 purchase; I mean a few days later. But as that dream came crashing down to reality, thanks in part to my wife's stipulation that I couldn't by any more toys for a long time (years), I learned to use what I had. I learned my equipment's purposes and limitations. I learned how to get the shot I wanted with what I had. I learned and I learned a lot. 

As I learned and applied this knowledge, my photography made a sudden and swift shifts into the realm of interesting. It wasn't but a year later that I wanted to upgrade my camera, but for the right reasons now rather than for the simple quest of it. I was on the road to creative understanding and growth.

I spent a year pondering the shift between Canon and Nikon. Not because they were any better than the another or even better than my Olympus, but because of the one measurement I had on performance that would justify an upgrade; High ISO Noise Performance. Before I made my choice, I had a long discussion with my good friend Nathan and he argued for Nikon as my choice. His arguement wasn't because he shoots Nikon or that he had a bias for Nikon, even though he does in both cases, but rather because he and two other photogrpahers in my close knit group of photographers shoot Nikons and we could share lenses, flashes and other toys. Now this made complete sense to me. 

Then I visited my local photography shop, Focal Point. Mike, the owner of Focal Point, knew that I was waffling between Nikon and Canon, and was hoping, I think, to convince to move towards the Canon 7D, which has great High ISO Performance. So he was a little taken aback when I asked about the Nikon D7000. 

After some debate about my reasoning behind changing my mind... Mike broke out the Nikon D200. It was easily $500 cheaper than the D7000 and he made this arguement; "Pros were using this camera as their primary body for years. It was good enough for the pros a few years ago, and nothing about it has changed. Mike's arguement was take the money saved on buying this great performing camera and invest in some quality glass. I did just that.

I tell this story to accetuate my point... Had I walked into his store a few years before with the same agenda, I would not have left with the D200. I would have walked out with the D7000 and one lens of less quality. You might be asking what type of quality lens could I get with only $500? I got a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 ($500) in addition to the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 ($100) and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 ($500). I got the tools I needed to accomplish what I wanted. I didn't get get toys because my photography isn't about toys.

I have been asked why the 50mm f/1.8 and not the f/1.4. The answer is easy. As a portrait lens, I shoot at f/5.6 primarily. So what benefit do I get from spending an additional $300 for the f/1.4 when I wouldn't use those extra stops of light or shallower depth of field in my portrait work.

When your photography is about the toys, then your explaination of your photos shifts from the photograph itself, exposure, composition, subject, emotion and light, to what you used to get it. "I used my 85mm f/1.4 with a Hoya ND10 filter stacked on a B+W Multicoated Circular Polarizer sitting on my Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod using my Nikon Wireless RF/IR trigger." All I hear when people do this is "Dollars, dollars, more dollars and chaching for my camera bling." That is far less interesting to me than the work itself.

I have applied this to software as well. I used Photoshop 7 clear up to two years ago. I then got my fingers on a copy of CS2. CS2 was awesome, but it was around this time that I was learning the toys principal and I didn't upgrade to CS3 or CS4. It wasn't until this last year that I finally upgraded to CS5 and I only did it because the tools in the software matched what my needs were. I saved a ton of money, and according to others a lot of stress from bug related issues, avoiding CS3 and CS4 and focused on maximizing my skills on what I had and for that I have a stronger workflow, a stronger skillset and a stronger will to avoid the commercialization of art production.

So are you still focused on toys or is your focus shifting to gettting the most out of what you have? Let me know in the comments.