Also from my sailing trip I posted about on Monday, is this week’s wallpaper Wednesday! FYI, if you’re not yet, consider following me on Instagram where you can constantly see photo’s there that are not viewable anywhere else, click here: Kate Benson Photography.
I’ve been daydreaming this summer. The lenses I’ve had have served me well but it has been quite a while since I added one to my collection. When I needed a special lens, I rented them from Borrowlenses.com. But I have a rule, don’t rent the lens 3 times. So I started lusting for the 50mm 1.2L Canon lens. The Bokeh is untouched (in my opinion). But I could only find the willpower to resist for so long and the lens arrived. As I’ve written about before, I don’t usually shoot while being social. My brain has a hard time switching back and fourth which leaves me in the work mode full time and not always very communicative. But when my husband and I were invited to come along for a moonrise sailing picnic, I couldn’t resist bringing along the new beauty.
Few things in life are as relaxing as sailing on calm waters with light breezes. Add in good company, tasty food, and a few beers, you can imagine the relaxation deepens. As we casual sailed around Biscayne Bay between 79th st causeway and Bal Harbor causeway, I found that the 50mm was everything I hoped it would be. As the light grew dim, the 1.2 f-stop preformed great. The weather did not preform as well forcing me to tuck away my gear and switch out of work mode to relax and chat with good friends. I highly, highly recommend investing in prime lenses as soon as your budget allows. It’s easy to be lazy and just zoom in or out and primes will keep you on your toes will delivering stunning results. Bellow are some of my favorites from the day, a combination of portraits and details. As we sailed, I spotted another photographer with a 600mm chasing another sailboat around to get shots, maybe next time I’ll have to try that. But if he or she knew anything about light, I’m sure that other photographer was not disappointed as the light was truly beautiful.
Production. Pre-production, the production of the day of shooting, and post production. Yes, it is all a production. In the city of Miami, there are many aspiring photographers. Also, there is a trend within Miami to always say “I can do it, no problem”! Whether it is a home repair or a major ad campaign, Miami is a tricky city to hire someone in. Maybe I’m thinking of this today because of all the work done on my house last week, and all the things that weren’t done right and now require more time and work to fix. But in the city of Miami, you’ll rarely here anyone say “I don’t know how to do that”. And it’s part of the charm of the city! People truly WANT to be able to do it all. They want you to relax and not stress while they help you get done what you need done. But in a city, when everyone says they can do it, how do you find out who really can? At least in photography the devil is in the details. Which brings us back to (you guessed it), production. It’s what you can’t wake up and know how to do. You can be a very talented photographer, but if you can’t organize a shoot your not going to go very far. Granted, there are clients who know all about production. Clients who either have in house production staff to do this work or already know who they will outsource it to. Because when they say seconds of shooting takes hours of planning, it’s not a lie.
That said, reasons my clients love working with me is that I am always able and happy to help with production. I don’t expect my clients to all know how a photo shoot comes together, that would be unreasonable! So part of my job is to see what they want and need for images and then make sure on the day we shoot we have everything we could possibly need to get those images into my camera.
A good case study of this was a client of mine who had about two weeks to replace their existing ad campaign. This client was spending serious money on advertising and to learn that in 2 weeks they would no long have the license to any images was a huge blow. They needed Billboards, online ads, magazine ads, website images, a complete brand makeover, and it had to be done in about two weeks start to finish. And this is where they started to see why working with someone who knew the industry already was better than taking someone’s word for it that they “can do it, no problem”! Because there are always problems. A professional photographer knows how to roll through those problems and quickly find solutions to keep you on deadline. But if a photographer doesn’t know production, doesn’t have relationships already with a team of people, the client suffers. We would cast models only to learn they booked a ticket home (this was towards the end of the Miami modeling season) and were no longer available that day, we had stylists pulling clothes that weren’t what we wanted, we needed equipment flown in from out of state, just to name a few things. But because I have 7 years of this business under my belt we were able to watch closely as the days leading up to the shoot unfolded and catch each issue early on to fix it.
But production is more than fixing problems, it’s anticipating needs. I can see the creative direction from the examples and mood boards sent and know what we need to do this job well. In the above case study, I encouraged hiring 3 models instead of 2 (the client knew he wanted 2 particular models, the 3rd was a blond that I suspected would fit another need they hadn’t identified yet). The 3rd model ended up being the favorite and the one who was on the Billboards. We needed 5 shots with different outfits total, but the client ended up choosing 7 and licensing extras and because we shot over 10 looks they were able to get more to work with. The retouching happened as soon as the client made the selections and they were able to switch out their Billboards and run their new adds seamlessly. It’s a beautiful thing when fast, well shot, creative work happens. But if I hadn’t been who I am, if I was still green, any single small issue we hit could have derailed the shoot. It’s about knowing more than your clients do about the shoot. If you ever find yourself working for a client who knows more than you about what your doing there, look out. Odds are they don’t know that you aren’t more experienced and that truth always surfaces.
But being a photographer isn’t about putting your client down either. Please, don’t misunderstand me! It’s about anticipating the clients needs before they realize they have them. It’s in the details. And that is why a handy man with a camera isn’t the best choice for photos that are important. Because in this business, going back the next week to fix a mistake is easily thousands and thousands of dollars. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side here in Miami, it’s hard enough to find someone to repair your sink because of the false confidences. A sink, which is just a few bucks compared to a photo shoot. And when it comes to photography, more and more people are picking up cameras and trying to strike it rich, like some misguided gold rush, promising that they can take a great picture and pull off a monumental shoot with no work/worries/involvement fromt he client. I’d say that is the first red flag, if they don’t know what questions to ask and just tell you they can do the shoot. That’s when it is time to re-evaluate who your hiring. And then, well, call me 😉
Every now and again I come across a documentary that really excites me and I can’t wait to see. Often I quietly await a screening near me or that time has come to past and I rent the movie. But this one has just started up, recently premiering at SXSW. Fall & Winter looks to be a can’t miss film. Although it is another movie about the Global Crisis, which some may tire of, I have not. Not just because it is an issue close to my heart but because these films are often made by brilliant visual artists. Fall & Winter, from what I saw in just the brief preview the trailer gives, should not disappoint. Film maker Matt Anderson has a beautiful eye. Not only do the interviews seem beautiful lit and composed, but also shots of the world are equally striking. For the eye candy alone, I want to see this movie.
Worth noting, Fall & Winter started as a Kickstarter campaign. Which goes to show once again, Kickstarter is awesome. Below is the trailer, enjoy!
You have to admit, it’s a bit amazing. Beautiful images are everywhere. Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr, websites dedicated to collecting beautiful images. Recently I heard it mentioned that this has really changed the industry of wedding photography. Brides-to-be collect and fall in love with images of how they want their day to be and be remembered. This becomes an expectation that is passed onto the photographer, pushing them to be better and better. The same is for commercial, business to business photographers. But often, we aren’t being pushed by a client but by ourselves. One of my most loved friends (you know who you are) works for Adidas as an art buyer put it well, “we want to see how creative and exciting the work you do on your own is so our art directors can tell you exactly what to do” (okay, that may not have been the exact quote but it went something like that). This is what my portfolio lacks. I’ve been going through my blog to do some much needed key wording and in full honestly, cringed more than once at what images I posted. In my blog, I post quickly, I think “I liked that shot from today” and write up a little post and publish it. In my portfolio I sit and stare at my images for weeks/months/years and if I still love them after all that time, let is become part of my work that represents me. So naturally, the quality of images on my website blow away those on my blog. As they should. That is what the website is for. It is our portfolio. But the blog still has my name on it and thus, it still important.
So my goal has been (for a couple of years now) and continues to be, what do I want to shoot for me? Staring for hours and hours at an outstanding image doesn’t mean it is what I want to create. But it does mean that I recognize greatness in a shot (thank you RISD for that). Oh the amazing photo editor I could be (but for the right publication, I couldn’t go through editing pictures of horrific events to find the one that was just the right amount of shock without too much goriness to represent the publication). Once again, those editing skills I can thank RISD for. As I wrote about earlier this week, Mike Brodie really inspired me. But a huge part of starting a project is letting yourself off the hook. It is complete illusion to believe every image you create will sell and will represent you. I have to work really hard to let go of the voice in my head asking “how is this going to market? how is this going to represent me?” and start listening to that other voice, the one that is quieter and yet always there that identifies what I find beautiful. Then, just have a camera with me and shoot. I think by shooting more, constantly, perhaps, I’ll fall into what I love. Around me are amazing people who create beauty everywhere. They create beautiful food, invite me to beautiful places, are just plain beautiful inside and out, and perhaps by not shooting these moments I’m doing them and myself a disservice.
So that is the goal, let’s see if I can stumble upon that thing that I must shoot. Stand bye for hopefully some new images to come!