On Location Photography - Outdoors

garden, a photo by helios00 on Flickr.

With this weather, any chance to get outdoors and do those back log of outdoor fashion portrait photos I'm taking it.

On-location photography is as exhausting as it rewarding. Although I normally prefer the ultimate control a studio environment gives, nothing beats natural backdrops and picturesque settings as given by the outdoors. You simply can't buy (or afford to buy) every single color backdrop that you would find in nature.

But it's not without its challenges. Nature is what nature does; it's often unpredictable. It gets cold, hot, rainy, humid, too bright and too dark. Then there are bugs, and ants and sweat (I hate sweating). But if that's not the worst of it it's the lugging your equipment around for what are literally miles on foot. You have to pack it all up and hope you don't forget anything when you leave. Then double and triple check to make sure you didn't leave anything behind.

This is what has compelled me to alter my photography shooting style as well as what equipment I now utilize. Shoot more, pack lighter and buy better. In short, buy less equipment, buy lighter equipment for mobility but buy better equipment. You need stuff that can hold up to being banged around a bit. But when the sun is just right, you also don't want to be caught still struggling trying to setup huge pieces of equipment when your moment comes and passes you by.

But now that I'm starting to get a handle on what I need and what I don't need, I'm finding that outdoor on-location shoots are all worth it. Images take on a depth and a more dynamic characteristic you simply can't get indoors.

All things being equal, you are limitless in what you can do provided that you have the right location, the know how and of course a perfect subject.

"Road Trip" by heliosimaging

"Road Trip"

Registered © 2012 heliosimaging

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This image is part of an editorial series by Helios inspired by a commercial ad by Armani X I discovered a few months ago. Surprisingly, I believe the ad to be several months if not a year older. To say that I was wowed would be an understatement when I saw the ad trailer. 

I will be featuring the full editorial on the site at www.heliosimaging.com as soon as time allows. It was major inspiration but as with all things I generally do, I took my own creative route as the shoot unfolded. 

Born out of desperation spawned from a last minute shoot cancellation I decided to move forward with the shoot anyway. With that many resources, time and expenses at play I simply couldn’t abandon the entire exercise albeit still inconvenient in the worst way. We cut the shoot time in half, changed the general flow of the theme, and tweaked the angles to produce something we thought was even more compelling. It ended up being a much shorter shoot than originally planned but with that unexpected wrinkle what could you expect. 

It was a huge success by any measure. I can’t say what the motivations were beyond what I was told for the cancellation but I can say that the original model seriously missed out. The shoot was a real back bender in the real sense of the word so the stand-in model who claimed to be of advanced age and retired from such modeling stunts clearly came out ahead and may have been the better choice all along. Professionalism, communication, common courtesy and a willingness to go above and beyond is what makes all this stuff worthwhile. I love working with dependable people. 

Beyond that I was a bit sore myself from the climbing, bending, leaning and twisting  and more so without the help of my assistant. That being said, it was my assistant that became my stand-in and boy was I wrong to pass her up. I should have insisted on her shooting the series when I first mapped out the idea. I was lucky she agreed with only two hours to prepare before the shoot. But hey, I’m a sucker for newbies and really wanted to give an upstart a shot. Maybe someday when I get past the huge disappointment this time, and with TFs in general that I understandably seldom do, a time will come again.

In any event, look out for it. At least a half dozen more images are being refined right now. I will keep you posted as to when it will be featured on the primary site at www.heliosimaging.com. 

Mojo Spirits 1

Mojo Spirits 1, a photo by Coco rococo on Flickr.

Seeing these images made me realize just how important a wardrobe stylist, an mua, and a hair stylist really are. See the full series by Coco rococo on Flickr.

As a photographer, your job is vast enough. You're coordinating, directing, composing and employing your mastery of light and composition. The last thing you need to worry about are shoes, loose hairs, and wardrobe malfunctions.

As the photographer, you have to know a bit about it all. But your focus is mastering the shot and capturing the essence of the moment in every detail. That requires a keen eye and often not just yours.

I have a deep appreciation for the process which is why I always search for images to encourage and inspire me like this one. The entire set is spectacular and even invokes a sense of pride in seeing how such goddesses are portrayed with the dignity, beauty and grace they are worthy of.

2012 Olympic Team Horrible Photo Failure

Check out this horrible photo failure of the 2012 Olympic Team...

http://fstoppers.com/these-photos-of-the-2012-united-states-olympic-team-have-hit-a-nerve-with-the-public

An inside joke or not these athletes represent what is the United States' best in terms of performance, discipline, training, physical prowess and conditioning. They should be represented in a fashion representative of those achievements. These images are horrible and if they were a PR stunt then that PR person should be fired. If they were test shots then the person that authorized their release should be fired or at least disciplined. 

In response to someone that commented earlier on this article that the amateurship looking studio shots are a new trend and even purposely lit badly or poorly edited; that's simply because there are so many wannabes calling themselves photographers. It's not a trend. It's a symptom of a market overcrowded with people that own cameras and call themselves photographers. The fact that you see it as a trend is because there is so much of it. High end well established photographers are still doing high end work. These shots are a travesty.

tr_comp

tr_comp, a photo by helios00 on Flickr.

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"slowly"

"slowly", a photo by helios00 on Flickr.

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Model to Photographer: "The Dog Ate My Homework"

I usually try to squeeze in one or two TF photo shoots within a given year. That’s down significantly from when I started doing photography for hire. That’s probably normal since most photographers do a great deal of free work building their ports early on. However, as of late TF work has certainly put a sour taste in my mouth.

If you’re familiar with TF work, it usually stands for “Time For...” Time for Prints, Time for CD, Time for... some consideration between a model and a photographer; a photographer and an mua, an mua and a stylist or any combination thereof. It generally takes the place of cash and allows two professionals or upcoming professionals to trade or barter for one another’s services for mutual benefit. 

As the years go by the need to expand your port is lessened as you tend to add more paying client work to your port. The benefit now is creative potential. If you shoot mostly executive clients a CEO is not gonna let you simulate rain in his office. If you’re mostly doing weddings, only your most adventurous client is gonna let you photograph her in her dress underwater. Therefore, I use TF as a creative outlet to push beyond normal photographic work and do something more editorial without boundaries. It is usually this unrestrained work that gets business because clients want to see more than a basic portrait. They want fantasy, mystery and imagination even if they’re just booking you for a family photo session. They need to no what you’re capable of. 

Now more than ever that TF and editorial work is important because it sets you apart in an industry now overrun with wannabes. Everyone with a camera thinks they are a photographer and everyone with a pulse is a model. But what’s happening is an across the board quality deterioration because the bar has been lowered. No one really knows what it takes to be successful anymore. There are now just “spray and pray” photographers and fly by night wannabe models; neither with a clue. 

So what has me so bent out of shape? It’s that lack of professionalism in the modeling talent I often find that comes with TF work. I read a few years back that the only way you will get that high quality talent for your portfolio is to hire (that’s right HIRE) a professional MUA, a professional agency represented model, and/or a professional working stylist. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is perfect when they swipe your credit card and cash your check. But in most instances you’re insured that your model will show up on time. Or when your model sent you her latest profile shot with long wavy brown hair, rich blue eyes, and tattoo free, you’re nearly guaranteed that she’s not gonna show up with a kid in tow, a shaved head and tattoos all over because she wanted a life change just hours prior to your shoot. That’s not what you signed on for TF or not. But what you’re likely to get with an agency model is professional. Someone that values his/her time as much as you do. They've been pre-screened and there is definitely something reassuring in that. They flake out a few times and they lose their agency contract and will not get booked for paying jobs to come. 

Regardless of whether or not money is changing hands between myself and the other participants, I can sometimes have several hundred dollars involved in a TF shoot. The most I’ve had was $2500 on a single shoot many many years ago and that’s not gonna ever happen again. It’s not that I didn’t get great shots with the $2500. It’s just that I found later that it wasn’t necessary. Chalk that up to a lack of experience at the time.

Even so, time is money and the equipment I own and have rented is incredibly expensive whether I’m paid or not or if a TF is in play. Even the cheapest TF could put me out $200. I’m not gonna say I will never do TFs again. They just seldom pan out. If the subject shows at all, they’re inexperienced, camera shy, late, doesn’t take directions well, can’t connect or emote, have zero posing aptitude or something else. The trick is getting them to show up, be on time and be without drama and strings attached.

The excuses and situations I’ve received over the years are incredible. The most unprofessional subject I’ve ever had showed up for a shoot with her child in tow. The excuse was not being able to get a babysitter in time despite weeks of knowing your shoot time and date. “ARE YOU SERIOUS???!!! I think not,” I exclaimed. Another one said “I forgot I have a baby shower to go to. Can we re-schedule?” “SERIOUSLY! Go to your shower and don’t call me. I’ll call you” I said. The latter one being only a few hours from the shoot time. Here is an awesome one. After meeting with a model with very long beautiful hair, going over the shoot details and styling, wardrobe, shoot diagrams and time schedule; she shows up with a buzz cut. This is after we discussed windblown hair shots. “What the $@*# ??!!!” You can pretty much figure out my reaction. Doesn’t some of this sound like “THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK” BS kids give their teachers. What about the "I don't have any money right now but I would love to do a huge photo shoot." ^**&%^ HUH??  I have to remember to take down that damn FREE PHOTO SHOOTS sign. Oh yeah, I don't have one. Am I projecting the word FREE somehow? NOT! 


The sad thing is that this behavior produces bad photographers after a time. They stop caring. They put out crappy work or make it almost impossible for a model to get any shots from the photo shoot. But all you hear is the yap yap yap from the disgruntled wannabes. You seldom hear photographers complain. They're like me. They suck it up and say I should have known better. Or I've heard many say I should have called the agency for some real talent. Fortunately, I still have my professionalism and dignity despite the bad apples that frequent my doorstep and litter my email inbox requesting TF photo shoots. 

Again, I’m not saying never again. I’m simply putting myself on notice to be even more discriminating about who I choose to work with on TFs. I simply can’t take the disappointment any longer. I’ve never had a disappointed paying client or a paying client that disappointed me. It’s definitely something to think about.