My first semi-real job

[silverbeam]

Background: I work for a PR firm, a pro wanted a lot more to take these picture than our client could afford, so I was suggested as an alternative. The client knows I'm an amateur and has seen my work, but I'm still nervous. Mostly because she will be with me, and because of how many different subjects there will be to shoot. Here is the list, I need help with times of day: when will what shot be best? Also, I need help figuring out the time frame. A lot of that depends on the distance between places and how many places there will be, so maybe you guys wont' be able to help me for the same reason I can't help myself, I'm aware of these things as I will be chauffeured around.

Posed shots of Mike next to various infrastructure
Various photos of workers in field
Various photos of water facilities (pipelines, reservoirs, treatment plants, wells, etc.)
Current ground-level photos of service area (homes, landmarks, etc.)
Photos of recent capital improvement projects while under construction (Reservoir, etc.)
Photos of customer service reps in action
Photos of new headquarters (inside and out)
Photos of old headquarters
Photos of customers at tap/using water
Photo of automated meter reading system
Photo of new home with work truck in front
Photo of work truck with signage
Photo of local native plants, creeks and bodies of water (ponds, detention basins, etc.)


So as you can see, part of this will be inside, a lot of it will be at the headquarters, and some I'll be driving too. I'm going on the 30th so at this point in time I am unsure of what the weather will be, if it'll be cloudy or if it will be sunny, etc.

I'll be using my Rebel Xti, Tamron 17-50 f2.8, Tokina 12-24 f4 (w/ polerizer) and an external flash with the Garyfong diffuser.

TIA

[PhotosGuy]

I need help with times of day: Depends on how the light looks for each set-up, doesn't it? At the very least, you need to find out which direction the subjects face so you can decide when to shoot them.
Ideally, you should scout the locations. A work-around, is to pray for overcast skies. ;)

Photography For Real Estate (http://photographyforrealestate.net/)

Lighting a room (Flash) (http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157600081467414)

flash for real estate photography (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=431185)

[silverbeam]

Problem is I can't scout the ourdoor ones because you need clearance to get to them.

[PhotosGuy]

Problem is I can't scout the ourdoor ones because you need clearance to get to them. Telephone? Ask someone.

[sfaust]

As you start planning for this shoot, it will give you an appreciation of the 'consistency' that pro's offer, and why the difference in fees. None of those challenges you mention would be a stumbling block for an experienced pro. They would get in, assess the situation, pull out the proper techniques and tools from their 'toolbox', shot it, get out and on to the next one. They have a pretty full toolbox that solves all these problems very easily.

The client knows you are not a pro. Thats a safety net you have, and make sure thats in your 'toolbox' in case you need it. I would set an expectation with them from the start that there 'will be reshoots needed'. If you set that expectation and don't need it, you look much better than if you didn't set that expectation and did need it. I would not be hesitant to use it if I was in your situation, and there is a good chance you will need it based on your experience level, the number of shots you will be shooting, and the variety of situations you will be facing in a short time. This is a full days work, even when working quickly. I'm sure the pro probably had the cost of an assistant buried in his quote too.

Here are some suggestions for you that might help you to tackle this.

First, check off anything you feel you are very comfortable with shooting. Ignore those for now. Instead, concentrate on what's got you nervous first. Find similar circumstances, then go out one afternoon and practice on getting the best results you can. Make sure you take notes on what worked and what didn't, and add that to your 'toolbox'.

Sunlight will be an issue if your subject needs to be in a specific location and facing a certain way, and the sunlight wants the opposite. I would make sure I have a good sized reflector which can be a backup (or even primary) solution if you are having difficulties with your strobe and sunlight. I would go with one that is silver on one side, and white on the other. You can tailor ti as needed. Also ask the client if they wouldn't mind holding a reflector for you when needed, so that you don't have to go hire a friend to help you and add that cost to them, or get stands, sand bags, super clamps, etc. to rig something together.

Interiors can also be an issue with regard to lighting. You may need more than one strobe to get decent results, or use layered exposures in PS to get details throughout the image. Plan for that, do some practice runs, and have a workable solution. If you don't have multiple flashes, you may try tungsten lighting to add some light here or there as needed. Even if you don't color correct it, its better than a dark corner with no details. I would bring along two or three 250W to 500W tungsten lights just in case.

If you go out and practice and run into issues, you'll have time to ask questions and set solutions now, rather than be on location with the client there wondering why it's taking you so long and not getting the results they expected.

And yes, get permission to scout the locations. A pro might be able to walk up, assess the conditons quickly and get right to work. But even then, they always like to scout the locations first. let the client know this, and why its important for you to get permission for scouting. Mention it part of whats needed in order to save them money and still get good results. If they are going to ask the photographers to compromise on the fees, they need to be a bit more flexible in order to effect those savings.

I would also have a contract written up with them. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just a one page statement of what you will be doing, how much you will be compensated, what deliverables you are responsible for, what their responsibilities are, and make sure there is a couple lines in there stating that you are not a professional, and are not responsible for the suitability of your images for print. You don't want them to spend $8K on a print run, then find the images fell apart in press and hold you responsible for the cost to pre-print. Pro's have their past experience with submitting for print, and an insurance policy to deal with this. You are sort of open to issues not having either. Having something in writing will help.

Another area of concern would be liability insurance. What if something goes wrong, and someone gets hurt. It happens all the time. You might be able to get a short term policy to cover you, and charge that off to the client. If they don't want to pay for it, ask them for a letter stating that you will be covered under their policy, and even better get a binder from their insurance company. If the balk, I'd tell them you are happy to help save them money, but not at the expense of risking your home and personal funds. It comes as part of a Pro's fee, and if they want to save money, they need to put in a little work as well. I personally wouldn't shoot without at minimum a decent liability policy. All it takes is a light stand to fall on someone, and your assets are at risk.

Clients sometimes say they aren't expecting quality results, and just need a 'snapshot'. But then pick apart the results. Hedge against that with your comment to them setting an expectation for a couple re-shoots. This will give you something to fall back on, and leave an opening for you to better your last results if needed. They also seem to forget the 'savings' they are making and the compromises the photographer s making when they see a photographer struggle with trying to do everything themselves and having some issues making it all come together smoothly. They may comment his appears disorganized, not realizing it is really takes two people but they cut the assistant out of the picture. Now they just see a disorganized photographer and hold that against them. I try to educate clients when that happens so they see the value next time. When they realize they are spending an extra $400 on the photographers extra time required to save $250 for assistants fees, they start to see the value in it. But unless we show them that, they don't get it.

Go practice, and I'm sure people here will be more than happy to help you solve any issues you face.

[breal101]

Ge sure to bring your camera on your scout, maybe you will be able to knock out some of the shots then. You can never count on the weather, if the light is good on scout day try to shoot what you can. If I got that shot list I would be thinking two days minimum for that job to do it well.

[PhotosGuy]

If I got that shot list I would be thinking two days minimum for that job to do it well. I agree. Two days + a scout day.

[silverbeam]

I was unable to scout at all because I needed clearance to get into the areas I needed to shoot, and the woman driving me around was unable to take the time to bring me there. That was a disadvantage I was able to work with. The other issue was the woman bringing me to the spots was very pressed for time, so there were some things we were simply unable to get to, and one location I would have liked to go back to when there was better lighting but unable to. I just had to deal with these time constraints and do what I could do with what was given to me. I ended up getting enough that they don't need me to go back out. Some of what I missed we have stock photos of, so it wasn't a big deal.

All and all, the shoot went very well and I am very pleased with my results. The only real problem I had was attempting to lose the lens flare at one location due to the location of the sun. Since I was using my 12-24 at the time, I was having issues with the hood showing up in the photos. But the funniest thing is that one photo I almost didn't even include on the disk because of the lens flare was their favorite! It will grace the cover of the Annual Report. I told them, heck, if you like the lens flare effect here are some other photos I didn't include because of it. Funny how things work out.

[PhotosGuy]

It sounds like you lucked out. Something to remember next time? ;)