Thought processes for a shoot - what are yours? (PIC)

[KennyG]

I see images, or series of images, posted here and often wonder what the thought process of the photographer were when he took them and, sometimes more important, why he made the decisions he did. I thought I would kick off by explaining how I approach assignments and what process I use to get to the end result. I hope others will take a similar approach when posting their work as we all have something to learn.

I often get assignments, but this one was a bit unusual. I had to travel to Silverstone race circuit at two day's notice to do a product shoot, related to motorsport, that was to go into a magazine where I was already getting 8 of my racing pictures.

Shoots like this need planning in advance. You can't just turn up with a trunk full of camera gear and ask what they want. A very key point was the in-car shots that had to show the product in detail and where the lighting was going to be tricky. There would be static and moving external shots, again with a mixture of lighting. The driver happened to wear a very white (almost silver) race suit which would give issues against a black interior of the car. I had one chance to get it right and the deadline for finished images was the morning after the shoot.

My approach is to always list the shots I want in my notebook before I even pack the gear to go, and then decide on what equipment will be needed to do the job. I work out how a difficult shot is best taken, such as use of bracketing or multiple flashes. My main rule is to keep it as simple as possible, concentrate on the end-result and try not to get too clever as it is bound to go wrong. Working in a very busy pit lane and pit garage adds to the complications and that also needs to be taken into account pre-shoot.

The requirements were to show the driver in the car using the device, a close up of it ready to go, a shot of the driver outside and with the car, plus a general shot of the car. I decided that simple flash shots would work the best and took a set of lenses to cover the the WA for the interiors up to a longer lens for any on-track shots. I always pack two of everything because if it can break it will, especially if you are a long way from home.

All shots were taken hand-held because of the space and safety limitations in the pit lane. For the interior shots I used flash bracketing and merged for highlight and shadow in post-processing. I used fill flash for all the external static shots as light levels were shifting almost by the minute. The shot of the moving Merc was done with my 1D and no flash. Images (8 in total) were loaded on my media website for the magazine to download 2 hours after getting back home from the shoot (a 300 mile round trip).

I believe in planning, it saves time, gets the results and keeps the client happy. I am pleased to say the manufacturer also used my work and I even got one of their products as a gift - and it works.

http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/cgl.jpg

[IndyJeff]

I believe in planning, it saves time, gets the results and keeps the client happy.

Kenny, never were truer words spoken, or written as it may be. You should use this as a signature, LOL.

I am finding out that the more time you take in thinking about what your doing, the better it comes out and the less time you spend trying to do it.



edit:

P.S. If I had to vote for a "Post of the Year", the above posting by Kenny would be it. Glad you returned to posting here Kenny, you are a valuable asset to this place.

Jeff

[snibbetsj]

Kenny,

Thank you for your post. I found it very informative and thought-provoking. It certainly points out that a very important part of the process is comes long before the shutter is snapped.

Merry Christmas :)

[bachscuttler]

A very informative thread that pros and amateures alike can learn from

[KennyG]

Hi Bloo, I sorted what was needed over the phone during the initial call. Once I know what is expected and as long as I have knowledge of the location and conditions, then I can swing into action with my plan and kit list. I just happen to know that particular race circuit rather well and the actual location for the shoot. My last minute check was for the weather, the one thing you can't guarantee in the UK.

I took the opportunity to get some extra shots of other cars and people while I was there, because you never know when they may come in handy. A friend of mine that does weddings always takes architectural shots of the church before battle commences and believe it or not, has had a number published in countryside magazines and the like. I always carry one of my cameras, usually with a 24-70 and flash attached, between shooting sessions, just in case something interesting comes along, and it often does.

As 95% of what I do is outdoors, one thing I have to consider is the time of day and the direction of the sun (should we be lucky to have any). I can only do that by knowing the location. It is one of the variables that is often overlooked and I have seen photographers really struggling because they ended up shooting into late afternoon, low in the sky, in your eyes sunlight. Over the years I have built up my own maps of the UK motor racing circuits and the best times of day for my marked shooting positions. It is the sort of information that is worth making a note of on any outdoor shoot, wedding, football game or even street photography. You may need to go back there another time and forewarned is forearmed.

And old pro and mentor friend of mine from 20 plus years ago used to say it was like a carpenter's saying - "measure twice, cut once". Plan now to avoid disasters later, but as you have said, be prepared to adapt.

[Canuck]

Hi KennyG,
Well we can take this 2 ways...1) airplane pics/prep for airshow and then the actual airshow (Farnborough/Fairford aka: RIAT) or 2) Landscape/Nature pics. Here's what I do/did:
for item 1 in prep for an airshow: A friend of mine and I went to LHR a few times to practise panning w/ planes (commercial jets) just to get the feel, not to mention most commercial airliners are way slow compared to fighters. It would also provide a ton of fodder for later looking over. The day pf the airshow, I usually have set of shutter speed/aperature/ISO of where I am going to shoot and adjust as needed for clouds rolling in, sun comes out, and suchlike. You really only get one chance to do it as opposed to landscapes which is next.
Item 2) Landscape/Nature pics...if at all possible I like to go there before getting sreious taking pics. Sometimes this isn't possible as in trips to Ireland/Scotland and a few other places. If it is possible, I will have a lok around and start thinking about how I'd like to capture the pic and how to use natural stuff to my advantage. This is like using trees/limbs to frame a pic idea. I also like to put items at different distances to draw your eye into the pic, like the pic of the Airplane and mountains behind taken up here in Landscape/Travel pics section. In this case, I shoot small aperature (F16ish) to have a huge DOF. Or in the case if shooting moose at 100yds or less, there really isn't a need for much more than F7.1 give or take a few stops. I guess for creativity, you could go F2.8 to have a go to see what happens. DOF preview may or may not work in some instances...never tried it. I guess in a nutshell that is all that I think about. There is probably more but it is minor stuff and all on site type ideas.

[timmyquest]

I always try to get to a sporting evnet at least 30 mins ahead of time, typically i'm there 45 mins ahead of time. Some may call it overkill but i like to be early I think it was a lesson learned from playing football, my coach always said "The only way to be on time is to be 5 mins early"

Anyways, i get there in time for warmups. Obviously part of the reason is to make sure i can get myt camera setup properly. I want to make sure i'm able to get my camera to have the highest shutter speed and lowest ISO as i'm often working in very dark gyms.

It is also a great time to get to know the players, who i'm gonna be watching and what not.

Above all that, it's a nice chance to get some simple portraits, a good example of this may be this photo: (i'm often shooting for the schools yearbooks and this would make a nice yearbook photo).

http://www.questphotos.com/december2004/swim.jpg

So, get there early, you've got little to lose.

[E.C.Giorgio]

Hi Kenny, Your words hit home with me also. I think that any assignment that we do all need to be planned out, written down, thought out, etc. Many times i would come up with different scenerios in my head and then when i got to the job i forgot some of them. Ya just can't "shoot from the hip"! Many years ago i also had to shoot a Car Race, WOW, was that a mind blowing experience. I have to applaude those pros that have those assignments, there's soo much to be aware off, location, lighting, equipment, etc! I did "ok" but i was overwhelmed! Again, i enjoyed your commentary! manny