JWilsonphoto
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
|
Another chapter in my imaginary book, "So You Want To Be A Commercial Photographer?". Two weeks ago I scouted a project with my client so we could determine just how long it would take to shoot, and where the light would dictate we be at different times of the day. We blocked a week, knowing that there would be some straggling parts that wouldn't be shootable for another week or so. The project is a huge one for my client, well over $100M and they have done an exceptional job. The number of details and moving parts in a job like this is mind boggling. The hard shooting deadline is Saturday evening's grand opening gala and the day we scouted there was a common look of stress mixed with panic on almost all of the people I met. Over 40 years I've experienced this scenario a zillion times, all of these folks just want to punch list their project, make their client happy and wrap it up. Photography on something like this is incredibly important to everyone involved, the end client, the architects, the fabrications and construction companies, etc., but when it gets to this stage, you are a small cog in the wheel and really to all the people who have worked long and hard to make the project a reality, you look a lot more like a wrench than a cog in that wheel. The ambient stress level is literally off the charts, everyone has at least a dozen people pushing them to complete their individual tasks and the urgency is multiplied when you have something like a gala screaming up at you.
Certainly it is an honor and not an insignificant vote of confidence for a photographer to be asked to capture a project of this scope and prominence. Once the opportunity is offered and accepted make no mistake, you are now tossed into the grease with everyone else and your responsibility is to capture beautiful imagery amidst near impossible circumstances. Your task, while really important in the end, seems pretty insignificant to the hundreds of people who are in hyper "get 'er dun" mode. While it's pretty easy to adopt the stressed out aire that is so prevalent at the moment, that does no one any good at all and is counterproductive. My method is to go the opposite direction, be tirelessly optimistic and figure out how to get it all done without adding to anyone else's stress level, easier said than done, but hey, you're commercial photographer so remind yourself that you are livin' the dream
We were scheduled to begin shooting first thing Monday morning, but a call over the weekend pushed us back to aTuesday late morning start. When we arrived I knew why, the accompanying image is worth way more than the proverbial thousand words...................We're about to begin day three of the marathon and my client and I have managed to diligently navigate the obstacle course set out for us, and have some fun along the way. We'll be running like crazy until sometime on Saturday when the shrimp on ice begins to arrive, at which time we will fade into the background and figure out how to capture anything we missed up to that point. Like so much in life, attitude determines an awful lot and well, 40 years ago I dreamed of being blessed with this much stress and darn it, I'm going to soak up every minute of it!
|
