Your productions are often like that (from what I glean from your wonderful imagery and posts) but how do you operate when it's just you and whatever you can fit into that shoulder bag that you have to carry around all day from morning until night? Not every photographer has a grip truck and minions running around after them and the budget to allow that.
I can't count the number of times I've gone to the beach and had the talent dress behind a long piece of canvas we hold up to shield her/him/both.
Editorial, Personal work, some budget restricted work we do small crew.
Not just me and a camera, but me, 1 assistant, my producer that does makeup and one hair artist.
That is some of the best work we do,I don't shoot a million files and I don't have twenty people giving out opinions. That's the way this type of work goes.
If commerced worked this way, that's fine by me, but it usually doesn't.
I also don't believe in false economy. If your working in commerce and your working fast and detailed, it does the photographer no good to be digging around in a case looking for a lense or changing cf cards while the world passes by.
If you don't have the people that can fix a collar, or add a big ass white card for fill, then your probably going to miss something.
You also don't get anywhere by getting a cheap assistant, beating the heck out of him/her making him/her do the job of 4 people and then expect great results.
The photographer that makes it is the one that offers more. Period.
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This camera talk is silly. Anybody can use what they want, but if anyone thinks that they can show up with a cell phone, flip flops, a smile and make big money, either they got the gig from their Uncle at Publicis, or they live off a trust fund.
These are tough times and clients are demanding. You either work harder, offer more or you don't exist. You better know this biz top to bottom, work professionally, run servers, be there for your clients, produce perfectly, don't underpay, don't overpay and do it with a semi smile.
Sure they're some cheap cats out there that will do it for less, but that's always been the case, they're always has been somebody cheaper but the way you separate yourself from the commodity brigade is do it better, do it right, do it with no excuses.
Cheap cats have problems. They don't carry insurance, they don't have the proper equipment, or they spend days borrowing, they don't have a reputation with their suppliers that will save them if the job goes sideways because of weather, they don't deliver day and night, they' usually have an excuse.
I have clients that go to cheap cats and they usually come back.
Last year we had the budget pulled out of a gig and I had to pare down crew. I carried as much stuff as anyone, and we worked day and night, no overtime, no complaints, no problems, other than we were beat down tired. Then again, the client came back with more money on the next gig, so life goes on.
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I got a ton of cameras and use them all. I don't care what camera anyone uses. That BS to think that my way is the only way.
Still and I'm serious about this.
I tire of the constant beat down of one format, specifically one brand because somebody's got a H**d on.
I tire of the scream about good dealers that aren't getting rich and work damn hard for every client they have. They serve a purpose and I'm not going to try to explain it to anyone who doesn't understand why they're needed.
I also tire of the whoa is me, the world's coming to the end talk so let's all shoot with a cell phone and instigram it or hey I got it, I'll buy cheap plastic cameras and shoot film that looks like instigram.
If you want to be a facebook photographer then fine, but I don't get it.
If it works for them fine, but personally I think it's a gimmick.
IMO
BC
