How To Do A Professional Assignment – Step Four

How To Do a Professional Assignment – Step Four

by William Lulow

After I’ve created the job sheet and attached all my notes and other information, I can concentrate on shooting the job. As I said, it is vitally important to LISTEN to the client so that you have a good idea of what is wanted. Too many photographers have their own idea of what kind of photographs to make, but if you are a professional, i.e., you make your living by making images, you need to please someone else by giving them the kind of photograph and quality they need for their purposes. These days, one active expression is “Garbage in, garbage out.” This means that if the quality of the image is not top notch, then neither will be any of the uses for the photograph. If it is not clear, crisp, well-composed and well exposed, the quality on the web or in a brochure or magazine will be even worse.  So, even if the image is to be used as a thumbnail on a website, it should be of the highest quality possible. This means having high quality, up-to-date equipment (cameras and lenses, tripods, lights, backgrounds, etc.). Often people ask why a professional photograph is so expensive. Well, photographers have to make enough money to subsidize the equipment they have and to make sure they can stay current with new advances in technology. It is not a simple matter of taking any old camera and taking a few snapshots.

So, let’s say I have a portrait to make. If it is a private commission, I try to find out something about the person so that I have something to talk about with him or her. I often begin a session by asking questions and finding out that way. Sometimes I explain what I’m doing as I’m setting up lights. I then begin right away taking pictures. I show a few of them on the camera’s LCD so that the client can see them.  After I have taken say 50 or 60 images, I can then go to the computer so that they can see the images enlarged. The blow up accomplishes two things. (1) It gives the client an idea of what the finished shot will look like and (2) it enables me to fine-tune the image.  I preview a few shots just to check everything and then finish the session with shots in the camera only. After the lighting, exposure and pose are fine tuned, I then shoot for expression. Every time I change the lighting, I will then shoot another test shot. This lets me see what the changes are doing and how they are affecting the shot. It continues to work as a proofing tool that I can show the subject and lets me know that I’m on the right track. If the subject says that they like the shot, I try to shoot a number of frames just like it so that I will have a number of different expressions and poses of something that the subject likes. I normally don’t take a laptop or tablet with me on location and rarely use them in the studio. I believe it interferes with the natural flow of a shoot to keep downloading and checking images on the set. With product shots it’s completely different. Then, it is often necessary to see the images enlarged right away, after each change in lighting or composition, because attitude and expression are not a part of the shot.

Another thing I have done in the past and continue to do is to offer hair & makeup with the shoot. Sometimes the subject doesn’t need this (most men certainly don’t, unless they are making a TV appearance and they need to get rid of “shine” on the skin). But, it serves actually two purposes for anyone. One, it really makes them look better for the camera and, two, it involves them more in the entire procedure. They have to invest more time, talk to the hair&makeup stylist and maybe even talk a bit more about why they need the photograph they are investing in in the first place. Involving the subject more is always a plus. I did make a “mistake” once though. A woman came to the studio for a new head shot and I offered my stylist’s services and she agreed. I was intent on making a really beautiful headshot and I did. My mistake however, was not to consult her about exactly the kind of image she was looking for, and possibly she didn’t really know either. When she took the photos home, her husband said she looked “too” glamorous. Here are the before and after shots:

  You tell me! Is the “new” shot too glamorous?

But this illustrates my point. It doesn’t matter what you, or anyone else thinks! What matters is only what the subject (or the final judge of the image) thinks! You can make the most beautiful image but if the subject doesn’t think so, for whatever reason, she or he will not use the photograph and your efforts will be for naught.  

Sometimes, there is nothing you can do to make communication clearer if the subject doesn’t know either. But, I always try to make my intentions clear as well as understand those of my subjects as well. With commercial headshots, product shots or event photographs (I do them all), the purpose is usually clear and the type of image needed is also spelled out fairly clearly. When an agency art director hands you a “comp” (sketch of what the shot should look like), you essentially know what you need to do. Sometimes magazine editors don’t always have a definite idea in mind and they are looking for the photographer’s creative input. In these cases, you can come up with your own interpretations of what is wanted, but you should also provide a “classic” interpretation as well to give the art director plenty of choices. I had a magazine photo director who loved my work because I always gave him many images from which to choose.