On Monday, I spent the first half of the day shooting photos at a hair salon that was giving free cuts, styles, coloring, etc. to kids in preparation of going back to school. I spent a couple of hours there by trying to work different angles, work with mirrors, and try to see things differently. One of the photos ran B1 the next day. I would call that a success.
As far as the assignment went, Steve said that he could tell I was thinking. When you come across a photo opportunity, you need to be in control of the situation and wait for the moment within the picture to happen. It's hard to be patient sometimes, especially on deadline, but in my time here - it has finally hit me that you have got to play the waiting/hunting game. The shot rarely comes to you. You find it, and then you wait for it to happen.
Although I learned from that assignment, as I did from all the others, what really made my day a success was a conversation I had with Steve Gonzales and Billy Smith at the end of the day.
We spent a lot of time talking about the future and how to get a job in this world. Steve simply told me that in this business you have got to get in, work hard, keep contact, and when the time is right - things will fall into place. He said there are journalism jobs out there but they aren't advertised like they used to be. If you keep the contacts you make, some day things will work out as long as your work continues to grow.
In our conversation (and picked up from other conversations) some lessons I learned are these:
You don't have to decide right now that this is what you are going to do for the rest of your life. You can do it for a while and find something else later in life. You can do something else and find photojournalism later in life. Sometimes people go back to school. The world is full of possibilities Billy told me. And Steve said to never let anybody tell you that you can't do something that you want. But you have to want it.
Investments should be made. As a photojournalist, you really need to be equipped to do a good job which requires a decent camera, a lap top, computer programs, light kit, etc. I've been told by several of the people I have interacted with here, that it's essential to have good equipment.
Work to make money or work to get experience? If the experience is more than something you've already gained - it's essential to work for the experience. BUT if you aren't getting any further ahead - work to make money to be able to support the necessary equipment to succeed in this business.
Freelance. Do it. The more you get your name out, the better. Talk to people - places you may want to end up in the future, places around your home, etc. Social networking holds a huge place in freelancing - so it's important to keep contacts. In order to freelance though, you need to have the adequate equipment.
Tuesday I spent the day shadowing Michael Paulsen. Michael is one of the most talented portrait photographers I've ever met. In the 4 weeks I spent in Houston, almost every photographer told me that if I had a chance to talk to Michael Paulsen about portraits - he was the guy. I got lucky enough, on my second to last day, to go on a Gloss shoot with him to a mansion. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to the lighting of a subject and the environment surrounding the subject.
He had scoped out the area the day before the shoot, so he had an idea of what he was working with. He had the shot in mind.
He brought six lights, reflectors, ropes, extension cords, a bucket - seriously anything in your car, you can find a use for it. we got the lighting set up, he went over some of the basics about setting the ISO and shutter speed and working the aperature - the rest is the lights. There's several different techniques with lighting using soft boxes, ring flashes, the modeling light, etc. etc. etc.
Build from the background forward. Once you have your setting put together, you add your subject - who in turn brings expression and gesture to the photograph. I remembered him telling me this in the beginning and then again every time I asked him to talk to me about portraits - but when you see it done...it clicks.
This particular shoot was a model in a party dress attempting to climb a wall covered in ivy. Obviously she wasn't going to literally climb the wall so his job was to make that portrayal.
The key to a successful portrait shoot:
-The photogrpaher needs to be in control of the situation, However, it can be a huge asset to have other eyes at the scene to give suggestions as well.
-Work different areas of the scene. Don't stay at eye level: stand on a bucket or a ladder, lie on the ground, do whatever it is that you need to do to see it from a different perspective.
-It's important to be semi-pushy if it helps you get the job done. By pushy I mean - relate to people, be persistent, tell them why, explain the importance of the situation but you have to bring a personal touch to that.
-See things. Pay attention to the details - otherwise they will haunt you forever.
-Look for the geometry around you and then use it to your advantage. Circles, curves, lines, etc.
-Layering is a huge importance in a photo. Years ago, my first photo editor, Ben Roberts, stressed this to me all the time. I started applying it but at the Chronicle it was emphasized even more - which means I clearly have work to do there. Steve has told me more than once - pay attention to the layering in your photo.
Michael Paulsen said if the eye can jump from point to point to point in a photograph, it is a success. If various points in a photo make your eye jump in a triangle formation - you're golden.
These lessons came from being on the photo shoot with him and observing him as he worked the area. Then I sat with him as he maticulously edited down his take.
Afterward, he asked if I was ready to shoot a portrait. He brought all of his lighting equipment back to my cousins' house so that I could apply everything that he had been doing all day - to them. So that's what we did. He had me do all the work and he was there for me to ask questions. 45 degree lighting provides the right shadows we want casted across people's faces, but you can even it out with a light placed on the other side - also at a 45 degree angle.
You don't have to have the most expensive lighting equipment. You can use on-camera flashes (off camera) and place a softbox through them or even stick a white sheet in front of it to give off that amount of light.
There's such an array of opportunities for photos when you use various types of lighting. You can pull the light closer or further away from the subject to light it how you want. You can also pull back enough so that you are lighting the environment, not just the subject in it.
When you look at all of this in a big picture it makes complete sense and almost feels like common sense. But for me, I needed to see it done, see the product, and then do it myself. I will forever be greatful for this opportunity that Michael Paulsen created for me.
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