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Post by comicIDIOT on Nov 13, 2009 23:48:26 GMT -5
Most of us have had a time when we were nervous and/or anxious to photograph something. Whether it was a sport game or a park while on vacation. But I'm wondering, what is your biggest photo shoot to date?
Has it preceded any others? Or are you anticipating a shoot down the road?
For me, my first photography related anxiety attack occurred when I was about to do my first portrait photo shoot with my friend Kassandra. I've never done portraiture before that point so this was new ground and I was asking around about how I go about asking the model to pose and what not.
Luckily I had it easy that she was a - and is a child & family - portrait photographer for a mall outlet so she was able to help me pose her as well. She also has awesome body kinesthetics so she did most of her own fantastic posing.
I still get anxiety attacks when I do portrait shoots, mostly because of my poor social skills which in turn is a side affect of these attacks. So if you want to tie the not, I give myself an anxiety attack when I think about the anxiety attack that will happen during the shoot. The night before is about half as hard for me as the day of the shoot.
Tomorrow, I'm shooting a wedding with Kassandra - a first for us both. I'm unbelievably anxious at covering this once in a life time event. I've been showering myself with wedding photos in chapels, churches, parks, streets, stairs, side streets, alleys, and everything else conceivable. I've been in contact with a friend in Oakland that shoots weddings in her spare time and she gave me pointers and what to expect. The biggest line of help she gave me was this:
I know, I'm over thinking and over stressing. But that's me. I over do things often enough that it's basically expected, sadly.
Now that I've literally overdone this topic, what have your biggest photo experiences been?
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Post by Saknika on Nov 14, 2009 0:20:50 GMT -5
Mine was my first family photo of a friend I had on DA, but had never met in person before. Well... I had kinda met her. She came to an art galla for my portfolio class in high school, but was too shy to say hi. So we had seen each other before, but never formally met. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, except I had no idea what I was getting in to, except that it was going to be on Mother's Day after a party, and she had four kids--one still in diapers. And my anxiety was well placed, because after seeing that mess I will NEVER have children.  ; Perfect birth control, for serious. She was so embarrassed, I felt bad. But thankfully, during a situation I can usually walk in stride with it and have no problems. It's the aftermath that's bad for me as I rethink over what happened and second-guess myself. That, and coming down off the adrenaline always makes me sick. Thankfully, Karen and I are still very good friends, and apparently her daughter idolizes me now. Yay? LOL After that though, everything has been a cake walk. I've done a wedding, a dog "pawty", family portraits both inside and outside, engagement portraits, portraits of strangers--you name it, I've probably tried it at this point. I can't help it, I just love people.  Someday I'll try street photography too, that's really the only thing I haven't done. Just gotta work up the guts. xD; |
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Post by comicIDIOT on Nov 14, 2009 0:32:44 GMT -5
Man, I bet getting everything right was a trip in itself with three children and a toddler! Someday I'll try street photography too, that's really the only thing I haven't done. Just gotta work up the guts. xD; Only advice I have for you here, wear dark clothes, keep your camera around your neck and walk around. Or, just keep your camera at your hip. It's something I do every once in a while but haven't tried it since visiting San Francisco in May. |
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Post by Saknika on Nov 14, 2009 0:39:40 GMT -5
Man, I bet getting everything right was a trip in itself with three children and a toddler! LOL, I can't even put into words what a trip it was. I felt so bad though, because the father blamed their family for why I didn't graduate (since this photo was for my final portfolio assignment). It took a lot of repeat comforting to assure him that was not the case. And you're going to find with the wedding, that it is positively the most stressful event you've ever photographed and retouched. And both of you will either love it, or hate it. I've never met someone with an in-between really. Personally, I don't like weddings. But I might be doing one for a family member as their wedding gift. Thankfully, since they're family, it'd be a lot less stress then what you're feeling. Bring a lot of memory cards, seriously. And a tip from a fellow photograph friend of mine: Don't erase them off the cards until those photos are totally completed and backed up on DVD and to a portable. She had a job once where they were almost done retouching some event photos and the computer just died. But she still had the images on her cards, and that was how they saved the job. |
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Post by comicIDIOT on Nov 14, 2009 3:29:03 GMT -5
Bring a lot of memory cards, seriously. And a tip from a fellow photograph friend of mine: Don't erase them off the cards until those photos are totally completed and backed up on DVD and to a portable. She had a job once where they were almost done retouching some event photos and the computer just died. But she still had the images on her cards, and that was how they saved the job. I keep the photos on my cards for weeks. Sometimes I'll photograph two or three shoots on one 8GB card over the course of a month or two. Import after every shoot but won't erase. I'm paranoid about loosing my computer data too  I'll be able to take at most 1100 photos for the wedding so I'm pretty comfortable. Once I get a job I can assure you I'll be buying a few 8, 4 & 1GB cards. A friend of mine prefers smaller card sizes because less gets lost if a card corrupts on you. I like large cards because I don't have to change often and thus don't miss crucial events. But his point is valid, as I'd rather loose a smile than 8GB's of non-re-do-able photos. |
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firequall
Weekend Photographer
Canon shooter
Posts: 64
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Post by firequall on Nov 16, 2009 0:43:47 GMT -5
what is your biggest photo shoot to date? Shooting Rick Mercer (think Canadian equivalent to Jon Stewart). It was a few weeks of back and forth between his publicist before I was invited down to the studio to attend a taping of the show and do a quick portrait session afterward. Things didn't really go according to plan (lack of proper equipment, the crew having torn down the entire set while I was waiting to meet him and such) but I got usable shot that somewhat fit the parameters of the assignment (to which most people in my class were having a hard enough time just booking a subject). Though in the end, I got to shake the hand of one of my idols, spent a bit of one-on-one with him and attend a free taping of his show with VIP access and seats. A month or so later, during my internship, I was sent to Rideau Hall to cover an awards ceremony being presented by the Governor General of Canada, Michaëlle Jean (the head of state for Canada). I was the youngest photog there, from a tiny weekly that no one had likely heard of, and I stood out like a sore thumb. That said, I got stand less than 15 feet away from one of Canada's top political roles. Lighting was absolutely terrible but the venue was stunning. Before those two events, I got to hang out with one of the local politicians for a post-election party. Venue was complete shit (a dank pub) but I had a nice conversation with his wife. Aside from shooting a few well-known locals while at school, I've come across a few other well-known people. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony last Wednesday I was standing less than 40 feet away from Peter Mansbridge (another Canadian broadcasting icon), then bumped shoulders with Jack Layton (the leader of Canada's New Democratic Party) and his grandmother while shooting the public resting poppies on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I'm still kicking myself for not following Layton back into the scrum but the crowds were too thick for me to move back in time. I'm paranoid about loosing my computer data too That's why I have backups spread across three external hard drives and am planning to rent a safety deposit box to store my photo-only hard drive off-site. |
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Post by comicIDIOT on Nov 16, 2009 13:58:40 GMT -5
Wow! What an experience! I can only hope to have similar assignments when in school!
I agree with the deposit box, it's not a bad idea.
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; Perfect birth control, for serious. She was so embarrassed, I felt bad. But thankfully, during a situation I can usually walk in stride with it and have no problems. It's the aftermath that's bad for me as I rethink over what happened and second-guess myself.
