Professional Studio Shoot. A Glimpse

[Alanroseman]

As I promised myself I would in February, I've been trying to document some of what I see on an everyday basis. Forcing myself to take notice of what's around me through the viewfinder, so to speak.

I'm sure some of you folks have been involved in a commercial shoot, probably many have not.

This is a shoot being done for one of my clients. The studio is located in East Providence, RI. The shoot included product, product models, and film work for a commercial.

I server as MIS for this company, normally I'd appear do my IT thing and move on. Today I decided to pull out the trusty GF1 and give, anyone interested, a little glimpse.

The gallery is here:Pro Photo Shoot - Mu-43 Gallery

Hope you enjoy it...

Story Board for the shoot

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Over the photographers shoulder

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Studio scene. Product inspection and color check

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Getting position

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Model Shots

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Macs at work (it's all I EVER see on any studio project....sorry) The images are transmitted directly to the Powerbook, LR software, the large monitor is a video out from the laptop

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Oops. Forgot this shot of the photographer at work...

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[cucco]

Great insight! Thanks!
I'm also glad to see that they're using some of the same lights and reflectors I have and use (the 500W and 1000W Tungstens).
Cheers!
J

 

[Alanroseman]

Will anyone even find this thread?

Thanks, i hope some of the regulars find this thread.

i was tempted to stick it in where the "what is pro" debate was raging...

 

[linkedit]

Man, I miss those days. Of course, there were no MACs just lots of 8x10 polaroids and looking at film on a light box with a loupe.

 

[Alanroseman]

I hear you... the Polaroid back is looooooong gone.

For all of this I do though, I see Mac after Mac after Mac....

 

[bilzmale]

Thanks for sharing this 'over-the-shoulder' look at some pros at work.

 

[Luckypenguin]

What was our Pro shooting with?

 

[Alanroseman]

What was our Pro shooting with?

Hi Nic,

A big gimongous Canikon.....

I didn't even look. Most of them are shooting Canons, even my Bainbridge Island friend / client Neil switched to Canon. i have no preference since I offloaded my Canon DSLR gear for µ43. I know one thing, I'm taking lots more photos...

I tried zooming in, but too noisy to tell for sure...

 

[jalex]

Great set of photos!

 

[Alanroseman]

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed them... That's why there here..

 

[Luckypenguin]

Hi Nic,

A big gimongous Canikon.....

I didn't even look. Most of them are shooting Canons, even my Bainbridge Island friend / client Neil switched to Canon. i have no preference since I offloaded my Canon DSLR gear for µ43. I know one thing, I'm taking lots more photos...

I tried zooming in, but too noisy to tell for sure...

Alan, I'm still a card-carrying member of the Canon society so I had to ask.

 

[Alanroseman]

Hi Nick,

He was using the model that weighs 47.6 lbs.

 

[Luckypenguin]

The 30lb model provides the best price/performance/back pain ratio IMHO

 

[Alanroseman]

That's been heavily debated off course, many feel you get more bang for the buck with the models heavier than 45 lbs.

I'll tell you this, my GF1 was noticed immediately, and the process tech working the Mac station is an Olympus owner who commented almost immediately and "needed" to handle the GF1 for several minutes....

 

[Luckypenguin]

Forgive my ignorance, Alan. What does MIS mean?

 

[Alanroseman]

Hi Nic

Sorry, Manager Information Systems

 

[soundimageplus]

He was using the model that weighs 47.6 lbs.

Interesting set of pictures. Thanks for that.

Just as a comparison I thought I'd pop in a shot of a typical working environment for me. Photographed with a Nikon D3 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 which I'd carried from about a mile beyond the far headland.

Some of us have been known to utter the phrase "Studio Photography is for wimps" under our breath. When we have any that is!!

Like you I've become a great fan of m4/3!!

 

[Alanroseman]

which I'd carried from about a mile beyond the far headland.

Some of us have been known to utter the phrase "Studio Photography is for wimps" under our breath. When we have any that is!!

Like you I've become a great fan of m4/3!!

Hello David,

You have to look at this from my very stilted and parochial view.... I only show up if my "ticker" is running....:smile:

They guys out doing "non-studio" therefore "non-wimp" work, are like lone wolves.... They do it all alone....

Not so good for my ticker, which correlates directly to my income...:smile:

I love the studio wimps.....

 

[soundimageplus]

Hello David,

You have to look at this from my very stilted and parochial view.... I only show up if my "ticker" is running....:smile:

They guys out doing "non-studio" therefore "non-wimp" work, are like lone wolves.... They do it all alone....

Not so good for my ticker, which correlates directly to my income...:smile:

I love the studio wimps.....

I've done both and generally felt more exhausted coming home from a studio shoot than a day out in the "wilds". I remember a session photographing jewelry vividly which lasted 3 days instead of one and ended up with us running the stuff through a photo-copier / scanner because thats the look the client wanted!

Your pictures did send somewhat of a chill down my spine and I remembered the hanging around, the delays, the arguments, the fact that everyone had an opinion, that everything was needed yesterday, that everybody wanted the best but wanted to pay the least, that everyone thought they were the photographer and the fact that the final product was so compromised that no-one was happy. It may be different in your neck of the woods but my experiences haven't provided me with many happy memories.

The more prestigious the client the worse it got. The rudest and most idiotic people I ever worked for, were a very famous clothing manufacturer beginning with an A. To hear the foulest language coming out of the mouths of very attractive people in an Italian accent is a sound I've tried hard to forget! A 4-hour argument over the positioning of a 10cm logo on a picture for a 48-sheet poster made my mind up that from that moment on I was going to become a "lone wolf" as you describe it, and head off to a situation where I would be the sole decision-maker in deciding when and where to press the shutter.

I may have a dodgy back and there's certainly no danger of my ever becoming rich but moving from that situation to where I am now was the best move I ever made.

 

[Alanroseman]

Your pictures did send somewhat of a chill down my spine and I remembered the hanging around, the delays, the arguments, the fact that everyone had an opinion, that everything was needed yesterday, that everybody wanted the best but wanted to pay the least, that everyone thought they were the photographer and the fact that the final product was so compromised that no-one was happy. It may be different in your neck of the woods but my experiences haven't provided me with many happy memories.

Hi David,

Yup. Sounds pretty normal. As we age (or become more experienced) we learn that often times people "stick their 2 cents in" based on their position.. They feel compelled to boss someone around just because they can...it increases their sense of self importance. When the art people try to accommodate them, they end up with a product that looks, well...not so good.

That causes big big problems in the art work where often time the art director and photographer are the only ones with any kind of an eye at all...

In this case, the folks that own the company are fabulous! In fact the owner, in the midst of all the dough being spent (2 fully staffed studio days) was sitting in an old arm chair behind the story board playing a banjo!!!

He's awesome.. they are among my favorite clients, which is why I felt comfortable shooting a little with the GF1...