No complaints

Yesterday I had what is known in the pejorative as a “grip and grin” assignment. Important people cutting a ribbon at a facility opening. Even though this kind of job may not command the reach of my creative abilities, I gladly and cheerfully took on the job.

John Harrington, in his excellent photo business blog, has a couple of posts, here and here, about the ethic of going a great job, no matter what, and of never copping an attitude of, “This work is beneath me.” Sure, a beginning pro would have done a good enough job for this client, and it would have cost them a lot less than hiring me. Being available, and being known for going above and beyond, even on a pedestrian assignment, pays too many dividends to count. Let me talk about the personal dividend.

It's harder than it looks to make these shots work. I was thrilled that the ribbon cutting was outdoors. However, the plaza was surrounded by tall buildings. The light was soft but only from overhead—I knew I'd need fill if I wanted my subject's eyes to be anything but black cavities on their faces. I shot everything with fill flash, set one stop beneath ambient. I tested the setup, and nailed down a manual exposure that wouldn't budge if I varied the shot (which would happen on AE). I figured out my angle, cleaned up the background (I moved a jacket protruding from behind a banner, and chose a position that hid a cardboard box behind the sign. The moment happened, and I got the money shot.

Then it was time to find my picture. The Husky marching band and their cheerleaders were part of the scene. What could be better? I moved close and worked the scene. When the cheerleaders performed, I quickly discovered that my preferred angle for these situations, shooting from the ground, was a major no go. Their skirts were way too short. I switched to the band, which was dynamically more interesting anyway.

I also got empty classroom shots, pictures of what looked like important people talking together, and anything else I could think of that my client might want, but didn't know to ask for. It was in service to keeping myself valuable to a client that I like, but more importantly, about keeping my own curiosity stoked by finding novelty in the ordinary, wherever I can.

Comments

[Tommy Williams]

I don't know if you have ever considered offering a workshop whose format is "follow Doug Plummer around on an assignment for a day." If you ever offer something like that, I would sign up immediately.

We make a mistake in photography in believing that everything to learn can be discovered by studying the final photo. Or, perhaps, we just discount the enormous value we could gain by watching an expert find and make the photos.

I have picked up valuable little snippets just be reading your blog and thinking thinking in detail about entries like this where you talk about your process but I know there are a million things you do that you don't--couldn't--explain in a post like this.