No Photos Please!

No Photos Please!
Originally uploaded by bongopix
In the photographer's universe, club shooters are the bottom feeders. We lurk at night. We work in loud, crowded spaces. We get pushed around. Gear gets splashed with alcohol and subjects are always in the classiest of states. The client demands the photos quickly and creativity is an afterthought. The goal is to go after "the hotties" and dish out as many promotional pamphlets as possible. To fellow photographers, this sort of environment may sound dreadful. For me, club photography has become a sublime love affair.

Every artist needs a break. A healthy dose of pulp keeps you grounded. And you know what? There’s actually a lot of skill that goes into a successful night of club photography. There’s so much emphasis in the on-line photography community about strobism (off-camera flash) that on-camera flash has become overlooked and forgotten. Of course, the results produced by a shoot-through umbrella at the perfect angle are usually stunning. But we can’t afford to be constantly walking about with umbrellas and lighting stands. In a way, on-camera flash demands more acute knowledge of light because it is just that much harder to create flattering lighting effects.

There is a sort of glamourous charm behind the high contrast and highly saturated look of on-camera flash. Combine this with the attention-hungry behaviour of clubbers, you get a kind of faux-celebrity paparazzi experience as a club shooter. People at clubs want to show how much fun they’re having. They embrace the camera, and in a way, act as if they’re stars. The later you work into the night, the more fun people get (for obvious reasons). The fun also intensifies after you’re offered a few drinks and end up bouncing up and down with the dancing crowd. It turns into a euphoric atmosphere that makes you forget that you’re working.

Anyways, I guess what I’m trying to say is that every genre of this business has its perks. It’s not worthwhile to scoff at one style of shooting and think less of it. Instead, look at all of one’s shooting experiences and try your best to make them worthwhile. Even in club photography, there are precious moments to be captured. Of course, a club photographer, by nature of the job, churns out the repetitive and thoughtless “social shots” that the client is expecting. Jack up the glamour by taking advantage of the flash. Make the people look and feel like celebrities, and they will becomes celebrities. The night turns into a performance. It's up to a keen photographer to seek these performances and capture them. The atmosphere turns into something really special as opposed to a loose party. But then again, I wish I was partying!

Quick and Corporate - Office Shoot

 

A Christian Counseling Agency in Toronto hired me to take photos for their website renewal project. They wanted an image update, so naturally, new/professional photos come with the territory. They were a really positive and fun bunch. Cake was served after the shoot (Unfortunately it wasn't in my honour, but to celebrate a staff member's birthday). There's nothing better than complimentary carrot cake.

A shoot like this is an interesting little beast. It seems simple, and it is. But straightforward can sometimes be a photographer's enemy. First of all, space was a really big issue. When you walk into a shoot like this, you have to be ready to set up a makeshift studio instantly. I probably spent 2 minutes longer than I should have to decide where to shoot. We used the lobby, and it worked. The group shot didn't turn out the best, although it was definitely decent. There just wasn't enough room to squeeze in 12 people and get the "pleasing" lighting effects that strobes can do.

The neutral background became a little bit of a colour issue for me. I must admit, I am not an expert when it comes to white balance. I wasn't exactly pleased that my colours weren't consistent throughout. If you look at this set, you'll see that the background fluctuates between green-brown-beige. If I'm going to continue to step it up to that "next level," this is something I need to master soon.

Other challenges? Timing. I had one hour exactly. There wasn't room for many mistakes or re-takes, and I had some trouble in the beginning with one of my strobes. My sb26 must have been running low on batteries and it was really frustrating. A quick strobe change solved the situation.

Another hurdle was models who were in a rush to go somewhere else. This was extremely distracting for me. One of my first models told me right from the beginning that she needed to leave because her parking meter had likely expired. I didn't want to be the cause of a parking ticket, so I tried my best to hurry. Unfortunately, her photo didn't turn out as well as the others'. Working quickly, I'm discovering more and more, is an important skill. You have to work fast and have the confidence that you're getting good results in the time that you use. Performing in clutch situations is absolutely key, and this is something that you'll develop over time.

Overall, a quick job resulted in photos that I'm sure they'll be happy with. The individual portraits were my favourites (As you can see, they're the ones that I uploaded to flickr). It was definitely a new experience, a sort of "factory/assembly line" of portraits done in a short period of time. I'll need to fine tune my white balance/colours, and make sure that I always have fresh batteries.