shooting under pressure
We recently had the pleasure of shooting David Mondragon CEO of Ford Canada for Costco magazine. We did a technical scout before the shoot to determine potential shot angles and lighting requirements. This was essential as we had to do 3 setups in the half hour of time we had with David. Pretty tight considering one shot was a cover.
We arrived early on the day of the shoot knowing we had to have 3 set ups lit, locked down and ready to go. Our set up went very smoothly, David arrived on time, well groomed and dressed and after a brief introduction and explanation as to what we would be requiring of him we went straight into the cover shot. This being the most important shot I chose to do it first in case we ran into any time snags. I could always improvise on the additional shots but not the cover. With a little powder dusting and some tweaks we got David relaxed and settling into the cover shot with some direction on body and hand positions. I already knew what we were going for so it was just a question of making sure I left enough space for the magazines masthead as well as some type around the subject. Ten minutes later, a few camera variations and different body positions we had the cover in the bag and moved onto the second shot.
We arrived early on the day of the shoot knowing we had to have 3 set ups lit, locked down and ready to go. Our set up went very smoothly, David arrived on time, well groomed and dressed and after a brief introduction and explanation as to what we would be requiring of him we went straight into the cover shot. This being the most important shot I chose to do it first in case we ran into any time snags. I could always improvise on the additional shots but not the cover. With a little powder dusting and some tweaks we got David relaxed and settling into the cover shot with some direction on body and hand positions. I already knew what we were going for so it was just a question of making sure I left enough space for the magazines masthead as well as some type around the subject. Ten minutes later, a few camera variations and different body positions we had the cover in the bag and moved onto the second shot.
The second shot was a slight variation in position from the cover so that we could save time by not having to move too far from where were set up, yet get a different look. A few small lighting adjustments and voila. Another nice shot.
It was now 25 past the hour and we had about 5 minutes left to move, reconfigure and get the last shot. While David went off to change his shirt on my suggestion, to change the shot up a little, we moved the camera and computer cart to our set at the opposite end of the room and by the time David returned we were ready. We started shooting, I waited for David to relax and feel more comfortable and then gave him some direction on hand and head positions. Our 5 minutes were almost up, I checked with David who said not to worry he could spare another 5 minutes. Bonus. I took the camera off the tripod and went loose, moving around looking for the perfect angle. I think we got it.
Great shoot, great subject. David was a really nice guy and a pleasure to shoot.
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