Gear to Go

[by Judy Herrmann]

About 8 years ago, after 12 years of being strictly studio photographers, we shot on location professionally for the very first time.  Preparations were stressful, to say the least.  We were so nervous about not having something we’d need that we practically brought the entire studio along.  We got through the shoot without using half the stuff we brought and decided there had to be a better way.
As we unloaded from the shoot, we launched my favorite outlining application and created a master list of everything we’d brought. Before a given shoot, we save a copy of our master gear list and edit it based on the needs for that job. We keep our lists organized by container – each case gets its own category and the items it contains are nested within.  If we edit the gear down to where some of the cases are partially empty, it’s easy enough to drag and drop items into a new “container category” so we’re bringing the minimum number of cases needed and all are full.
As we pack up, we tick off the items so we know when each case is ready to load.  Then, we tick each case off when it’s loaded into the car.

What I love about outlining apps is that they let you create broad categories, nest items within them and track what’s already been done.  They’re a perfect way of organizing location gear lists, especially if you’re not the only person packing up!  Unfortunately, my favorite app for this, Omni Outliner (shown below) is only available for the Mac but PC users have told me that VIP Simple To Do List offers similar functionality.

Triangles let you toggle categories open and shut, hiding or revealing nested items. A click in the box creates or deletes the check mark. You can drag and drop items from one category to another. Tab and shift+tab let you indent or un-indent items.

Tagging Images with GPS

[by Peter Krogh]

When I’m looking for one of my images, one of the most valuable tools I can use is the location list in Lightroom or Expression Media.  My awareness of where a picture was taken is deeply tied to my memory of that image. By using Country. State, City and Location tags, I can organize my images in a really useful way. (Add date information to this, and it’s even better.)

But adding that information can take some time. Furthermore, some locations are impossible to pin down with any specificity.  “Okavango Delta” is a pretty generalized location.  So how do you pinpoint images more accurately.  And even more important, how do you add the location names without endless retyping.

Enter GPS – Global Positioning Satellite. It’s possible to add GPS tags to your images, and it’s even possible to use those tags to fill out the IPTC location fields, so that the Country, State, City and Location tags show up in the program of your choice. Take a look at this movie to see a bit more about how this is done.

Tips for Shooting on Location

[by Gail Mooney]

I’ve been shooting “on location” for over 30 years.  That’s all I do – location shoots.  Each job and location vary greatly, and that is the challenge of location shooting. So the key is to be prepared for a variety of issues, problems and challenges that you may encounter on location.

Here’s a typical pre-production list of needs that I work from:

• Travel arrangements – Arranging for flights, rental cars, hotel rooms, carnets, visas
• Crew – finding and lining up assistants, sound guys, additional shooters, stylists, hair/makeup
• Talent – casting
• Special Job needs – rental equipment, backgrounds, generators
• Permits – many times a location requires a permit like shooting on the streets of NYC
• Insurance – I always call the building management prior to a shoot to ask them if I need to name them on my insurance policy.  Many times I need to add them to the policy for that time period and add additional coverage.
• Talk to my client and/or subjects in advance and prepare them for what we’ll be doing – what equipment we’ll be bringing in – how long our setup will take
• Prepare a solid shoot list – this helps make the shoot efficient as well as keeps you on track so that you get all the shots you need
• If shooting outside – find your location geographically and what may be around it – which way does it face etc.
• If shooting inside – find out about any shortcomings they may have as far as power supply or lack of.  I’ve actually shot in fairly new commercial skyscrapers in NYC where we thought we were covering ourselves as far as plugging into different circuits – only to find out that we weren’t – after the circuit blew and left the Board standing in the dark!  So now I always have a building electrician standing by.

Ultimately I try to think of everything I may need on location before I ever get there.  A client once said to me “the more I see you worry about the details – the more I know that I don’t have to and that you’ve got it covered.”

The Executive

[by Sean Kernan]

Someone once said that executive portraiture is basically a still life problem. Still, crabby execs do things like turning up for their portraits early while you’re still setting up and insisting that you shoot right away because they have a meeting. On one annual report shoot an angry VP of Something-Or-Other walked into the setup and said, “I don’t have time for this crap!” I replied that I understood completely, but that it was his company’s project, not mine, and could he tell the chairman that he was too busy to do it. Otherwise I would tell him if he didn’t have time. He relented, and I got my picture of my guy…a little graceless and angry, but there it was.

Most people are not like that. What they are is a bit afraid, unsure of what they are supposed to look like. The best approach is to behave as an equal, which you are, of course, and let them know that they are supposed to look like who they are.

You can’t think of everything that might dislocate your location plans, but then preplanning is not the solution to the more baroque problems that come up. Best to just be present and let solutions arise from the situation.

Dealing With Security

[by Paul Bartholomew]

This is one of those situations you can never be too prepared for. I often do commercial architectural photography projects that involve public locations. Security or police may be notified or notice photography going on and may become suspicious. People tend to feel uneasy when someone is photographing certain areas. I wish I had an answer to why but it depends on the situation.

Here is my advice to help make things less painful. First of all be prepared. I always have my client’s name on hand with contact info. A letter from the client also helps but none of this matters if your client or you didn’t notify the proper people for permission. Have this permission info on hand and ready to reach for.

Prevention is key. When I photograph a building in New York that is owned by a certain company I try to stop by the front desk and let them know who I am. Don’t be surprised if stopped by other security people even though you cleared things upon arrival. Not everyone gets the memo.

Here is another very important point. Security and police are just doing their job so don’t over react and act outraged. This is sure way to end up with problems. When you see security approaching don’t try to avoid them or give them a nasty look. Try to give a smile and have your info ready. I mention who my client is and why I’m photographing the location. Of course mention right away that you have permission.

Normally I have to give my name and info related to the project. This may take 5 minutes of your time unless security wants to call the people you mention. Usually a report or note has to be filed and that’s it.

Like I said earlier, just have a positive attitude and usually things go fine. Of course I can’t be 100% on this because you never know but be prepared and that’s all you can do.