Pre-Production and General Craziness
The last few weeks have just been insane. Last week, I was near San Diego for 6 days shooting senior portraits. This week has been long days of portraits, and I have been working feverishly on the pre-production of two big shoots coming up.
This weekend, I'm shooting a commercial job for a light company. They make this multi-use magnetic light, and want to show it's application to camping on the product packaging. So I secured the product, a tent, and lots of AA batteries. I still needed a location, and they need the images by next weekend. The last few days, I have been scouring my go-to source for preliminary location scouting: Google Earth. I searched the perimeters of all nearby lakes for possible camping locations with a good sunset view to match the client's request. I struck out. I couldn't find a single suitable location at any lake with a great sunset view without renting a boat, and no boat in the budget means my sunset shot is now a sunrise shot.
With Sunrises now in mind, I found two locations I will visit in person tomorrow afternoon, one at Canyon Lake, the other at Bartlett Lake, both here in AZ. The plan is to pick the final spot tomorrow, then spend the night there and begin testing lights and building a campfire by 4am. My model will also arrive at 4am Sunday morning, and we shoot darkness into light - total opposite mentality than a sunset scene. With a sunset, you have time to dial in your exposures and begin slowing your shutter until the exposures are dead on, but with sunrise, you have to have them perfect before you shoot because the dawn disappears quickly.
I'm also working on the set planning, and lighting setups for an album cover I'm shooting next weekend. This will be the 3rd cover I've shot for The Southern Traditions, and the one I'm most excited about photographically. My lighting diagrams are drawn, I'm making my equipment checklists to be sure nothing gets forgotten, and I'm stressing over the background I ordered from Hong Kong yesterday and absolutely needs to arrive before we shoot next weekend!
As soon as I finish both these shoots, and a full week in between, I'm shooting near Las Vegas for 6 days the following week, so things have been pretty chaotic.
I'm working on staying focused, and prepping these shoots. I look forward to posting some images soon.
This weekend, I'm shooting a commercial job for a light company. They make this multi-use magnetic light, and want to show it's application to camping on the product packaging. So I secured the product, a tent, and lots of AA batteries. I still needed a location, and they need the images by next weekend. The last few days, I have been scouring my go-to source for preliminary location scouting: Google Earth. I searched the perimeters of all nearby lakes for possible camping locations with a good sunset view to match the client's request. I struck out. I couldn't find a single suitable location at any lake with a great sunset view without renting a boat, and no boat in the budget means my sunset shot is now a sunrise shot.
With Sunrises now in mind, I found two locations I will visit in person tomorrow afternoon, one at Canyon Lake, the other at Bartlett Lake, both here in AZ. The plan is to pick the final spot tomorrow, then spend the night there and begin testing lights and building a campfire by 4am. My model will also arrive at 4am Sunday morning, and we shoot darkness into light - total opposite mentality than a sunset scene. With a sunset, you have time to dial in your exposures and begin slowing your shutter until the exposures are dead on, but with sunrise, you have to have them perfect before you shoot because the dawn disappears quickly.
I'm also working on the set planning, and lighting setups for an album cover I'm shooting next weekend. This will be the 3rd cover I've shot for The Southern Traditions, and the one I'm most excited about photographically. My lighting diagrams are drawn, I'm making my equipment checklists to be sure nothing gets forgotten, and I'm stressing over the background I ordered from Hong Kong yesterday and absolutely needs to arrive before we shoot next weekend!
As soon as I finish both these shoots, and a full week in between, I'm shooting near Las Vegas for 6 days the following week, so things have been pretty chaotic.
I'm working on staying focused, and prepping these shoots. I look forward to posting some images soon.
Comments
Post a Comment