Ok, I just hafta tell you about something that Todd and I saw yesterday. First the back story. Todd and I use a methodology that says......know your equipment inside, outside, and upside down. Then, if you don't need it, don't carry it. People usually can't believe the stuff we shoot, with how "little" we carry. One of these days I'll hafta take some shots of just what I have in my bag, lol.
Anyways......we had just finished shooting an incredible engagement set, where Todd was on camera and I was on reflector, and we were getting read to leave. I turned around to see another photographer blowing the highlights on a bride's dress behind us. Well, I had to watch and see what they were up to, and admire his "technique". He had glorious light to work with, but had the bride taking full sun from her left. Once he popped off a few shots, he began to move toward the area we had just used, and I noticed he had an entourage following him.
There were three behind him, all with equipment in there hands, one of which appeared to be pulling what seemed to be a single-wide mobile home!!! LOL The single-wide turned out to be a colossal softbox, and they began to set it up on a huge C-stand!! This was quite a show! So, we watched even more intently because this was so interesting.....mainly because our "entourage" wouldn't have anything to carry, and we obviously don't work hard enough, so we were trying to see if there were any pointers we needed to write down. Well, he proceeded to keep the bride in full sun, still from her left, and had the giant softbox also blasting away from her left, probably trying to shoot at 1 millionth of a second shutter speed, and wondering why the background was totally pitch black, lol.
Well, I have to share what pointers we came away with.......lol, the amount, and size of all your crap doesn't improve your pictures!! It's an impressive show, but in the end, the client only cares about value vs. price, and output. And more importantly, did you capture the detail in my dress, or does it look like I'm wearing a big white triangle?!! lol I CONSTANTLY have people (usually with 4 pro camera bodies, 2 bags of gear, 18 lenses, and look like an airborne ranger ready for the big jump), ask me how I get the stuff I get with such a scrawny bag of gear! They're probably like, "where's the rest of it?!!"
The point I'm trying to make is....if you're looking for a photographer, don't get caught up in all the hype. Sometimes photographers try to make it appear that they are the messiah, and that they can move the sun, and blah, blah, blah. But, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. More crap, doesn't equal more amazing, and less crap doesn't either. It's all about the photographer themselves. The most important tool is between their ears! LOL
Sorry, just had to vent a little, and share some "photography from my perspective"
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