The last last Thursday

Ok, this is the last time I'll mention last Thursday. I promise.
...As soon as the bicycle photo shoot was over, I rushed into Seattle to meet Airika at Janet Klinger's photography studio for a get together with some other local photographers. The highlight of the evening was the speaker that Janet invited, Jonathan Ross. He owns a local stock photography business, and he is amazing! The process his team goes through to produce stock images really opened my eyes. From creating shot lists, to finding locations, to getting releases, to studio setup, to finding models--he has perfected the process to make his shoots highly efficient. The amount of planning that goes into one day of shooting is truly mind boggling!

Ever since last Thursday, I've been thinking a lot about what he said. Photojournalism is truly at the heart of my style, and something inside me cringes at the thought of putting together a shot list/meticulously planning every detail out. That would involve thinking ahead about what I want, writing it down, and when the time comes, manipulating the scene to portray what I am looking for. The whole process depends on me interjecting myself into the situation to get what I want--and it seems that this would be a far cry from "documenting events as they unfold."
Nevertheless, there was a lot that I was able to glean from Jonathan's stock photography process. I've realized that there's even more I can do to prepare for the shoots I do at the PRO Club.

When I shoot weddings, I have the freedom to let my photojournalistic style shine. My assignments are very different at the PRO club, and often involve everything from portraits, to head shots, to activities, to products, to architecture, to food, to just about anything else you can imagine. In those situations, something as simple as thinking through a shot list beforehand can go a long way in freeing up your creative juices to focus on important things like framing, lighting, interacting with your model, etc. rather than worrying about thinking up another creative idea for the next shot. I am anxious to work on this over the next couple of weeks to see how it will affect my work...

All that to say, last Thursday was a long day, but a good one.

Goodnight,
Gerald