Low End Gear with Clients

[gsgary]

You don't have to pay a fortune for good gear i have got some of these lights and in tests they have beaten top makes Safari Portable Flash System | Lencarta

[url]http://www.lencarta.com/studio-lighting-shopfront/atom-barebulb-portable-flash
[/URL]

 

[Derrel]

Adventure photography was not at ALL what I was thinking when you wrote "commercial photography". Not at all. Stay fit and trim and outdoorsy and cultivate a list of good-looking similar men and women friends and associates, and there's a competitive advantage that older shooters might not have so clearly. Those portable strobes gsgary mentioned--I've seen a lot of reviews on those....look to be a nice piece of kit to me, I could REALLY, really,really have used one,or two of those this weekend, but I seldom need portability AND power a mile from the car, but I did this weekend....

 

[JoeW27 1]

Buy some made-in-China light modifiers from eBay. Most all of them are direct, unlicensed, rip-offs of patented, high-dollar modifiers made by companies located in Europe, the UK, and the USA. Get a compendium lens hood for your camera, and a big, black tripod. Grow a Vandyke or goatee. Obtain and always wear some small-framed eyeglasses. Cultivate an air of artistry. Market yourself as an ARTIST, and not as "a photographer".

I am serious about all of those things, except one.

Damnit Darrel, you forgot "wear black"...all serious artistes wear only black.

Okay, to answer the OP directly...if you're working as a sub or contractor to someone else who has the business, then it won't matter. Example: you get hired by an ad agency b/c they like your work. They pick up a gig with say a client in the UK. The client deals with the creative team in the ad agency or the graphics firm. You deal with the project manager or team lead for the ad agency or graphics firm. Client never sees you (except possibly for an initial kickoff meeting or a launch celebration). Your gear makes no difference then b/c the people that directly hire you (the ad agency or graphics firm) know you and trust you, keep you out of sight from the client, and only bring you out when it's time to celebrate or to do your magic.

When you're dealing with the client directly, of course the impression you create (cheap DIY equipment, 40 pounds overweight, no attention to personal hygiene) can have an impact on the client. As photographers we think it's our portfolio that is going to have the most impact on the client. I think that's true only for a few clients. I think for most, it's reputation. If you have a string of previous clients who all say to the current client "Fooby rocks--he performs like nobody's business--we hire him all the time" then there is very little attention paid to you showing up in a stained T-shirt with DIY gear.

The other issue that serious photographers always battle is the uninformed, unwashed opinion of the masses that our work is all the result of our camera. I've known some people who could generate outstanding work (like weddings and product photography) using an iPhone. But if they showed up for a commercial shoot with that, the reaction by most clients would be "what am I paying good money for--I could do this shoot myself!" So even if some of your gear is DIY, it helps to show up with something that the client looks at and goes "what the heck is that?"

 

[ISO]

I've shot some pretty important shoots with a beauty dish I made myself, results were what they wanted and better than they expected so they were happy.

 

[fooby]

Adventure photography was not at ALL what I was thinking when you wrote "commercial photography". Not at all. Stay fit and trim and outdoorsy and cultivate a list of good-looking similar men and women friends and associates, and there's a competitive advantage that older shooters might not have so clearly. Those portable strobes gsgary mentioned--I've seen a lot of reviews on those....look to be a nice piece of kit to me, I could REALLY, really,really have used one,or two of those this weekend, but I seldom need portability AND power a mile from the car, but I did this weekend....

It's definitely not the most common form of commercial photography, but it's still primarily shooting for commercial clients. The models and physical effort are quite different though!

Those portable strobes definitely offer an interesting mid-point, but personally I really like using big modifiers for nice wrapping light. I'm not the type for the common harsh, fake looks that a lot of sports photographers go for - especially in portraits, so I'd like the option to use large octabanks and shoot in mid-day sun if needed. I'm off to Chamonix to do a test shoot for a client in a couple of weeks so I'll have a good opportunity to find out what works

As I'm on a tight startup budget, I've been considering the Calumet Genesis strobes. Has anybody had any experiences with them? I know 500w is less than ideal for mid-day shooting in bright sun, but it's sure as hell a lot better than using speedlites.

When you're dealing with the client directly, of course the impression you create (cheap DIY equipment, 40 pounds overweight, no attention to personal hygiene) can have an impact on the client. As photographers we think it's our portfolio that is going to have the most impact on the client. I think that's true only for a few clients. I think for most, it's reputation. If you have a string of previous clients who all say to the current client "Fooby rocks--he performs like nobody's business--we hire him all the time" then there is very little attention paid to you showing up in a stained T-shirt with DIY gear.

This is exactly what I was worried about. First impressions are so important when you don't have any clients yet. Luckily, it looks like I'm going to at least be able to get a couple of strobes and modifiers in the near future, so my main issue - ghetto light setups with questionable consistancy - will be sorted.

 

[jacquelynecullen]

I watched a 3day workshop by Amanda Diaz on creative live this past month and it was all about DIY photography. She's doing QUITE well for herself and even to this day often budgets only $100 for editorial shoots. It was really inspiring to watch her. As she said in the workshop, people don't hire you for your gear, they hire you for the outcome you can produce. If you can make them an amazing image, no one is going to care what tools you used to get there. Another point I'd even go further into mentioning is that clients rarely know anything about photography. We often have to educate them on what makes a photo or product worthy, so it's pretty doubtful they'd know the difference between a continuous lit softbox or a strobed beauty dish, a Yunguo speedlight vs a Nikon SB900, or any other details we as photographers like to compare each other with at times. End of the day, how do you feel about your ability to create a "wow" image? If you can do it / have done it with your current gear, then keep at it.

A recent client of mine summed it up perfectly. She was raving over her son's session, and I have a hard time accepting such praise gracefully, so in an effort to tone down her accolades I said, "Well, the technology nowadays makes things so much easier for us to get amazing images," and she replied, "Nonsense. I always say, you can give me the best oven in the world and the best cake recipe, but I'm no baker, and it doesn't mean I can make a cake."

 

[chuasam]

Rent. and put it down as a line item on your invoice.

 

[DevC]

the only place i've really seen clients/others worry about your gear is model mayhem.

 

[CCericola]

Just rent what you need. Add it into the price. Done. It's so common in commercial work whether you have been in the business 1 year or 20 years. If you want you own equipment then take out a loan or save up. With commercial work, each project is different. If you aren't renting a special lens you are renting props and costumes, etc... It never stops.

 

[MOREGONE]

I'll assume you a pricing your work accordingly. I don't believe you are going to be getting the same rates as seasoned pros so if I am the client I should not expect the same gear.

I do see you mentioned concerns about consistency. Yes that is very important. But what is also important is confidence on the day of the shoot. If you have doubts about your gear then you may not have your full attention to the details. So unless you need all the photography income to eat and survive, I would reinvest all that you can from your photography back into gear. I don't support loans for this because we're not talking about opening a restaurant and more so than ever, decent gear can be had at a low price (compared to historically).

When you are signing clients at higher wages you may have a budget to rent gear as well. I have been on single day shoots where the budget was $1500 for rentals. Just for rentals. Oh how I would love to make that for a day shoot. The budgets are out there and you will get there, but it is not going to happen all at once. Find the right trajectory and you will amass your gear, client list, and skills appropriately.