Why I Will NEVER Be a Pro Photographer

[squirrels]

Let us know how it went!
:smileys:

 

[manaheim]

Monkey!

Oh wait... wrong thread.

 

[Steve5D]

That seemed like a better idea when it was still a month away.

I can't begin to tell you how hard this made me laugh...

 

[sm4him]

Day One is in the books. It went...well, it went. I did try to slow down and take my time with the shots, but we ended up using more time than expected, which makes me very concerned about TODAY's shoot, when I've got six people to get through in less than two hours.
One thing that was both good and bad--my boss was there during the shoot. Good, because we could review as we went and be sure I was getting the shots SHE wants, since ultimately, the ones we use are her decision. So now I at least know SHE is happy with what we've got. The downside was that it did take more time, and I ended up shooting more than I would have otherwise because she kept wanting "a few more" in every position.

I had a few issues; most of them were brain-fade problems (you know, those moments when your brain just seems to fade away and turn to mush...) like when the first pictures were too dark, even at something like 1/125 and wide open (2.8 in this case) and it took me longer than I'd care to admit to even THINK about just changing the ISO from where it was set at 100. Good grief...

I also had an issue with the rented lens occasionally seeming like it was missing focus, and also a little CA on a few of the pictures with that lens (Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8).

But the BIGGEST issue by far, and one that I could use any thoughts, suggestions, opinions on is simply the challenge of shooting ON a bus. It's crowded and narrow and you can't ever seem to get the right angle for anything decent. There are metal bars EVERYwhere, and big windows with distracting elements (both outside elements and things stuck ON the windows like the decal about securing wheelchairs). It seems like no matter WHERE you have the subject sit, there is either a pole in front of them, blocking them, some distracting element behind or beside them, or something appearing to stick out of their head somewhere.

I don't plan to post many of these here, but I think just as an example I can get away with one--this is not necessarily the BEST shot I took or even one we'd be likely to choose, but I chose to post it because it does show a lot of the distracting elements and the bright windows. There's nothing I can do to *eliminate* these elements (poles, the ugly backs of seats, etc), and we WANT to have it be obvious that they are on a bus, but I'm trying to minimize the distracting elements as best as I can. (EDIT: And yes, my light stand is in the picture here. Like I said, this isn't necessarily my best shot...my assistant had wandered off here, I guess...)


So: If this was what you had as the photoshoot location, what would you do? Any thoughts?

Notes: Almost all of the final pictures will need to be in landscape orientation because of the way the ad design has been done. Most will be closer crops than the above picture, that's just to show more of the bus interior I'm working with.

Each ad will focus on a different commuter and what they like to do during their commute.
This afternoon I have two different shoots: first, a family of four that will focus on "heading to Game Day" to watch a UT football game; they'll be decked in Orange and white, I imagine.

In the second shoot, the one I'm concerned about time constraints on, I'll have six people, five separate "shoots":
A mom and her son, who like to read and spend time together on the bus.
A young man who likes to rock out to his favorite music during his commute
A young lady who likes to "people watch."
A business woman who walks to and from her bus stop to get her daily exercise in (she'll be wearing tennis shoes, but otherwise, we'll struggling with how to relay the exercise theme here)
A college student who uses her time to study

 

[Big Mike]

Looks like you're doing pretty well.

As for shooting in amongst all those bars...two options would be to shoot really wide and get close to your subject, or shoot tight with a longer lens, and show less of the subject (probably not the best option).

But really, the bars are part of the bus and that is part of what you're trying to show. So as long as they don't ruin the shot (cut across someone's face) they may be OK.

I don't suppose you could have someone remove one or two bars to give you room to shoot?

You might even consider removing a bar in post (just try to shoot so that it's not cutting across anything busy or unique).

 

[sm4him]

Looks like you're doing pretty well.

As for shooting in amongst all those bars...two options would be to shoot really wide and get close to your subject, or shoot tight with a longer lens, and show less of the subject (probably not the best option).

But really, the bars are part of the bus and that is part of what you're trying to show. So as long as they don't ruin the shot (cut across someone's face) they may be OK.

I don't suppose you could have someone remove one or two bars to give you room to shoot?

You might even consider removing a bar in post (just try to shoot so that it's not cutting across anything busy or unique).

Shoot really wide but get close to the subject is a good idea. I shot some wide yesterday with the intent of cropping, but didn't really think to go wide and then get closer. I'll experiment with those.

Most of the bars that actually tend to get in the way (the ones closest to the aisles--it's hard to pick the right seats for the subject to sit in, where they don't get obstructed by one of the bars) can't really be removed without a good bit of work. I actually looked at them last night to see if maybe we could get maintenance to take a couple of them down--BUT, we're also using one of the nicer, newer buses, which means the minute we're done shooting the bus needs to get back to the lot so it can be put into service--no time for maintenance to take it back and put the poles back in.

I did have a couple of shots from last night where I was able to place the most distracting pole behind the head and against a pretty simple background (the back of the bus) so that it could be easily removed in post-processing. That worked pretty well for that particular shot.

 

[cgipson1]

Sharon... I would shoot the location without the subject, exposing for the windows... and then merge that exposure with your subject exposures. Makes for prettier images, unless you are wanting the contrast.

It would be difficult to use flash to expose the subjects while exposing for the background... although it could be done (lighting all the bus evenly would be fun!). Much easier to just shoot the windows separately.

 

[snowbear]

There are metal bars EVERYwhere

A hacksaw or oxyacetylene torch will take care of these. Come to think of it, the torch can also take care of those annoying wheelchair stickers and bosses, as well.

I think you did well - at least you can see what the problems are and are trying to think around them. Good luck with the rest of your project.

 

[Derrel]

Well, THAT seat location looks good--plenty of clear, unobstructed view for one person, and an onlooker. So....use "that seat" for two of the pictures, maybe even three of them. It will add some continuity. In the shot shown, it seems like the man's shoe is in the best focus. Yes, I see some green CA around the edges of high-contrast edges.

What I like is that the in-bus overhead fluourescent light fixture is rendered perfectly! The outside windows appear just blown out enough to show "bright light outside", yet still retain the window supports and stuff. Despite the missed focus, the exposure looks okay, but I wish there were a bit more depth of field. I would not use autofocus on these.

MAYBE you could shoot from outside, off a ladder, thru an open window? I dunno. Not sure if that's even possible, and it would be a pain too, but it might allow you some viewing distance and positioning that is JUST NOT possible. Can you get into position in any wheelchair tie-down areas and shoot people in the seats right behind or off to the side of those spots? Are "all" the buses equipped equally, with identical aisles, seats, bars, and poles?

You are facing some simple challenges. Limited space. Limited camera placement options. Can you get the camera "up" at all, using a stepladder or clamp or tripod, anything like that? I dunno...I hope it all works out great. I know you will give it your all, your A-Game!!

 

[manaheim]

Can you mount the camera on a tripod and stick it RIGHT up against the opposing wall of the bus?

 

[sm4him]

Thanks, everyone! I actually got a LOT more help with this than I imagined this thread inspiring; I was mostly just venting my nervousness and anxiety, but you all came through with some things that I think actually helped me improve the shots.

Yesterday's shoots went better than I feared, I think--I was a little worried about the time factor after the first day, but by the second day, I pretty much knew the areas on the bus that would work and the areas that wouldn't, so we didn't have to move them around as much.

Well, THAT seat location looks good--plenty of clear, unobstructed view for one person, and an onlooker. So....use "that seat" for two of the pictures, maybe even three of them. It will add some continuity. In the shot shown, it seems like the man's shoe is in the best focus. Yes, I see some green CA around the edges of high-contrast edges.

What I like is that the in-bus overhead fluourescent light fixture is rendered perfectly! The outside windows appear just blown out enough to show "bright light outside", yet still retain the window supports and stuff. Despite the missed focus, the exposure looks okay, but I wish there were a bit more depth of field. I would not use autofocus on these.

MAYBE you could shoot from outside, off a ladder, thru an open window? I dunno. Not sure if that's even possible, and it would be a pain too, but it might allow you some viewing distance and positioning that is JUST NOT possible. Can you get into position in any wheelchair tie-down areas and shoot people in the seats right behind or off to the side of those spots? Are "all" the buses equipped equally, with identical aisles, seats, bars, and poles?

You are facing some simple challenges. Limited space. Limited camera placement options. Can you get the camera "up" at all, using a stepladder or clamp or tripod, anything like that? I dunno...I hope it all works out great. I know you will give it your all, your A-Game!!

I don't know WHAT was going on with the focus on that lens. My focus point was the eye, EVERY time, yet sometimes it seemed to focus on the shoe and sometimes on the face of the person behind him. Actually, I *think* I do know what was going on--I *think* I was not used to the focus ring being so close to the focal-length adjustment, and I'd go to zoom in or out a little and accidentally change focus instead. I think that issue was resolved the first day and the second day's shots were better in that regard.

I did end up using that seat location A LOT, along with one other that seemed to work pretty well for the pensive "looking out the window" shots. At first, I didn't want to use the same two seat locations for everyone, but in the end...who cares? One bus seat is very like another.

Derrel: I do not DO ladders. I especially would not do a ladder while holding my camera and a RENTED lens, trying to shoot. It's not a fear of heights--I have balance issues due to some inner-ear stuff and I do pretty well just to manage to NOT fall off the ground. :lmao:

However, I WAS able to get some different angles by standing in bus seats in front of the subject or on the other side of the bus, as well as sitting up on a little ledge up at the front of the bus that helped get me up above them. So, for several of them, I've got some pretty decent shots from straight on, as well as shooting up at them, down at them and from the side. We reviewed shots as we went, so I feel confident that--whether anything meets MY standards or not--we have photos of each person that will meet my boss' standards.

I had to go with a narrower DOF than I really wanted to because we wanted people in the background but they needed to be as blurred out as possible. So, I was aiming for the DOF that would get the subject as in focus as possible, while blurring everything right behind them. I didn't do quite as well with that as I'd like, but again, I think the results were pretty passable.

Can you mount the camera on a tripod and stick it RIGHT up against the opposing wall of the bus?

I tried the tripod, but could never seem to find a way to make it work well and ended up ditching it.

 

[sm4him]

Sharon... I would shoot the location without the subject, exposing for the windows... and then merge that exposure with your subject exposures. Makes for prettier images, unless you are wanting the contrast.

It would be difficult to use flash to expose the subjects while exposing for the background... although it could be done (lighting all the bus evenly would be fun!). Much easier to just shoot the windows separately.

The windows REALLY frustrated me. I kept everyone on ONE side of the bus, because the other side was just TOO bright, with nothing but a white concrete wall which made matters even worse.

I did try your suggestion on some of the shots, but for the most part, the windows are probably just going to be somewhat blown out. I found it too time-consuming to try to remember to shoot the window separately for every different angle with each subject. Plus, I suspect my exposure-merging skills are pretty subpar...

Again, thanks for all the encouragement and advice!! All in all, I think it went pretty well, AND...at least I did not keel over from a heart attack just from the anxiety of it!!

One more session on Monday with two or possibly three more people, and then it'll be a wrap! I may post one or two pictures here when I get started editing them...