Give Them More Than They Need

When receiving an assignment from a Photo Editor of a newspaper or magazine it is often a good idea to give them more than they need. A good photo editor will give you an idea of what they are looking for in an assignment and usually what they ask for is adequate. Why would you give them more than they need, if they only ask for a simple portrait why give them more? Because you love what you do and the chance to meet an individual or group of people, your subject, is a great thing. You will learn new things, you will broaden your mind, hell you may even become a better person. The minute you start thinking of an assignment as just another job, drudgery, boring or this is not what I was meant to be photographing, perhaps you should sell insurance. It is a hard row to hoe to be a freelance photographer because if you don't work like a possessed person the work will go some where else. You have to be constantly aware of where your next dollar is going to come from and these day's the dollars are harder to find than ever. So if your lucky enough to score an assignment treat it like it is the best thing that ever happened to you, your a lucky person getting to do something you love to do, treat the process with respect because most people are not doing something they love to do. Why not take the opportunity to overshoot an assignment, it's fun to be a photgrapher.

Alistair MacLellan-Book Binder                                                                                  ©2017 peter tym

Alistair MacLellan is a book binder by trade and works out of his Kitchener Ontario garage and when I was handed the assignment to photograph him for The Grand Magazine my first thought was about the problems I might encounter shooting is such a small space, how would I handle the technical problems. When I arrived at Alistair's business location I was greeted by a young man who was so full of passion for what he was doing it was infectious, how could I not give this man one hundred percent of my effort. This kind of photography makes my boat float, it's so much fun to break down an assignment into segments and tell a persons story, people can be very interesting and what they do can be an learning experience. So go for more than the required portrait, give them more than they need.

Alistair MacLellan-Book Binder                                                                        ©2017 peter tym

Start to tell the story with an overall shot something to establish his environment, were he works.

                                                                                                                                ©2017 peter tym

Here we se the book during the binding process, some good close up shots to see how the books are put together.

                                                                                                                             ©2017 peter tym

Another angle is added to give more options in editing.

                                                                                                                              ©2017 peter tym

Another detail shot of Alistair sewing or binding the pages of his book in red thread.

                                                                                                                               ©2017 peter tym

Here we have an tighter image of the binding process with Alistair making his books by hand, something that is not usually done these day's but it is a pleasure to watch an artisan at work.

                                                                                                                                ©2017 peter tym

Alistair glueing the paper for the book covers all meticulously by hand. 

                                                                                                                                 ©2017 peter tym                                                                                                                         

A shot of Alistair with a finished hand made book, something to appreciate in this day and age. It is a nice experience for me to meet a craftsman like Alistair MacLellan, someone who works with their hands to produce a beautiful product, who takes the time to do a good job because they believe in their craft, they feel a responsibility. Good work takes time and effort in what ever craft you practice, book binding or photography it's all the same, take the responsibility for your work and give the people who buy your work more than they need.  Now the publication you are working for may never use the extra photographs, they may never see the light of day but that doesn't matter because you will have the satisfaction of doing a good job.

Appreciation of Good Light

As a budding  photographer I quickly learned that it wasn't about the kind of camera you own or how many lenses you have, in the end, as well as a connection with the subject it's all about the light.  Lighting is mysterious to many and often goes unnoticed as we go through our daily activities not really seeing the amazing show of light and shadow around us. Picking up a camera and pointing it at something  seems like a very easy process, and it is, but when you look at the back of the camera to see what you've done it can be a big disappointment. Seeing good light takes practise and lots of it, the camera is only a device to capture good light. Good lighting creates shape and mood and feeling. How do you recognize light? Look at it, study it and when you see it with a camera in hand know the mechanics of exposure to capture it. Sounds easy, and it is, when you observe light. One way to learn the craft of lighting when you are starting out is to go to your local art gallery and study the great masters of painting, these people knew light and if you can recreate that your well on your way and like every other craft practice it on a daily basis until you master it. Lighting isn't learned in a couple of weeks, it's learned over a lifetime, you should always keep looking.

A while back I got a lovely assignment to photograph a man named Kevin Fraser, Kevin is a lighting designer for theatre productions at the Stratford Festival as well as many others through out Canada.  

Kevin Fraser Lighting Designer                                                                              ©2017 peter tym

Kevin knows light, and he has the ability to light large theatre scenes in a way that makes sense to the brain of the viewer and sets the mood for the audience. As each scene in the play changes there might be a whole new lighting design involved, as a photographer you can see why I say that Kevin and other lighting designers know light in a big way so the next time your at a play or a movie appreciate what you see and learn. 

Kevin Fraser Lighting Designer                                                                                  ©2017 peter tym

As a photographer when you are given an assignment by a magazine to photograph a subject like Kevin they want you to come back with a variety of photographs both horizontal and vertical, some tight and some loose in case they want to do different variations in layout design or want to lay the copy into the photograph or lay the photograph across the gutter of the magazine. The photographs in this piece would depict a good selection for a page layout.

Kevin Fraser Lighting Designer                                                                    ©2017 peter tym

Lighting design for a theatre production or a movie is a large scale effort as the light sources are many but put together they have to make sense and look as though they are coming from one source as nature intended, after all there is only one sun in the sky. In other words the same principles hold when you are lighting a large object or lighting one person for a portrait, the light has to make sense to the viewer of the photograph, so one main or key light gelled with a warming filter a subtle fill light or card on the dark side and a back ground light for separation. There are many ways to come to the same place with this lighting ratio but as a rule it should always make natural sense to the brain, the lighting should look the same as it does in nature, don't change that. When you think of nice light it is always in the morning or at dusk with the light coming in at a low angle warm and beautiful. This is how you should set your lights with the warm gelled key light copying the warm orange glow of the morning or evening light. I love doing assignments like this were a story is told about a person who is really good at their craft, who has put years into the process and you can literally see the passion. I always strive to better my lighting and work on it every time I go out to do a portrait, it's were the art is. On this assignment I will give the credit for the lighting to the designer Kevin Fraser.

Kevin Fraser Lighting Designer                                                                              ©2017 peter tym