Now, to my excellent excuse: In 5 hours, I photographed 70 children between the ages of 5 and 18 yesterday. They were being measured for costumes and taking cast headshots for upcoming Winter performances. One studio, 3 shows. It was crazy. I was exhausted and passed out when I returned home. All the details will be shared in the next blog.
Today is about the prep. By now you know, I am operating with a broken leg wrapped in a lovely cast. Everything I do takes extra planning, care and feeding. Head shots are not in my wheelhouse. So, I took care to plan and get organized, particularly since this was for such a large group. I spent the 2 days prior in my basement preparing. As I shared in my last blog, my 17 year old son was terrific about helping the first day, but no one was around to assist with the final prep. I wanted to ensure I had all of my camera settings pre-loaded; the Einstein and speed light pre-configured; and everything documented along with detailed packing and unpacking lists. I also created cast / shot lists for tracking.
I decided to take self portraits as part of the preparation. The small prep space was awkward with my crutches, however, and I could not make it work. Also, the photos kept coming out dark. I studied all of my manuals and could not find an explanation. Frustrated, I texted my husband (hee-hee) and asked him to come downstairs to help. He reluctantly sat for two photos and then offered to get Jamal if I needed more. I said "no, thanks. I will figure this out without Jamal." I did eventually throw up my arms and drag in Jamal. His portrait is below. He's big and heavy, but he's a colorful fellow who doesn't complain, always has a smile on his face and does whatever I need ;-)
I was very proud of everything I accomplished in my prep work and felt ready. In addition to the work I did in the basement I read a lot and watched videos. I was in great shape. I packed everything away in canisters and a suitcase and called my son and husband to carry it upstairs. It was at that point, when I mentioned to my son that we needed to be mindful of an item during the set-up, that he said, "mom, what you're saying makes no sense." Then I realized my entire work effort that day was a spectacular failure. All of my settings were incorrect, but it was too late. I could not unpack and set up the mock studio again. I was going to have to assume I knew enough to sort it out on the spot. The problem? You can see it clearly when you look at Jamal. If you do not, write a comment and I will explain.
One thing's certain, I will never make this mistake again. Resolving it cost me a good 10 minutes yesterday. Plus I had to listen to my son's version of how the world turns. All in a compressed time period. The good news is I am better for the experience.
Best wishes!
Today"s Photo: "I'm going to be a star!"
Churchill said, "success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 160
50mm
f4.0
1/180 (headshot lighting kit)
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