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Oct132008

Working Alone

Filed under General, Photojournalism, humor, journalism, staff by grant morris at 5:58 pm

I work for a small newspaper. Budgets are tight so I’m expected to do the work that many do with several assistants. Yesterday, I was assigned to shoot the first ever Miss Monadnock Beauty Pageant in Wilton. Access was dismal and so was the light in the areas where I was allowed to shoot. After some careful organizing I decided it would be best to shoot several portraits of the beautiful girls that were participating.

I took a trip to my car to inspect the photographic utensils that are regularly piled into the back of my Subaru. Thank God, lights.

I set up my lights and began to figure my exposure. The most difficult thing to do when alone on assignment is to gauge where your light will fall on the subject without anyone actually standing in the light. When a photographer only has 15 minutes to bang out five portraits of five different girls, it’s important to nail your exposure before the subjects arrive.

“What is there around that I could use to check my light?”, I asked myself. “I’m pretty person-like,” I thought, “I’ll use myself!”

I set the timer and ran to the mark where I was going to have my subjects stand.

“Pretty close,” I thought.

Time ticked away and with a little more tweaking, I was prepared to go to work in time for my subjects.

The moral of the story? Careful planning and a little bit of ingenuity, can ensure that a well executed image is in the can before it’s even shot.

With a little crop, this image is ready for any kind of publication, web or print.

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