May 11 2011 12:46 pm
Article by SASHA GiTiN
in this story Sasha shares the challenge he experienced on a recent shoot and his solution that worked.
Most photographers when hired for their first paid job are worried about not getting the image that was asked of them. However the best and most experienced shooters have exact the same worry. The fear of not getting the shot is the main secret behind the greatest photographs ever created. Annie Leibovitz had a paralyzing fear of not coming back with the shot. She would pull all the possible strings to get her image. She would tire her subject out to the point of exhaustion. Ansel Adams didn’t quite snap a pic while hiking. He accurately planned the composition, waited patiently for days to get the right weather and lighting and shot numerous takes before getting that warm fuzzy feeling in the gut knowing that he nailed the shot.
Today I would like to share my own story, a story about what went through my head while on assignment shooting a job a few days ago:
I received an assignment to photograph Denis O’Brien: A World’s leading businessman and a philanthropist. He was in New York to receive an Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his achievement. An award previously given to six US Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, athletes, artists and leaders of the industry.
The photos I was assigned to take were intended for Irish news media and specs of the assignment was to get a portrait of Mr. O'Brien (an Irishman) with a distinctive American Background (Ellis Island or NYC skyline or the interior of main building at Ellis Island etc…). The shoot turned out to be anything but easy and I would like to share what went on throughout the shoot and through my head while trying to capture the shot.
As this was a last minute job, I had very limited time to do my homework. I read up on who my subject was, read up on Ellis Island Medal Of Honor ceremony, and some history of Irish Immigrants arriving to Ellis Island in 19th century. I planned a photo in my head: a glorious image of Denis standing at the aft of the boat with a New York cityscape or the statue of liberty in a background. Here was my chance to photograph an Irishman coming to Ellis Island, but this time to get the medal for being a great American. The shoot did not go exactly as I had planned. I arrived at Ritz Carlton Hotel at 4 pm. I met my contact person and waited for an hour for Denis O’Brien to appear. When he finally appeared, I was told to follow. I was brought to the room where there was a makeshift photo studio already set up so that each honoree would come in, wear a medal, and pose for a shot. I had a shoe-mount flash on (canon 580) and with minimal excitement took a few shots. “What am I going to do with a traditional shot like this?" I thought.
I insisted to go on the boat with Denis to capture (my planned shot). I was told that I would not be admitted to the boat because I did not have the pass. Now it seemed that the only thing that was stopping me from achieving the image I had planned was actually getting on the boat. I found the table with lovely ladies who distributed passes. Since I was booked the last minute, no one had bothered to put me on the list. Luckily, I am the kind of person who can talk his way into almost anything, so I convinced them to give me the Press Pass. Now that I had my pass, I realized that I had lost sight of my subject. O’Brien disappeared from the floor and probably headed over to the boat. Previously I was thinking to get some shots on the way to from Ritz Carlton to the boat at Battery Park, using downtown Manhattan as a backdrop and now it was no longer an option. I headed to the dock as an obvious place to meet up with my subject again. That’s pretty much when I got shocked as I observed the scene. What I didn’t anticipate is that about 2000 people were in attendance and were leaving to the island on three separate boats. A real Zoo. One third of the people were already on one boat which was about to set sail. Another 1/3rd was at the dock passing through x-ray scanners and another third was on their way to the dock. Finding my guy was as easy as finding a needle in a hay stack. My worry was that I wouldn’t get on the same boat (and thus not get my boat shot) I decided to let the first boat go I figured that I probably walked faster then O’Brien did and also I cut the long line to the x-ray machines by flashing my brand new press pass. So the chance that he was on the first boat was very slim. While anticipating my subject, Wayne Newton stopped right in front of me to shake the hand of a police officer and tell him that he appreciates his fine service. I took a quick shot of that. The cop asked me if he can get the photo and I handed him my business card. He handed me his in return and told me that I could use it if I ever get in trouble. (Where was that card when I got a ticket for having a beer with my lunch in Battery Park a few years back?)The second boat was almost full and I was getting worried that I had already missed him. However, a few moments later, he appeared as he was making his way to the boat. Right away, I asked him if he would not mind riding on the upper deck, he refused. O’Brien was engaged in an important conversation with other honoree and I knew better not to interrupt. Meanwhile I scouted the upper deck and asked a boat crew about which side of the boat the Ellis Island is going to appear when the boat gets closer to arrival. I calculated accordingly, where the Liberty Island was going be and downtown Manhattan so I would know in advance where to position my subject. Once I found the perfect spot I went to go get Denis, I had about 15 minutes before the boat neared the point of the shot. As I approached him, he was still having a conversation that could not be interrupted. While I anxiously waited I picked a conversation with a photographer who was covering the comedian Jerry Lewis. We had a few minute chat high-fived each other for both using canon 7D cameras. I gave him a card to check out LearnMyShot.com and parted our talk as the time was pressing. Wayne Newton was sitting a few yards away from where I was standing, we occasionally exchanged eye contact, and a smile with him. I could feel that Wayne was reading my anxiety…. And in about 7 minutes, when the moment was right I asked Denis O’Brien to come up to the deck. He really hesitated and a friend of his another prominent businessperson and an organizer of the event intervened and told me that I should take it easy. He informed me that the action has not even started yet and that there are a lot of amazing photo ops ahead and we are going to be back on the boat and there are going to be fireworks and…. And I replied “Ok I trust you on this” … and that pretty much how I didn’t get my planned shot. Lost it. Just like that….
Ten minutes later the boat docked at the Ellis Island and I thought I would able to get a good image right at the dock with Ellis Island main building as a background, but the sun came out casting harsh unflattering light. There were a thousand people in front, behind and all around, and when I asked O’Brien to Stop and pose for a shot he turned around for precisely 5 seconds, and I snapped a shot, but nothing worthy to satisfy my wishes…
All honorees were taken into the tent and all of the glorious things that were happening on the island where not of my use.
The ceremony wasn’t going very smooth for me either. The tent had numerous rows and divided in two with a single aisle at the center. Press photographers were all kicked out from the aisle, and we were asked to be behind the barrier, which was far away from the podium. From there getting any kind of decent shot was simply not possible for me. I needed 400 or even 800 mm zoom to photograph anything from that distance. The biggest lens I brought was 70-200mm 2.8L. Only photographers hired directly by event organizers were able to remain at the front in the aisle. The only way to tell, which photographer was who, was the presence of the press pass or its absence. So wearing one now was frightfully bad. After carefully observing the whole situation and analyzing the room. I figured that the only spot at the center would be to sit on the floor in the aisle right next to one of the guests. Therefore, I got up, tucked my press pass inside my shirt, left my camera bag at the press barrier and only took with me two cameras, one with a 70-200 lens and the other with a 24-70mm and a canon 580 Speed light. I made my way fast to the front. I looked at the guests to determine who would be the best candidate to sit by his feet. I naturally chose Wayne Newton. He has a very pleasant demeanor and had already exhibited niceness to me by exchanging some smiles earlier. So I pretty much parked by his leg. I was carefully getting ready for my shot opportunity. I noticed that to get the shot I wanted I had to get up and walk 30 feet closer. The photographer who was taking official shots would get up from her sitting position to take each capture and thus block all the other photographers (I wasn’t the only smart-ass sneaking in the aisle). I knew I needed to come right shoulder to shoulder with her. I tested my exposure and flash settings (shooting from the height of Wayne’s knee). I was ready for O’Brien to approach the podium and take my shot.
Photos by Sasha Gitin: "Denis O'Brien receives The Ellis Island Medal of Honor"
His chance to come up to receive the medal didn’t happen for another hour. My legs felt sore from crouching on the floor beside Wayne and I was afraid of not being physically able to get up. But the moment came, I got up made my way all the way upfront, A marine presented O’Brien with a medal, I drew the camera with 24-70mm lens set at about 70mm and got the shot. Then I switched to the other camera with a long lens and got close ups of him speaking at the podium. That whole part worked out very smoothly as I had planned. Followed by army chorus the program was finished and everyone poured to the street.
It was already 10pm and the daylight was long gone. Honorees proceeded to the dinner. I went to make my way to the boat to sail back home. Even though I got some decent footage at the ceremony, I still thought about the shot on the deck of the boat. And how I didn’t get it. Many times that same night, I replayed that brief conversation in my head and thought of the different ways that I could have handled getting my intended shot. I thought about what Annie Leibowitz would have done. And I felt that I didn’t push hard enough to get that shot on the boat. I replayed that moment repeatedly. I remembered how perfect the lighting was and the majestic appearance of the city scape. I even came up with the winning line to reply to his hesitation, “Sir, the shot that was requested is happening right now on the deck, please come with me, it will only take few minutes”. I think that would have worked. But words are only useful when said at the right time… I felt that I failed.
I didn’t board my boat; instead I turned around and went to the hall where the dinner was taking place. It was taking place at The Great Hall of the main building, where immigrants were processed 100 years ago. It had good architectural features. The only problem was that it was crowded with tables and people not giving me a chance for a clean shot. I looked up and found myself with a perfect looking ceiling, it spoke of a Great Hall, and it had two American flags and a light projection of patriotic stars. I scouted a good spot (located between the tables 58 and 59) grabbed the waiter to test the lighting and camera settings. I had to be low on my knees to get a clear shot with the ceiling as a backdrop. The lighting in the room was really dim. I set the camera to ISO 1600, Shutter speed at 25/sec, F-Stop at 5.0, 17-40mm L lens was set 19mm. That was a good exposure for the background (ceiling) I set the canon speed light to -1/3 auto (seemed to be a good exposure for the face). The only thing I was missing was my subject. Denis O’Brien was about to start his long awaited dinner (and was probably very happy that I was long gone) His table was 5 tables away from the spot. I needed to get the shot, but his genuine disinterest in taking photographs was not very promising. To convince a world’s class businessman, the second wealthiest man of Ireland (according to Forbes 2009) to do anything against his will, is practically impossible. I approached him. Before I had a chance to open my mouth he spoke first and said,”You are done, you can go home now!” I had to act fast and be persuasive and I used my “my missed boat shot line”. And so I said, “Sir, I have one more photograph to ask you for, this is the image that was requested by the Irish news media (which he actually owns) and that shot is happening right here only a few tables away and it will only take a minute!” while looking straight into his eyes. He got up and followed. His friend appeared (the same one who talked me out of the boat shot) and commended me, “You have to leave now”. Before I could open my mouth Denis said to him “It’s OK we need to do this shot” We all came to the spot. All the settings were set and tested in advance. I got on my knees, draw the camera to my eye, shot about 5 quick frames.
Photo by Sasha Gitin: "Denis O'Brien recipient of Ellis Island Medal of Honor"
As I was done, to my surprise my hero Wayne Newton walked into the shot and was introduced to O’Brien. And as a bonus I got a shot of two of them together shaking hands! I was content that I finally got the shot.
Photo by Sasha Gitin: "Wayne Newton left, Denis O'Brien Right"
I had myself a beer while waiting for the dinner to be over so I can get on the boat to head home. For my all of my efforts, I was rewarded with some superb fireworks. By the way shooting long exposures from a rocking boat at sea is not an easy task. On the other hand nothing is ever easy!
Photo by Sasha Gitin: "Fireworks in Honor of Recipients of Ellis Island Medal of Honor"
Have you ever worried about not getting the shot? What steps do you take to make sure you can capture the image you are trying to create?
Further Reading:
Anne Leibovitz’s dedication to photography always inspires me, here is a good article from the New York Magazine about her past and more recent adventures:
If you are wondering how to photograph fireworks check out PhotoExtremist’s tutorial: How to Photograph Sparklers and Fireworks.
This article was written by Sasha Gitin co-founder of LearnMyShot.com. Sasha is a New York Photographer shooting for advertising and editorial industries. Connect via Facebook, Flickr, & Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment