- Wing It
- Ring Light
- Bring a Chainsaw
- Get There Early
- Dont Be So Darn Serious
- Tell 'em Anything
- Be the Boss of the Light
- Push the Wide Lens
- Smile and Nod
- Stand in Front of More Interesting Stuff
- Play Catch
- Stick with Your Subjects
- Always Something to Bounce Light Off Of
- Soft Window Light Equals Studio
- Beware Straight Flash
- Pray for Bad Weather
- It's Gotta Speak for Itself
- Remember: Light Picks Up Color
- Try Not to Be Too Self-Involved
- Keep Your Camera Ready
- Sometimes You Feel Bad
- Step Right Up!
Stick with Your Subjects
- “Stick with your subjects. Especially Athletes.”
I was assigned to shoot Tracy McGrady, with the Orlando Magic, for a cover of a kids’ sports magazine. We had it all set up for a simulated action shot on a seamless. I was working for a very enthusiastic, very young picture editor. I loaded a back and turned around. Tracy was gone.
“What’s up?” I asked the picture editor.
“Oh, he’s just going into the locker room. He said he’d come right back and then we could go to his house!” he said excitedly.
I looked at the ground, shaking my head. “He ain’t comin’ back.”
“No, really, he said we could come to his house, he’ll be back....”
Both of us stared in the direction of the locker room where our star disappeared. I only had a few frames and I knew Tracy was already halfway to his house in a gated community outside Orlando. Gone. Shoot was over. Cover never ran.
Young athletes. Stick with ‘em. Always remember they’d rather be playing Halo.