- 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!
Keep Your Camera Ready
- “Keep your camera near your Eye.”
Steve Martin and I were on the beach and we were both like pilots who had lost airspeed, altitude, and ideas all at once. I knew the shoot was just about over.
“This year has gone really well for you,” I said, reaching for anything. “Is there any way you can show me that?”
“Yeeaahhhh, but you know, when you physicalize an emotion like that, you tend to appear self-obsessed,” he replied, grimacing.
A voice in my head was shrieking, yeah, that’s the deal, you are self-obsessed!
And then he gave it to me, mostly because he thought I wasn’t ready. My camera was off my eye, down at my chin, but pointed at him. He gave it to me for a split-second, which was actually pretty generous of him, ’cause he didn’t want to do it. I squeezed off one frame without looking through the lens.
The two major pieces of any picture story are your opener and your closer. I just got the closer.