Simple Picture Just: Some photographers develop test negatives before they'll move the tripod after a shot. They know full well the many factors which might go out of balance to spoil an important shot. And you should mull these things over, too, before you promise rush delivery of a picture, no matter how simple picture just.
Suppose the publisher of a trade journal in the poultry field, or one of his advertisers, needs a picture of a hen surrounded by a flock of chicks. To hire a photographer to shoot such a picture might cost him fifty or a hundred dollars and involve weeks of delay. He could buy the same shot from stock, from a picture agency or a photographer who specializes on poultry, for five or ten dollars and get the print immediately.
Once you get well started in advertising photography, your biggest problem will be to cope with the demands for speed which are put upon you by the agencies. The agencies regularly begin by asking the impossible of the photographer,but will settle for what is reasonable. The art director will show you a sketch (a good percentage of your pictures will be shot to follow the lines of a sketch) and ask you to give him the finished picture tomorrow.
This may seem easy to do, if the picture is something simple picture just like a shot of a girl opening an oven door and peering inside, but the careful photographer asks for a day of grace whenever it's possible, and agrees to deliver the picture day-after-tomorrow. Then he's never put in the position of delivering a picture later than the time he promised it. This is something you should avoid like double exposures.
An editor wants a picture which will interest as many people as possible and he wants it immediately-a stale picture will interest very few readers. A news sense can be developed, and it turns on a simple picture just key: Will this event interest many people? Accidents, crime and property damage seem to attract attention always and these are the staple of the newsman. The photographer who also is alert enough to spot the humorous events or find a dramatic aspect for a picture will find his work welcome anywhere. And don't forget the more routine events which will interest people because prominent persons are involved-an installation of officers, a distinguished visitor to your area, convention activities and many others.
|
|
Photography
