For BusinessWeek by Benjamin Reed
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Category Archives: Editorial Photographer
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Reportage
March 18, 2009 – 4:58 pm
I recently met with an art buyer at one of the premier agencies in Portland, Weiden + Kennedy. I wanted to get a feel for some recent trends in advertising work and was pleased to hear reportage was back in the mix. I’ve been inspired to return to the gritty realism of reportage I developed as a documentary photographer while keeping the same cinematic style that has defined my work over the past year. A new gallery awaits you on the portfolio site.
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Shooting Victim: Woody Allen
February 22, 2009 – 10:44 pm
Disclaimer: Shooting Victims is a portrait series by Benjamin Reed. No subjects were harmed in the making of this portrait.
Woody Allen. The only celebrity thus far to match completely with what I had preconceived. Intelligent, quirky, somewhat neurotic, pleasant and insightful…not a fan of being photographed.
It was a tag team shoot with photographer Liz O’Baylen in Beverly Hills just as his new film Vicky Christina Barcelona was coming into U.S theaters.
The same hotel set-up as so many others. Less than 15 minutes to pull something together and you’re out of the room. We put up a black background to kill the omnipresent wall paper and then started formulating the frame in our heads.
My thinking was to observe and see what I could pull from his direction. It was going to be in the presence of an American film legend, it had to be simple and about reflection. Woody is getting older yet still cranking out movies as fast as he used to. He is a timeless product of American culture and I wanted that to show. I wanted to shoot for black and white and capture a pensive mood.
I focused on that goal and tried to just be in the moment. It’s a blessing and a curse for me as a photographer. I develop a tremendous respect for a lot my subjects through what I consume of their work. And my work begins when they come in. You put on a show of personality and confidence…like you know exactly how you want the picture to work and everything will be fine. You never let them pull an ounce of incompetence from you even though it my be permeating in your mind. You shoot like crazy and try to calm your nerves and you never really think about who you’re photographing until it’s over with. That’s the curse. The blessing is having a split second of their personality with you to share for eternity. It’s a powerful thing.
When I’m asked, "How was it shooting (fill in the blank celebrity)?" I often don’t have a good answer because I become so engaged in the process…making the best image I can and being as professional as possible. I know what they were like when I met them, how they treated me and others around them, and how they looked when I walked away. It’s a strange thing. My understanding of who they are is often shaped by the image I capture. My personal reflection on my own work. That mental picture I’ll take to the grave. And it’s that realization that helps me understand the power of photography. The blessings and the curses.
The Monk
Shooting Victim: M. Ward
February 13, 2009 – 9:28 pm
My idea of what celebrities and musicians will be like to collaborate with on a photo shoot is incredibly preconceived. I often base my expectations from their movie characters or television interviews. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, this preconceived idea is almost always wrong. I’m always surprised (except for Woody Allen, he comes as advertised). From Ben Stiller to Beck, I’ve been wrong 100% of the time.
That’s what I love about photographing celebrities. It’s high pressure, sure, but you don’t know how it will come out. The publicist may be a control freak, the make-up artist is aggressive and kills your set direction or the celebrity only wants to look a certain way in every photograph. It’s their right. They have to protect their brand in order to preserve their worth to the public. In any case, it’s always different and that’s what makes it exciting.
M. Ward was no exception. I’d heard of him before the shoot, but I didn’t really know who he was. I had a few songs in my play list but it ended there…so we did a considerable amount of research to get the best idea of his personality. Research is key in portraits.
My assistant and I pulled up to our location and started unloading gear. He was arriving at the same time and I saw him coming towards me down the sidewalk.
"Hello" he said. "I’m Matt."
He reached out a hand.
"Benjamin," I said.
"Have I met you before?" he said.
"No," I smiled. "It’s nice to meet you."
"Do you need help bringing stuff in?" he said.
"No, thank you so much, but my assistant will help me."
He was calm and had a warm personality. He had me at hello…no seriously, he was really easy to work with. I know that was lame but it was the only thing I could think to write. It’s true though.
We walked into our location with the gear. This is the most stressful part for me. It’s like watching a car accident almost happen. You don’t know if the car will swerve out of the way or if you’ll see destruction. You want the best possible environment to work with and you never know what’s on the other side of the door.
The place was great and I had a big smile on my face. I could breathe again. It was a traditional Portland set up with quirky posters and vintage character. We were going to get some good stuff.
My assistant and I were coming up with ideas on how to light it and shuffling through gear when I noticed M. Ward sitting on a couch reading a Credence Clearwater Revival book. That was my shot right there. Scrap the other ideas.
"Matt, I’m going to start shooting you just like that. I really like this scene," I said. "I’d like you to continue what you’re doing and just go with the flow."
"Ok," he said.
He kept reading his book. I had him look up at me a few times. We adjusted some lights and reflectors and kept working with it until I had something good (photo below).
"You’ve been busy with She & Him and now Hold Steady this year," I said.
There’s always and awkward silence I have to break up when I’m shooting…otherwise they just sit and watch. This is where the research helps.
He mentioned his up coming tour and other ventures around the corner.
Photographing musicians is very chill. They get it. They get the artistic vision, they want you to do well and they want to collaborate with you for the most part. It’s great for me because I get to shoot in my cinematic portrait style, which is starting to define my work more and more.
We moved to two other locations before we were finished with the session and I was comfortable with the final shots.
"Can I look?" he said.
I hate this part too. You want people to like your work and it can be difficult to take when you get the….mmmhhhmm.
"That’s good," he said. "Yeah that one’s my favorite." (photo above)
"I’m glad you like it, it was a pleasure working with you."
"We nipped it!" he said.
And that was it. 30 minutes and done.
The Monk
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M. Ward
February 9, 2009 – 12:40 pm
The Best of 2008: Portraits
December 21, 2008 – 11:53 pm
A photo editor at the Los Angeles Times called me last week and asked me to write about my experiences shooting portraits for them this past year. I didn’t know what they were going to use the information for but I’m happy they asked me.
A shamelss plug: The Best of 2008: Portraits
My good friend Jay Clendenin, who is one of my best mentors, landed two images in the gallery.
Jay, I love you.
John Stewart of The Daily Show: Newspapers
December 10, 2008 – 6:11 pm
Working for Free? Nope. Just Good Business.
December 5, 2008 – 11:45 am
There’s an interesting post over at strobist.com about taking money out of the equation when building a portfolio. There’s a range of feedback in the comments from “inspirational” to “damaging.” Strobist isn’t the first to mention this style of thinking as others have stressed the idea of “giving more than you receive” to be downright smart business.
Have a read.
My thoughts…
I don’t think David is emphasizing the right thing. It’s how you frame the debate and I think he did it wrong…starting with the headline.
If you read the responses, most of them seem to come from the standpoint of photographers who agree with the idea…not business peope who understand the economics of doing “Free” work. What sense does that make?
“I agree with you, it’s an investment. By the way, I’m staying home with the kids while my wife works and I love shooting for free.”
That’s how a photographer thinks.
A businessman says, what is the cost/benefit of doing this?
One of the local guys who owns the fashion market here struggled for years to make it. Every year he shoots a fashion spread for a local monthly magazine. They pay about $200 a day. This guy makes a good amount of money each year, why would he take the money for local monthly? He loses or breaks even on the shoot.
He does it because the benefit outweighs the cost. He knows that all the ad execs read the magazine so they get to see his work. Earlier in the year he was called to shoot Tiger Woods in the same style he shoots the fashion spread. They saw his work in the local magazine. That’s good marketing and good business sense. So did he really loose money on it?
I think you do it if the benefit is more than the cost.
Here’s another idea. Let’s say you want to get into architechture photography but you have no portolio. You call up some hotels and tell them you’ll shoot them for free and they can use the images for promotions. You build a portfolio and build word of mouth, especially if they like them. Eventually you’ll have a book to show around and get more work and you’re already promoting yourself because if you’re smart you left cards and negotiated to have your name somewhere on the spread. Is that working for free?
So that’s a distinction he needs to make more clear. Now we have people talking about free. It’s not free, it’s good marketing. The benefit outweighs the cost. If it doesn’t…like shooting a pie contest for the New York Times for $50, then don’t do it.
David needs to emphasize thinking like a business person…calling yourself one is different than calling yourself a photographer.
You get a return on that investment if you do it right. That said, I would never shoot a corporate/commercial job for “Free”
Rocky Mountain News – RIP?
December 5, 2008 – 10:42 am
One of the country’s finest Pulitzer-Winning photography papers might have seen its last days. Channel 9 News in Colorado has the story:
DENVER – The publisher of the Denver Post claims the owner of the Rocky Mountain News said the paper would be closed “as soon as practical,” belying hopes that a buyer for the Rocky will be found.
The Rocky, Colorado’s oldest newspaper, was put up for sale on Thursday after owner E.W. Scripps Co. said it lost about $11 million on the operation in the first nine months of the year….
…Boehne says the problem is not getting people to read the paper, it’s that the advertising dollars that aren’t there anymore…
…The Rocky joins a crowded marketplace. Cox Enterprises Inc. is trying to sell its newspapers in Texas, North Carolina and Colorado. Landmark Communications Inc. said in January it wanted to sell nine daily newspapers but has found that buyers are having trouble getting loans amid the credit crisis…
I think the first instinct is to blame market conditions for the decline of newspapers in recent years. While I think current conditions speed up the downward pressure, they also highlight a trend that has been persistent the last decade. Readers aren’t reading the paper product as much as the digital one.
Follow the money.
The industry doesn’t survive without advertising. Advertisers need eyes to provide enough justification to place ads in any space. The eyes aren’t in paper nearly as much as they used to be. As a result, advertising money is showing up in different mediums.
Another reason to boost your business acumen.
The Monk
