Saturday Supplement Reflection
In this post, I’m going to summarise my experience from my Saturday Supplement project.
What Went Well:
- Studio Manager
My studio manager Eman Rostum was very helpful not only in the shoot but throughout the entire project. At first, it was a bit of a shock about the vast amount of responsibilities that were being placed on her. However, when we sat down we were able to discuss what we were all going to get out of this project, we came to an understanding and we’re confident going forward. Eman was very keen to learn the processes of booking equipment out and risk assessments.
On the shoot Eman was very helpful once again as my camera assistant/digi op. She had to deal with me being pretty indecisive as regards to my lens choice. She found herself going backward and forwards getting lenses from 213 and changing. As regards to her role as Digi Op, she always had her eyes on the focus of the image and she was always to remind me if the composition of an image needed correcting especially as a few images saw Hayden’s foot go off the frame.
Overall I was very happy with Eman’s contribution as my studio manager/assistant
- Images
I was impressed with the images that I created in the studio, I wouldn’t exactly extend to saying that I was very happy with them. However, there were definitely some images that stood out. One image in particular I loved was the one where I got Hayden to lie down behind the guitar, I liked the leading lines that led to him.
- Experimentation
I felt that I had all the shots covered with half an hour before the end so we decided to spend the rest of the time I decided to experiment with some long exposure images trying to get some motion blur on the hand going up and down the guitar. In the end, this shot didn’t work but I glad that I tried it. This probably would’ve needed a very tough and precise lighting set up.
- Layout & Flow of images
I’m very happy with my choice of layout, I think there is a very nice flow to my choice of images and this was seemingly echoed by Geraint when he had a sneak peek the day before the deadline. He noted how the first image was just a portrait, so it doesn’t show that he is a guitarist, he also concurred that the eyes pointing towards the article is a good leading line especially considering that the first thing we see in an article is the right-hand page. Then the next image Geraint noticed on how he wasn’t touching the guitar, so the first image we have a man, next image we have a man & a guitar then in the next image the two are being held by one another. There is a connection between the two. Click on this link to see how my article has progressed.
Even Better If:
- Variety of Images
As mentioned, I was impressed with the images but I wouldn’t extend to saying I was very happy. The reason why is because there doesn’t feel to be much consistency between the images, for example, the image on the left was the only one where the logo of the guitar was sharp, notice how there is minimal light on the background, unlike the other images. It doesn’t really feel that defined. This also happened because of the focus of the image was intended to be the hand. It was only when I looked at the images in Capture One that I saw the sharpness of the logo and I felt that one works better for the article. There was also some images which just felt a tad bit repetitive which Geraint can see why I felt that way but he also thought I’d got a lot out of very little ’cause ultimately a man, a guitar and a white background isn’t really much to work with when you think about it.
- Size of the team
Ultimately this task was more about man management and having the ability to control a team of individuals. I’m not really sure if I can say I’ve ticked that box. Yes I had Eman & Hayden but that was it. I didn’t have a Makeup artist or a stylist so this meant the shoot was done with minimal crew. I remember Julian saying in my tutorial that it would be a shame to do the shoot with a small crew considering the amount of work I put into the pre-production of the shoot.
- Phase One System
Obviously, I did a test shoot for my project, I wanted to try out lighting setups and poses, however, I guess you could say that it would’ve been impossible to truly prepare for this shoot. This was because the shoot was done with the Phase One system. Test shoots could only be done on our own DSLR’s so there is a massive difference not only in image quality but also angles. Another thing is that I practiced with a zoom lens to which Phase One only has prime lenses. Another thing I had to remember was the difference in focal length. 50mm on Canon is not 50mm on Phase One. I remembered this two weeks before my shoot so I was very grateful for the Phase One refresher that was set up by Geraint & Julian, this gave me a chance to remember how to operate the camera [focus recompose] but also get an understanding of which focal length is best. I stayed back to help at the 2nd Phase One refresher which there were a few hiccups in my knowledge but I was happy to teach my peers as it not only meant they learned the system but it also helped me to remember it.
- Restricted Movement
Phase One can’t be shot handheld, so this meant that a few shots I was hoping to create would’ve been very tough to create on Phase One, or at least not create to the best of my abilities.
Overall I’m pleased with my images but I don’t feel I used the Phase One camera to the best of it’s abilities and I wish I came out of the shoot with more to show for. That’s why I’m viewing this shoot as a missed opportunity
- Ignorance
I think it’s fair to say that my ignorance of music & guitars showed during the shoot. When I was showing the images to my Dad he noted on how Hayden had a Telecaster Fender which he said is a very expensive guitar, I said “if you say so“
One thing I’m gonna need as a freelance sports photographer is public liability insurance. My premium will be dependent on what division I shoot in. If I want to photograph Premier Leauge matches I have to be covered to the value of £5 million if not, I only have to be covered for at £2 million. PLC is something that I won’t have to worry about if I’m employed by someone. But will still need it if I intend on being self-employed.
Well here I am, 15 months later and there is no mention of payment. After a 
In the end I have now officially left the Newshopper. I explained my reasons and apologised if any of them seemed unfair or even self-inflicted. I did say I would probably be up for a chat after 2nd year but I don’t think I will. Deep-down I’m not sure if I will still be shooting sports by then, I think my passion might burn out by then.
I’ve been trying out a few different images for my Saturday Supplement article. I’ve going with the plan of not using the detail shot where the hand is playing with the guitar as it stood out too much for the rest of the article. I also decided to go with a different image for the opening.
I decided to heavily crop the image as I liked the harsh lighting, also as he is looking to the left his eyes will point the viewer towards the title. Also I felt it was very reminiscent of Phil Collins I Don’t Care Anymore, even to the point where the catch-light is in the same spot. Just the whole image is flipped.
I asked 3rd year Christian for his opinion, which he liked the images, he wasn’t sure about the image on the left of the article, he felt the subject looked a bit off balance, a bit uncomfortable however he liked the lighting and felt the images weres strong.
A particular highlight was where I got Hayden to put his head in line with the Guitar. This shot turned out much better than I expected it to. The light was very evenly distributed thanks to an Octabox on the left-hand side from a high and a square softbox on the right of the camera. This added with a close-up polyboard on the right bounced it around. I wish I took the time to capture one image where I shot at aperture like F22, just to see how much of the guitar could be I focus. At the same time, I really liked the depth that the shallow depth of field created but I would’ve had all the bases covered if I shot with a deep depth of field.
This kind of leads onto how on the other hand I feel this shoot was also a missed opportunity. Some of the shots don’t match as regards to tone this was because some shots had light fired onto the background and some didn’t. An example where this happened was this shot, which I was hoping to include to show that he plays with a Telecaster Fender however in this image where the logo is nice and sharp there wasn’t any light on the background.
Another image which I wish I took more time with was this one. I was very eager to shoot this image, however, I feel I silhouetted the hand far too much. In hindsight, I would’ve to put a polyboard very close to the subject on the left. I really like the light effect created on the metal finish of the guitar but it’s tough to tell that its a hand. Once again if I spent more time I probably could be got the Phase One to look right down the guitar and it would’ve been easier to show the shape of the hand, a bit like this image I did in my test shoot, then again I was shooting that hand-held so I was much more agile.
There was also a bit of experimentation that I did in my shoot which I’m pleased I did but I once again wish I spent more time trying to pull it off. Halfway through the shoot, I thought of an idea, I was wondering if I could create an image where I froze Hayden and the guitar but blurred his hands. This didn’t work but this image on the right does slightly demonstrate what I wanted to try, you can see the movement on the right hand. I think to pull this shot off I would’ve needed a snoot lighting just the face and then I could’ve let the ambient light provide the motion blur on the hand. This, however, would’ve led to motion blue of the guitar so this shot most likeely would’ve been too tough to pull off
Ben Peters Digital Photography 