I was reading a Scott Kelby description of his photo book's approach and it was along the lines of: if you were my friend I would just tell you what settings to shoot at and not bore you with the ins and outs of aperture and shutter speed. It's an approach. Not mine; but boy it would have appealed to me back when I was getting started.

But, it got me thinking - why I don't give a glimpse into our work process on a given cover shot. I would have been curious to know how it works. This month I was lucky enough to shoot the cover of SO Rhode Island. Here's how it worked (every shoot is different!):

To see the actual quality you'll have to snag the mag - this is a low quality screen cap.

We receive the assignment and learn the broad stokes of the cover story. The location of the shoot has been determined and the people are lined up for the shoot. Deadlines are looming for print so there's no time to scout but we get a detailed verbal description of the shoot and what the goals are.

The amount of time we have and the complexity of the shoot determine the crew for the day. Amie and I are the core but if we need more help we get backup. This time the shoot is fairly static - not a lot of setups - life is good. We keep it simple. It keeps our costs down and our backs happy. We pack to get in and out efficiently.

On a typical shoot we plan for one lighting scenario and bring a full backup. In this case we anticipated that we would use a number of lightweight flash guns for lighting. We pack the large lights and bring them along too. The obligation on our part is that if our equipment fails us that we have the ability to move forward efficiently. There is generally no time for reshoots especially when we are coordinating a number of subjects (and food).

Oh, what I would give to shoot with a 50mm lens and one camera! The dream. *sigh* But, I guess I am putting money into Japan's economy by buying backups so why not right? I think most photographers probably have a 3rd, 4th, and maybe even 5th backup. The 5th would be the iPhone (read here for that one). But, as I have an Android (I know I know...) it doesn't cut the mustard. So, Amie's micro 4/3rds may be the line of last resort.

Now, in all seriousness if we had to shoot the cover with Amie's travel camera (an olympus digital pen) we could do it. It wouldn't be my first (or 3rd) choice. But, the reality is that almost all modern digital interchangeable lens cameras can shoot magazine quality files. Some just make it a lot easier than others.

But, about the camera:

ISO 320, f6.3, 1/100th, 60mm.

That is what we shot the cover with. A truly middle of the road set of settings on all fronts. We want enough shutter to stop small actions (but keep it within sync speed!). We want an aperture small enough to get enough depth (and most lenses are sharper a stop or two down). We want an ISO that is less than 400 because otherwise we start to see noise (an extreme generalization.. yet true?). It's all a ratio. A bit of a balancing act. A dash of this - a nudge of that - and we end up in the happy middle. 60mm allows us to avoid wide angle distortions but is still a reasonably intimate portrait length. But, this is truly the chicken and the egg. I didn't come up with the ratio first and say I will make it so! No, I stood in a few places, put the camera where it needed to be. Used my flash meter (if you don't know what it is don't worry about it... you don't want to have to own one). Dialed in the numbers until the picture looked good.

Magazine photography can be a bit funky. You have to leave space for text and logos. It doesn't necessarily look pretty in person (the big voids). It is a collaborative process. Thankfully I had Alli (Art Director Extraordinaire) in my ear to remind me to leave her space. Alli is very open to ideas and she lets me set things up before fine tuning the work.

So, Amie and I tweak this and that - adjust lighting, people, props. The camera is the last step. If the other components aren't there you'll have a sharp photo of a fuzzy idea and it will look like poop.

I am not a master photographer. I have plenty to learn and my mistakes keep me on my toes. I am lucky to shoot work that other people enjoy. I try to confine my mistakes to when I play in my own time. Keep playing! Just because it isn't for money doesn't mean it shouldn't be the absolute best you can deliver. Even when it is for money, and the money is small, I think the same mantra should stand. Do the best you can.

Thanks for letting me share this little bit with you.