Photo Prose – Understanding Ladders.
Good photographers use ladders. You see them. You cannot help but see them. You wish you did not see them on or near your beautifully decorated dance floor. Occasionally someone asks, is there no other way?I have given thought to all kinds of high tech approaches. But actually there really is no other way.
For a photographer, understanding ladder placement is vital to be able to get the shots you will want later.Generally, the better the photographer, the more consideration is given to the ladder. Not just the size, but theweight, construction, shape, appearance, material, and the ease of operation. Some photographers simply put the ladder there and start shooting. Bad photographer, may use unsafe, too high, low, or awkward ladders. Awful photographers may stand on a chair. That says a lot about the lack of respect they have for their craft, the facility, others who will be sitting on the chair, and the event itself.
Every so often, the issue of ladders and their presence on the dance floor, seems to eclipse their importance to getting the shots you will want. I have spent much time analyzing the angle position and placement needed to get optimal results. Which came first the ladder or the circle? Ever see the crowd all pushed to the far side of the dance floor? After ten minutes someone realizes this, and says “Hey! Photographer Move Back!!!” Seems like it is the photographer’s fault? But ten minutes is a long time, you could expect to see over a hundred shots from those critical ten minutes. If the photographer had stayed back you would not like the results.
Invariably the crowd starts dancing without any mind to the free space available, forcing the photographer to move much closer, even closer than planned for with the lighting. I was photographing a wedding in Great Neck. At that wedding were guests who’s incredible Weekend Bar Mitzvah I had photographed over six months earlier. It had been six months, and I had never heard from them. Being the first event in the family,I knew they had nothing to compare it to. But as critical as I tend to be, even of my own work, I figured they would be thrilled. Very creative but tasteful images. Much emotion, expression and feeling. Very thoroughexposition and development on all the family. Anyway, you can imagine I was happy to see the parents, and gave them a hearty greeting at this joyous occasion.
What did I hear? “You did not get a good shot of my father dancing with my son… Maybe you have more photos of my father dancing!?” Not only was the whole set of thousands of other great photos not acknowledged, but in fact there were plenty of the Grand Father and several of him with his grandson. Yet what did I and those around me hear? A complaint that the shot was missed! No doubt it could have been better. Yes I am very critical, and if the crowd was smaller, and the tight pressure into the center of the crowd, reduced, and if I had wanted to shove my ladder, earlier on into the crowd, of course it could have been better. It can always be better. I write this column to help everyone involved be aware of why good photographers do what they do. By understanding what they need, you can have a better chance at getting the valuable photos that you will treasure later.
A good photographer is after the same thing that the client desires. That the client is happy! If the client is not happy with the photographer at the event, she will not be happy with the photos later. If she is happy withthe photographer at the event, she often will say, “now we have to see how the pictures come out?” So you understand her happiness is at first tentative, and in many cases it’s the results that count. But even though we all know the cliché that after the event, all you have are the photos, somehow in the heat of the moment this vital idea is abandoned. Somehow if a good, skilled, experienced and talented photographer is at the event, and cares about getting the set of images you will desire, the photographer can easily be given the impression that it is a battle. It should not be a battle. It is a simcha, and everyone should be working together to make it more of a simcha. A good photographer is not the bad guy! There are many mediocre, uncaring, and less skilled pro photographers in this industry. Sadly, they could be pushy, unawares, have an
insensitive response characteristic, and with all that, miss many important shots. Depending on the crowd and the client, some will be furious, and others will not realize. My goal here is to improve the best of the best results. If you hire a novice, or a lesser talent, at a greatly reduced price, perhaps you are prepared to accept lesser results. When you have a photographer that cares and has the skills and experience to produce, then there should be respect on both sides. The photographer should have ultimate respect for the event, its participants and the moment. Nothing should be done to interfere with the event. But at times the photographer might be closer to the crowd, in order to see over the heads, and not be so high up on too high a ladder to not see the eyes of those in the center. The eyes and face… you will want to see them later. The faces are important.
Timing is everything. For most guests, it is not really possible, even with everyone being a “photographer” today… it is not really possible to sense the correct spot needed without great experience. A good photographer will pre visualize. That means put it all together mentally, and seeing in the mind’s eye how an image will look. Next time I might discuss the benefits of digital, and the deficits as well… namely the demise of pre-visualization now days.
But to get back to the wedding in Great Neck. As the first dance began, the crowd rushed to the far end of the dance floor. I waited a few seconds, to see if they would regroup. Then I hustled to a spot several feet before the crowd. My ladder was not a trip hazard. I had not prevented the crowd from first settling in the center. My environmental lighting had been set up for more central dance floor activity, but I had to do the best I could at the moment. The Bride’s mother, and then the Groom’s had danced. In thirty seconds I got great shots of those. Just as the Grandmother started to dance with the Bride, an important person got my attention from the bottom of the ladder. “MOVE BACK!” I wish I could have had time stand still for a moment. Right then. I wish I could have had the parents of the Bar Mitzvah on hand, so they all could decide,move back or keep shooting. I wish the bystanders who heard that the two thousand shots I did at the first simcha were lacking, despite being incredible. They too could have been involved in the decision. I chose at the moment, to persist in my professionalism. I stayed put for a whole twenty seconds more. Got excellentshots of the Bubby, and then did what I had planned on doing just before she had started dancing, and before Iwas yelled at! I dismounted and moved back.
But what should I have done in that instant? Suppose it was the party planner who demanded I move back?Should I have resisted. How would she interpret that. Suppose the client later complained to others that the most important shot was missed?
The whole issue involved only a few seconds. But to an artist and one who cares, those few seconds can reverberate much longer, and cause a concerned and experienced photographer to question; why?!? I still marvel at how simple things, can be made so difficult.
Originally published in Photo Prose by Gary Rabenko during 2005-2009,
in 5 Towns Jewish Times http://5tjt.com/