PUBLICATION OR LOCATION: Houston Chronicle
PUBLICATION DATE: November 7, 2009
LINK: N/A
NOTES: From time to time I get an assignment to make a quick business portrait from the Chronicle. A portrait assignment assigned to me by the Chron and a portrait assignment assigned to me by a business magazine may seem similar and may require a similar image, but in most cases, the variables are quite different. A newspaper may give me 2 hours (sometimes less) notice, while a magazine usually plans for the image, giving you ample time to plan and strategize. A magazine may allow you to hire an assistant to make the task of an elaborate set or lighting scheme possibly whereas a newspaper photographer usually works alone for standard assignments. Again, these are just how things are, generally. There are outlying cases either way, but for the most part, my Chron portrait assignments are quick and dirty shoots lasting minutes, not hours. This is a good example of an assignment I got only hours ahead of time. I showed up to Edward’s office building (a drab, mid-rise) and circled the building looking for a decent or at least, clean, location. When I met up with Edward, I showed him to a brick wall, completely in shadows, near his office. Sometimes it catches my business subjects off-guard when you want to take them someplace other than their office as many expect you snap a few frames of them just sitting at their desk. Thankfully a coworker of Edwards was kind enough to hold a small flash while I made a few frames. I let Edward go after a dozen or so frames. The assignment played out much like many newspaper portrait assignments do, the day was dreary and chilly, the subject had only a few moments of time, and I had to make a picture with limited resources. The image above is how the image ran in the newspaper. The one below is an edit of a different image that I liked.