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.

I really need to make an entry about my experiences at the Mountain Workshops, but this one’s about today’s events. The majority of this morning was devoted to sending out my first barrage of photo applications to a tirade of different papers all over the country. With 18 packages postmarked and over $60 later, I headed out to my first assignment. My only assignment was to make a portrait of our Athlete of the Week, which is an assignment that is a staple of someone’s Monday duties throughout the school year. I like making portraits so I was happy for the challenge. This was my 3rd athlete portrait for the paper and by far my least enthused subject. The fact that she was quiet and reserved, as well as a cross country athlete made my job challenging. I didn’t have any elaborate props to work with or an incredibly outgoing personality to try something “different”, but I made due. I shot a series of her on the track, but I went wide and got in close and came up with what you see above. Nice sky, simple, and the best of her expressions. I wish there was more going on or it wasn’t so simple, but I’m happy with it. I’m also happy with the fact that I was able to light Kaitlin with my totally wireless 580ex II setup that Ive assembled in the past few months. It was great not to have to worry about power cords and other unnecessary items. The above image is a found feature I made on the way back to the newsroom. It is a local man renovating his house. I thought it was funny because he was painting in sporadic spots and never seemed to finish off any one section. I thought the lines were interesting.