Gratuitous Hot Model by Michigan Glamour Photographer
As a boudoir photographer I get to stay in my nice plush studio all day. I was on the new television series Detroit 187 set all day today, not knowing what to expect. Five assistants and one photographer setting up three “lighting set ups” for the day. How hard could that be…hard.
You better have a good back, good socks and shoes and be tireless. The job isn’t for wimps. I tried to pitch in without being asked, observe and do. Don’t wait to be asked, stay busy until being told what else to do. No taking images taken today, just setting up and using the assistants as stand ins. Standing in was nice, especially if you get to be a “sitting in” stand in!
Bags and bags of Profoto gear, all packs…lots and lots of packs. Racks of C-stops and roller stands, tons of equipment.
The images are for stills to promote the new series Detroit 187. There was no waiting around, just work, work, work. The photographer is the staff photographer for ABC in from New York, familiar with working on movie sets.
The movie business seems quite glamorous but the people who work behind the scenes are hard working, low paying worker bees. Michigan is happy for any and all work that has come to town and we’re grateful.
I learned a ton and it was insightful to see another photographer at work. I didn’t come up the ranks by assisting so when any mention of assisting comes up, I’m interested. I think most of us haven’t assisted and would snap up the offer even for free…I know I would (good thing I got paid though). Equipment was brought in from New York and also rented locally.
The one thing I noticed is that we had to open up the same “rental” bags over and over again. My tendency would be to “new person” proof the process more. Color code and mark the cases more. “We” opened up the same bags over and over again looking for things. Folks who’ve been to my studio know I have different colored ribbons on everything and label everything like crazy. If I have a new assistant I want packing and unpacking to be more than obvious. When I had my cabinet shop I always paid close attention to ergonomics and efficiency. “Working smarter not harder” is one of my favorite motto’s.
So not one mono light was in sight and no money was spared. The set dresser was baby sitting the set to make sure we didn’t change things around, always thinking about continuity.
So tomorrow I’m back to begin shooting the cast.
Image of Lauren shot with my Profoto ringlight. The background is a 4’x8′ styrofoam painted with black paint. The paint has a gritty additive that I found at the hardware store, not quite sure what it is, but the light reflects off the specs and gives it this look.
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That’s a good tip about “new person proofing”, and something that I just started doing myself. Although in my case, since I rarely can afford an assistant, it’s more”idiot proofing or self-proofing” my stuff. For example, labeling the lens and body caps on each lens so that when they’re in my Thinktank bag, I know immediately which lens is which instead of going “is it this one? no, this one?….”. Great timesaver when in a rush, such as during a wedding 😉