Quick post, more to follow later. I shot all weekend at YouTopia, the San Diego Burning Man regional, then today did my second full on aerial studio shoot ever. The first was thrown together for a friend who needed some images and video for a demo. The incredible model is a friend of mine, but I have to say I was somewhat intimidated getting ready for this, since she has a resume that is simply off the charts. Also was worried because there is already another photographer who is a friend of mine and shoots the aerialists at our studio, so I was worried about poaching and stepping on toes. Luckily, as you can see from the behind the scenes shot above, I had the best assistant ever. And I think the model has another fan for life judging from his expression. (and for the record, when the final shots come out from this- the chain was totally his idea....) and the fellow photographer I was worried about showed up to help out as well (I only exploited the child labor as much as he wanted to help)
Final edits will take a while since I am swamped with shoots this week (luckily, I have a nice two week out to sea for work soon, so lots of time to edit) but I have to say this was an awesome learning experience. I am still processing, both images and head wise, but here is the cliff notes version of what I learned:
1) There is definitely a flow between the photographer, model and assistants. I have not yet developed this flow. There were times that I could see something, but couldn't translate what was in my head into something my team could execute.
2) I need to pay way more attention to small details. There were lots of images I thought were awesome at the click, but turned out to be "almost" awesome when looked at on the big screen. Things that I should have noticed and- if I had- would have been easy to correct and made a major improvement to the shot.
3) Speedlights are handy, but don't quite cut the mustard for a long, involved, fast paced shoot. I knew this already and am budgeting for some lighting purchases in the near future. I looked at renting, but the deposit requirements were such that I may as well have bought, so made due with what I had.
4) Never under rate serendipity. Despite #3, a couple of the shots that may wind up being keepers after the initial look came from one speedlight or another not recharging fast enough and giving some accidental but awesome chiaroscuro.
5) No matter how critical I am of my work or what finally comes out of it in the wash (and I do think there will be a few awesome shots coming out of this in the end) Spending an afternoon with friends and family playing around and trying to create something is just a phenomenal way to spend the day. Today was just plain fun.
6) For future aerial shoots, bring a massage therapist for my poor, patient model, who will most likely be sore as hell tomorrow from holding painful poses "just a little longer... one more shot....."
And finally, #7) My friends and family totally rock. All in all a good day and think some good images will be coming soon.
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