Being a photographer is simple, look at my formula above! Ok, so most of you probably realize that isn't how it goes down for most people, but today I am here to explain my personal experience in working with models. There are many different types of models out there, the person you decide to use is very important to your project! I'm not saying that you have to use one specific look, size or gender, but make sure you cast the right person for the idea you have in mind. When we first start out with photography, its easy to jump on a website like model mayhem to start blast emailing every model you see, trying desperately to build your portfolio and have a quantity of pictures in a short amount of time. If you have this frantic urge, your should probably start off shooting something calm and peaceful like a zen garden landscape or take a cold shower. Once you have learned a little patience, you can start fresh and begin your career/hobby as a portrait/fashion photographer. Sites like model mayhem are great, I have actually met a lot of awesome people through there and learned a lot about my camera and photography in general by doing test shoots with models who were also just starting out. This is better than going straight for the top and asking your wish list models to shoot with you while you have no idea whats going on with your end of the camera. If they do agree to shoot with you for some reason, you are only going to frustrate them with your lack of knowledge, professionalism and quality in final print. Again, work your way up! Unless you have a mentor instructing you on camera settings, lighting and framing of course.

I also wanted to discuss the dynamic between the photographer and model that needs to be created for a shoot to work smoothly.  First, realize that the model who just showed up to your photoshoot is not someone to be intimidated by! He/she is not the IRS and you have paid your taxes (hypothetically). The mere fact that this person has agreed to shoot with you probably means that they have reviewed your portfolio and like something about it. As long as you can re-create that quality or hopefully do even better this time, you are good to go! Again, this is why you need to make sure your vision is clear before going into a shoot that you organize. Things will naturally evolve, a pose may inspire you in a different direction but thats ok, go with it if you are both feeling the idea! One thing you want to avoid though is having an idea in mind and springing it on the model half-way through the shoot. This mainly refers to shooting nudes or anything that would potentially be an uncomfortable situation between you and the model. I have heard horror stories just from talking to models over the past few years of these creepy situations they were put in, and at the time, the photographer probably got over-confident and thought it was like putting his coat over a puddle for his lady to safely cross. NO! Chances are if you are still reading this or part of *hopefully* what my target audience would be, you would never be that much of a creepster anyway. But I still have to put it out there because model/photographer relationships can make or break your photo-shoot. If one of you feels awkward, it is going to show in the image. Sometimes people just don't click, thats fine! It doesn't have to end up in a long lasting friendship where you go get mani/pedis together before your next shoot! But as long as you can have an understanding between the two of you and no one feels left in the dark (no lighting pun intended), you should be able to freely communicate to one another during the session for it to go smoothly.

If you are still somehow looking at the photos above and reading this, congratulations! That's impressive and disturbing all at once. But, lets re-direct our attention to the picture of Linda Chiriac setting up the lights for our most recent shoot. I obviously couldn't have placed the make-shift foil snoot as well as Linda, but it was a great bonding moment when she came in to take over. I explained to her why I was changing the lighting up a little, I needed a more focused beam of light vs. the wide spill I was getting from the standard reflector. After rummaging my cabinets for some tin foil, I started to construct my new cone (patent pending). Linda is a trooper anyway, so she jumped in and started helping, I could tell that she knew exactly what I was going for so it was great in two ways: first, she did it for me, secondly, it helped her understand where the light was coming from and what it was going to achieve if she stood in front of it correctly! We can direct our models all day long, and of course there will be some of that because they don't know what the camera is seeing exactly. But getting upset at them because they turn their head away from your precious 5 minute snoot isn't only counter-productive but its like calling action to an actor who hasn't received a script.

In conclusion, don't stress out over this. We chose photography because its more fun than whatever you used to do for a living, or its a great escape from your current full time job. The career part will evolve if you keep practicing, perfecting your lighting techniques and put some hours into your photoshop skills! I have personally made some great friends through this industry and can probably count the less than desirable instances on one hand. Be respectful, creative and go make some art!

Make sure to check out the extremely talented Linda Chiriac, she also does hair and makeup!
http://www.beautybylindachiriac.com/

Special thanks to Amelia Dinmore (Nightmare) as well for being colorfully amazing!
http://www.facebook.com/AmeliaNightmare

Follow us on instagram!
@rickcraft
@beautybylindachiriac
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*Please read before watching the video above!*

But why is there a map on the video now?!?! Don't worry, I will guide you through this ;) After receiving numerous emails and reading thousands of non-believer comments on youtube, I am here to explain how we did the one take music video with Max Schneider and Victoria Justice. 

This was no easy task! In fact, it may have been the most challenging shot I have come across in my time as a DP (director of photography). For those of you who do not know what that is, a DP works hand in hand with the director. The director calls action to a scene, they direct the actors around and have the overall vision. The DP's job is to select the framing of shots, make calls on the lighting and camera setups and make sure the movie looks good! Back to the video. When we showed up on set, out of the six person crew, only the director had seen the location. We had no idea how much of a setup this was about to be, but we had 30 minutes to figure it out. We walked through it about five times while the camera was being built and instruments were being placed around the house. I started to get the flow of how we were going to have to move through the house, but that was just me... we were about to have a camera op with a steadi-cam rig (which makes you significantly wider than a normal human being), myself behind camera making sure we were always in focus by using a remote follow focus and Daniel manning our only constant key light and audio playback. Everything was about to change, we now have three/four people huddling together behind the camera, plus our three actors that have to navigate safely around us to get into next position. I'm not sure about anyone else on the crew, but I've never studied the art of choreographed dance! A crash course and pioneering was about to take place haha. We got everyone that was going to be involved with the actual take to become part of the walk-throughs. After a few "well, this isn't going to work" traffic jams in tight hallways, we managed to make it through with everyone still in tact. 

Now, here goes the technical side of the shot. After walking through and watching everything on camera, I spotted a bunch of different lighting scenarios through-out the set. This is no good for a camera that has a manual aperture ring! Since we didn't have a fiz unit to make remote adjustments on the fly, I had to start placing lights in the darker areas. But guess what.. after all of that choreography, I was about to throw yet another curve ball at our steadi-cam op! I placed a few lights around the house to illuminate the really dark rooms along with some bounce and diffusion. In addition to not running into walls, we now have to make sure we never see one of our light stands. This part wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, we changed from a 25mm lens to a 35mm to tighten our shot just a little so entering rooms was a less risky task. After bouncing a few lights for ambience, we still needed an extra kick on our actors faces at certain points in the set. Enter Daniel! We used a hand-held battery powered LED panel light with some diffusion. Optimally I would have liked to place this on top of the camera with a remote dimmer so we could change the brightness as needed, but again this was not an option. Our two person camera operation became a three person team. Daniel wasn't simply following us blasting light on the actors at all times, he also had points where he had to either dim down or pan the light off to avoid over-exposure. I will also mention at this point, half way through the video we start back-pedaling with camera. On top of watching the camera to make sure everything is framed right and the lighting is decent, we have to watch out for things behind us because one little trip-up can result in one of the most expensive domino effects imaginable! 

Onto our actors! Max and Victoria are some of the coolest people I have worked with. They didn't complain once about anything that we put them through! On one take, I accidentally tripped Victoria while she was running past, but like a cat, she landed on her feet and regained balance before disaster! She also made it to her spot and jumped out in front of camera right on cue, professional! Kurt was the most prepared, he was the calm before the storm.. but the storm never came for him. He also directed the video, so he could see all of the paths he needed to take in his head before the camera even entered set. All three of them did an amazing job and worked well together, there was never a moment of tension on this set and we pulled it off in less than 9 takes! Which isn't bad considering all that could go wrong, and one little thing would ruin an entire take since we only had one shot without any cuts. 

This was an awesome experience and a memorable one! It was definitely a team effort where everyone had to be on top of their game. Even down to the coloring/grading done in post by the talented Chris Ripley. He had to fix the lighting problems that we couldn't get around and add his classic touch to the color! Now I release you from a super long explanation for a 3 minute video, but hopefully those of you who were curious or refuse to believe we did it in one take will have a better understanding :) Watch the compilation above to see the animated map of the location along with the paths we all had to take to make this happen. It is paired with the actual video so you can see where our actors were when they were off camera! Enjoy and make sure to bookmark my blog to see new breakdowns, explanations, behind the scenes and industry tips! 

Rick 

Welcome all!

Hello! My name is Rick Craft, I am a Director/Photographer/Cinematographer based out of Los Angeles. Here you will find advice, answers to your questions (email me with any questions you have about the film/photography industry) and maybe even some behind the scenes insights to various projects I work on. I do not claim to have the best answer to any question presented, it is only from my personal experience and should be taken as any other advice ;) I have always been into teaching others and helping someone learn an easier way to do something if they are truly trying. That being said, none of this will be of help to you if you aren't pushing yourself! Let's get this started!

Rick