Be Prepared. Not Just for Scouts Anymore

Some convergences here. Last week we saw the first of the American Idol (Idle?) auditions. It also brought a flood of email to my box regarding a photographer I had worked with and a huge problem he had gotten himself into. And on the radio show, Razr and I discussed being prepared for meeting people and fostering a relationship.

The convergence: A fundamental lack of preparedness as a way of life. I will endeavor to weave them below.

On AI we saw a trail of people standing in line for a shot at auditioning for a major television show. There were some that were prepared, you know, like, they had actually, you know, sung before. Seriously. There were talented people there given 30 seconds to prove themselves. Some had good auditions and some didn't. But they were prepared. However the vast majority of the folks were not prepared. They didn't choose a song that was appropriate. They didn't practice it. They didn't take it apart measure by measure and work it out for hours to make it perfect. After all, this is a-cappella. No mic. No mixer. No band. Just them. Worst-case scenario stuff.

And they treated it like it was nothing. They hadn't practiced for hours, sang in the choirs, put together a garage band, gotten a vocal coach, taped themselves obsessively, learned key and scales and intervals... whew. No, that crap is boring, they just want to be a star. Then, to make their stupidity even more poignant, they were distressed, angry and petulant that the judges hadn't given them a pass. Really! Really?

They showed up, stood in line and were entitled to be a star. Entitled.

What an insult to the judges, viewers and fellow contestants who had worked hard. Can you imagine waiting hours for an audition that you had prepared for, sometimes for years - decades, so that some jerk thought that because they were able to make utterances in a screeching manner, THEY deserved a shot? Insulting.

Photographers who don't take the time to learn their craft find themselves in hot water occasionally. Buy a new camera, new lighting gear and go do a once in a lifetime job for a client who is a friend. Without ever testing the camera, lights, anything. Just show up. Shoot. Leave.

Confidence where none should exist is a hallmark of youth I am finding more and more.

I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say it didn't work out like the client expected. Heck, it didn't work out like the photographer expected. Once in a lifetime situation was not captured by the photographer. Hurt feelings, anger and a friendship in danger.

Learn the craft of photography as well as the art of photography, then learn the technology of photography. There is a lot to learn. Don't believe the hype that tells you that any moron can take a great shot with a (fillintheblank) D-SLR. Seriously, point and shoot and sell the shot for thousands.

Yeah, That's exactly what us pros do. We have been trying to keep it under wraps, but somehow it has been exposed. We have never spent any time testing meters, lenses, film, exposure, lighting, fill, DOF, poses, printing....uhhhh, and all that other time wasting crap. Nope, we just buy a cool camera and choose a secret setting. That's it.

Sorry for the above snideness. What an outrage. How inappropriate. Simply stupid.

I bought a Tenor sax a few years ago. Still can't play like Trane. Why? I bought a good one. I practice, you know, whenever I can. Sometimes like an hour a week. Friggin' sax. Must be something wrong with it. (Oops, more snarkiness, I really do apologize.)

"Hey", my photographer acquaintance said, "I paid a lot of money for this camera. You would think it would take a good photo."

And it does. Especially when you have it set at the larger image captures instead of the lowest JPEG. He never even questioned why the camera took more than a thousand images on one medium sized card. Never even looked at the manual.

Can you light a headshot to make the subject look good? Or can you only do it your way? Can you add the touches that would make a person look thinner with lighting, or do you simply use the bloat tool? Do you shoot whenever you can, or only when a job comes up? Do you practice, practice, practice? Do you know when an umbrella may be better than a softbox? Vice versa? Do you use a tripod when you shouldn't? Or when you should? Do you know when to use a tripod?

In short... are you prepared?

Get to know how to light the subjects you shoot that will be what THEY are looking for. Practice. Edit ruthlessly. Get feedback. Correct. Repeat.

Be prepared for life. Be prepared for jobs. Whatever you do, there are some that do it better. The vast majority of the time you will find that it is the ones that are prepared. Find out what it costs to be prepared. Damn sure it will cost something. Most of the costs will be in the hard work, time, effort, self-critique, soul-searching, self-esteem challenges, more time and work and effort. That is what it costs. If you think it has something to do with the price of your tools, in most cases you are wrong. There are highly successful photographers who shoot with plastic $20 cameras. Ornette Coleman played on a plastic toy saxophone.

And if you audition for American Idle... (yeah, that's how I spell it)... for goodness sake be prepared.