Lessons

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Special Guest: Chase Jarvis

Thanks so close together invited me I'm not going I'm not going to stick around long because you gotta get a lot of work to do I know but thank you very much for inviting me ma'am I appreciate it it's good being here is gonna have a new here and know it's imparting our wisdom to the masses hay and I've been I don't know if this is common knowledge in it but I listened or watch almost every course no matter where I am in the world often just plug in my iphone the lo rez the low res feed and was walking around with you and my ears it's morning doing my work so it was a pleasure I've learned a lot already my friend thank you and you got this voice can we get can we get a what's up for the man's boys huh ok like like I have a face for radio he has a voice for radio I love what I do is good but I'd like to share you know all this knowledge do you have that I guess we take for granted now could you do it on autopilot somewhat but it's nice going to go back and share and relive these moments ...

with everybody and I love that well the questions that come in that's my favorite part of grateful show um is watching you specifically but the instructors in general um interact with the web because the as you say, we take a lot for granted because it is your sword you're sort of on autopilot and you're just going but these are the things that you do and a question and I was just talking with you about off camera second ago is the question that well, why are you so far away from the bag from the seamless and that's totally intuitive to me I wouldn't think that that would be a question that would come up but lo and behold there's a great answer and a great reason for it and that's just one example a bazillion question yeah, but great questions and so that's it's fun having in many ways an internet directed or a a a audience directed show like what you've got it's really quite cool you know I love it because there's a point in my career early on when I want to ask all these questions and there was no one to ask and now you guys have this venue and it's just wickedly cool I love it that's for what it's worth that's the genesis of this that's a man lives I love coming up I didn't have anywhere to go I had that's what all these bruises and these scars are from how you'll have our war martyrs that's, right? Sure, but when we were talking off camera again before we came back from break um one of the things that you brought up was that the folks at home might like to know a little bit about sort of what it takes to get get on a crew you had that little that little bit right near the end of the in the last session of talking about like assisting for people and then what did I think for you and so I wanted to ask you I know what I look for but maybe it's not my place interview on your show but I want to know like what? One and you tell me a little bit about the crew what I want and you know what? What are the characteristics of uh, of folks that work with you? Well, first and foremost I want talent but I want people who have a great attitude I want people I can go away with for two weeks and no, they're cool there's no there's, no ego around in my crew I won't make sure that a bis on top of their game the best of the best and that I can trust them that they would have my back when I'm shooting not be off in the corner chicken their email with texting or calling their girlfriend or boyfriend that there once set and dedicated to the process the creative process I want people who are excited about photography and love it and want to grow and you know and you pull this crazy miss you I love it you can feel that as a sort of the ringleader because in many ways this is a reasonably small set um and I heard you talking earlier about you know, most of sense that that you are honor I'm honor advertising ones and I think you said something about like yeah there's one at stylists and one assistant and then there's the client actually there's usually ten people there on the client side art directors and creative directors and all put out man yeah and that I feel like, uh, it's you're very much a ringleader so you have to be able to do your job it's kind of like remember you all khun drive it manual transmission remember the first time you like, oh my god, how might remember how to get from first to second gear at the same time as you're looking for your audition where you're steering the car you know um and it's very much the same way like you need to build it to all of your settings and the direction and all that stuff needs to be absolutely second nature and the rest of it is sort of like directing and orchestrating a little concert yeah circus yeah circus many yeah you've been to my shoots it sounds like it might have been crazy times as well it's nuts but I love the process. I love it. What is crazy? And I love having a great crew around me that depend on when it gets nuts keep it cool. Yeah, that's there there's a a sort of callous is the wrong word, but a a strength or virility is that what it is? But when you've got a certain fortitude when there's a lot of stuff happening and you need to focus on the camera and the kinds of people to go back to that question are people that are self starters, that air self learners that are highly motivated and basically a lot of stuff that you said to me is kind of a get in the door if you're not great, if you're not hard working, if you don't have a great attitude than you, probably shouldn't it's not time to put yourself on set yet, because you won't make it. Yeah, you will make it, and not in a way that you might not make it at some point in the future, but those and to find out what that means in this world, you really have to watch on this, like watching the grandstands and watching the sidelines than then watch from the paint or watch from the key it's true that's true, I would go back to one things that you said about you listed a bunch of characteristics attitude is made for me again being townsend an understanding lighting and all that stuff is kind of again that's assumed that's to get in the door yeah, but attitude and being this is not a nine to five job things don't happen when they're supposed to happen I mean ever, ever, ever you know lights break at the worst time your camera fails at the worst time your card is full of the worst ones always happens and and having an attitude to get through that and sometimes I think that the people that I'm used to speaking in front over with on my crew or in this sort of situation I think there's this belief that the world is selects on talent alone and that's the thing ms no yeah it's it's really it's not true and that the the fact that like there's a certain threshold that everyone has a certain level of skill and then beyond that it's basically everything else that is a differentiator that's a message that a lot of folks out there they wanted to be purely on merit but having a personality where you can have a conversation what if I need to go do something I need to go use blue is extremely important right? And I mean if you have to go use the loo and someone's gotta talkto rethink line exactly make sure you don't get it piss her off I don't sing to her her don't sing teo honey, I tried that it doesn't work but having that sort of and I'm not saying you need to be a standup comedian you know you don't need to be an entertainer but like having personable yeah personal and yourself and it's amazing to me of the folks that reach out to us for employment or that I you know, hear stories about that don't have these basic fundamental so think of if you're looking to get a job with the superstar like this, then that's the kind of stuff honestly that that your skills are getting a door and everything else is what matters so as important stuff yeah, how many people you drag around with you go over the place like me? Well now, because I used to before the recession yes, you can plant it on you now about your crew and having to go on the plane and all that. So it's a small crew these days and before through and have a crew in new york and coo in l a then one location we're fighting for everybody that issued in chicago recently and I don't fight for my digital tech to become on the shoot and I'm glad I brought him because it helped the diggle smoothly and my crew as well it was a fight now before it wasn't a fight it's true it's true climbs a lane and and a message about that is it for the photographers out there who are watching they're income stream change of the amount that they have to do how hard they have to work they have to do more with less I hate seeing people go on too much about that because that is we're not alone like since when did the photography industry stands still with the rest of the world was moving right and and so we gotta remember that we do have to do more with less than that's what's expected of us and I find a lot of times if there's not budget that I will go into my personal pocket to make to make something happen if I need a particularly my crew right so far the process I'm going to segway from what type of people and talk about the teamwork aspect for a second because I loved when you were when you were doing the bit about not looking at the back your camera specially early in the set like when you're trying to make a connection I got three cameras like I'm audience over there so I get this guy so bear with me on the internet find things that I don't know I don't know where I'm looking but there's no way that's right um but I loved the the trust factor that you you really I felt hammered on um what I have you you know what I have to hear, what you have to do is and that sounds strange a lot of people that are not in this line of work or are aspiring you know, the early parts of their early part of their career so why do you need so many people why you need a guy to move lights like I do all this stuff myself and hey, I understood I said wade from that too but at the at the upper end of the industry and do it by yourself right? You can't because there's too many moving parts and the idea that you could be moving a light while aretha franklin sitting there exact right? She just can't you see he's looking at her watch and she starts looking at her watch what happened to your the quality of pictures they're going to plummet immediately and that's one thing that I think we need to go on the record for is that I at least I can't speak for you but I'm sure we share an opinion on this that we have both come from that whether you did everything including me the bills swept the floor clean the toilets too the whole deal that's how you start and you could do a lot of great work but but before you're shooting aretha franklin, for example you need to build a crew and when you build a crew there's a lot of trust involved after absolutely like john john's watching the feed to make sure that if for some reason your stroke yarns on it yeah, he's wanting to say anything, matthew, you struggle. You know, the strobe on the set, right is not firing. Just take a break for a second. Let me switch that head out or something. And if you had to be looking at your camera every two or three second, you would miss it, right? You'd miss it. And so there's this trust thing that I think is really cool, do you? Is there some sort of a process that your assistance go through to be able to be inside? Or do you put travelling the whole term talking cold, trusting at all they've got they've got to earn it, okay? They don't work on a job, but I know I can trust them. I don't just give trust away they have to earn that trust because I got to make sure one set I'm gonna have my back. I didn't shoot a while ago when I had a third assistant who was a local assistant in that, uh, that city and we were shooting a big celebrity, and when somebody came in, he throws up, he was like a thirteen year old girl scene no, her idol it's so weird to see that but he was like goo goo gaga over this athlete and like I just played his idol I guess I'm sure you don't want to see that you want to go professional and can perform under any circumstance right that's good to see you you don't want your assistant come on set going okay michael jordan just one second exactly exactly you don't want that so there you go there you get the tip of the day right there if you're an aspiring uh photographer nooses from at the jordan smith don't come on with your iphone take a picture of talent but I think tweeting it out yeah yeah that's a thing but so is there some sort of system like you bring him in the studio for some test shoots first and then you move that any of them I have my first assistant interview them they come through the ranks and when they're worthy my crew tells me they're worthy because everybody's watching them not just me my make it bars okay your new assistant we don't like your clients will tell you yeah, the new assistant I'm not sure if we can use that person yeah, we'll let you know if they like the person they'll say your new guy we like him, the new girl we like her everybody's watching and and and in tune with the energy on sit that new persons not in sync yet we'll let you know I want some of those great energy great attitude can roll the punches is not looking at the clock it was five o'clock it's five o'clock yeah we're getting off you know when when did I workshop? This is a lot of nine to five industry I have a shoot um in two weeks that starts at midnight so we'll be shooting from midnight to eight and the last thing I want to hear is win jing from my staff you have absolutely there's the last thing you want right there's plenty to think about besides that so um when a lot of, uh questions coming to me about like what's the single biggest piece of advice that you can give I heard some folks coming in about that my number one thing is attitude and it seems it seems counterintuitive when such a in a profession that demands a high level of skills but attitude is is a long way and I'm getting it I'm getting the sense that these guys are starting to itch that prime means they've got a lot of questions cued up from the internet bring a more suitable and I should probably let you get back to teaching here soon but we should probably take a few for the old internets right? Always always um folks want to know if you two have mamma mia wants to know if you have ever worked on professional projects together and if not, will you now I'm shooting this guy's picture as soon as the cameras go off on you going home right out on sunday night right away I do I've got to get back home going two days but I do have the big project that I want talking about the future you know, there you go mining here forget you heard it here first first uh whenever chase come on, the old philosophical question it is it must be known that I went to graduate school of philosophy jeremy christian would like to know for both of you what is the single best thing you could do to learn to trust your creative vision? That's a that's a good one that is, um for I'll think about it and then we can have the better answer that will see through it, um, generally speaking it's actually to live out the vision that you have and then reflect on it. So like teo, if you're constantly changing through the process and I'm not saying that, don't be flexible because that's there's a uh that that's obviously flexibility keeping your knees bent in this business is absolutely mandatory, but to actually say I have a vision and I'm going to do everything I can you know, ira glass talks about the creative gap I'm going to try and make the thing that's happening in my mind look like the finished product and usually the more you're in the industry and the more hard work that you put in and the hours that you put in the numbers shoots you do it gets closer and closer and hopefully the creative gap zero really close, but the creative part of that is actually fulfilling the vision that you have in making that happen on set and at the end of the day saying, how'd that go that's true? And if you if at the end the day you say why chief at my creative gap zero and I achieved it, but I don't like it then go back to the drawing board, but if you can have a couple of successes, where then you like yes, I'm really, really happy with how that turned out. I grew in the next time you're you're in front of a client or when you're pitching and I dia to mean, sometimes you're pitching these ideas in the fly too, and you have to trust you that's true, impromptu yeah, they can feel that as well, but having that trust in yourself and knowing that it's your vision and your vision comes from your inspiration when you can have this this vision that swing from your individual inspiration you can't go wrong learn to trust in yourself even yesterday talking with one of our students who has a lot of great talent but his he's fearful but he has the talent and they just go out there and do it you're there you're holding yourself back but he has the talent then if you holding the talent back now go out there and trust in yourself put it out there yeah there's they uh I didn't block post recently because this was one of my a powerful I think a powerful pivot point in my career was when I actually started trusting myself and the thing that allows me to do that repeatedly is reminding myself that the client comes to you because of your vision they don't come true to you because you have a finger that can go like this yeah use this camera that or that you khun do math on the fly with shutter speeds and f stops it doesn't matter they hire you because of your vision vision and if you can project that vision most of it and it has to be good right don't project a crack division that's but that's again that's to get in the door like be right but if you can project a vision that's good and then you can rally your team of people that you trust in the client, they said, make it happen, they sense that they can smell it, you know, the dogs most fear or it's the same thing. I don't know if that was philosophical enough before I think they've got that good thing it was let's go for maybe two more, and I'll kick it back to matthew. All right? Great. So question from krizia is what decisions did you make at the start of your career that are directly connected to where you are today? So everybody's path is different, but what our couple things that got you, tory is the first one. The decision to assist right away was a decision that changed my career. My remember friends at that same point who said, I don't want to assist I wanna start shooting right away and made that decision and had a harder time getting going my years assisting we're like like the foundation before building the home. I needed that, and it's made me who I am today. Uh, I would say, I think it's a great answer for what it's worth. I would say that having the courage to pursue the kind of photography that it is that you want to do is very, very important because there's all sorts of outside pressures. The absolute you know your friend says I can make a lot of money doing this and you say this person's trying to hire you to shoot their wedding and this person says we'll need other voices right there's so many conflicting voices that that to be able to hold on to the thing that is is most passionate for you it's it sounds a little bit strange but the money will come and if you continue to prove yourself and that you know and you said it already what hasn't he said that we're seeing now you know honestly but uh the uh shoot what you'd love now what you like or something that's true was much more exacting and was set in a much cooler toys but last question we got to wrap up here well one of the great things that matthew talked about wass writing down your goals and he said he looks at them every morning and reads them out loud and gator bait had asked if you do the same thing if you write down your goals as well if you guys both think that that is, you know, a very important thing in order to achieve those goals I since you've already answered it I uh I'm very much a believer and this is not sort of wu this is like you tend to become thing thatyou project out into the world and and that's probably why you like what you say and visualize and reaching your goals, and if you don't have some sort of a path than well, at least for me, I can say that I often, if I lapse in this sort of the visionary aspect of what we're talking about right now, that the work flow, then I instantly feel lost the best thing about my career or about doing whatever you feel out there, you do, just watching this is a hobby. You really want to be a plumber. The best thing about deciding what it is that you want to do is that you're actually on a path, right? It assumes you affirm that you're on that path, then you're driven and, you know, we were talking about the soft side as well, and and that is that tied in tow wine, you singles just a little bit, and this is how much money I want to make her this is who I want to shoot. This is where I want to travel to. This is the proficiency that I wantto achieve put it out there. Yeah, and that those sorts of, um, that sort of stake in the ground that compass is I can't I can honestly say that I haven't achieved anything of of significant value my career without having said I want to go for this. I never stumbled on this, you know, this thing that was career changing for me, so I get the it's, not a mistake yeah, is tension tip, yeah, intention? Well, said teo. So that's, my cue, that's, my cue when when we are he and I are saying the same thing and you guys just saying the same thing to get a second ticket booth voice. Thanks for having me. Pleasure, man, handing me. This has been great.