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Storyboards Q&A

The second question is if we go on about storyboarding all right, this question from mashed uh sean santa the fashion and storyboard is really about the model poses the frame etcetera but where does he incorporate environment, color, texture how fighting is used? We talked about that a little this we did but the environment, the color, the texture, the storyboard for me is about the subject. I don't incorporate the environment as you see here I don't incorporate the environment into this because this is for me to concentrate on the hero element just the hero element but I am very cognizant figure out where I want to shoot. So going back to the beach so the storyboard I knew I want to be on a beach by hand selected the beach, yet I knew that feeling I want I don't have to be won some great beach, but not all beaches are the same, so I would scouting to find the right beach, the right environment I defined all that I had my sketches now with no environment at all, I had to find the envir...

onment that fit no environment at all. I want to now my storyboards go in with a clear intent and figure out where I shoot this everything the same thing happens in advertising, you'll get an ad concept and you've gotta figure everything else out I don't want to do all design work and add always going to shot at this location at this time that's too far ahead I want to think about that later on so here I have beginning this is the foundation where I start then everything else comes together and sometimes it's with the with my crew with a client with an art director with my producer and finding out with the right location it's a big job is very different if it's my personal work it's just me usually before a big job will be producer I might hire a scout to go out and scout fifteen beaches and find the right beach for this this is me doing my personal work so it's me finding the right beach on my own going out driving around and find the right beach and also funny out what the light looks like at a certain time so before the shoot I'm going to that beach the hang out and see the light looks like at twelve o'clock at seven o'clock at three o'clock so I know when to shoot what part knowing the light at that time of year because the light in january is very different how it looks in july knowing all those elements and as they change knowing the tide when's high tide winslow tied all that is part of this I have an app on my phone for high tide and low tide so I know when they could be out there shooting all those things are very important my sisters have a thing about the moon when the full moon no question about that happening but I was just one do you ever test out a piece of the storyboard before you go and do the actual shoot? Oh that's a very good question do I test out pieces of the chute before the actual shoot? Absolutely I'll go out there's method when I'm when I'm doing the scouting I go off my interns my interns get to see ah lot of stuff they get to be part of the process before the shoot the thinking of the process of thinking about the idea and working out the kinks so I go up there and shoot my interns and like we'll get different today and figure out it was a good time to shoot at a good time not to shoot or figure out what g going to bring to the beach and if the shooting in los angeles when to get permits to shoot into in places where you can shoot the shooting on location and los angeles means you have a permit for every area and make sure that somebody else is not shooting there they shoot tons of movies all over l a it's um I might want that beach day I wanted so question way so when we see the beauty story born uh I am assuming having your mind alighting scenario on yes I do how do you work when it seems to the lighting and then how do you communicate the way that day to tell everyone you are that's a great great question so you have your storyboards sit how you gonna light it when I'm doing my storyboarding I'm thinking about everything I'm thinking about once I haven't drawn I can stop and study this is a matter of fact the shot here earlier with my producer we're going through and talking about all those variables how I shoot it what light will I use libya location will be in studio because where I draw the storyboard I have it in location could I do this studio to make more sense to students real cash you get a location where location what were they wear what time of day all those things are part of it what lightweight used for the beauty one what lightly I use and why we'll use that light for that you go see that tomorrow and sunday good question thank you for that other questions now online about storyboarding absolutely quite a few there is a question from stephen do art photography who'd like to know can you speak about creative plagiarism versus creative inspiration ah that's a very good one creative plagiarism it happens all the time we talked about this earlier talking about taking somebody else's idea and copying it exactly that's plagiarism if you inspired by something is very different if you inspired by a story in a magazine and you do your version of that same a story that's fine but not copy a lot people are a lot of students a lot of photo students will see who it was the big hot guitar for the moment and copy that photographer and yes that's flattery in a certain way if you have copied my work you know for sure and they're even of ad agencies that will bring a picture to you can you do this like I don't want to know that I do my version of that be inspired is great copying directly is not that's a good question thank you for that excuse me a question from digital purposes what about location scouts? Where do you find them? Because I can imagine that you can't always be on the road looking for locations yourself no, you can't that's like another great question so there's a great source for finding locations and location scouts asthmatic this source is great for finding producers everything it's called le book dot com ellie be okay dot com lebouc dot com is based in in paris and it has a source a listing of producers, hair makeup agencies, campaigns I got a job to go to aa brazil I need to hire a production scout I gotta look book dot com to find a scout there you get a job to shoot no in the uk and the same thing the internet's but it's so easy for everything it wasn't that easy last first thought next question next question is from john nor kurata who asked, do you ever use magazine page examples turnout to help build a storyboard? Absolutely absolutely great question did I use the actual tear sheet from a magazine as inspiration to put or as my storyboard? Absolutely, absolutely out our go back to remember that one slide of all my research material? I'll pull him out sometimes when I don't have time to do storyboards uh, I'll use the tear sheets to put up and say I want this feeling this look or this this lighting I used all that to help my crew and putting store together all the time. Good question question from hotel graph when the mag, when a magazine hires you to shoot editorial, do you choose the location or the magazine? And do they cover the cost of traveling? Uh, good question when you doing magazine work editorial are you picking the location? Was the magazine for communication it's a bit of both, actually, um there times when I picked location in terms of magazines picked a location, my my first fascist wait in my career uh, two ing shoot in st lucia in the island of st lucia the magazine chose the island and we would shoot we're shooting resort wear is my first fashion story ever and I'm nervous and scared like, oh my god! So I'm going on location for two weeks to shoot to fashion stories for bunch of models, hair and makeup and I'm scared like, oh my god, we have all the right gear I was thinking about gear back then uh and you figure it all out you guess you just do you dive in, but the magazine chose location uh uh, the story stylist hair and make up the magazine did all that at the time was brand new and when your brand new they will help you out. But now I'm part of the process of picking the location it changed it evolves as you get more experience, but magazines love brand new photographers they love finding the next amazing photographer is that you is that you were all waiting to see your point of view, to see your vision, to see how you see the world well waiting matthew so you said then you are thinking about your gear. I know a lot of us as photographers focus on the gear, so what would you be thinking about now? Oh, malaise in vision the vision is key for me the gear is second nature I'm gonna have the best gear and you know what? Camera are getting better and better and better pretty soon anybody's going to take a great picture this is beyond great picture concept is not about the gear cameras are getting better and better and better doesn't make you stand out the concept the idea your vision how you shoot as cameras get better and better and better how you stand out from everybody else out there from your neighbor who has a camera is a matter of fact now my client's primeval same cameras that I have once one time nobody had a dslr now everybody does walk around now and look everybody has by the same camera that you have your doctor your dentist, your best friends a kid who knows has your camera how you stand out I want the best chicken phi because I know how to use it they don't it's the brush you're the artist it's the brush it's your vision how you see the world how you put it out there yes I want my calls ice linds my funny eight nine hundred because that's the great gear what's my vision it's me use my brush to paint how you gonna pay today next pushed all right we have about five more minutes before moving on to cast and crew um this question it was a follow up to an earlier question I think this goes back to the storyboards where our reynolds wanted to know the producer and the creative director when do they get involved? Well in during the best I love that question producer and create director what do they get involved so um very different the producer we're doing a big shoot big shoot being a big shoot editorial for magazine or big shoot for advertising and I'm gonna backtrack for a second when I was first starting out I went to a a forum and they had always creative's one aboard talking you were asking questions now is brand new time and someone in the audience asked the question what would make an art director create? Rector hires my whose brand new in photography and the answer was having a great producer so what does a producer do? A producer helps you make the job happen the producer is hired to hit the photographer make the job happened the producer is your savior in so many ways because I want to be the creative and think about creative producers make sure everything is done putting the job together making sure that there's diet coke the client likes diet coke available make sure there's a car service to pick up the client from the airport and take to the airport all the small things that you don't want to think about produces doing making sure that there are there's enough food for the crew making sure that there's per diem money each person as a good location away somewhere a great producer is key so they are involved in the very beginning in the very early stages the creative director and producer are involved now move on to the creative director that's the client side the crate director is very key to being sure that you have the vision and the town put off so the creative director is over here on the client side produces over here they're part of your team together we make the magic happen thanks for that question about create director and producer producer is extremely important to confine producers in the book dot com as well s bigger has a burning question this matthew have low creativity days and if so how does he deal with that when he has to produce that's a wonderful question that's a wonderful question there's a great questions coming from online so are you always at the top of your game creatively no it's impossible you have ups and downs like the market you have and downs and there days when you are just not creative and during those times I go to my my books for inspiration I go to my my opposites list from that list I talked about earlier you know yang hot and cold big small that list that I might interns make and keep building that helps the tools those loans will have a hard time trying to be creative so no, you're not always creative all the time it comes in spurts but you're aware of that you have things to help you get out of that that whole when you going back to the storyboard when you start with the concept and idea and you know sort of once you start making the drawings what is the process of saying ok, this is going to be a close off this is gonna be a couple kissing you go this is a love story this is a singing story how do you go then to the they find off yeah, this is your story point you define it after that because when I had this I'm not sure if I'll go into this shot and shoot it full like that I'll go pull back and I make that call once in one location. Well, it's better she should this full tight three quarters shoot the full body is matter fact this shot what? You can't really see that well here, I guess but we can go in on it. Should we ask you a question before you come back to that? They feel that put out we'll figure that out here's a here's a quick one from lyon photography do you ever shoot with film anymore? Ah do I ever shoot with phil anymore? Absolutely I do um my personal project I've been showing for seven years it can't be done digitally it's being shot with film on lee film it cannot be done digital that's the beauty part the beauty of it and I love I love I love film you know I'm an artist I like having a lot of tools to play around with I think digital is another two films still tools well it's a very different look film and digital they're very very different so okay sounds good so I go back to talk about this for a second they can't go in close on it but so on location I have always sketches there's one shot here where it's great in the sketch and reality when I shot it I didn't like it and I shall try moving in and pull back I just didn't like it sweet we fixed the shot we nixed the shot but it was great here in the sketch but in reality it wasn't so strong and sometimes that happens you move on to some things work is not working you just scratch it and move on you don't have to kill him try figure out oh I'm gonna get work I won't lose two hours to make one shot work look good and sketch next question question about photo shop geo asked how do you feel about the overuse photoshopped on magazine as well man that's that's a good one isn't it a good one how I feel about the overuse of retouching and advertised that's been going on now like I'm going on that the bait flight the last fifteen years as photoshopped is getting better and better and better I'm not a big uh I love for a shop it's necessary we have to use its photographers it should not be abused I don't like uh the over retouching of images so I want to find girls who have great skin and not make it beautiful in post I want to be really touchable second skin like that's what I want even in post production I just didn't add that comes out hopefully in the next few days actually hopefully um and the client was talking about all the retention they wanted to like I want it in camera it was better if we do it in camera so I'm having meetings before the ad about how shooting we talk about the concept, the kinds of all things like oh do that post we do that impose like I'm sure that in camera you look better, you look more realistic if I shoot a camera animal artists I want to shoot and show them I can do it in camera yes, you do anything in postproduction but does it look really does the lighting matchup I like tons of ads like okay, that was the impulse because the light this match shadows don't match, I won't get in camera, so be careful for a shop, don't abuse it, use it, but don't abuse it had another one, all right, great questions and they're all so relevant and on point I think retouching is back off a little bit from where it was saying five years ago it was overly done and abel it's plastic now people are really get on, which is nice go back to being human. This is this is somewhat related toe what we've been talking about already, but that's a good question summer, de gonzalez asks, I'm noticing that with the beach storyboard, you use two pages for each image in the storyboard does he do this? What do you do this with most of your storyboards? Is it just when you're shooting from magazines? Oh, that's a good quote, thinking about it that way because I'm always thinking in spreads that's the very question I'm always thinking in spreads because micro star offspring for magazines so I think that way, maybe naturally I like having a spread that's very strong thank you with two images in advertising issues in one image or spread so it changes a little bit, but for my editorial, I'm thinking in spreads and paid ages so I love a long story as well nothing like having like twelve pages of a magazine of your work that's the best if you want to shout your name to the world and you show your work shoot editorial in a magazine it all starts there my career started with editorial an editorial pays very little but put your name out there to millions of people every month it's the best showcase for your work and getting your name out there is shooting for magazine it doesn't matter what they pay is their readership who looks in the magazine? How your name out there to the masses it all starts in editorial magazines then you get the advertising that's a great question. Thanks for that. Thanks for that there's quite a few questions about location al from vancouver would like to know for your personal projects when you have a great location in mind based on your story word how do you acquire permission to shoot their way? Just shown up and shot before getting kicked out or making arrangements and paying for it is that's a very good question that's a such a great great question so I put all this time and effort into my story board into getting the right people involved uh assistance hair make up a bus with my personal products for free so the location now do I go out and risk showing in location and getting thrown off the location will I pay a fee for the permit? I will pay for the permit I put too much time and effort into developing the storyboard and get the town together I don't want to stick into location they get thrown off and have all that time wasted so with that I will always get permission it's too valuable I have a lot of time effort my story the last thing I want is you throw the location because I did get permission we'll get a permit so always do that it's much safer for you and the crew you have all this time their time as well going into this day I was sure that anything will smoothly that's a very good question and thank you so much keep those questions coming because they're also very relevant talented you shooting you're on a beach location you know, obviously the public's there how do you handle that? Or maybe you have a newer model who's not quite comfortable shooting with you know well not photographer and they're a little bit nervous and you have the public there too yes, how you handle it crowds in public if you saw students by who's well known step in story if you're shooting even people come around for moral shoots period uh in new york city people come around so on location how do you handle the crowds uh in new york's raided in l a in new york, people stop, look and keep going in l a they might stick around and look and get closer and closer closer so my crew, my team is conversant of crowds and gear and keeping gear in front of us not behind us can lose gear that way, having behind you make sure you control the crowd is long is that they're looking for distance. I don't care if they're taking pictures with their cell phones. I don't care sometimes get crazy about that, but I don't care it's going on their facebook or twitter and that's fine, you can't control that, especially now because a by his phone is a camera. I'm not worried about that picture taking pictures with their cameras for, you know, a momento si oh, I saw a photo shoot today. I'm totally cool with that it's fine, I'm working on a story I'm not concerned about my taking a picture of my scent doesn't bother me at all. My vision is clear. I'm shooting my vision do question you wanna move on to cast and crew? Or do you want teo to cast keep asking question? Well, up to a few more questions were going as a crew, all right, all right, all right, okay. Uh brent asked what is the best way to get a location release are you doing that? Are you having a location scout set that up no through it with the uh, location permit I'm doing two things either my producer is doing it well my agents doing it if it's a job this my personal work I'm doing it so I'm going to the film commission office and find out their rules and these days it's much easier when I first start shooting you need to go downtown and you goto midtown new york filled the application there at the office now you do online it's so easy much easier now that we're back in the day we'll find out everything online filled the application just follow directions miss you read everything and fill it out fully and send it in submitted and paid feet it's that easy it's that easy okay, perfect. All right. Uh question from swain's and do you ever do composite images by adding a model from a studio shoot onto a separate location image oh, now that's a good question have I ever added a composite shot from a location and put it in studio? I haven't done that I haven't done that and here's why if I shoot a model on location and then bring her into a shot a stunning studio it's gonna look weird son is how many miles away in my life. So this happened this far away, it's going to look different no matter what you do? I don't think that's a good mix, you'd be very talented to make that work, they'd be extremely hard to do and it will look fake and I hate things that look fake compositing happens all the time, their shots that you do, we oh, shoot composite and you'll shoot what they used call in the advertising world a plate safe. I have to do a shot where um, um, shooting somebody who's want to sit way, build a sit and way have last shots to do. I want make sure that I have shot set by itself, so he's anything moves, I could go back to that shot to put them in. That happens a lot. That's called shooting a plate for safety, so in advertising I'll shoot a plate of the set as it is, there should be a model on it or salute me on it, and then they moved or changes. I had the place to go back to if I need to have that little composite together, but heading from from from location to a studio together, I wouldn't really do that, I'm sure I can do that well, but I haven't seen that done successfully. And use it because of the light and shadow on how it works on environments and shadows long shadow and short shadow it's hard to mess that up another question uh this is from a car wth when starting out how do you know what is a reasonable payment for a small editorial project or any project for that matter all good questions so how do you know what the rate if it's a good rate for editorial for magazine every magazine will have their own pay scale um small magazines courses the smaller it gets the pins I don't get caught up on sees me I'll get caught up on the fief editorial now in the very beginning idea because I'm just I was so broke because I had one might remember as living with peanut butter and jelly that still love anybody jelly but as a peanut butter and jelly and every pity counted so I was concerned about the editorial wait then I learned the advantage of shooting editorial so if you're not working you have to promote yourself and promotion it means printing images and sing them out to potential clients that will cost you thousands of course you'd like to book two thousand dollars unit books to print out pictures to print out a thousand cards of your work with your name on it new contact information on it saying oh here's my work I'm photographer please hire me hire me hire me and then to mail it out another couple hundred books and hopefully then the envelopes and put it in the time to see how all your work to potential clients to hopefully have them hire you that's called a promo piece that's traditional marketing in our industry but did you get hired to shoot an editorial for magazine and say hey you say they want to pay you a hundred books that's their rate one hundred books like oh my god a hundred books to shoot an editorial for eight pages they'll pay for all the expenses for the magazine cover all the expenses for the shoot I want to pay you on ly one hundred books would you do it absolutely and he is why that hundred books is a token for the most part but it for me it's free advertising it's not me printing my pictures and putting on a car and sing out clients is goingto a magazine to be printed it's published and going toe all their clients to show their work it's a thousand times better than you pushing your work because you're being hired by a client to shoot for them it's going out to everybody and on this inside the magazine has your name for we have by far right bye forever by editorial is the single best thing you could do to jump you'll start your career and get advertising because they're all looking to see who did what whose brand new who's amazing who has a point of view and what is it that's editorial don't turn it down if you get it the pain you fifty bucks do it it's worth it following this same idea was the best or what what's the recommendation I sometimes think awhile I do an editorial and I'll send it out trying to get a magazine what's a way to get a magazine to work with you yeah yeah yeah sin you work for sure absolutely um do this pick five magazines you wanna work for that's it pick five magazines you want to work for next year I want you to push to get work for those five magazines just five just five find five magazines and you study that magazine every month you know the editor you know who the photo editor is cryptic trigger is who the who the editor in chief is you know the magazine you know the masthead the masthead is the page in the magazine that list all the editors of the magazine the editor in chief the beauty editor the fashion editor the photo editor you need to know their names because they are going to give you work those five magazines you right down you go lt's I wanna shoot for ball ball magazine I want you for this magazine is going to happen that's what I did and it works would you recommend starting with maybe local magazines? Absolutely, absolutely. Before the local magazines and even though my thing is to start on the top of gold down, why not? Because you never know? You never know. Don't be scared, we'll be scared related stifle you don't let it block you should be scared. It's a good feeling. All right. Next question is from christopher p how much do clients think about gear? We've talked a lot about it's not about the care about yeah, how much you clients tio some top of margaret top photographers used toy cameras, others use hasa bladders and phase ones. Does gear matter to the client? Or do they just care about results? This gear manage the client? Absolutely not it's the result they want, they don't hear what you use for using up ah, hold up or using an h for hassle black for eight thousand dollars for big back on it, they don't care about the gear they care about the image that's their bottom line, how you get it, they don't care about they have all the times that you have editors, they love photography, they have all the cameras that you have, they care about how you use it, they care about how you paint not the brush, not the oil, not the campus they care about the picture, how you painted that's important one more question one more that would go by the cast and crew is more of a general question jonathan murphy would like to know as a professional photographer what would you say has been your toughest challenge? Oh wow that's another great question as a profession photographer was my toughest challenge game to the next level. Getting to the next level is always the toughest challenge and that's that's been my entire career I always push myself to do do mohr and doom or and doom or as as a photo student it was getting worked as an assistant that was the challenge and they want to become an assistant it was well am I ever hire me getting that first job there was to get that first job is like well I get into the job can I make a living doing this now I just do one published job do it all the time where could make a living as a photographer and then okay cash for this magazine oh cashews this advertising it's always game to the next level and not being scared pushing yourself to think beyond to think beyond what's been done before everything is changing everything is changing what's normal now would not be normal ten years from now everything is changing pushing that my project is that pushing the envelope this is going back to your your personal arkham building your portfolio does it matter when you're building your portfolio? Because I know you said you like working with specific models that there's a big diversity between the models? The people that you use when you're going to show that worked for a client is important. Is it that important have a diversity in the people that you use, and I know each personal project has his own look and feel and and message so doesn't matter about the individual person. People that you use doesn't matter. Okay? Think it does. It does it's finding the world's changing so many ways on the way magazines advertising viewed the world ten years ago is very did that how it is now, the world's on the same, but viewed it a certain way. So I I choose models that reflect the world and when the night sing world enticing rose court. With that or not, I show that so I shall a broad spectrum in my work, because sooner or later the world catch up, okay?