three jobs, three after-action reviews.
job one: central park
what was supposed to happen?
i was hired to photograph a running group for a coaching team at the central park running track around the reservoir. the meetup was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. the photos were for a campaign the coaches are running to help marathoners achieve a sub three-hour marathon time. i had worked with the coaches for their campaign launch event, and they liked my work so they brought me on for this as well.
what did happen?
i left home at 6:50 a.m. and stopped through dunkin’ donuts for coffee and a quick bite. then i hopped on the train and to my dismay it was running local. to make matters worse, the uptown a and c trains, which usually stop about a block away from the meetup location, were running express over the weekend. so basically i got to midtown at 8:20 and had to uber the rest of the way and i showed up about five minutes late. the clients were totally cool with it, but i wasn’t.
i actually went to the wrong location, but that worked out because i found a nice perch on a bridge above the running track and caught a great profile photo of the group passing me by.
when i met up with one of the coaches a few minutes later, we shot a couple of images for another campaign that they launched this week for runners who want to bring their time under four hours.
i was able to deliver the photos just over 24 hours later and they were really pleased with the images. i was told that the runners really love the photos, too, and they’re sharing them prolifically. it sounds like another date and possibly more will be joining my calendar in short order.
what went right?
the photos came out perfect. i was able to get some compelling compositions using out-of-focus foreground elements, and since it was cloudy there was nice evenly diffused light to work with. the group had a lot of fun and they hammed it up for the camera so i got some photos showing that they were having a good time—the type of stuff you really want if you’re trying to help a client convince people that this is something they should be aspiring to.
what went wrong?
first, the mta. i should have double-checked the subway schedule for the weekend in advance to make sure my route was clear.
next, i thought i know where we were meeting, and i was wrong. since i was late, i didn’t have time to wander around beforehand and pinpoint the location.
so really, logistics went wrong this time around.
what can i add to the plan to do improve next time?
day-ahead logistics checks, mapping out my desired route and double checking for any impediments to the route. always assume that there will be service changes with the mta if that is my route, and be aware of road work if i’m taking a car.
job two: midtown
what was supposed to happen?
i was to meet a mother and son in town from florida courtesy of the wish of a lifetime charity. i would take some photos of them in some iconic new york locations, in time’s square, outside of radio city, and at st. patrick’s cathedral, where the mother in the group wanted to distribute a small portion of her husbands ashes because one of their wishes before he passed away last year was to visit the cathedral together one last time.
what did happen?
to be honest, everything on this job went according to plan.
what went right?
other than being logistically smooth as silk, this job allowed me to make a human connection with two people who were essentially on a modern day pilgrimage. i was able to document them having fun and enjoying the city, and then i was privy to a somber and intimate moment in their lives. above all else, what went right here was that i was able to be a guide to people who were in need.
what went wrong?
as my good friend stock henry would say, no edits.
what can i add to the plan to improve next time?
use this job as a template for any other tourists who want photos on their trip to the city.
job three: the holiday party
what was supposed to happen?
i got a text from a friend of mine who is a booking manager for a photo and video studio in bushwick at almost 6 p.m. asking if i was free to take photos of the studio holiday party. i had just arrived in flushing to meet my wife and some friends of ours for dinner and a game night. basically the job was 7 p.m. to midnight, and there was no direction given beyond that. my wife was not pleased that i was even asking her if i should do the job since we had plans, but we worked it out.
what did happen?
the company sent me a lyft to take me from flushing to bushwick, and i arrived just after 7 p.m. i met one of the owners and he helped me stash my gear. after that, i was pretty much left to my own devices. i took a mix of candids, posed “party portraits,” aka people with their arms around each other, holding up their drinks and smiling, etc., using my remote flash/gary fong setup. there was a raffle and i took photos of all the winners receiving their prizes.
what went right?
mall of my gear functioned perfectly. even in the low light i was able to nail the focus and had a surprisingly low number of images lost to camera shake (my wide lens has no image stabilization). i got a solid mix of most the typical party shots. and probably most of all, between taking photos i had several great conversations with other camera nerds and people who could potentially become clients.
what went wrong?
the one thing i didn’t do at the event was get the typical ambient food table shot and some other similar ambiance photos. i’m not sure if this counts as something that went wrong, since the studio gave me literally no direction, but i guess we will see when they send through their feedback.
what can i add to the plan to improve for next time?
make sure to talk to the person who is paying me for the job - even if it’s last minute - to go over any specific requests they have for photos. especially considering that the person i was working for was a highly-experienced photojournalist whose body of work puts my own to shame, any nuance he might have to offer is information for my toolbox that could help elevate my own work.
summary
i think overall i’m happy with how short the improvements list is, since it indicates that i was in good form. i think the two big takeaways from this day are 1) i’m versatile and flexible enough to take three vastly different jobs in stride and to work from wake up to bed down without batting an eye—i have yet to find the outer limits of my capabilities; and probably most importantly, 2) i need to make sure i am not letting photography consume my entire life; my wife and our relationship is my first priority. as much as i want to push this photo journey as far as i can, there is one outer limit that i can not push against without having consequences i’m not interested in dealing with.