repeatedly, the elves were harder to get because they were kids! Last night I was shooting a Christmas party for my clients and there were a lot of kids of all ages. One tiny little girl was all freaked out because her mom stepped away for a moment and Frosty and a Gingerbread Man were too much for her to handle by herself. She decided to hide behind me which kind of freaked me out but I was saved by a pretty little elf who started talking with her about her dress and how pretty it was. I was pretty impressed by the elf and her boundless energy and the way she interacted with each of the kids no matter their age or sex.
It was a fun party for the employees of a major tourist destination here in the city, they work hard all year round and this was a thank you for all their hard work. It was a family affair complete with a buffet, cheese and cold cuts and a open bar for all to enjoy. And then there was Santa and Mrs. Claus and several of their best elves to guide thing along. We had Santa for an hour and the line-up was tremendous. The kids and their parents line the walls after the big rush by to kids to mob Santa until Mrs. Claus got everyone to line-up sort of in order. But kids are kids and they’ll go anywhere they please while I was trying to compose and shoot who was in Santa lap giving him their wish-list of goodies.
In short it was a real mob scene with parents and their cousins trying to take picture as I was fighting to get the kids attention while the parents were snapping away. Finally I just wait patiently while the parents got their shots then I could do mine and not have the kids looking anywhere but at the camera. Santa became my friend and I gave him the thumbs-up when I got my shot or I’d give him the thumbs-up when he rearrange his hat or beard. We got to be a pretty good team and I rewarded him by getting pretty young girls to sit in his lap too. By the time the rush was over the elves had things pretty much under control except for the kids who wander back into the shot or adult who didn’t know what to do and I got them in the shot as well. Then we got to the silly part were the adults wanted their picture with Santa as well. But by that time I knew we were getting close to the end and Santa was trying to escape.
Now remember, I’m a traditionalist, I still shoot real film and get it scanned to disk from the negatives. So I’m trying to keep a eye on the film count and watching the action to see when it best to reload. I also had a helper who was taking names and I had to give her a count of what roll I was on so she’d have a idea who was who when she was doing the prints. Yes I could have had the prints made when I got the film developed but I didn’t because I didn’t have the budget and I had gotten overall shots of the festivities for there records. I expect to see my shots turn up on the web next year sometime.
I know my client real well and know what she looking for and the shots she might need and I keep that in the back of my head when I’m shooting for her. We’ve had a working relationship for about five years now. I photographed her kid when she was about three or four and I feel like I’m part of the family now. Her girl is a precocious eight years old and is a real reader. I’m encouraging her by giving her books for her birthdays which I’m invited to. That’s one of the pleasures of my work getting to know people so well that I blend in and mesh with them real well. That’s the way I’ve survived since my stroke by having good friends who haven’t forgotten about me and are willing to give me work when they can. They also tell me about other work that I can go after and use them as a connection and a reference. It’s so nice to have friends who are well connected when you are in my position and trying to get back on your feet again. These people saw me limping about on my cane and they didn’t count me out. It’s a hard business to get people to remember your name for three week not to mention the three years I’ve been out of the business. People count in this business and people remember who did them favors and remember who was kind to them or there kids.
It was a fun party for the employees of a major tourist destination here in the city, they work hard all year round and this was a thank you for all their hard work. It was a family affair complete with a buffet, cheese and cold cuts and a open bar for all to enjoy. And then there was Santa and Mrs. Claus and several of their best elves to guide thing along. We had Santa for an hour and the line-up was tremendous. The kids and their parents line the walls after the big rush by to kids to mob Santa until Mrs. Claus got everyone to line-up sort of in order. But kids are kids and they’ll go anywhere they please while I was trying to compose and shoot who was in Santa lap giving him their wish-list of goodies.
In short it was a real mob scene with parents and their cousins trying to take picture as I was fighting to get the kids attention while the parents were snapping away. Finally I just wait patiently while the parents got their shots then I could do mine and not have the kids looking anywhere but at the camera. Santa became my friend and I gave him the thumbs-up when I got my shot or I’d give him the thumbs-up when he rearrange his hat or beard. We got to be a pretty good team and I rewarded him by getting pretty young girls to sit in his lap too. By the time the rush was over the elves had things pretty much under control except for the kids who wander back into the shot or adult who didn’t know what to do and I got them in the shot as well. Then we got to the silly part were the adults wanted their picture with Santa as well. But by that time I knew we were getting close to the end and Santa was trying to escape.
Now remember, I’m a traditionalist, I still shoot real film and get it scanned to disk from the negatives. So I’m trying to keep a eye on the film count and watching the action to see when it best to reload. I also had a helper who was taking names and I had to give her a count of what roll I was on so she’d have a idea who was who when she was doing the prints. Yes I could have had the prints made when I got the film developed but I didn’t because I didn’t have the budget and I had gotten overall shots of the festivities for there records. I expect to see my shots turn up on the web next year sometime.
I know my client real well and know what she looking for and the shots she might need and I keep that in the back of my head when I’m shooting for her. We’ve had a working relationship for about five years now. I photographed her kid when she was about three or four and I feel like I’m part of the family now. Her girl is a precocious eight years old and is a real reader. I’m encouraging her by giving her books for her birthdays which I’m invited to. That’s one of the pleasures of my work getting to know people so well that I blend in and mesh with them real well. That’s the way I’ve survived since my stroke by having good friends who haven’t forgotten about me and are willing to give me work when they can. They also tell me about other work that I can go after and use them as a connection and a reference. It’s so nice to have friends who are well connected when you are in my position and trying to get back on your feet again. These people saw me limping about on my cane and they didn’t count me out. It’s a hard business to get people to remember your name for three week not to mention the three years I’ve been out of the business. People count in this business and people remember who did them favors and remember who was kind to them or there kids.
1 comment:
What a wonderful Christmassy post! I'm so glad your clients were loyal throughout your time when you were unable to work. That's rare in any business. We also have clients (non-photographic) who have stayed with us for 15 years now. Most of them have become friends. In fact Rich has also photographed some on occasion, and a couple read our blog.
I am typing this whilst my daughter has covered me in tinsel and a home-made Christmas hat. I feel like a bit of an aged elf myself :-)
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