With a new week came new experiences. For the past couple of months I have been assisting Walter Hodges and David Atkinson on photo shoots. Their company, Jetta Productions specializes in stock photography. They shoot everything from people working at the office to commercial trucks on the road. It has been a great experience working alongside them and I have learned so much in my short time with them.
Unlike the average photo class assignment or even paid client photo job, Jetta Productions produces and funds its own photo shoots. From there they market their images through out major stock photography providers such as Getty Images. This as you might guess changes the rules quite a bit. Instead of having a shot list or a client telling you what to shoot, there is no clear cut specific image(s) to shoot. This is where creativity, quick thinking and motivation come in handy. Every shoot will have a broad theme to which the shooters will adhere to, but each shooter will be left to their own devices. This really set people apart, you really have to have the ability to think on your feet and capture images that will sell in the stock market.
As I said earlier, the new week brought new experiences. It was let known early on that there was a possibility of that one day I could become a shooter for Jetta. Some had eluded to it and some questioned if I would consider or would want to do it. I love a new challenge and was interested in the possibility. Of course though, as I normally do I constantly psyched myself out, because I really do not know much about stock photography. I have learned a lot about it through out my time assisting, but I know that there are always aspects of something that are based on experience and practice.
This past Friday I was scheduled to assist Walter and David on a photo shoot. When I arrived I was handed a 5d mark ii and was asked what I knew about it. I was definitely caught off guard, and returned with, "I own and shoot with this same model, it is awesome." I know, not very intelligent sounding, I just said the first thing that came to mind. The plan for me to assist was quickly changed to me being left to shoot on my own. I was given a model and told to go shoot. That was it, no rules, no set plan, just go and shoot. This was exciting, but scary as well. I was given a chance to see how and what I could shoot and if it could be used for stock photography.
As I still do not have a competent feel for what images will sell, I am unsure of how I did. I do believe that I put together some nice imagery and I am confident when it comes to my technical skills behind the camera. They will be going through the images from that they and be contacting me soon to meet in person to go over what I shot. We both agreed that it would be beneficial for me to see what shots worked and why they did and vice versa.  I can not wait to see if any of my images make the cut and if I will have the opportunity to become a regular shooter for Jetta Productions. I know leave you with some imagery from Jetta Productions.