Hi, I'm Doug McKinlay for AdoramaTV.
Now this is the first of three episodes
based on a commission I've just received
by a London magazine. The story is about
Valletta the capital city of Malta, the
small island nation in the middle of the
Mediterranean Sea. Now this year 2018,
Valletta along with Leeuwarden in the
Netherlands, are the European capitals of
culture. Now the editor has been quite
loose with the whole commission. she just
wants me to go there, get a great feel
for the city, and get some really great
pictures, and maybe some copy too, but
before I get on the plane, I've got a lot
of planning to do.
Part of that is this whole video
structure. Now what we're trying to do
here is to show the viewers, what it's
like for a working professional to get
his job done.
So as you can see, I've got some camera
gear in front of me here, and in terms of
the story that's probably the easiest
part. Really the more difficult part is
to really get an understanding what
you're up against. And I shouldn't be
flying blind here, so communication with
with your editor is really important
when discussing what aspects of this
piece we want to try and achieve.
I need her input as much as she needs
my input from the research I've done.
She'll have some must-haves, gotta gets and
that's fine. That's part of any story, but
I also need flexibility. Now a good, a
good photographer in the field, uses that
flexibility to get those pictures. That
you can't plan for, and fortunately with
this editor, she's really good that way.
But it still means we need to
communicate, whether that's whilst I'm
here still in London, or in the field.
So just sort of to get back a little bit
to the research. Now I've always found
the Internet's a great source of
research. You know a couple of hours on
there and you can get generally get a
good idea where you're going, so that's
what I've done here. I've got a pretty
good idea about what I'm gonna see on
Malta. Now the other positive I've got on
this gig is... I've been there before... so
that's gonna, that really helps. So I kind
of know the lay the land already, and
that's going to take some of the stress
off a little bit.
Now the other thing to think about when
I'm doing these gigs is... I have to think
about logistics. Now that's everything
from airplane tickets, to hotels, to cars
to buses if you have to, boats if you
need to. So that whole, that whole sort of
idea of how you get the job done. All
those necessary things to do to get you
along on your way. Now some some jobs are
are it's all taken care of for you. You
just turn up, take your pictures, and go
home. Now on the surface that sounds
pretty easy, and actually sometimes it is.
But I also find, a lot of those jobs
quite prescribed. Oftentimes you've got
someone looking over your shoulder,
making sure you get the right images for
a certain angle on the story, and I find
that it's a little bit annoying!
I prefer the jobs where I take care of everything
myself, and that's what I've done here. So
I've taken care of the hotel, and the
airfares and all that kind of thing. Now
if I'm out of pocket on anything I just
add it to my invoice at the end of the job.
Now the elephant in the room for any job
photographically is the weather, it can't
be controlled, and it can't really be
predicted. So it's one of those things
you have to sort of guess about, and I
think after a while you do get
reasonably good at it. Lots of research
again on the internet and such, but I
have been sent on jobs where it makes no
sense weather-wise! Like you know, skiing
and the Rocky Mountains in July! Yeah
sure... it can be done, but you know you're
not going to pull off some pictures that's
gonna make it look like it's the middle
of December. And that's an issue... that
happens a lot between editors who don't
really understand us, but it's one thing
that you you have to keep in mind about
all the time. So you have to kind of
anticipate for bad weather. So even
though you might look at a weather
forecast for a given area, and it might
say it's gonna be reasonably warm, and no
rain, and sunny, you still have to bring a
few bits and pieces with you just in
case. Like a good raincoat... it's
really important.
I know earlier I said that your
equipment is the easiest part of the job,
and perhaps that's true, but it's still
worth having a look at what I'm gonna
bring with me. Now it's nothing super
special really, a couple camera bodies
some yes 5D III's,
some, some lenses. I've got a 70-200
zoom. 300 f/4 fixed. A few prime
lenses there's a 50 mm f/1.4 a 24mm
1.4, short zoom, a 17-35mm and somewhere
around here I've got another Canon 24-70mm.
I think that's about it, speed light,
few a few bits and bobs, likely filters
for instance the ND's and the grads to
to add to the mix. I think it's a
personal choice how much gear you bring.
I just sometimes bring too much, and cause
I bring a lot more than this, which can
hurt because it's heavy. So you have to
make a judgment call now. When I, when I
get to to Malta. What I'll probably end
up doing is leaving a lot of this in the hotel,
and I've got a smaller bag that goes on
my waist, that I can bring with me which
is great for, in crowd scenes so I just
usually bring one body with me, and two
lenses a 50mm and perhaps a 24mm and
that's about it really. Cause it's, it's all
I really need in those in those
situations, and on this job I've got, I've
got a car to try and help me get the job
done quicker and, and easier, and that's
gonna help to with my equipment. I don't
have to worry so much about packing
everything on my shoulders, which is
getting harder and harder every year,
because it's getting heavier and heavier.
So that's really about it. I, on the gear
front. I just think you have to think
about what you need for the job you're doing.
The other thing I'd like to to look at I
suppose... it comes under the category of
research, is I like to look at the back
catalogue of the magazines that I'm
working for. So I'm gonna look at
previous issues to get a sense of how
how do you use the layout. How their
designers put a page together. How the ad
space works. Um are they huge basically,
do they do the ads take away from my
images! So I like to look look through
the back issues. I think it's pretty
important you get a sense of how the
magazine works, how they use DPS for instance.
Big double page spreads... what
kind of images that that fill that hole!
So I think it's, I think it's, it's a, it's
a good thing to do, because it gives you
a bit of a mental map of how the
magazine might indeed use your pictures
for your story. So all that's left to do
now, is to get on that plane, get out to
Malta, and get the job done, and hopefully
not mess it up too bad. Anyhow, so thanks
for watching. I'm Doug McKinlay for
AdoramaTV. Don't forget you can join
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