What the hell is wrong with still photogs???

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<Shooter>

Guest
Got questioned by an idiot from a sorta local paper who wanted to know if I "always step in front of other photographers" because I "ruined three of his pictures." This was a military send off, like 400 soldiers, each one had their moment on stage, plus prob twice as many family members at least, ya know, the kind of thing that has an infinite number of shots. First of all, this thing was kinda like a big media free for all anyway...I was the only one with balls to go on stage...I do this frequently, my job is tell a story, and 15 seconds of me shooting wont kill anyone...I am normally courteous (sp) to folks, esp those are in my line of work roughly. I know a still photogs job is to get that one shot that tells the story, but in my opinion, if you cant get at least two or three at a thing like this, then you suck...it is a small town paper too. I always get the bit of nervousness, but, did not back down, I pointed out to him the hundreds of soldiers, how I didnt mean to, etc, then wished him a good day after he promised to "ruin shots of mine." You have to be agressive when getting the story, not after the fact by being an a**hole. I know hes an idiot, I prob should have been a bit more "accomodating" to the prob 30 diff still shooters, from family to dailies, but jesus, I have a job to do too. It took them almost an hour to go through all of them and I was up there for a super small portion of that. Cant wait to see this idiot out on a story again...
 
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<2 eyes>

Guest
did you step infront of him? Yes you both have jobs to do, but neither of you has to be rude about it. When I am in a scrum of photographers and wish to move I will look up and look around (even though I already know exactly where I intend to go). This alerts others that I will be moving. If I am going to cross someone's line of sight I make eye contact so they know I am not shooting and will be moving.

I really have a problem with those photographers, still and tv, that just walk in front of others with out consideration of others also doing their job or those whom can't be civil.
 
F

<fuzzyshooter>

Guest
I have chewed out my fair share of clueless photogs that walk into my shot. They do that ONCE if at all. In fact if the other photogs in my market see me on a shoot, they make sure to stay clear of me. They even joke about it.
While you are at it, don't even think of ruining my nat sound....

obviously if you are in a clusterf*** of a situation it's almost impossible to avoid getting in someone's shot, but come on- don't set up your interview in my shot while I am conducting my own interview. That pretty much guarentees you are a rookie in my book.

even on the bad days I love my job :cool:
 

Shaky & Blue

Well-known member
Originally posted by <Shooter>:
First of all, this thing was kinda like a big media free for all anyway...I was the only one with balls to go on stage...I do this frequently, my job is tell a story, and 15 seconds of me shooting wont kill anyone...
Perhaps I'm wrong, but from what you wrote it really sounds as though you're the one being uncooperative and overly aggressive in that situation.

Let's examine the picture you've given us. The rest of the photographers mutually agreed to stay back far enough to avoid ruining each other's shots. They were all cooperating in a tough situation to give everyone a reasonable chance to get what they needed. But YOU decided you are just too damned important to cooperate with the other guys just trying to do their jobs, and you stepped in front of them and blocked their shots.

Let me explain this, since you obviously don't understand: your job is no more important than any of theirs. Your story is no more important. YOU are no more important.

Seems like every market has one like you. All the other photogs know you, your attitude and your tactics. And they usually take great (justified) pleasure in squeezing you out and f*cking you over whenever they can.

Congratulations. You've pretty much ensured a lack of cooperation wherever you go.
 

Lensmith

Member
Originally posted by Shaky & Blue:
Perhaps I'm wrong, but from what you wrote it really sounds as though you're the one being uncooperative and overly aggressive in that situation.

Let's examine the picture you've given us. The rest of the photographers mutually agreed to stay back far enough to avoid ruining each other's shots. They were all cooperating in a tough situation to give everyone a reasonable chance to get what they needed. But YOU decided you are just too damned important to cooperate with the other guys just trying to do their jobs, and you stepped in front of them and blocked their shots.

Let me explain this, since you obviously don't understand: your job is no more important than any of theirs. Your story is no more important. YOU are no more important.
[/QUOTE]

I'm smiling Shaky because I had the same impression as you.

I'll be interested to hear a clarification of the situation from the original poster.
 
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<whatever>

Guest
I don't know if you'll get a clarification from the original poster but you'll get a couple of cents from me and that is YOUR job IS more important than others because it's YOUR job. If I want a certain shot, I'll be damned if I'm going to be Mr. Accommodating to other photogs.

I had a roommate once that had a newer car than me and so he thought that it was only appropriate that he got the garage. I asked him what his reasoning was in that and he said it was obvious, his car was newer, nicer, blah blah blah. Well I told him that don't mean jack**** to me because as far as which car has more importance to me, I would say mine because IT'S mine.

Yeah it's somewhat of a piss poor metaphor but whatever.
 

Terry E. Toller

Well-known member
With the exception of a few kids who thought they were special because they work in TV, most of the problems I have run into are STILL photogs walking in front of my lens. They only do it once... It's great to freelance, I don't have to answer to a ND for my actions!
 

MrZero

Member
Originally posted by <Shooter>:
[QB]...I was the only one with balls to go on stage...I do this frequently, my job is tell a story, and 15 seconds of me shooting wont kill anyone...You have to be agressive when getting the story, not after the fact by being an a**hole. I know hes an idiot, I prob should have been a bit more "accomodating" QB]
The last shooter in my market who had an attitude like that got canned. And that was at the run-n-gun super competitive station. Reputations precede you, but they also follow you back to the ND and CP. Try to remember that the guy from the competition might be the guy who gets a call from your next would-be CP someday. Or maybe he'll unplug your live truck next time he gets the chance!

On a side note, we have a very small AM radio station who has a sideline commentator for football games. The guy has a habit of walking in front of *all* photogs during the best plays, despite lots of polite requests for the opposite. After a few games, I just started giving him an elbow shove every time he moved toward me. Defensive driving.

Zero
 
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<gitzo-boy>

Guest
It is unnecessary, at gang-bangs like this, to be a prick. We can all get our fair share of good shots. What does it gain your story anyway to climb on stage (most likely without your tripod) to get some kinda reversals into the crowd. Tell the story of the people involved. We all hate those photogs who step in front of us, but it happens.
 

NoWay

Active member
So whatever, you're more important than anyone else...so what happens when you meet another prick with an attitude just like you? Irresistable object vs. Immovable force? Or just 2 pains in the ass getting what they deserve.

You may think that you're all that and a bag of chips, but I guarentee you that there's someone out there that's better than you are, bigger than you are, meaner than you are, and would love to take you out at the knees.

I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but it's better for all of us when we work together. You may get that good shot once, or even several times, but once your rep gets around you'll be frozen out all the time. It's a small business, learn to play nice in other people's sandboxes.
 
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<whatever>

Guest
The only rep I'm going to get is that of a hard working photog who does what needs to be done. I assure you, this isn't typical of my work ethic but certain stories call for a little aggression and I'd rather it be at the expense of another set of call letters and not mine.

All that and a bag of chips...nah! I'd have to show you my tape in order for you to think that but whatever.
 
O

<oldster>

Guest
WHATEVER is about to learn a basic lesson. Pay back is a bitch. The only thing with a longer memory than an elephant are photogs who have been screwed over by one of their own.
 
R

<retiredchief>

Guest
Originally posted by <whatever>:
The only rep I'm going to get is that of a hard working photog who does what needs to be done. I'd have to show you my tape in order for you to think that but whatever.
Yeah, whatever. You keep that attitude. You can have years of experience and the best tape I've seen in years. But when I call some of the other guys in your shop and your market to check you out.... a "badman" attitude on the street is an automatic deal breaker with me. I'd hire a guy with less experience and help him learn to do it right rather than put another jerk on the street in my market.
 
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<nat sound rules>

Guest
when i broke into the business years ago i was the market bad ass. i did what i wanted to do when i wanted to do it. if i wanted a shot i would go and get it, regardless of what other stations were there. i thought i was it. but one day an older photographer grabbed me and told me that he was happy with my work but i was getting a reputation as an a-hole. i had no idea. i thought i was doing my job and no one was going to tell me what to do. but after a few years, i finally learned that its okay not to be super competitive. i learned that the "gang bangs" could actually be a lot easier if we all got along. and it is true. sure i still get the competitive juices flowing...but i understand that we're all here to do our jobs so we might as well make it easy for each other.
 

Lensmith

Member
I work in a place where everyone has the attitude of "whatever". It's an ugly situation even at the most mundane press conference. Pushing and shoving. Tripods set up right in front of existing tripod positions.

I'm lucky being taller and bigger than most of the other photogs here. I can hold my ground and get what I need but it's not the "fun" I used to have when there was cooperation. Creativity is gone as well. It's basic survival, nothing more.

There is a core group of photogs here who look after each other. We protect each others spots and work together during the crazy gang bangs. It took me a while to work my way into this close knit group but it's made a world of difference. We look for photogs like "whatever" and they get taught a lesson very quickly. Usually at the expense of their gear or pride.

I'm not a jerk by any means. In fact my rep down here is being a nice guy who will help someone out in a jam. That doesn't stop me from standing up for myself or my friends who do what we can to work together and be professional.

No words I write will change "whatever" from thinking he was right in being selfish. That knowledge will come, without a doubt, in the future. Delivered by other photogs who have decided they're not going to take it any more.

This job is not just about how well you shoot tape. It's about getting along with people and your own personal reputation. If you don't think your reputation is important to your peers, you'll find work can be very difficult...if not impossible...when you are working along side others.
 

BoomDrive

Well-known member
This has actually come up in a few recent stories I've worked on.

A nightside example: our liveshot involved the driveway and overhang at a hospital's emergency room. A rather dim background involving a couple rows of flourescents, some decorative lighting on the walls along the sidewalks. A few ambulances had parking lights on where they sat. I set up my reporter with two lights: a key and a back light (with various diffusions), and waited for our liveshot to hit.

A photog from another station arrived five minutes later. He set up roughly ten feet away from us, somewhat between us and the background. Four lights: three on his reporter (two umbrellas), and a 1K shooting at the driveway.

I'm not lazy with my lighting. Just like most others, I do what I can to make it look good. In my opinion, there wasn't a reason to have a 1K toasting the background (especially when both reporters were wearing darker colors). Working at night, I believe it makes more sense to make it look like a night scene if you leave the ambience of the light you might have. Throwing up a 1K killed all the natural lighting in the background, lit up a bunch of reflectors on the ambulances and parking barriers, and threw hard shadows. It made both of our shots look extremely tacky.

I got the feeling he did it to try "upstaging" the lighting I had out, and I feel that it lessened the quality of both shots.

After our shots, we were asked to tape a short segment for the morning shows. In the middle of shooting, the competing photog began dropping his mast. The resulting hiss prompted both my reporter and I to stop what we were doing, look over, and roll our eyes. Sure, it was tape, but the guy couldn't possibly be that naive to what we were trying to do.

I've never seen the guy show the professional courtesy I've seen a lot of other photogs display.

I almost want to give it right back to him. I made it a point to memorize the guy's face. ;) Like Lensmith's comment above, there's photogs from other stations I'm happy to see at the scene. Nothing helps pass the time a little bit easier during a "wait and see" type situation.

This guy's not one of them. Ugh.
 

Austin Reeves

Active member
I've learned to work with the photogs around me, and I learned it VERY quickly being the youngin' in town. I have several guys at the other stations that I'm happy to see on scene. We watch each others backs, we try and work around each other, and I have had them even alert me if something major is happening.

Do we all try and get our shots, of course. But we understand if one of us needs to slide in front for a few seconds to get a quick shot. Usually after we do it, we trade spots and the other guy gets his own version.

Occasionally you meet the guy that is just going to do his own thing and **** the rest of us. Ya know what? Let him. I won't let him "ruin" my stuff and he can burn all the bridges he wants. Soon he'll have to cross one of those bridges on another story, and while we're helping each other get BETTER stuff, he'll be looking around wondering what's going on.

Liveshot
 
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<whatever>

Guest
i said it was not typical of my work ethic but some stories call for a little aggression.

for the record, i get along just fine with all of the other media in my market and sometimes I have the hangover to prove it.

take my previous post the way you want. if you ask me, it's just a feeding ground for all of you other guys to play the noble photog role.

you don't fool me for one minute!

go ahead and charge the other guy's battery or stand way in the back so you don't get in their precious crossfire. in the meantime, i'll be getting the shots i need.
 
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<Old Guard>

Guest
Originally posted by <whatever>:
go ahead and charge the other guy's battery or stand way in the back so you don't get in their precious crossfire. in the meantime, i'll be getting the shots i need.
Yeah, in Hooterville! :D
 
M

<moogster>

Guest
Step in front ofmeand I would have let you know through the back of your knee cap!

Obviously you don't have eys at the back of your head, so you did not see yourself block his shot. You both think alike, otherwise you both would not have gone after the same moment to photographer. So hug your brother next time.

As it is we all trying to do the same job, so follow what has been pointed out, keep an eye on your brothers with the full knowledge that "we pjs" are movers. None of us stay in one spot, the coutesy you extend today will be rewarded in the future... else when you block again, expect to loose your legs from under you.
 
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