Work and Pleasure are One in the Same

[by Gail Mooney]

Seth Godin recently wrote in his blog about professionals and amateurs:

“If you want something done, perhaps you would ask a professional to do it. Someone who costs a lot but is worth more than they charge. Someone who shows up even when she doesn’t feel like it. Someone who stands behind her work, gets better over time and is quite serious indeed about the transaction.
Or perhaps you could hire a passionate amateur. That’s a forum leader doing it for love, not money. An obsessive in love with the craft. A talented person willing to trade income for the chance to do what he loves, with freedom.”
He goes on to say “don’t hire someone who just thinks it’s a job.”  I guess I’m lucky because I have never really thought of my photography or shooting motion as a job.  In fact most of the times I don’t even look at what I do as “work”.  I think work has taken on a negative connotation in our society and there seems to be a line drawn between work and pleasure.  But for me, work and pleasure are one in the same.

So I guess I could look at Seth’s quotes above and not really identify myself as a professional or an amateur, at least just going by his descriptions.  I think I’m a mix between the two or maybe I’m a “passionate professional”.  I sometimes think that professional photographers get a bit jealous of the amateur, especially if they are not doing gratifying work.  And that doesn’t just happen when someone has been in the business too long – it happens because you get derailed from what gives you joy. I’ve seen some photographers and other creative’s get defensive about being a professional because they feel threatened by the amateur who is doing what they love to do. Perhaps somewhere along the line they lost the passion, or maybe it was never there to begin with.

Nowadays, just about anyone can take a pretty good photograph because the tools have become so easy to use.  And since amateurs don’t really have the fear of failure because they don’t have as “much at stake” – they tend to take more chances and good things come when you are willing to do that.  You can no longer define a professional photographer as one who just knows how to operate a camera proficiently. And if a pro positions himself/herself by the tools that they use, it’s only a matter of time that they become out of fashion as their tools become obsolete.

So rather than get defensive about being a professional and feeling threatened by the amateur – maybe we pros should take a lesson from them and focus on the joy of creating imagery.

Gail Mooney runs a video production company www.kellymooney.com.

Excess Baggage and Flying

[by Gail Mooney]

Baggage charges have really mounted in recent years and media rates have disappeared. On top of the normal bag charge and the limit of two checked bags per flight, charges for anything beyond two pieces is even more costly, running between $70 and $90 per bag – per flight. That means that when you have 2 extra pieces of gear the excess baggage charge can be anywhere between $280 and $360 per roundtrip ticket.

When I am traveling to a destination with a lot of gear and am able to find a good airfare – I do the math and weigh out the difference between what excess baggage would cost compared to buying another ticket. Many times buying another ticket is a money saver and also gives you an empty seat next to you onboard the plane. It’s perfectly legal and is done all the time.

Gail Mooney runs a video production company www.kellymooney.com.

Quick Tip for Better Video

[by Gail Mooney]

Audio is everything with video.  When shooting with a hybrid camera like the Canon 5D Mark II, never use the camera mic to capture your audio.  Always use an external mic and either use with a pre-amp like a Beachtek or JuicedLink or capture the audio independently with a high quality digital recorder like the Samson H4n Zoom

Gail Mooney runs a video production company www.kellymooney.com.

Still Photographers as Amateur Videographers

[by Gail Mooney]

These days many still photographers are frustrated when their clients decide to take their own pictures or get photos from amateurs who take photos that are good enough. And sometimes “good enough” is not only good enough – it’s pretty good because technology has enabled just about anyone to take a reasonably good photograph.

Indeed technology has lowered the bar to the entry into the realm of professional photography. But any pro knows there is more to “making” a good photo than the actual execution of an image. There are many problems to solve, and there’s the matter of being able to consistently make good photos.

But I must tell you, over the past year I have seen still photographers exhibit the same attitude that they abhor in their clients when it comes to the medium of video. As more and more still photographers embrace video because of hybrid cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II, many fall victim to the same line of thinking and that is if they buy a “good” camera that shoots “HD” video – that’s all they need to throw out the “video shingle” and they’re in business.

The problem is they lose sight of some very important things:
1. Shooting motion requires a different thought process
2. Audio is everything
3. Post production is very different for video than for still images
4. Video is a collaborative process

So when I get a question from a still photographer as to “what is a good video camera?” – I bounce the question right back at them and say – when an amateur photographer asks you what still camera takes good pictures – what do you say? Most quickly get the analogy and realize that while they are pros in the still photography world – buying a video camera or an HDSLR doesn’t make them professional a videographer. Motion is a wonderful medium, but get to learn the craft because it’s more than just the camera.

Gail Mooney runs a video production company www.kellymooney.com.

By Gail Mooney | Posted: July 15th, 2010 | 3 comments