Steady Focused

I've often said (and thought many more times) that photography and filmmaking is so much more than just understanding the technicals of how to operate a camera and all the complimenting equipment. Don't get me wrong, understanding your equipment is paramount, but there's more to it than just that. There's one sure way to stand out above all the rest and most importantly, stay calm and make your subject feel comfortable and relaxed. That's with a genuinely attractable demeanor when you are shooting. Let's examine several ways we can stay calm during a shoot and get the best out of our subject!

Truly connect. Being centered, humble, in touch, passionate, caring and yes, knowledgeable with the tools of your craft makes all the difference in the world. Laugh, play music, smile, tell your story, make eye contact, be confident, connect with your subject. Realize that most people are absolutely terrified of being in front of a camera, not to mention a complete stranger, in dead silence, staring at them saying the words 'Smile! Cheese!" Put yourself in their shoes. If the shoot is documenting a moment of pain, sorrow or loss, be empathetic. Treat them as you would want someone to treat your mother, father, brother or grandmother.

Magazine cover shoot for Christ Academy Preparatory School. ©SimeonHendrix for Hoegger Communications

Take authority of the situation. Speak with confidence. This reassures your subject you are a professional and you know what you are doing. Speak clearly. Don't mumble over your words and continually ask for permission to speak. You are the professional. You are here for a reason. Having confidence will put your subject at ease because they will believe "Okay, this person is a professional. They know what they are doing. They will make me look good." Even if you're having an anxiety attack and you feel like your entire world is crashing down - exude confidence. Don't let them see you sweat. Fake it until you make it.

Have a game plan. The day of the shoot you should already have a general outline of the shots / scenes you are seeking to achieve. You should come prepared with all the equipment necessary to achieve these shots. Which lenses will you need? Which camera bodies? Will you be recording audio? What's the plan for lighting? Are all the memory cards and batteries ready? Do you need to pack a breakfast, lunch or dinner? Map out as much as possible, but leave room for the happy accidents. Be flexible enough to experiment, try different angles and explore. Open yourself to the magic of the moment. Be nimble enough to pivot when opportunity arises.

Mr. Brett Humpert with his 1971 GTO. Wall mural by Mr. Ralph Stearns. Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas. ©SimeonHendrix

Understand your equipment. It's crucial that we understand our craft and our equipment. Understand how to capture the scene we are seeking to document. That's a given. That's a prerequisite.

If we are fumbling around with the camera not even paying attention to our subject and they see panic and fear in our eyes, this can quickly snowball into a storm of negative energy that can wash over everyone on set. Instead of our subject relaxing and getting into the zone, they could quickly turn to, "This person has no idea what they are doing. This is going to turn out horrible. I'm going to look bad. Why did I even come here today. Etc. Etc. Etc."

Even if we are spiraling out of control internally, because of some equipment failure, lack of knowledge... our job is to make our subject feel calm, confident, in the zone. We are the leader. So breathe, lead and get what we need to get and get out. Do your pregame homework. Experiment. Take notes. Learn from failure. Repeat.

Keep an ongoing shoot evaluation list. Guys, this is a gold nugget right here. I can't not stress enough the power of of keeping an ongoing shoot evaluation list. After we finish each and every project take a few minutes and write down an honest evaluation of the project - what went great and what could have gone better. Odds are there's at least one thing we can do better next time. The goal is not to repeat the same mistake twice.

Perhaps you stayed calm during the entire shoot - awesome! put that in the 'pros' column. But perhaps we didn't bring enough charged AA batteries to the shoot and had to borrow some from the client - record that in the 'cons' column and learn from it. How was the focus? Did we have all the correct equipment? Did we allow ourselves enough time for set up and breakdown? Are there ways we could save time and improve in editing? Did we deliver the final product on time? How was our communication with the client during the entire project? Write it down, record it, share it with someone to hold you accountable!

Last but not least - HYGIENE! As photographers and filmmakers we are going to be getting intimate with our subjects. That means we are going to be face to face, even cheek to cheek sometimes. Whether we're attaching a lapel microphone, fixing hair, giving a hug, shaking hands, patting on the back, lint rolling a jacket, moving in close for a tight portrait... we're going to be in close quarters. So it's crucial that we are showered, teeth brushed, and we're not putting off any offensive odors (and yes, too much cologne or perfume can be offensive).

I recommend carrying some mints in the camera bag, just in case you ate a big onion burger for lunch. Fix your hair (to whatever style that is you). Wear clothes that make you feel good. Be you. Be the total package. Everyone's style is unique to themselves. Embrace your style. Do it 100, whatever it is. Just realize... it's all about making our subject feel great.

To summerize - Listen guys, we are human. We are learning. We are constantly evolving. Hopefully you are shooting because you love it. But even if you don't, and you're shooting because it's your job and just a paycheck... you owe it to your subject to give them the best possible. I'm here for you, hit me with questions or thoughts!

Final Thought - Feeding Our Brain
I'm a big fan of listening to audio books and podcasts that encourage growth, evolution with our craft, self examination, positivity and pursing our natural divine calling. Every episode I'll share with you a piece that's impacted me during the week.

Listen on your favorite Podcast app or Google it to watch the videos online, for free!

Chase Jarvis 30 Days of Genius! This is incredible and it's totally free! It's 30 different interview sessions with 30 different widely successful creative thinkers. You've got to do yourself a favor and start listening and/or watching this series. Listening to so many, share their struggles and tips for success, it's got thousands and thousands of dollars of value. I love it and listen to the show while I walk, cook, clean, drive, shower and before bed!

I want to hear from you!
What did you think about this episode? What would you like to see covered in future episodes? Please, leave a comment below! Let's keep the channels of communication open.

Thanks guys. I'll see you soon!

Welcome to the first episode of Steady Focused! I am your host, your teacher, your friend, your student ... Simeon Hendrix. For the past 4 years, I've worked at Hoegger Communications, an award winning creative advertising agency based in Wichita Falls, Texas. I'm fortunate to have worked through the ranks from a graphic designer, to videographer and photographer. Today, most of my work is related to the camera (photoshoots, commercials, mini-documentaries, etc.). I'm a ferocious learner. I love the camera and do lots of photography and video work on my own as passion projects as well.

“Photography and filmmaking is all about light. ”

There are many different places we could have started for episode one, but the basis of everything, is light and the absence of light in regards to capturing an image. How do we capture that light? How do we use the light to set the mood and reinforce our narrative? Do we need to bring in external lights or can we use the available ambient light? These are questions we will ask ourselves. Now, I'm not just talking about studio lights and flash, while that is a section or division of the lighting world, that's not what I mean when I say it's all about light.

Let's take a look at the very basics of how a camera works - light enters the lens, burns into the sensor, creating an image. The duration of the light, the intensity of the light, the angle of the light, the amount of light on your subject, all of that produces the image. There are many ways to manipulate the light - both externally within the real world as well as internally within your camera. We will get into the nuts and bolts of all that in a later episode, but for now I want you take the idea that photography and filmmaking = light and light manipulation.

Simple diagram of how a camera works by capturing light to create an image.

Let's take a look at a few different scenes. Notice how the presence of or the absence of light effects the way the story is presented. We will get into specific camera and light settings to achieve the shots below in a later episode, today, just soak in the differences.

Behind the scenes on set for the movie Where The Shadows Falls.

High key photography shoot. We placed our subjects back to the bright sun and put a diffuser material in between them. This illuminated the background and then we lit the subject with an additional flash.

Low key studio photography shoot. We've the subject lit with studio lights and the background is very dark.

The Golden Hour
Ever heard someone say the term "Golden Hour?" That refers to the time each day around sunrise and sunset, where the outside natural light is 'perfect'. There is no direct sunlight. A soft and beautiful light falls on our subject. No harsh shadows. This is an awesome time to shoot, and you need no additional equipment!

Below is a video I shot close to and during the golden hour. We wanted to drive home the visual of a woman, working hard until the sun goes down. Notice how the available light reinforces the story. This commercial has been one of the most successful releases for Four Stars Auto Ranch and got tremendous reach, interaction and traction across social platforms as well as broadcast.

But why is the sun's light different at different times of the day?
Take a look below at the three photos of the First Texas Building in downtown Wichita Falls. All photos are shot from the same position, with the same camera, with only available light. But look how different they are. Notice the shadows.

The same scene shot at three different times during the day. From L to R - 8am, 1pm, 7pm. Notice the shadows. Notice the areas well lit. Notice how the sun has traveled during the day.

On the left at 8am, notice the sun rising over the left of the building. Notice the long shadows. In the middle we are close to high noon (1pm). Notice the very short shadows. Notice the harsh contrast between the street and the building. On the right we are close to 6:45pm, notice we're getting a nice lighting of the building as well as the sky above. We do still have some severe shadows in the street.

As the earth turns, the direction of the sun's light shifts. This is the same concept as a sundial, which was the earliest form of time keeping used by the ancients. Put a stick in the ground in the morning and watch the stick's shadow move as the day progresses. The Earth's rotation is what causes sunrise and sunset. It takes 24 hours for the earth to compete one revolution, one complete spin. The sun never moves. The sun is stationary. The earth spins on its own axis while also traveling around the sun. One trip around the sun is 365.25 days (one year). One spin on Earth's axsis is 24 hours. But what's a month? Good question! A month is the time it takes for the moon to do one complete revolution around the Earth (around 28 days).

Experiment Time!

Set a cup on a desk or table. Notice the way the cup is lit. Notice where the shadows fall. Now, grab a flashlight. Shine the light directly on the cup. Notice shadows. Turn off the over head lights in the room off if you haven't already and shine the flashlight on the cup again. Ah, now notice the shadows. Move the light to the left, to the right, above, below, behind the cup. Each placement of light reveals a different view of the cup, it tells a different story. We can use these shadows or lack of shadows to reinforce our story in our photographs and in our movies. Each is correct in their own way. It all depends on the type of story we are wanting to tell.

So there you go guys. Light is the basis of everything! We absolutely will dive more in depth with light as we move forward. We'll discuss camera settings, light placement, types of artificial light, light manipulators, lighting on a budget, lighting when money is no object, etc. But for today, the key concept that I want you simmer on is this - photography and filmmaking is all about light. The manipulation of, the removal of and the addition of light.

Review time. Key terms we discussed today:
Light - the most absolute basic element needed to capture an image, photograph or video.
High Key - total white background behind our subject
Low Key - total black background behind our subject

Final Thought - Feeding Our Brain
I'm a big fan of listening to audio books and podcasts that encourage growth, self examination, positivity and pursing our natural divine calling. Every episode I'll share with you a piece that's impacted me during the week.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

I'd often heard this book referenced as a must have on the book by many successful creatives. I've already listened through the book twice and am working on my third pass. If you have any yearning for growth, peace and advancement not only as an artist, but as a human... get this book.

You can pick it up for free on Audible.com if it's your first time to use the site (which I highly recommend).

“The artist and the mother are vehicles not originators. They don’t create the new life, they only bare it. This is why birth is such a humbling experience. The new mom weeps in awe at the little miracle in her arms. She knows it came through her but it is not of her.”

— Steven Pressfield 'War of Art'

Thanks guys. I'll see you soon!

002 - How to Stay Calm and Get The Best Out of Your Subject

001 - Photography and Filmmaking Are All About Light