LE News and Info - Saturday, December 27, 2008 9:30 - 1 Comment

The First Assignment: Pitfalls and Opportunities

Every photographer has a first assignment. There simply has to be one. The culmination of lots of hard work, a great portfolio and perhaps a little luck and there it is… a job. The first assignments can be very stressful or they can be a thrilling moment in the career of a budding photographer. The difference can be in the planning… the careful and well thought out planning that turns the shoot from stressful to manageable.

Let’s take a look at some ways to plan for that first assignment. And while I can’t imagine what your first gig will be, we will take a reasonable first assignment scenario and dissect the planning.

Well, we don’t know how you got the booking. Whether by persistent showing of your book, a happenstance visit to the website, some nifty direct mail or other way, but here it is… your first assignment. It seems so exciting, but at the same time it can be a little bit terrifying.

What to take? Where to start? What is your role? What questions need to be asked? And more, much more thoughts race through your head as you leave the Art Director’s office.

BTW, our workshop schedule is up for first quarter next year. Take a look and hopefully we’ll see you there. We actually have a whole site devoted to it now. Learn to Light… take a look.

Let’s break it down now, from beginning to end.

Continue…