One of the main advantages about shooting in a studio is that you have loads of various gear and lighting equipment nearby should you require to change the set-up during the shot. When you are working for clients on their domain you will need to prepare for the shoot in advance by spending a lot of time talking to the client to exactly specify what they expect you to deliver. I am currently packing for an assignment for a Sydney-based Interior design company which I will be shooting on Saturday. During my four talks with the client I have got the issues clarified, where amongst these were the most important ones:

-What/where am I shooting (is it a big showroom or is it separate set-ups? -and HOW MANY?)
-What format are the photos supposed to be delivered in and their usage (medium format or will RAW suffice)
-Time-frame I can work within (it is being done within normal opening hours!)
- Power supply available? (5amp? 10amp? 3pegs?)
- What lighting is installed in the showroom and can I control it independently?

There are obviously several other questions that I need answered but the ones above allows me to start the planning in advance and to hire/buy the equipment needed for this shoot so I am ready when I start the job. Also all gear will be tested and cleaned prior to Saturday. (If you are a CPS customer they can usually clean/service equipment and have it back with you within the week! – I am sure Nikon has got a similar service)

My current equipment list for this particular shot looks like this:

- Two bodies (Full-frame DSLR)
- 24mm fixed lens (Canon f1.4)
- 35mm fixed lens (Carl Zeiss 35mm ZE)
- 85mm fixed lens (Carl Zeiss 85mm ZE)
- A macro lens for the close up shots (Canon 100mm)
- Fisheye

- Elinchrom Dlite4 mono blocs
- Softboxes (60×60 and stripes)
- Brollies (various sizes and colours)
- Speedlite 580’s
- Lightmeter (Sekonic 357)

-Zacuto 3x viewfinder

-Pocketwizards

- MacBook Pro 15″ (to tether and for instant proof)

And probably a TS lens from Canon as well..

To some people this might seem like an extreme bunch of equipment and some people would probably argue that I would be able to do the job with much less… However, as you never get second chances with clients there are no room for error.

In addition to the equipment above I might bring a Canon 7D for some filming (BTS for you guys ) and a few tripods, lightstands etc.

My question to you is: If you could only bring ONE lens on an (indoor) interior assignment what would you bring?

After the shoot I will post some photos from the campaign here on the blog for you guys to see, and hopefully also a bit of video.

Thanks for reading

Morts

Long time ago when I started to plan my recent trip to Denmark I decided to produce a little time-lapse clip with the crossing of the Great Belt Bridge between the two main islands Funen and Zealand. The total length of the bridge is close to 7km and with the East Bridge having the third longest main span of a mere 1630meters. This is the longest free span outside Asia.

I had planned the shoot in details but somehow managed to screw it up partly due to a technical glitch and partly due to a weak Bowens Magic Arm that failed.

As you are unable to stop during the crossing of the bridge I decided to use my Apple Iphone so I, at least, could get some footage of the crossing (which sets you back around $102/return)

I used the time-lapse application and set the frequency to 1s/5sec which with an average speed of 65miles/h would give me a 10sec clip when played back with a 24frames/sec.

The result is far from impressive but it gives a good impression of the majestic bridge pillars and the beautiful conditions Denmark offers at night time.

The app can be found here

For future projects I have learned the following:

- Always bring back-ups of EVERYTHING
- An Iphone is a fun tool to play around with and can produce decent results
- Denmark is an expensive country
- Bridges are aways good subjects!

If this had been a client-paid project I would of course have brought several back-up cameras, arms, laptops etc. It is always important to learn from your mistakes and instead of seeing it as a negative thing see it as a new opportunity.

Thanks for reading

Morts