I met the good folks over a D Magazine a few weeks ago when they judged a local ASMP member contest. Luckily, they really liked my work and gave me a shot. My assignment was to shoot a favorite hangout of mine, Adair's Saloon. I've been there many times so it was a great assignment, like shooting an old friend. They wanted a shot that gives the vibe of the kind of honky tonk where you'll meet dirty hippies, long hairs, punks, frat boys, cowboys and freaks...all on the same night. This assignment, however seemingly easy, provided a great lesson. I went in to shoot on a Monday night, which historically was pretty good. But it was during the Ranger's world series playoff and no one was in the bar! I got a few good pics but felt I was really missing the meat of the story because no people were in the pics. I felt like I'd failed my first assignment with D before I even turned it in and discussed the situation with my good pal and phenomenal photographer friend, Dave Shafer. He gave me some advice that going back for a reshoot was not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of maturity. He was right. Even though the budget did not provide for it, I went back and shot more on a busier night. They loved the pics so much they asked for 5 options (normally they choose 1 image to run). In the end they chose a pic I shot on the first night for the feature and a smaller shot from the second night for a filler. But that doesn't really matter much to me. I felt better getting the shots I knew I could get no matter what they chose to use...and you have to be able to make yourself happy too. That's the real lesson.
Here's a link to the article.
adair's
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