In a couple of weeks I'll be heading to the offices of a company that provides insurance to the Texas legal community. We'll be doing the usual images for a new website type of photography. It's an association that I've worked with for about ten years, most recently photographing their board of directors in front of interesting urban landscapes. The upcoming shoot in the offices is the kind of project I've been doing for decades. Making every day corporate work spaces look streamlined and inviting, and helping the people who work there look interesting and engaging.
This client moved offices since our last website shoot. And because I hate to drop in cold on the day of the photography I made arrangements to drop by this morning to do a quick scouting. I wanted to see which of the two conference rooms works best for a meeting shot. Which offices have good light and nice scenery out the windows. How high the ceilings are. Where the coffee machine is and what kind of coffee to expect... And mostly to say "hi" to the gatekeepers who make most companies, and by extension, most shoots, run smoothly.
The client offices are about three miles from my office and, at ten in the morning, the traffic was light. My scouting adventure took about 20 minutes and provided me with all the information I need to do the project the way the web designers would want.
I've done plenty of projects over the years without scouting them. In a number of cases a few moments pre-scouting could have saved a lot of time and frustration. Like the time one huge computer maker wanted me to set up a seamless background and do executive portraits in a ten foot by twelve foot conference room that came complete with a table that could seat eight people. The tiny room even came complete with tiny ceiling height. About nine feet. It was a nightmare. And, on the day of the shoot no other conference rooms were available...(right...).
Or the time we arrived on site to photograph a server farm only to find that it was a work in progress and none of the servers had been taken out of their shipping boxes and set up. We essentially had an enormous space lined on the sidewalls with stacks of cardboard boxes. The video interview outside that coincided with jack hammers working next door and construction going on for months. But, of course, you had to get the front of the building in the background of the interview... The shot of the swimming pool for a new, five star hotel ---- the one without any water in the pool when we arrived at the appointed time.
How many times have we been scheduled to shoot a CEO in the "lush gardens" surrounding the front of HQ only to arrive and find that all the plants died in the heat wave, were removed, and we were faced with shooting across an expanse of mud? Or how many times have we been asked to photograph a CEO or important company officer outside, in August, on one of those day when the temperatures hit 108 degrees? And the spot the marketing people wanted to use would put their mission critical exec in direct sun? In a suit and tie with a bright red face, covered with sweat. (Can you retouch all the sweat out???").
Dispatched to photograph a product that never arrived? Ben and I spent three days in a sorry motel in Baton Rouge waiting for UPS to find a product they lost that was mission critical to an advertising project. I know that's a different issue than what might be called scouting but it's pre-production and that counts when it comes to efficiency and effective use of time.... Especially if the missing product is also the star of the shoot.
Today I observed that some of the furniture in the client's main conference room had torn up armrests. We talked about repairing or replacing in the next two weeks. We also fine-tuned a shooting schedule so we would have sun in the right place at the right time to get the looks that the art directors asked for. We talked about who would be responsible for having lunch delivered, where to park, wardrobe for the employees, etc.
There's no guarantee that scouting a location will ensure everything goes smoothly on the day of the shoot. But at least you'll know what you have to work with; in terms of the space, decor, lighting, etc. And you will be better prepared to hit the ground running. You'll know what kind of lights you'll likely need, and how many. You'll know if you need a really wide lens or if your 24mm will work just fine. If you were observant you'll know where to plug stuff in or whether to be safer and just bring battery powered lighting. What still image to use on the screens for the fake Zoom call images and much more.
In a number of ways a casual visit well in advance of the shoot day is just good politics. You build more trust and collaborative spirit in every encounter. It all adds up to a smoother experience for everyone...
Don't go into a shoot naked and clueless. Spend some time to understand the
underlying lay of the land....
Not my client's office front.
