During the past few weeks, there’s been much criticism over some portraits of US Olympic athletes shot by an AFP photographer. Let’s just say that these portraits won’t win any medals. All of the pictures can be seen here on the Getty Images site. While some of the pictures are okay, many are definite last-place finishers.
To be fair, these types of portrait sessions are usually done in an assembly-line fashion whether it’s Olympic athletes or players on a pro sports team. A number of photographers will each set up their own mini-studio, all in the same room, and the athletes will rotate from one mini-studio to the next, spending only a few minutes with each photographer.
The photographer may also be required to shoot a number of variations of each athlete within the allotted few minutes. To make it even more challenging, some athletes might be bored and uninterested; some may not want to be photographed and will be uncooperative.
This high-volume, high-speed portrait photography isn’t as easy as one might think.
These particular Olympic athlete portraits were shot over a three-day period in May. Apparently, over 100 athletes were available to be photographed but the Getty site shows just over 50 athletes. No idea what happened to the others or if they were even photographed.
For comparison, here are the pictures from Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson from the same event.
For any company looking to hire a corporate photographer or editorial photographer for some business photography, there are several lessons to be learned here:
• Good photography requires time and planning. It doesn’t just happen at the push of a button.
• An inexperienced photographer doing a job that’s over their head is a disaster for everyone involved.
• Getting the photography right the first time saves time and money.
• Good portraits can take much longer to shoot than one might think.
• Studio set-ups can require a lot of space.
• Some photography jobs may require hiring more than one photographer.
• When a photographer says they need to bring an assistant, that’s not an excuse for the photographer to hire their friend. Assistants help the shoot go quickly and smoothly. Having someone from the client’s office help out isn’t the same and, in fact, is a hindrance.
• All pictures have to be edited. A photographer charges for post-processing and retouching because that work requires time and skill. It’s not a made-up charge to pad the photographer’s bottom line.
Corporate photography and other forms of marketing photography are the worst places for a company to cut costs. Paying less guarantees that the company will get less. Fast and cheap is always too expensive.
