Charles Gupton
This video of Pilobolus dancing is amazing! I’ve watched about a dozen times and am awed by the ability of the human body to take the forms they do. It’s inspiring to all creative work. See more about Pilobolus here.
I saw this video at Thinking in Vain who does a great job of gathering inspiring content to share.
Have a great weekend.
Charles
I now enjoy the challenges of photographing children.
Years ago a creative director I worked with kept urging me to promote my work with them. But I resisted because I didn’t want to be branded as a child photographer. I thought it would take away from my ‘serious’ corporate work. To be honest, what I was afraid of was their unpredictability. I couldn’t tell a child what to do and have them follow direction. They did what they wanted to do or they quit. Push a young child too hard and they cry. Although it was wonderful when everything fell into place, it was far too risky to build even part of my reputation on photographing children and then fail. Working with young children involves an entirely different set of skills. Or so I reasoned.
Then on one assignment it clicked with me. Photographing young children required many of the same qualities I used when photographing executives. That’s not intended to be demeaning to executives (or young children, for that matter). It’s just that there are a lot of similarities. For instance:
– Both have a very short attention span, maybe a 3-5 minute window of opportunity.
– Both respond poorly to ‘bribes’. Executives control their time and let you know it. Children focus too much on the reward and lose their spontaneity.
– Both require a genuine emotional connection and interest in them. In truth every human wants that, but most folks will fake their way through to save face. Some CEOs will, but not any of the children I’ve met.
– Neither will remember you unless the experience was bad. Or extremely good.
– Both respond better to women touching them when under stress. I always like to have a female stylist to make adjustments to either men or women executives when possible. Young children also find women more nurturing and safe.
– Both, interestingly, respond well to a mix of serious interaction and off-the-wall silliness at the moment of shooting.
The one major difference is that executives are very concerned with how their image is perceived and young children don’t care as long as their comfort needs are met. Neither group fakes this. At all.
Once I reasoned through the qualities and mind-set I needed to bring to a session with children, my entire attitude changed. It’s still a challenge and there are no guarantees that a melt-down won’t occur, but my enjoyment of working with children has risen exponentially.
So, what have I missed? What would you do to make the experience better for the people you’re photographing?
Charles
http://www.charlesguptonphoto.com
On Twitter @ http://twitter.com/CharlesGupton
“I don’t think there’s anything worse than being ordinary” – Angela (played by Mena Suvari) in the movie American Beauty.
Although I am new to Twitter, I’m not new to putting my foot in my mouth. I learned many years ago – then forgot the lesson several times through the years – that everything that one thinks doesn’t need to be stated. This is true whether the words are passing through our lips or our fingers. If one doesn’t care about influencing others, so be it. But if you are in the business of ‘selling’ your ideas then you’d better be in the business of selling yourself. Is it worth it to go for the quick-witted remark at the expense of your long-term relationships?
This post by David Henderson details a case where a moment’s thought could have saved a great deal of embarrassment.
I read about this story from Chris Brogan, as I have so many other great leads and insights.
Charles
http://www.charlesguptonphoto.com
On Twitter @ http://twitter.com/CharlesGupton
There’s a story in John Herman’s book “Hermanisms: Axioms for Business & Life” about Milton Hershey, the founder of the Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. It seems that Hershey was headed down the road of failure early on. Everyone around him, including his investors, had lost hope after his attempts at building a confectionary, first in Philadelphia, then Chicago, then in New York all failed before he returned to Lancaster, Penn. But Hershey believed. He persisted. In time the Hershey bar was born. But when success came, more seemed to be at play then making loads of money.
In Herman’s words, “…in addition to stick-to-itiveness, Hershey possessed another trait common among entrepreneurs: that when they finally hit the big time, they often want to share their success with others. To a real entrepreneur, it isn’t about making money. It’s about winning. Being right about your idea. Seeing the realization of your dream. The money is great, and is something you can share, but it doesn’t offer nearly the same satisfaction as accomplishing your goals. Don’t quit on your goals because you didn’t achieve them the first time around.”
While there are job cuts all around us and numerous small shops are taking down their shingles and the owners shuttering their hearts, it’s important to keep your dreams (and heart) alive. Don’t give up!
Charles
http://www.charlesguptonphoto.com
On Twitter @ http://twitter.com/CharlesGupton