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Guest post by liveBooks client Blair Bunting. Original post found here.

There are deadlines and then there are deadlines…this is the latter.

ASU’s advertising campaign is one that I have now shot for 10 years. It is one that I always use to push logistical boundaries that I had previously been inflexible towards, for the sake of art and knowledge. Photographing it is a practice in embracing the unknown and evaluating previously conceived notions of what is possible and what is not.

This year’s photoshoot existed well within the impossible…

For example, I usually shoot the ASU campaign the last week of May and deliver the images on deadline…August 1st. This way the designers at ASU can create layouts and posters, billboards and ticket stubs and all that’s in between in the two weeks before press deadline (August 14th).

However, this year was different, for ASU was in the midst of changing from Nike uniforms to Adidas. We knew going into April that this shoot could be a bit tighter on the deadline than usual. As May began, I already had laid out the images for the campaign and had my crew on stand-by on a moments notice if we needed to be at the studio. However, the new uniforms were not ready and so we found ourselves waiting…and then came June…and then went June.

It was looking like an impossible deadline at this point, for where I normally have 60 days for production, I would now have half.

AND THEN WENT JULY.

There comes a moment, at which one must release true control of a situation, and this was it. Any ideas that I had of a production schedule had to be let go. In a sense, if this campaign happened at all, it would be a very visceral knowledge of the process that would take over and one that only experience could teach.

August 1st: The deadline of the many campaigns of year’s past had arrived and passed. For me, it was a simple glass of scotch that evening and a comfort that only a purchase of a time machine (found on eBay) would make this one possible.

August 15th: The call saying that we would shoot in three days (yeah, August 18th), and we might be limited on jerseys for the guys to wear (oh the understatement). However, if there is one thing that I have learned about ASU, it is that their athletes are incredible and even the toughest challenges are easier with how much they help me out on set.

August 18th: The first day of the shoot had arrived and the crew that had been on standby for most of the summer for this one were ready. Even though we were months behind schedule, everyone was happy; for we knew what we had to do and knew that it could be a good time as well.

As the guys showed up to the studio, the wardrobe arrived as well. We had 10 athletes to photograph and one, yes ONE, pair of pants. Now we had that one pair in maroon and black, so technically that’s two. However, you may say, “Blair I thought ASU wears gold pants on occasion” and you would be correct.

Worry not, we had a pair of gold pants as well, with one minor caveat. You see, the only pair of Adidas football pants that existed in gold belonged to the ASU mascot, Sparky. For those of you who don’t know him, he is a devil that runs around the field and does push ups. The big issue is that Sparky has a tail. Some of you have figured out where this is going, and yes, the only pair of gold pants we had had a hole in the butt for his tail.

Remember, photoshoots will always make you stronger and more resourceful for the next one.

So we shot for two days on set and had the final images being delivered even when we showed up for day two. The reason it all happened is quite simple: incredible people. From crew to client to talent to retouching, everyone involved on this project didn’t worry about deadline, they just worried about doing their best and staying positive.

As much as being an advertising photographer is about being in control of a production, the true talent of one is measured when control is given up.

Do not miss the behind-the-scenes video, found here!

Now that we’re back in the office and able to reflect on the amazing three days at Photo Plus Expo in New York City, we are reminded once again how truly awesome our clients are! We had an absolute blast meeting new people and catching up with old friends, chatting with you about your websites, and facilitating one-on-one Support help.

We scanned over 600 people at the liveBooks booth, gave out tons of swag including our signature orange tote bags, sunglasses, lens cloths, and stickers (hope you got some before we ran out!)

If you stopped by our booth hopefully you were able to check out some of the exciting new things that are coming to liveBooks in the next few months. If you didn’t get a chance to stop by or attend PPE – stay tuned for the big unveiling very soon!

Q: Can you tell me about your background? How did you get started in photography?

MZ: My first camera took rolls of black and white film that were developed and printed at the local drug store. The only photo that I can find from that period is a treasure; I must have been six or so. It’s a slightly out of focus image of Rusty, my childhood dog. It’s a memory that represents that wonderful animal and my extremely poor photographic expertise. I also recall standing next to my father in his makeshift darkroom. I remember his patience in explaining each tray in the print-making process, the strong but oddly agreeable smell of stop bath and fixer and the first “magical” appearance of an image. An extremely talented amateur, my dad’s enthusiasm seemed to rub off more on my brother than myself.

Growing up in the Southern California landscape, I was a kid whose eyes were constantly scanning the ground for the next Horn Toad lizard, (they looked like horned dinosaurs) or the large and bizarre looking insect called a Jerusalem Cricket (resembled something from another world entirely). In love with the wonders of nature, the surprising and the mysterious, no event affected me more deeply than the sight outside my bedroom window as the sun rose one particular morning. I was five years old and stood in place questioning the spellbinding scene beyond the glass panes. The event is referred to as Los Angeles’ “first historic snowfall” by the L.A. Times of January 11, 1949. Almost 20 years later I began to realize its lasting impact as a budding landscape photographer. My wife summed it up beautifully, “That first snowfall set in motion both the search for a view of equal enchantment, as well as a visual memory in search of meaning.” More than four decades later, last night to be precise, I found myself walking a familiar path into the Poor Farm Swamp Preserve minutes from my home. With camera and Gitzo tripod in hand I was testing the ISO capability of the Sony A7S with some Zeiss lenses. Pointing up at the sky, the exposures at 2,000 ISO were 20-30 seconds long. Only the tail slap of a beaver amidst the usual evening pond chatter could be heard in the almost total blackness. From that child years ago with eyes downward cast, last night I was looking up at the stars hoping not to run into a bear.

I experienced my own creative Renaissance in the late sixties. Picking up a 35mm camera, I began down the road so many photographers have followed. I was living proof of the rule of 500,000 which says that every photographer has at least 500,000 bad photographs inside themselves and it’s their job to get them out of their cameras as soon as possible. Making “successful” photographs is full of challenges. The camera does much more than record what is in front of the lens. It also translates that reality into a 2-dimension color or gray tone interpretation that communicates in its own particular language. It’s no small task to render a subject photographically successful regardless of how enticing and dramatic the scene. As Elliott Erwitt, one of my favorite photographers said, “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

The longer I make photographs, the more I find the process still keeps my interest because it is more art than science. Always surprising, so many photographs fail to measure up to expectation. Successes may be few in number, but they make all the others worth the disappointment.

Every success or failure is opportunity to study the workings of the decision-making process, pointing you further down the road towards the next image. To paraphrase the authors of “Art and Fear,” “…the seed for your next art work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections are your guides, to matters you need to reconsider.”

Q: What is your definition of fine art photography?

MZ: In 1917, Marcel Duchamp entered a porcelain urinal, titled “Fountain” into the Society of Independent Artists exhibition. Thought to be a vulgar joke by some and quite disgusting, it was rejected. However, it definitely stirred the passions of the committee and gave them an opportunity to see reality in a new light, an opportunity they obviously didn’t take. To many people, myself included, this is part of art’s role.

The focus and intention of photographers are as varied as the number of people who hold cameras in their hands. Subjective and interpretive or objective and detached from human emotion, it provides a tool for infinite creative possibility as well as archiving the appearance of things down to the smallest detail.

Fine art photography is about making introspective, intuitive and conscious decisions that interpret the photographic subject through the mind and heart of the image maker. Each new attempt confronts the photographer as well as the subject. At its heart, all art represents studies in “self-reflection.” As Oscar Wilde said of another medium, “Every portrait that is painted with feelings is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”

The word “gesture” describes what I look for in the landscape. It is the evocative shape of things, the play of light on form, the weather and the emotional tone that attracts my eye. Everything in the landscape can serve as a metaphor for the camera and act as idea or e motion, much like an actor standing in for the concerns of the playwright. I seem to be retelling the stories of my life that occurred in past dreams and in memory through the evocative shapes of nature.

Q: How does fine art photography differ from other types of photography?

MZ: Fine art and commercial photography differ in intention. Fine art demands the photographer’s personal interpretation of the subject while commercial photographers interpret the client’ s message through adroit technical competence. Photographers that create fine art have no client other than themselves. They sell their work online or through galleries or other venues, but they are fully in charge of how they apply their creative impulse and in what form it ultimately may take. Commercial photographers, on the other hand, take direction from the needs of the client. Conveying the client’s message in the most eye-catching and compelling images possible, they are expert at shaping stunning photographs that communicate the virtues of that product. Generally considered work for hire and compensated financially, they may or may not have their name associated with their efforts. ]

Q: What drew you to fine art photography specifically? 

MZ: I was drawn to photography in stages. I remember seeing the beautifully reproduced work of Eliot Porter’s “The Place No One Knew: Glen Canyon on the Colorado” published by the Sierra Club. It was eye opening. I was taken in by the highly detailed images, done with a 4X5 view camera and printed in rich color. Unlike other landscape images I had seen in magazines such as “Arizona Highways,” Porter’s work seemed to be on another creative level, more reaction to the scene than a record of the beautiful moment. Eventually I found my way to the black and white work of Minor White, interpretive and mysterious, his work opened my eyes even more to an artistic vein that continues to shape my efforts.

Q: Do you always use black and white?

MZ: Beginning photography back in the days of 4X5 sheet film, black and white was the only process I could control from capture to print. It was as much a practical as aesthetic decision. I was fortunate to find a mentor in Max Yavno, famous for his work in both commercial and fine art photography, I was inspired to push my work further as I witnessed his mastery in the darkroom. Responsible for demystifying much about the process, his friendship and knowledge were motivating forces in my early work. Now that photographs can be made digitally, color capture and “processing” are accessible to everyone. Deciding to work in black and white requires another way of seeing the world of light and form. Although I do make some photographs in color, I enjoy trying to solve the challenges of interpreting the world through the timeless beauty of black and white.

Wood Pile

West Tisbury, MA. Sony A7R digital camera.

A heavy plank of wood destined to heat the Vineyard home of my friends had caught my eye. Rescued, this tree sprite traveled back home with me, a gift from my two artist friends.

Whirlpool Aquinnah

Aquinnah, MA. Toyo 4X5 field camera.

Backlight is my favorite lighting. The closer the direction of light to the lens axis, the better. Len’s flare is always the challenge. For this perspective I had to walk out into the water off Aquinnah and plant my Gitzo tripod into the ocean bottom.

Alabama Hills

Lone Pine, CA. Toyo 4X5 field camera. Outside Death Valley, the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine is known for its distinctive rock formations and the location’s use for many of the early Hollywood cowboy movie chase scenes.

Frost and Orchard

South Amherst, MA. Mamiya 645 with Aptus digital black.

My front yard was the setting for this image. I love the slightly asymmetrical placement of apple trees and the two diagonal frost lines adding more textural interest.

Off Moody Bridge

Hadley, MA. Mamiya 645 with Aptus digital black.

An image right out of my childhood dreams, I saw this tree off Moody Bridge Road and I thought I was back in the Haunted Forest of Oz. The tree was in a difficult lighting, either in speckled light or shade. I needed to accent the tree trunk and tree “arms” by positioning two location strobes and blending ambient and strobe exposures. During the 30 second exposure, I discharged each strobe head 12 times.

Aurora Over Music Street

West Tisbury, MA. Nikon 35mm film camera with 35mm, f1.4 lens.

This moment could have been a simple document of the spectacular Aurora. I was extremely fortunate to find the curtain of light positioned directly above the Byrd family’s home in what seemed an almost spiritual gesture. I had to thank my canine companions for needing to walked outdoors at 2 a.m.

Suspended Tree and Fungus

Shutesbury, MA. Nikon D800E and 20mm lens.

The fungus that is illuminated on this suspended log was large and brilliant orange. It was challenging to translate that eye-popping color into shades of gray that came close to equaling its luminous glow. The lens’ short focal length helped maintain a sense of the fungus’ relatively large sie yet show a wide enough expanse of the rushing water below.

Reflection and Fog

Damariscotta, ME. Canon 5D Mark 111 digital camera.

This photograph benefited from micro-composing. I was very careful to position the end of the floating form against the light tone of the reflecting water. The image would have been weakened significantly if the dark hanging forms had overlapped the dark area of the image. The approach to the subject was through ankle deep tidal water. Having firemans’ boots with me was a big help.

Quarry and Mask

Rockport, ME. Mamiya 645 with Aptus digital black.

Teaching at Maine Media Workshops a few summers ago, we took a field trip to this abandoned stone quarry. The rock wall and its reflection seemed to peer right into my camera lens.

Shadow and Form

White Sands National Monument, NM. Toyo 4X5 field camera.

Of all my dune experiences, White Sands National Monument is the most memorable. Its brilliantly white gypsum dunes are breathtaking. It was also the setting for a misadventure I won’t forget.

Pier and Ice

Oak Bluffs, MA. Toyo 4X5 field camera.

To create the misty effect on some but not all of the rocks, 20 or so exposures were made on one sheet of 4X5 film. How misty or distinct the rocks appear was controlled by the timing of the cable release and shutter.

Woods in Snow

West Tisbury, MA. Nikon film camera.

A beautiful line of snow decorated the trees on this April 1st snowfall in Martha’s Vineyard a number of years ago.

Birch and Pine

Turners Falls, MA. Mamiya 645 with Aptus digital black.

Passing this stand of birch trees, I noticed the human-like gesture expressed by this particular scene and made this photograph.

Frost at Sunrise

Chilmark, MA.

There were many interesting compositions within the frosted pane. Aware that the photography that may work the best may not even be one you remember having taken, I try to exhaust the possibilities of “seeing” each subject and photographing it every possible way.

Heron in Motion

Rockport, ME. Canon 5 D Mark 111.

An early morning in Rockport, I was photographing this magnificent throwback to the dinosaurs as he/she was exploring the river bottom for breakfast. It took to the air and luckily I was ready to pan during the exposure and create this image.

See Michael’s full site and more of his images: www.michaelzide.com. 

Guest Blog Post By Chris Humphreys

In late 2010, an old high school friend contacted me asking if I’d be interested in shooting sports. He worked for USA Today Sports Images and they were in need of more shooters out in Denver. Up to that point, my business had been focused almost exclusively on weddings and I had virtually no experience shooting sports. However, the idea of trying something different appealed to me, so I made the leap by purchasing a Canon 400mm f2.8 and bravely entered a whole new world.

To say the experience of going out to shoot sports is different than shooting weddings is, well, quite the understatement. In both activities you attach lenses to cameras, you dial up exposures, look through your viewfinder, and hit your shutter to take pictures. And while there’s also the pressure to perform, knowing that you don’t get a second chance if you miss a critical  moment, that’s about where the similarities end. Whereas at weddings you are constantly interacting with the bride and groom, family, wedding party, and guests, at a professional sporting event interacting with a player is likely to get your credentials revoked. I’m always amused when folks ask me if I “know” Peyton Manning once they find out I photograph Broncos games from the sidelines. (The answer to that question is a resounding “No.”)

Further, at weddings you of course want to dress up nicely, in order to look professional and blend in with the crowd. On the other hand, with sports, it’s safe to say that I’ve never exactly worn a suit and tie to a game. In fact, I have an old tattered ripped up pair of jeans I refer to as my “football jeans.” I only wear them for football since I end up kneeling in the grass on the sidelines at a lot of Broncos and college football games and I would never want to subject a good pair of jeans to the punishment those take over the course of a season.

Despite all the differences between weddings and sports, I wholeheartedly profess that shooting sports has made me a better wedding photographer. Here are some of the things that I’ve learned (or become much better at) since shooting sports.

Anticipation

Without a doubt, this is probably the biggest lesson you must learn when you start heading out to professional sporting events. If you only expect yourself to be able to react to what is happening instead of anticipating it happening ahead of time, you will almost always be a step behind the action. Professional sports simply move too fast to expect yourself to react to what’s happening. You have to be constantly thinking ahead to what is most likely going to happen and where you need to be, before the play even begins. For instance, if I’m shooting baseball and there are runners on bases, I don’t usually follow the ball once it’s hit. I move my lens to where the final play is going to be. The speed of the game is simply too fast to try and follow with your lens.

With football, if it’s 3rd down and 20 yards to go, I’m thinking like a defensive coordinator and am probably going to follow the best wide receiver on the field with my lens because I know there’s a very good chance the ball is going to him. If I try to keep my lens trained on the ball from the time the quarterback has it to the time the wide receiver catches it, I will miss the play 95 times out of 100.

It’s amazing just how many times I’ve applied this lesson to weddings. When I’m photographing toasts at a reception and I’m listening to a funny story the father of the bride is telling to the crowd, I begin to anticipate at what point in the story everyone is about to laugh. And when that happens I’m already focused on the couple’s faces to capture that moment.

Or when the bride is walking down the aisle and I quickly move my camera to capture the groom’s reaction to seeing his bride for the first time, I’m also out of the corner of my eye looking to see if the mother of the groom is reacting to her son because there’s a very good chance the groom’s mom is probably more focused on her own son at that moment than the bride walking down the aisle. Who knows, if you’re lucky maybe the mom even gets out of her seat to give her son a hug as he tries to control his emotions.

These aren’t hard things to do, but they take practice, and more than anything they require a photographer to always be aware of what’s going on around him/her and thinking several steps ahead.

Stop Complaining About the Rules

I’ll admit as a wedding photographer I’ve privately rolled my eyes after getting a lecture from the “church lady” who tells me that I can only photograph from behind the last pew, that I can’t use flash, or that I can’t even be at the bottom of the aisle for when the bride comes down the aisle. After all, I want to provide the best photographs I can for my client and these “silly” rules keep me from doing that. If you start photographing sports however, particularly at the professional level, you’ll realize that you’re constantly restrained by rules. Rules about where you can shoot from. Rules about where and when you can move. Rules about what you can do with the images on the internet (and particularly social media). Rules about how some photographers from some agencies can shoot in specific sports, and photographers from other agencies can’t. Each league has it’s rules and beyond that every venue has certain rules as well. Some make total sense, others seem very arbitrary.

For instance, at Coors Field photographers can only walk on the field from one photo well to the other after the top of the 4th inning (photo wells are the on-field position in baseball where photographers shoot from – usually located next to the dugout). Any other time you have to walk up the stairs to the concourse and carefully weave yourself through the throngs of people as you make your way around the stadium, and then proceed to walk down the stairs (again dodging more throngs of people) to the photo well on that side. But why is it only after the top of the 4th inning can you make the much easier and quicker transition from one side of the field to the other? Why not after the top of the 5th? Or the bottom of the 7th? What difference could it possibly make? Other MLB baseball stadiums don’t have that restriction on photographers. Why does Coors Field find it necessary to make photographer’s lives harder?

I’ve come to the realization that these are simply dumb questions to ask. The fact is it doesn’t matter. Those are what the rules are and if you want to photograph at that venue you follow the rules. Period. (Breaking rules while photographing sports is never a “better to ask forgiveness than permission” type of situation. Always, always, always ask for permission if you think there’s even a chance you might be breaking a rule at a sporting event at the professional or collegiate level.) If you’re lucky enough to photograph a higher profile event such as an All Star game, a Superbowl, or a Conference Championship game, fully expect even more rules to magically appear. Again, just accept them and learn to live with them.

Most importantly, figure out how to create stellar images working within the rules. Because while you’re focused on complaining about the rules, some other photographer is focused on figuring out how to make great images working within the rules.

Tell the Story of the Day

Maybe this seems obvious, but for those who have been shooting weddings for years and who feel they’ve “seen it all” it’s very easy to get into a rhythm and go on auto pilot and to get the predictable shots you know work well and look good. In doing that though, you may completely miss capturing what the really important images are to the bride and groom because you’re just busy focusing on the poses and the types of images you’re used to getting.

One big misconception is that sports images are just about capturing amazing action shots. Certainly, that’s a part, but it’s not everything, You have to be aware of what happened during the game. Editors at newspapers and sports outlets expect you to know what ongoing story lines are going on with a team and who the most important players are for that game. It’s important to note that doesn’t always mean the star players. It could be the small forward who came in off the bench and managed to get a triple double. Or the right fielder who normally isn’t a star hitter and bats eighth in the lineup, but today had 4 RBIs and scored the game winning run.

Sometimes the story of the day is told in an emotional moment (either happy or sad). Capturing emotions and reactions are a huge part of sports photography and unlike at a wedding where photographers tend not to shoot the rare moment when someone is upset or disappointed (because what kind of bride wants to see images of people looking sad at her wedding), those types of moments tell the story in sports just as well as images communicating victory or triumph.

Sometimes, it’s about going a step further and trying to find that unusual image that tells the story of the day that you think other photographers aren’t capturing. This is particularly important with sports where you want to try to do something to differentiate yourself from the dozens of other photographers capturing the exact same event. Back during the 2013 AFC Conference Championship game, I captured an image of a Broncos cheerleader making snow angels in the confetti after her team’s victory celebration. There were easily over 30 photographers photographing the game, and so coming up with a truly unique image that not many other of the highly talented experienced photographers would have captured that communicated the Broncos winning was difficult, but that’s the job.

At a wedding there aren’t usually 30 other professional photographers that you’re competing with to get great images (hopefully not anyway!) but that should have no less impact on our desire to capture wonderfully unique images that tell the individual story of each couple. At one wedding I was at, the bride’s father had passed away when the bride was quite young and her grandfather was not only like a father figure for her, but clearly one of the people she was closest to in the whole world. Had I simply gotten stunning pictures of the bride and groom, but had failed to get great images of the bride and her grandfather, I would have completely failed at my job that day.

Sometimes the story of the day doesn’t revolve around a person or a specific relationship, but is instead something that goes wrong or unexpected like the weather. No matter what it is, if it has an impact on the day or is something you think the bride and groom will remember when they thing back on their wedding, make sure you have a picture that tells that aspect of the day.

Regardless of whether you ever have the opportunity to shoot sports, the important point is to step out of your comfort zone and try shooting something completely new. You might surprise yourself and discover new lessons for how to better photograph a subject or genre you’ve been covering for years.

Based out of Denver, CO, Chris Humphreys travels across Colorado and the rest of the United States photographing weddings for discerning couples who want their weddings captured in such a way as to be true to who they are.

In addition, when Chris isn’t photographing brides and grooms, he also freelances for USA Today Sports Images. Chris’ images have been featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, ESPN.com, CNN.com, The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon among others.

Chris is also a sought after speaker and teacher for other photographers.