Kidsplay at Work
A couple weeks ago I trekked out to New Jersey for an editorial shoot for a corporate magazine. It was a really exciting shoot for me, as it was a good bit beyond the normal corporate work that I normally do. It involved four child models (ages 9 to 16), their parents, the partners who bankrolled it, myself and my assistant. It was by far the biggest production shoot that I’ve ever done. I had full creative control as well, which is always good.
The concept was about consumerization in the workplace; basically, how consumer technology will affect the workplace of tomorrow. Today’s children will be tomorrow’s professionals, and when they enter the workplace they will want to continue using the technology that they have grown up on – technology like the xbox, the wii, the iphone, ipods, facebook, myspace, World of Warcraft. In case your wondering, I’ve already heard about stuffy accountants setting up conference calls in WoW rather than over the phone. Scary, but true. The concept of the shoot was to capture the “nextgen” as they might be “working” using the technology.
From an equipment standpoint, it was also one of the most complex shots that I’ve shot professionally. It featured three Hensel monolights and my Alienbee Ringlight. I have had the ringlight for a year or so and haven’t used it much, and was itching for a chance to try it out. Additionally, I put my foot down and asked for a camera upgrade for the project. Ordinarily I do most of my work using a Canon 30D, which is a bare minimum for the type of corporate work I do, and I wanted much more power for this project. I ordered a Canon 5D online from Adorama a few days in advance, and went to pick it up on Friday in anticipation of Sunday’s shoot, only to find that somehow the order dates got switched, and they didn’t have a 5D in stock. However, I can only say great things about how Adorama handled this potential emergency – they upgraded me to a 1DSMark II for the same price. “Will this one work for you Mr Gayman? We’re really very sorry about the mixup” Um…hells yeah that works for me! I danced out of the shop with love in my heart for Adorama, to say the least.
And I wasn’t disappointed. The Mark II is simply the best camera I’ve ever had a chance to use professionally, and it was everything and more that I dreamed it would be. It is actually very difficult for me to go back to my 30D. Its like driving a Honda Accord for years and then switching to a Mercedes. To get an idea of just how amazing the camera is, check out the larger version of the image above and check out the detail. And keep in mind, that larger version is at 50% size from the original raw file. The 30D is a great camera; I love it and if an when I upgrade to something bigger I’ll still hang onto the 30D, it’s a great camera for street use, and even a lot of the smaller projects that I shoot. But the Mark II is a dream to use. While the interface is a bit clunky (and may be fixed on the Mark III), the feature list and the picture quality are so superior that it would be a no brainer if I had $8k rolling around. I’ll definitely be renting one again, at least until I can afford one. Actually, I need two so I have a backup. Anyone want to get me a Christmas gift?
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