THE
NEW YORK
WORKSHOP
Tips for gear
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LENSES?
New York
is a place where every lenses, from 15mm to the 500mm, can be
useful, but it doesn't mean you have to take everything. Know
yourself. Your style. And stick to it. Don't try to make an
exhaustive shooting, jumping every minute on another lens. Take
only your one or two of your favorites. In the first place, if you
take more, you need to carry them (and the workshops are physical,
in order to give the maximum of opportunities in a short period of
time). Secondly, more you shift the lenses during a shooting, less
you focus on the subject. Even if the chosen couple is not the
perfect one in a special occasion, the fact that you have to move
closer or away, that you have to kneel down or to stand on tiptoe,
it will give you the energy and the creativity to make something
different. Adapt yourself to the subject; it's not the gear to be
adapted.
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BODY CAMERA?
About the body, there is now not a bad camera, only average photographers. You don't need to have the last Nikon or Canon to enjoy these workshops. I've seen sometimes better results with a compact camera than with a pro DSLR. The only workshop worthing a special camera is the “by night” one. Indeed, especially in the helicopter, if your equipment is a slow shutter (like a 24-36 mp) or too light (a compact camera), you will get a lot of burred shots and a lot of disappointments.
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A TRIPOD?
Well,
it's becoming hard to use it in New York, since they are banned in
many places (parks, times square...). If you need a stand, use a
monopod, far easier to use.
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CARDS AND ROLLS?
Take all
your rolls with you or be prepared to make a trip to B&H a day
or another (and waste some precious hours). For the memory cards,
two solutions: take at least two 32 GB or a portable data
storage.
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LAPTOP?
It's not
a bad idea at all. You can check your work in the evening, even
make a first selection, and share with us your results. I can give
as well a course about processing and softwares.
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CLOTHES?
If it's raining, it's a great
day for some atmospheric works. It's sunny, great shadows. If it's
hazy, great mood. Whatever the weather, it will be a shooting day.
You have to adapt yourself to the weather. So: poncho and Gore-tex
against the rain, light cotton clothes for the hot day and so
on.
Last but not least, get some great walking shoes!
