It Helps To Have A History...

A good photographer can shoot almost anyone almost anywhere. A good photographer will always come back with a good shot and make his/her editor happy. However, it does help when you have a history with your subject. There will be a built-in rapport that allows you to go bigger and better with your ideas, and the subject(s) will trust you - even if your idea sounds a little crazy!

I've shot several of Bowling For Soup's album covers, posters, singles and promo shots over the years. The guys have come to trust me as a kind of "go-to guy for photos", knowing I will ALWAYS deliver something good! When they needed promo shots for their upcoming album release, they called me. It was kind of last-minute but we've worked together enough that we were able to jump right into things. That's how we wound up in a freezing lake (yes, Dallas, TX does get cold during the winter).

Having worked with me enough, the guys knew to trust me when I pushed a wild idea over into the realm of insane. This was polar bear weather, with near freezing water and the sky was starting to open up with rain! And yet, they didn't hesitate to disrobe and jump in!

The shot worked out great and has already started making its way to media outlets. It's funny that one of the first publications to use it would be Quick, a publication I'm usually hired to shoot most of their covers for. It seems like even when they use promotional pictures instead of contracting me for a custom shoot, they still wind up using my stuff! But, I can't blame Quick... after all, they are an amazing entertainment magazine and they know a fun photo when they see it. I know their readers will be happy when they pick up this issue... it just looks like a wild, fun issue to me!

So, the moral of the story? If you can build a history with your subjects, you'll have a much better time getting those killer shots - even if it means wading in thigh-high freezing water while you carry ten grand worth of photo gear across slippery rocks. But, that's another story for another day!