Photographing the Making of an Athlete
Bill has been photographing Cason for over 5 years as part of a long term documentary project. In that time Bill has documented Cason's growth as a skater and as a person, and all the while refining and developing his own techniques as a photographer in this environment. Engaging with a subject in a long term project can enrich your photography and your life in ways you've never imagined.
Release Date: 2012-09-13
Lessons
Introduction
<p>Bill introduces Cason and discusses their history of working together and how they got started on this project.</p>
Duration: 10 mins 0 seconds
Ollie Over Bill
<p>A benefit of working with someone on a long term project is developing a sense of trust and collaboration that allows you to push the envelope of what each of you can do.</p>
Duration: 5 mins 29 seconds
Bring in the Strobe
<p>Bringing a strobe into the same setup as the previous lesson allows the shot to transform from a silhouette to a portrait.</p>
Duration: 5 mins 7 seconds
In the Pool
<p>The curving lines of the pool coupled with a radical angle allows for a number of graphic elements to come together in the final shot.</p>
Duration: 2 mins 23 seconds
The Snake Run
<p>The ease and comfort of working together over a long period of time allows for better communication that can facilitate shots that would be otherwise nearly impossible to create.</p>
Duration: 2 mins 21 seconds
Portrait Session
<p>Working in a portrait session can help track the evolution of the subject over time.</p>
Duration: 4 mins 49 seconds
Put the Shadow on the Wall
<p>In going back to shoot the subject in the same setting again and again over time you can develop a series of photographs that are useful for comparing and contrasting against shots from other time periods.</p>
Duration: 6 mins 3 seconds
Board Slide
<p>It is important to include detail and cutaway shots in your sessions that helps to round out the larger body of work.</p>
Duration: 9 mins 42 seconds
Tombstone
<p>Over a long term project you may document various milestones where the subject is able to achieve goals that were previously out of reach.</p>
Duration: 1 mins 24 seconds
Progression
<p>A lot of the work in a long term project is repetition, where you keep coming back to shots you've done before to show the progression, but also find ways to keep it fresh and move in new directions.</p>
Duration: 1 mins 28 seconds
Conclusion
<p>Bill wraps up the class with some reflection on how working on a long term project like this can enrich your life in many unexpected ways.</p>
Duration: 2 mins 54 seconds