I shoot a ton of shit assignments that I hope nobody ever sees. It’s just the reality of the situation. That’s not to say you can’t make good work in tough situations, but sometimes, the cards are stacked against you.

via Michael David Friberg.

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39 Comments

  1. Excellent writeup. Very true in my world, too (commercial/editorial fashion). There are only so many Terry Richardson. :)

  2. What do you mean? Not every assignment a photographer shoots is the most amazing assignment ever? That’s not what the internet told me.

  3. *Addition after the cat hit the Submit on the mouse*

    The trick is to think of all assignments/projects as business. Strategize the limited resources, come up with the best possible plan for execution.

    THAT is what people pay you for. To make things happen given limited resources. The photo business is still a business, and is subject to the same rules.

    Unless one is born with many silver spoons (and yes, this has slowly become a rich kids’ game), one has to start respecting it this way, thinking innovatively and creatively and solve the “image problem” that clients have. This, is something that amateurs can’t do.

    Why? Because they haven’t done enough “shitty assignments”. They don’t have the experience to maximize limited resources.

  4. I can’t agree more. We all struggle to find motivation, sometimes.
    Take a break from time to time and try to not think about the projects that are bothering you.
    I find that when I put my attention on other artistic genres, I get inspired by new things and I try to apply them to whatever it is I’m working on.

  5. Not all jobs are glorious, but I feel fortunate to be a self-employed photographer making a living at what I went to school for. It makes those dreams jobs all the more precious.

  6. Well said. No idea how much work I’ve got hidden. Or at least, hope its hidden.

  7. amen. they are all business and we have to do our part to the best of our abilities. usually these “tough” assignments are the ones that may get you the better ones. If you can make great images out of “shitty” prospects then you can excel at anything.

  8. I think Michael was griping about ‘VIP’s zipping in and out without giving him enough time to craft a nice shot.
    Not so much having zero creativity. I’m sure even on a bad day you can pull out some lights and wing it.
    Shitty would be really no chance of even doing that.

    • @stanchung: You might want to click on the link above, and actually read & look at Micheal’s post (which you obviously didn’t do), before posting a response like yours…

      He’s not just whining or griping. But he is being very open and honest — which I totally appreciate. And what he brings up is the reality of a lot of shoots/assignments we end up getting as ‘working’ photographers.

      Just “pulling out some lights and winging it” isn’t going to change a damn thing in those situations — either because there are no lights, or you’re already winging it and the cards really are stacked against you.

      I’ve had assignments that were almost EXACTLY like the one Michael describes. At one of them I made two images for myself that I quite liked, but that had absolutely nothing to with the ‘assignment’ — call them outtakes if you like; I think of it as personal work made while on a job. (Hey, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.)

      But the images I gave to the client were nothing I would ever share or use. Although the political candidate did end up using two of the portraits I made of her in her campaign materials…which I only discovered much later, when they landed in my mailbox during election time. (This kind of use was never discussed with the client, and they certainly didn’t pay me for it.)

      • Then you have to read it again.

        I find him griping because who doesn’t shoot shitty stuff. There’s always the bread and butter stuff & the dream job.

        Misery loves company but look on the bright side.

        • OK. But I think maybe Michael read and understood your original comment in a way that’s similar to how I understood it (if you read his response below).

          I don’t think the gist of Michael’s post was that we have to shoot “shitty” stuff for our bread & butter (at least I didn’t think it was). I think he wanted to talk about how we portray ourselves online, or feel compelled to portray ourselves, and how everybody’s so caught-up with sugar-coating everything.

          Makes me think of that Barbara Ehrenreich book, “Bright-Sided”…

          • But that’s advertising- you only show your best. From the all the shots and multiple takes. Same goes for the image you portray in your website.

            It would be quite funny for a photog to put on a separate tab- psst- by the way- I shoot these sheety schtuff as well so don’t get too intimidated & call for a quote. XD

            Call me cynical- but advertising is rarely honest. I’ve been in the biz close to twenty years- it’s always a play with words, best take, aspirational lifestyles, even a PSA is made to win awards. Go figure.

  9. Kudos to Michael for putting his “shittiest” photo out there. Sure as professionals it’s our job to overcome adversity on a shoot, but often we are hired to make “shitty” photos. I know I have clients and friends alike who somehow believe I’m constantly circling the globe making the types of images they see in my portfolio for big $ but in reality that’s probably less than 5% of the time.

    • Exactly-~5% of the time! He’s brave enough to put it out & voicing what’s happening but we do have to work at increasing that measly %.

      Negativity can bring you down-it’s poison.

  10. Just to clarify, I don’t really care about “VIPs” or what they do, the post was about how we, as photographers, portray ourselves on the internet. A lot of the time, because we only end up posting the best, sexiest, most creative work we shoot, people end up under the illusion that that’s all we get paid to make. Sometimes I have good assignments with great photos and I usually put those on the internet. I don’t usually post a crap photo of a guy talking to a lady in bad light, but in reality, I get paid to shoot that type of photo just as much. I think it’s important to be honest and transparent online because there are a lot of people who are comparing themselves to each other and it’s really unhealthy when what you are comparing yourself to isn’t actually reality.

    • Good for you Michael and I don’t care for much VIP’s either. I’ve shot one cabinet minister- put on the lights in his office and just wait for him to arrive from his meeting. A few snaps and maybe ten minutes later I’m packed to go.
      No i didn’t post him up anywhere because I disagree with his party policies, not because the shot sucks. haha The request to ‘smoothen’ his skin was too much.

      Cheers!

    • Sounds good until you realize that sweeping those crap photos we all have under the rug makes good business sense. :-)

      Personally, at the ripe old age of 30, I’m less concerned about people that compare themselves to others on the internet, and more concerned about whether or not Potential Client X thinks I can successfully tackle their job. Posting crap photos might undermine that belief, even if it is an illusion at times.

      I think anyone with a modest amount of reality in their expectations knows that its not all wedding cake. And for those who think that, they learn, or they don’t…

  11. Glad to hear some honesty out there! I can’t even count the amount of blah I shoot that never sees the light of day on my web or in any promotions. Only every now and then do you get those great assignments. But boy do I promote those when I do. It’s all about the perception.

  12. If you think that you are sick and tired of shitty assignments, please do consider that the economy has a profound impact on many countries, including Greece where I live and work.

    What is a ”shitty” assignment (and payment) for one part of the world, or for the lifestyle that one has been used to enjoy, might be a berad earner and a bill-payer and a life saver for someone in another part of the world, and I do n ot necessarily imply Greece.

    Many words are subjective such as ”effort” and ”creativity”, even words such as ”honesty” and ”love”

    Why should ”shitty” not be one of them?

  13. Yo ! Can i get a cheeseburger over here ??

  14. I couldn’t agree more! This happens often when shooting business profiles.. I believe I should find an amazing photo in any situation, therefore I am very hard on myself. What works best for me is plan, plan, plan… I scout, I think props, I think uncommon angles.. etc.

  15. When I started shooting small jobs for teen magazines back in the 80’s I had a saying that I would recite to my assistant on the way to the jobs.

    “There is no such thing as a shit job just shit attitude”.

    I told myself and my assistant that so we would do the job right even though I wished I was shooting the big fashion spreads instead.
    And I still believe it though I don’t say that now.

    Every job is what you make of it big or small; whether the opportunity comes to you or you have to orchestrate something special yourself to deliver the goods.
    The job is to always deliver; and if you want to move on up; you need to deliver beyond what people expect and probably beyond what you are paid for. Small jobs need to look like they were bigger; that gets you better clients and better fees.

    And there is NO WAY I would blog that I was getting shitty assignments! Because if that’s your mindset that is what you will make your assignment into… And your client might just be reading your blog too.

    • You obviously didn’t read my post.

      • Hi Michael,

        of course I read your post before I commented & I tried to find your website from your tumbler but its not linked (found it from your name link here).

        I read your post and commented on what I saw as the only thing I could take away from it that I was sure of; you believe some jobs are shitty.

        It is PURE speculation that ‘other’ photographers, leave out, pad-in-with, whatever… And it is COMPLETELY unimportant to your’s or other photographers careers what ‘other’ photographers show or do not show.

        Watch your own backyard not mine.

        Its a slippery slope you are on and when its greased with slippery-shit-in-public! Watch out.

        A word to the wise…

        BTW I ‘publish’ nearly everything I do on one or the other of my two blogs; but not everything makes it to the website – that is the ‘Best of the Best’ as it should be.

        http://fashionkwj.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au/
        http://streetfashionsydney.blogspot.com.au/

        • I think it was quite clear that what Michael was trying to say wasn’t that he gets shitty jobs but that sometimes he DOES a shitty job. I believe his post was about admitting failure not about blaming it on the assignment.

          • Yeah but it kind of reads that way though. If I were a client and the photographer posted one of my commissioned images as an example of crap, I think I would be disappointed, even if the underlying message is that sometimes things don’t always work out.

            It’s all in the delivery. Maybe it can be pulled off, but I think it takes a delicate touch. “Don’t shit where you eat”

    • Yeah- I wouldn’t blog about it too. Seriously- admitting is enough. haha
      I’ve learned that words spreads fast and too many people esp competitors would jump at the chance to say why you wanna shoot with that guy when he thinks your jobs are likely to be shitty to him. They might even quote some gossip. Very sly shit there.

      Most clients are actually very scared of prima donna creatives. I’ve heard enough about clients saying this person and that person are too hard to work with. They have to be reassured you are going to give them what they want or better and not what you want because of your ego.

  16. I just want to clarify, because apparently people are bad at clicking links and actually reading where a quote was pulled from. This post was not me bitching about getting shitty assignments. In fact, I am incredibly thankful to have these assignments. I’m glad i’m not working in a bar somewhere, I feel incredibly lucky to be taking photos for a living. The post was about how everybody is just playing dress up on the internet and it’s unhealthy to a certain extent because it’s misleading and there are a lot of younger photographers (myself included) that get really down on themselves for not having super awesome assignments all the time.

    • Michael,

      A professional photographers job is not to play “we’re all winners” on the internet, it is to put your best foot forward.

      We all have duds, I am sure your heart is in the right place, but your “unhealthy” comment is so naive. This is a professional business and the group hug, every one gets a ribbon doesn’t really apply.

    • I understood what you meant – especially when I saw your comments in the thread following the post too and I think it’s excellent commentary. I’m very new to the biz but I have already developed a trend of being very transparent online. I got my first assignment (product photography) after someone simply saw my travel blog. If you have an open mind and are willing to try different foci and assignments, there can be some surprises in store. I have a lot to learn inn general, including scaling down the # of actual pics I share online, but this transparency aspect is essential to me.

    • Well after a more than a few days of mulling this over I seem to have a change of heart. Not a complete change of heart; rhetoric aside I still don’t think the ‘Shyty’ Assignment title was so astute.

      But walking back from the supermarket two days ago into my head pops {Thought Bubble} Well if my client does not pony up the $$$ for the right model for the shoot and uses someone cheap; the wrong look etc; and it happens more often that I care to admit; then the cards are stacked against you! {/Thought Bubble}.

      Michael is right on that front and it is something I am sure most of us only speak about privately. And OK I will not screw the shoot because my client did not have the budget for a top model (or was cheap because they don’t think is matters (it does))…

      But no matter how well I do the shoot; in the broader fashion community the shoot won’t cut it. The client might be over the f’ing moon with the result but I cant ‘book’ the shoot because I KNOW what the game is and ALL the components must be in place. “The cards have been stacked against me” and nothing I can do will change that; I deliver great work but one part is broken and cannot be fixed.

      Not my fault; great shoot, still wont cut it!

      And if that is all you are getting then you are going to find it very hard to move up. But then that’s why we do personal work too… Don’t we.

  17. Yep, pretty much like any job/profession, the reality is very different than what’s portrayed on TV/movie/Internet/Books, etc.

  18. I do not think the cards can ever be to blame unless all hell breaks loss and Murphy’s Law takes complete advantage of you. It’s about being prepared the night before and the night before that. A brain is a terrible thing to waste, use those visual neurons to put lighting together and know that even if you HAVE to fall back to simple, you’ll get something you won’t be ashamed of.

  19. I was thinking about going to the beach today. Does anyone want to go to the beach? Maybe, like, get a burrito or something later?

    Jake
    301-938-9143

  20. p.s. this is clearly a case of two camps, those who understands what Mike is saying and those who don’t. And people from one side are getting in a huff about another group. And nobody’s going to move or understand the other position. So I suggest we all chill out and get off the internet.

    • But we all HAVE TO put our two cents in!!! This is the era of compulsive commenting ! :) Off to get a burger now…

  21. “Beauty is an instinctive feeling. ”
    Charles Darwin


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