Breaking Down an Editorial Photo Assignment
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- "All the News That's Fit to Print"
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Link to story : shorturl.at/lrY19
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Initial Email and Story Details
3:35 - How the Editor Assigns Work
4:42 - First Subject
6:26 - Second Subject/Stiff Portraits
9:03 - Third Subject/Anonymous Portrait
11:32 - Exterior Photos
13:06 - Fourth Subject
13:56 - Last Subject/Anonymous Portrait
15:16 - Positives and Negatives
Website : www.bryanbirks.com
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Great video, Bryan! Curious how you were discovered by the NYT. Did you reach out or did they find you? Any advice on putting yourself out there to do assignments like these?
I was going to put this in the video, but it got too lengthy as I rambled on. They discovered me by sharing my work on Instagram. My advice would be to do the work that you want to be hired for. It sounds like a cliché, but it's true. I was lucky in that I wanted to make portraits and do more "editorial" type stuff, so when I put my work out there, it got noticed. All the work I did to get noticed was for free, either for exposure or just from working on a UA-cam video and making portraits.
If you need to build your portfolio, are not getting hired, and you want to get hired for Sports Illustrated, you should try to reach out to some sporting events and work for free. If you want to do fashion, reach out to a model and photograph them for free. Those are extreme examples, obviously, but do that on a smaller scale. It seems easy, but it isn't, and I definitely didn't just fall into this type of work.
A couple of years ago, I cold-emailed a few photo editors and never heard back. It wasn't until I followed some photographers on social media who did this type of work that I saw who they worked with for assignments. I followed them, and Instagram made it extremely easy to bridge connections that way. In regards to putting yourself out there, just do it. I've been turned down, excluded, left out, and left on read many times, but if you don't do it yourself, nobody will do it for you.
Hope that helps.
All very helpful! It's advice that I have heard in some form or another from others, but not often from people who *truly* followed their own advice in their careers-so it's neat to hear from someone who has put it into action themself! Thanks for the reply! @@BryanBirks
@@BryanBirks I understand that you might have to do things you may not like to do just to move forward in your career, however, working for free is just not one of them. You said in your video that you might have to take out a loan just to keep shooting film so why not ask for money whenever you shoot an assignment even if you have to give them a discounted fee. I don't believe photographers should finance multi-million dollar corporations and the NYT is just that.
I love your work and your energy but I truly believe that telling people to work for free is not good advice.
I grew up in the NYC metro area and freelanced in that area and in Philadelphia for 15 years before moving to Miami to take a job at The Miami Herald. I've been at the Herald for 32 years now and I can tell you that I've had one helluva career here. I still remember how painful it was to eek out a living as a photographer and I'm only guessing but I think things may be tougher nowadays.
You need to at least cover your expenses. Please don't work for free.
I didn’t say work for the NYT for free. I wasn’t getting hired for anything because I didn’t have a portfolio so I worked for free in order to build that up. Whether that was UA-cam videos, weddings, or other things.
In my opinion, I would rather work for free and build my portfolio than sit at home with nothing to do. If someone says no to $100 and I know the opportunity is there to push me forward, then I’m offering $50. If they say no I’m offering $25. If they say no I’m doing it for free. Again, if the opportunity for advancement is there. You definitely need to be smart about it and not take everything or people will take advantage of you. And this is just my opinion, nobody has to do it like me.
Edited my original comment to try and clear it up.
@@BryanBirks I get you brother. It's a personal choice, for sure. I just never did it while coming up in the business and still don't do it.
I still get calls for freelance work here in Miami asking me to shoot for exposure. I just hang up.
As far as building up your portfolio goes I'd rather see your personal work than the work you did for someone else. I don't think a mediocre photo you might of shot for a magazine is better than personal work. Just because you shot a photo for a client does not make it a portfolio piece.
Anyhow, I love your work and I wish you the best of luck. I know you will do well.
I live in tornado alley and went to photograph damage as soon as they opened the town. After doing this twice, I kind of got a feel for what the editors wanted. I found out from interacting with the editors that there were photos that everybody seemed to take: insulation blown out of walls was one of them. What they wanted were raw emotions: people with a look of devastation as they surveyed their houses. I had a scene of two owners standing on the former foundation of their former house hugging each other and crying. But I missed the shot. Then for another tornado, there was a guy that somehow got picked up by a small tornado and lived to tell about it. News stations were coming from all over the area to talk to him. This happened in my home turf. I was one of them. So I just went up and say hi and let him talk. It just didn't feel right shoving a camera in his face and taking the picture as he talked. He'd had enough of that. A reporter with a big video camera following her walked up to him and said, "I have to get my interview of you." He told her, "YOU JUST DID." And walked away. I never got a picture. I thanked him and wished him well and went on. So I found my old Boy Scout troop helping a farmer pick up the pieces. I took pictures of his cat on the roof of the shed watching them. The owner stood by on the edge of the lawn taking it all in and processing. I just didn't feel like invading his space. None of them were published. I think that you are really sensitive and have just the right touch when you are working on your projects. It's a hard skill to master. So I'm watching and learning.
Definitely tough. I plan on going back this spring and taking some portraits. The news is so quick and doesn’t really allow for the dust to settle. I’m looking forward to seeing how they have progressed and overcome.
I really enjoyed your use of the speedlight with you digital camera on the pictures of the exterior of the hopsital. The layering that occurs with the lit forground, dark middleground and the lit subject in the background is really nice. I know from class that some would critique it and say that the lit forground would draw the eye and atention away from the subject but I myself usually respond to that kind of stuff with a "then look again". I think it makes for a more interesting picture to look at. Nice work! And your 4x5 photos are great as always.
Certainly not a lighthearted subject for a story, but you did a good job of capturing the humanity of the people dealing with a difficult situation.
Appreciate it, Rob.
So awesome to get a breakdown of this man, actually got a big sense of excitement just seeing you on location and knowing what the results looked like and what a big deal it is to be in that scenario. So proud of you and what you've managed to accomplish for yourself, its a huge thing, and getting to be a fly on the wall like this is awesome! Goals haha!
Sorry I'm so late to the party with your uploads these days btw life keeps getting in the way lol. Always enjoy them monumentally when the time comes!
Thank you, Willy 😢
I love this channel! It’s one of the very few, that is about the actual making of art and the artist’s feelings etc. other than just the gear. Great work!!!
Love seeing your career grow and to get a perspective from a photographer who was not going into this for a bump in their career.
Thank you sir!
Hey Bryan, been thinking about your NYT shoot stories. And one thing that keeps coming to mind, is that when you shoot owners of vintage cars, you designate the car as such an icebreaker, so common ground. And how finding some external topic, or object, can ease people in other types of documentary photos 😎 Sorry if stating the obvious, yet I think I’ll try this when approaching strangers.
A good point!
Video = great. Getting another NYT assignment = awesome. That shirt = FANbloodyTASTIC. I can be shallow, I admit it! 😁
Your vulnerability and transparency is valued. Thanks.
Love hearing the details of your emotional experience in doing this assignment and how you push through your own personality traits to try to do something as simple as work with subject of a shoot. It’s amazing how much people shut down or try to control themselves when a shoot is planned vs something spontaneous. They can get so brain locked that it’s almost impossible to just get them to be real.
This is so cool! Thank you for sharing your experience! Also - that shirt is fire!
Haha thank you!
Dealing with “stiffness” in portraits can be a little tricky. Making small talk and being able to get the subject to relax and have a more relaxed expression takes time and a little skill.
However, depending in what 4x5 you’re shooting also affects this. Using a 4x5 on a tripod tends to lend to subjects having more wooden expressions, because they’re sitting around watching you work and waiting. Having an assistant can help reduce this; but also choice of camera comes into play. Shooting a speed graphic handheld for example will allow you to get more naturalistic expressions as you can move with your subject. (Though you loose some of the value of movements. And you have to have equipment you can trust.). Another option is to get into a 4x5 reflex camera, like a graflex Series D, or series B. With that, you see what the camera sees up to the moment of exposure, and that allows you to better direct your subject, as well as get more relaxed expressions. With the right back you can also get more shots more quickly. Finally, you have a wider choice of portrait lenses and soft focus lenses in particular; like the wollensak verito/veritar 9”, or ektar portrait 12”. (Though you may need an RB auto graflex to take full advantage of it at portrait distances).
I definitely hear you with the 4x5 but like I said, I haven't really dealt with too much stiffness in my previous portraits. Or at least not as much as this specific assignment. I'm not really looking to mix up my camera equipment at the moment and I think this is a "me" problem above all else. Appreciate the reply though!
Many thanks for sharing this. well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for that. I'm usually quiet here, but I've been subscribed going on two years now. You got one of my favorite channels. You are, no bullshit, one of the people that inspired me to take the leap into 4x5. Always loved your style, your flow and your straight talk. I was a little worried about the channel the last several months, but after this video, I feel like you're all the way back now. Which is great news because I think you've got more folks to inspire out there. Looking forward to the next one. Peace.
Really appreciate that. Glad I could inspire you on the 4x5 journey! I was a little worried about the channel myself. Haha but it comes in waves and it’s always up and down. Not just me but everyone. The others are just better at hiding it. Thanks for the comment!
Another great video mate .... thank you
Glad you enjoyed it, Tim.
Strong portraits man (not surprising, coming from you). And I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the work and the process in making them. Also; can we talk about your strong shirt game in this vid??! 💯
Haha thank you! Shirt is from Express. A little pricey for me but I bought it for the honeymoon!
@@BryanBirks haha…love that, man. i did think it was funny that you were talking about it being hot as f@ck while working on your assignment, but looking very cool and relaxed in that shirt talking about.
Thank you for your video Bryan! I always appreciate work!
Thank you for the support!
Congrats Bryan, great work!
Thank you, Arnaud!
These are important videos that you are making Bryan, happy for you and thank you for sharing the process.
Appreciate the support, Matthew!
The photos are truly exceptional. Fascinating to hear how everything played out. I would have had at least 20 mental breakdowns along the way.
Thanks, Logan. In regards to the mental breakdowns…who said I didn’t? None of it related to the assignment though. 😅
Brilliant work, Bryan! Congrats on the assignment and thanks for sharing all the information ✌
Thank you, Jerry!
Super cool, nice job!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Really great breakdown of your process for this article. Thank you so much for sharing as always! I love that you're sharing the process on this as it is truly the dream.
Thank you! Happy that you found it informative 🍻
Really dug the video. Your insight on the assignments process is definitely the type of stuff I want to see more of.
Appreciate it. I try and make things that I don’t see on UA-cam all that much so I’m glad you enjoy.
Thanks for revealing a bit behind the scenes for what occurs on an assignment. As always, fantastic photos
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. It is super nice to hear how things work, and how you approached the assignment. Beautiful pictures as always!
Appreciate it, Marcus!
I appreciate the candid honesty and presentation of the work. Thank you for sharing. Good luck and hope you get another assignment soon 🙏
Thank you! I hope so as well.
This was fascinating. Thanks for sharing the story behind the pictures and how it transpired! Great video and photos!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing job man! The depth of 4x5 is so staggering
It is indeed. Trying my best to not use it as a crutch but it’s beautiful most of the time.
More beautiful work from you, Bryan. So happy you’re getting these great opportunities. Oh, and that shirt! 👍
Glad you enjoyed!
Well done Bryan, well deserved, your large format portraits are great.,
Thank you, Mark!
Dude this is rad, these photos are really interesting. I really love the challenge presented in hiding the son, love your initial idea and also love how you moved away from that idea when it wasn't working and were still able to make some good work. Congratulations.
My creativity really showed when I was met with taking anonymous portraits. Not the easiest thing when you show up and have to do it on the spot! Appreciate the comment.
This is great to see and we’ll deserved. I’ve been speaking to a couple of photo editors here in the U.K. and had great feedback but I’m now in that weird uncertain time where I’m waiting for an assignment in my area that they can use me for. Seems that was the case with you too until the emails came in. Again, sincere congratulations.
Thank you!
For sure. They first made contact back in November of last year and I didn't get anything until April. I live in the Midwest so it's not a hotspot for assignment work anyway. But I spoke with multiple people talking about how it took months to get your first assignment.
Another great video, Bryan! It's been really inspiring to follow your channel. So refreshing to hear about your successes and failures and what you struggle with as an artist. I have been shooting film (35 and 120) for years, but recently moved into the world of 4x5, in part because of your channel. I had wanted to do it for a long time, but quite frankly I was too afraid. After having been out a few times with my Crown Graphic now, I can say for sure, I am hooked. So thank you for what you do, I can't wait to see what you do in the future. Cheers!
Happy to hear that! If you ever have questions just send me a message.
I have a Pentax Spot meter that is just like the one Ansel Adams used for his 8X10. It's the one that he recommended in his book: THE NEGATIVE. I've tried using it with my digital camera. But the results are so different from the histogram that I quit using it. But it's spot on for film. That's an interesting conversation about replicating the film look with digital and trying to get them to match up. I haven't really gotten into that. But Martin Evening has done a lot of research on it and written a lot about it in his photoshop books. He has some presets for certain looks if you are like me and need someplace to start. Bryan's a lot further up the learning curve than me.
'Bryan Birks for The New York Times' - very cool. I've read the article and the photos seem fitting to me. Good work!
Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed the video.
Wow, well done Bryan. You are very talented. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Timothy!
CONGRATS 🙌✨ Challenging assignment too.
Appreciate it!
congratulations and thank you for sharing the process. Kudos to the NYT for supporting photography in that way. I often wonder how they achieve the somewhat saturated and almost glossy look on their site...
Thank you! I think a lot of photojournalists just end up shooting the same way. It's probably the same reason why a lot of popular film work looks low contrast and warm. People just copy what they see (which isn't a bad thing).
Bryan well done friend
Appreciate it, Luke. Keep killing it yourself buddy.
The first subject with the wider perspective helps convey more context about her character (you can see her tattoos etc.) and her surroundings. I suppose classic environmental portrait rather than a tighter subject shot is why they chose to publish it as their pick. Great work!
For sure. It would be fun to shadow a photo editor on something like this. Glad you enjoyed it!
Wpw/ What a treasure trove of information. Thanks!
Hi Bryan, love your work. I've found good luck using C1 to convert the base characteristics to emulate film. Like you can convert colour spaces so I convert my Nikon z6 to a Phase One colour space and choose the Portrait setting. It's a good jumping off point to emulate film colour more easily. Not exact, and depends what digi camera you're using but wanted to share incase it helps.
I’ve heard that from a couple of people. Definitely need to check it out.
Have you looked into getting a Digital back for your 4x5? just to keep the cost of film down?. Great images, very nice calming video as are almost all of your videos!. Thanks for your content.
Anytime I ever look at a digital back I was shocked by the price so I stopped looking. Lol I saw that Mark Power used a 4x5 digital camera but the price of it was around $11,000.
@@BryanBirks Holy Frijoles thats a Leica M11 lol, never mind!. see if Square Space wants to get it for you lol.
Super instructive as always, thanks ! Hope you'll get more assignments. Love the intro/outro btw.
I have a question on how you hang your 4x5 sheets to dry. I use little wodden clothes pegs, and since the emulsion isn't dry when I hang the film, the pegs put marks on it. Do you have them too and crop'em out or do you use something else ?
Thank you!
I use these little metal clips from Amazon but I wouldn't recommend buying from Amazon so here's a link to B&H with essentially the same thing: bhpho.to/3KWcNAM
Mine are different in that they have spikes to clamp the film so I just do it on the border of the film. But I do spot heal or crop out the marks if I accidentally clamp on the film.
Small foldback binder clips work for me. The handles are used to thread and knot a string for spacing them for each sheet.
I think the subject matter combined with the format is responsible for the statues. I doubt they expected a real camera in their face and a 1 second pose for example. Nice BTS, thx.
Another really inspiring & interesting video. I really like the look of film but I had the opportunity to get a Pentax 645z digital medium format camera for a very reasonable price. I have been totally impressed. I think you might like it.
Don’t give me any ideas. I just now got my process and GAS figured out!
I see a Bryan Birks video uploaded, I press play
LEGEND
Thank you for this, did you use a graflex and did you think about using strobe lights when doing jobs for the NY Times?
Chamonix 45n-1. And I did use some flash on digital but try to stick with natural light for large format work. It’s already complicated enough. Lol
What lenses do you have for the 4x5? Is it a mono rail or field view. On average how much time do you spend setting up the camera ie. tripod, composing, metering. Sometimes a shot you’re not happy with can be a result of not having a clear understanding of what you want from the shot. Getting frustrated confused and not seeing the pre-visualization in your mind. I believe this builds with experience and confidence in your vision. Down side
is becoming formulaic falling back to much on what has worked before. Do you shoot any medium format or 35mm film?
It's a field camera with a 135mm lens. I think I definitely could have spent more time with pre-visualization and composing. Composing is tough in the moment because I don't want to waste anyone's time and I always feel a tad bit of pressure because people are used to photos being captured quickly.
I've thought about going back to a medium format camera for some shots but haven't yet pulled the trigger on anything.
We’ll I know how it feels when your on a shoot and you walk into a small cramped office with fluorescent lighting and large window in the worst spot possible place. Naturally the blood pressure in your neck certainly goes up. It’s great you’re shooting inside and outside looking for better light and compositions. I really like the lose portraits you’re doing showing the environment and letting the image breath so to speak. The reason I ask medium format (film) because it does allow you to be more productive as far as moving around more freely and possibly from different perspectives being higher or lower. It challenging to focus large format
I hit the send button. Ops. It’s hard to focus ground glass when the camera is high or low. Which tends to make everything eye level, which is OK it that’s what you want to do! Keep up the good work and I enjoy listening to your process in your videos.
@@BryanBirks I totally Understand. Large format has a unique look and I know that’s your preferred format. I recently discovered you on UA-cam and enjoy seeing your work.
Why not carry digital at all times and take backup photos? I do that even just on vacation, if it was pain work I expect it would be a lot less stressful knowing for sure you at least got one usable shot. My blood pressure would be sky high waiting to see those 4x5 shots developed...
I did for most of these shots but like I said, I feel like my shooting changed when I knew I had a backup. When photographing for projects I am using film for all of it so it doesn't really make sense to have a digital backup if it isn't going to match the tone that I've set for the rest of the images. I am stupidly confident in getting the shot and I feel like the pressure might make me perform better overall. But I also could be an idiot.
@@BryanBirks I think your eye for compositions is brilliant. However, at the same time, I think it's a mistake limiting yourself so severely to so few shots, most especially when you are trying new things. I would humbly suggest that you may want to strap on a roll film back so you can give yourself more chances to succeed with your creative vision. That option reduces cost, supplies more than enough resolution, and still allows you to use your preferred camera and medium 😉
While we’ve never met, I’m very proud of you…
Appreciate it, John!
👍
This was a great exploration through the process and I appreciate it. Hope your ass is no longer sweaty.
My ass is always sweaty. And my middle back.
@@BryanBirks For me, 4x5 portraits = sweating like a pig. I hate it when my glasses fog up under the dark cloth. A hot and humid day on top of that must have been terrible.😰
Interesting story and congrats for getting into the NY Times!
Thank you!
@@BryanBirks Read the NY Times and saw all the pics yesterday. They looked great. Impressive!
Dude use digital for commercial. Then you can focus on getting subjects comfortable vs mucking around with the 4 x 5.
Dude, I’ve used 4x5 for all of my portraits for the past two years so why would I change to digital for something like this? I’m comfortable with the process. Making the subjects more comfortable is my problem and not a camera problem.
😍 *Promo SM*
It's great that they gave you that space to work on the story. NYT typically only gives me a few hours 🫠
Ha! I think it was just a complicated story with a lot of moving parts so it definitely felt like I had a lot of time. But I’m impatient as hell so I pretty much shot, processed, and sent off the photos in less than 24 hours. 😂
@@BryanBirks that's the right way to do it! I actually kinda prefer the quick turnaround. Less time for me to get in my head and freak out 😂