How to kick Murphy in the nuts
We all know mr Murphy, more importantly his law : “If something can go wrong, it will go wrong”. Whether it’s a fashion shoot, a family session or a wedding, sooner or later Murphy will get the drop on you, right ?
We’ve all been there : the shoot is in full force, you are in the zone. Everything is going to plan and one amazing image after the other is being written to your camera’s memory card. Than BAM !!! The card is full, the batteries of your camera fail, a flash unit isn’t firing anymore, the model falls on her face and breaks her nose, etc.
Can this be avoided ? No, not really. One day something will go wrong. Hopefully it will be on a personal project, but if mr Murphy does his job right, it will happen on your most important project of the year…
It happened to me last Saturday : I was shooting my first wedding of 2009. The Christian ceremony is halfway through and the big moment is getting closer : the exchange of vows & rings. I check my CF card in both camera’s : enough shots remaining. Church was darker than Dracula’s tomb so I was using flash on one camera : flash is ready for duty, filled with freshly charged batteries. The priest invites the couple to stand up, hold hands and promise each other eternal loyalty. I slowly sneak closer. The groom looks deep into his brides’ lovely eyes, he takes a deep breath and starts to talk. The bride exchanges a beautiful loving look with her husband to be. My finger instantly presses the shutter button, the mirror claps open, light falls on the sensor and the beautiful moment is eternalised in a digital version on my CF card. NOT … Apparently the freshly charged batteries decided not to provide sufficient power to the flash and the result was an underexposed image. I quickly turn the flash off and on again. The flash powers on but the ready light stays out. Thank you mr Murphy !
So that’s it, the most important moment of the day and the couple only gets underexposed shots … Well, not really. In anticipation of what might go wrong I quickly grab the backup set of AA batteries I put in the pocket of my camera belt the night before, switch out the batteries and keep on going like nothing happened. Take that Murphy’s law !!!!
Yes things can go horribly wrong, but being prepared for the worst allows you to counter most situations. Your client is paying you good money to make sure you are able to handle the assignment, why else would he hire a pro ?
Key to holding Murphy at bay is experience and preparation. Experience comes over time, but preparation is something you have full control over, even when just starting out. Make sure you have backup gear ( a backup camera, a spare flash, fresh sets of batteries, a spare lens in case one get’s damaged, the number of a photographer friend in case you can’t make it or need someone/something to help you out, a backup location in case the first one isn’t accesible, a second model in case one bails on you, etc). Specific situations demand specific precautions/preparations and yes that takes quite a lot of time to work out, but keep in mind that once you have your backup plan for a specific situation, most of it can be recycled into the new backup plan for a new assignment.
Having thought beforehand about what can go wrong and how you would solve it will help you keep your cool in case something really does go wrong one day. You will feel more self confident, less affraid and in control.
Take the time to go over things, prepare for the worst, and mr Murphy will get his ass kicked if he shows up on your shoot !
Pieter
Good piece
Fun to read, yet very informative!
Too true. We are constantly fighting a battle against the unexpected, only this weekend I was moved on from a carpark where we were doing a shoot, fortunately the backup location turned out to be a better shout than the original. Kicking Mr Murphy butt.
Thanks for sharing your tips.
Hi Pieter,
Thanks for your intresting article. Next time I’ll make sure all 8 batteries fail.
See you soon,
Mr.Murphy
Once I had the same problem, since then my bag is full of backup batteries, backup gear,…
Wow what a great post! your so right i always have problems with my speedlights after about an hour they stop working even if i change the batteries and when im on a shoot i just cant figure out why. Your so right about the self confidence thing and to always prepare for the worst. Thanks so much!
I hope you did not let out a loud curse word when it happened lol. . .Very pro of you to be prepared like that
Good tips. One thing my favourite photographer, landscaper David Noton, always tells of is how his lens focal lengths overlap so that if one goes down, he will still be able to continue even with another lens. For example, in addition to the 70-200, he will have a 100-400. In adittion to the 17-40, he will have the 27-70, etc. Maybe not a financially viable solution to all of us, but worth investing in if a pro.
Im with Mr. Murphy ….. He will see us soon. lol
Haha, I know the feeling. I always have three or four flashes handy with a backup set of loaded batteries for each of them.
But even then you never know with mr. Murphy. My second to last shoot my 5D wouldn’t react any more to pressing the shutter?
I was perplexed, restarted the body twice looking goofy. It didn’t happen again. Still I wouldn’t wanna have to rely on the other body that I use with a wideangle to be the only camera for the rest of the shoot.
Most definetely Murphy still has some more tricks up his sleave…
That’s why I love using the Shootsac at weddings… I can keep all my spares really close! You guys are lucky because your clothes have pockets; woman’s formal wear has nothing!
I want a divorce
This advice seems basic but it is profound and cannot be overstated. I’ve been second shooter on a couple of weddings but I had my first wedding client only a week ago. A few things went wrong that could have been prevented - and will be prevented in the future thanks to the experience I have gained. Fortunately, I had an experienced photographer shooting secondary for me and so that client got a good result.
Bottom line is, you gotta respect the game.
Where are you LIME guys . .. Making a feature length video for lime with A list celebrity’s ?
I miss LIME…what are you guys doing, busy working as photographers or something?
It feels good to hear that we all face the same Mr. Murphy. In never thought of it as kicking him in the balls… I’m prepared when I do a shoot, I try to imagine everything that can go wrong, just like you, but many times my heart stops, even when I know I have the solution at hand.
Anyway, thanks to you, just the idea of hitting back at Murphy will give me a laugh every time I face adversity.
greetz,
Nancy
Gah!….. it happened.
I just shot a wedding on the weekend (2nd photographer) and I normally pack my sling bag with lenses, batteries etc. the night before and leave my main bag in the car, but it was a last minute job so I had to pack my sling bag in the carpark before scouting the church 30 mins before the groom arrived.
Was chatting to the main photographer who I’ve worked with a few times before and got all my bag packed. No problem (although I was rushing and finding it hard to keep the conversation up).
She wandered off with one of the early arrivers and I went back into the boot to get some gel strips in case we’d need them in the church or reception. Got them out, all packed, not a problem.
Went to lock the car and ….. where are my keys?
I’d locked them in the boot of the car.
Spent 5 minutes checking and re-checking my pockets and my sling bag while cursing quietly. Not much good having backup gear when you can’t get to it :o(
To make matters worse, I was supposed to take the bride/groom to a nearby park for the post-wedding portrait shots.
But, got on to the phone to my mum, got her to take my spare keys to my apartment, get into my safe to get my spare car keys and deliver them to the church.
I locked 3 of the car doors (and prayed no-one tried the open one) and we carried on shooting the day as normal.
50 minutes later, while the couple were signing the registrar, my mum rocked up with my keys , I opened the boot and there were the main set.
I hugged her so hard her eyes nearly popped out her head.
CW