Jochen_S Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 People plan events and ask if I could cover them. The technically most important open question for me is: "Will there be light?" I won't break even by spending time and money to scout venues in advance and don't have a bag full of Sony A7 S IIs & insanely fast glass yet. So I am wondering: How could I make use of clients' iPhones & Android counterparts to dodge dim jobs or make sure they 'll rig up enough stage lighting? What are usable free or dirt cheap exposure- or Lux meter apps that I could ask them to use while picking their venues? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Not into phones but if you Google this free light meter app download, there seem to be a bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Helmke Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 If you are going to do much of this type work it will be worth your while to scout the locations if they are in a reasonable distance. If you do mostly local work it won't be long before you are familiar with the venues in your area and it makes life easier. Rick H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles_Webster Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Scouting the venue is ALWAYS worth the effort. Even if you are working for free (donating your time etc.). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochen_S Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Thank you all for getting back. I wish I could agree with Rick upon: If you do mostly local work it won't be long before you are familiar with the venues in your area and it makes life easier But I can't get rid of the feeling that they spot an even darker cave whenever I just upgraded my kit to cope with the previous worst one. That's why I'd love to enable venue pickers to figure out what "too dark" means. Yes, taking incident readings on stages before shows and begging stage technicians to be a bit more generous with their light did pay off in the past. Still: Some stuff feels "I shouldn't even try to shoot that." Getting one just slightly blurry wide open shot to print small is easier than trying to document everything under bad conditions. Sometimes it is time to say: "No, sorry, that's too impossible for me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Vongries Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 "Do or don't do, there is no try." Yoda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelchadwickphotography Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Refusing to scout a location in which you will be shooting because you don't think it will be worth your while and because you will not invest in proper lenses and strobe units which will get you through just about any situation, is short sighted and putting yourself through much more stress. If you are being paid as a professional, it is incumbent upon you to have the proper equipment to handle any situation properly. If you don't want to scout a location outside of the shoot, then just going to the shoot a couple of hours early is sufficient *if* you have the proper equipment. If you won't make that investment, you are going to have to scout and do very difficult workarounds and potentially come up with an inferior product. Make the investment. It will pay off sooner than you think if you are doing good work in any lighting situation. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
httpswww.blvdartists.co Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Yes I agree with you Sandy Vongries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_bill Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 If you are not experienced, scouting is even more important. If you don't have the gear to be able to "adapt, improvise, overcome" as Clint stated in one of his movies, nor the varied skills to do so, even more reason to know what to expect and what to bring or acquire before the shoot. There is more to check to see if there IS light, ie, quantity of light, also determine the quality, ie direction, diffusion, intensity/ contrast, color. Finally, seeing the location gives you some time to mull over potential locations to use and shots and time for, as I describe the creative process, time for sheet to happen. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Michael Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Aside: Heartbreat Ridge Gunnery Sgt. Highway, when waking the barracks at 0500hrs when he previously said 0600hrs . . . “. . . Let’s go. Move out. You’re Marines now. You improvise. You adapt. You overcome. Four minutes, fall out.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_bill Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 William, when on location and a light fails or falls or the weather changes, those words ring so true. What is really hard isn't the adapting etc, it's not letting them see you sweat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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