A weird thing photographers have to know

I love learning about others' professional experiences - everything from the macro to the micro details of their day-to-day work. Lots of things are more obvious (teachers teach, doctors see patients, attorneys work with clients), but there are always little details we never quite imagined certain professionals would have to practice on a frequent (and sometimes daily!) basis.

In case you also like to learn more about others' professional lives, I thought I'd share the least obvious thing photographers have to know when photographing people, products, or events.

​We MUST have a sense of direction.

Why the heck would a photographer have to have a sense of direction? Well, there are a few reasons:

1. One of my clients likes me to take headshots of new hires within the first week or two of their start date. Their office faces east, and the specific location (near the windows) of the headshots matters since they need to look consistent with the rest of the team's headshots. The first shoot was done in the afternoon, when sunlight (hello, it rises in the east!) was not shining in through the windows. Sun on the walls/floor of a space makes a huge difference in what the photos look like especially if you're using natural light and not a flash setup.
2. Product photography functions in the same way. If a client wants lifestyle/brand photography for use on their website, social media, etc., we need to consider the shoot location and what direction it faces. If they want an indoor location in a building facing west, we need to do the shoot in the morning to avoid direct sunlight. Unless of course they want direct sunlight!
3. Event photography depends on sunlight as well, but this shoot (and its location) is much more about client education. If a client is having a lovely outdoor summer event on the west side of a building, I educate them on the fact that sun may be in people's eyes (causing squinting and strain) since the sun will be setting at that time. If a client is having a daytime outdoor event, I always recommend the north side of a building if they have control over the location (since the sun flows a bit to the south during midday here in Columbus).

​Happy Friday!
​Autumn