Thoughts on Shooting Editorial from a shoot for Clarcor

For three years I worked as a product photographer for Saks 5th Avenue at the LaVergne, Tennessee Off 5th Avenue photo studio. It was one of the greatest experiences of my career so far. That said it was shooting in the studio every day on a white seamless background. When I left Saks I decided that I wanted to shoot more editorial. This shoot for Clarcor was one of my first editorial pieces after working at Saks. Editorial provides me an opportunity to get outside the studio, to meet new people and see some really cool places.

Let me say this up front I love doing food photography and product photography in the studio under a controlled situation. It is really fun to hop in the car and travel to a new location and troubleshoot all of the small problems that you run into on an editorial shoot. Editorial puts your mind in a different place than studio photography. You have to figure out how to work with the environment. When shooting in a factory you have to watch your back and pay close attention to everything going on beside you.

Working in an in-house production studio means that you don't get to meet new people all the time. Since I have started freelancing again and shooting more editorial and on location gigs, I get to meet new people almost every day. When I freelanced before Saks I felt like I was pretty isolated and stayed in my office most of the time. Since I have started freelancing again 10 months ago I have gotten out of my office every day to meet with potential clients, shoot gigs, or hang out with friends. Being a photographer means that you have to learn to make fast friends. It is really amazing how many new people that I will meet in a week and all of the stories that I pick up along the way.

Shooting editorial is also fun because of the amazing places that I get to shoot. I think the general public thinks that factories and warehouses are boring spaces. These days modern factories and warehouses are filled with modern technology and are really interesting. I'm always fascinated by the people and the machines that make things. Also, the people that operate the machines are highly skilled and really awesome to talk to.

In the past 10 months, I have had a great time getting into more editorial photography. It is a great supplement to my other commercial work. It has allowed me to get out of the studio, meet new people, and think more critically.