I got a reprimand after my lastest post about making an exact copy. My youngest son objected because I had left out a big part of how I made the picture. He told me I had to correct my error by telling you how important he is to my work; which is especially true for the picture “the little matches girl”.
I promised him that I would write a blog post about how important a good assistant is to my workflow as a photographer. To be honest, I would never have been able to do such a good job making a copy of Vesa Lehtimäki’s image without my assistant who was there to help me. He gave me vital input, like telling me when the picture was to dark, so I could correct my settings and make the picture brighter. He also did marvelous work with the salt and the baking soda; he was my snow machine.
And if truth be told, this isn’t the first time he’s worked as my assistant; he helps me whenever I need it. If I ask him to join me when I go out to photograph, he usually replies: ‘Do you need me to assist?’ If I say, ‘no’, then he says:’ Na, I won’t join’. The reason for this is simple, he knows that there’s no glamour in hanging with me while I take pictures, it’s only hard work. But if I need an assistant, he will consider helping me and truly be a part of the hard work.
When I create pictures, my family is my biggest asset; they always help me when it’s needed. My youngest son is involved in the shooting because he likes to assist if he can. I can run ideas by him and he will give me hints about what I should think about. He was also the first to tell me that my pictures don’t have anything to do with Star Wars because he knows what Star Wars looks like and I don’t capture that at all in my pictures. He’s also the one who builds most of my lego. I’m no builder and I really need that assistance. An assistant, like my son, helps me to see opportunities; he’s around when I need “snow” or other special effects. He’s a great asset.
I’m sorry I didn’t share this in my latest post, but my son, who is also my assistant, made the snow for the picture “the little matches girl”. He also gave me great insights about what I should work with when I tried to recreate Vesa Lehtimäki’s picture. I’m really grateful for all the help I received. Thank you!
Kristina
Who assists you when you make pictures?
I got only myself.
You have a great support in me and in the community 🙂
That is so true 🙂 But when I shoot I have to do it myself. Got no family of my own and none of my friends are photointrested. So no I work not alone and yes I work alone 😉
That is awesome, what a wonderful time it must be for you both! I didn’t even start my adventure in toy photography until my daughter was already in university… sure would have been fun to have her as an assistant 🙂
It’s not to late is it, to have you daughter as help in the process of making pictures. Just ask 🙂
Kristina,
You are lucky to have such a wonderful helper. I am also lucky. I have a husband who talks ideas with me, a daughter always on the look out for interesting mini figures for me, a son to build my mocs and help on photo shoots. Besides family I also have a good friend, wiiman who is always game to hold a bounce card or blow some sand about. I think its easy to overlook how much work it takes to great art from plastic. Having a support group is important.
I would recommend anyone to take a friend or fellow photographer along on any photo shoot. An extra pair of hands can be very handy.
Best regards to you and your wonderful assistant!
S
Thank you Shelly. Yes, I agree family is the best 🙂
You’re very lucky to have someone to assist you and be able to work with him. Sometimes I’d like to have someone to help me when I shoot but the only experiences I have of shooting with others are a few “sessions” playing with friends with my LEGO minifigures. Even thought there were a few shots containing some interesting ideas I could exploit in a future session, overall it was fun but terrible experiences in term of photo quality. I have a vision of what I want to do and I find it hard to work with someone that does not necessarily share it. That’s one of the many reasons I’m looking forward to attending a toy safari. Maybe there I could work with someone who share a vision close to mine.