I was at the beach with my family taking photos of my daughter, Ella, chasing bubbles, strangers, and squirrels. One funny squirrel let me get far too close for comfort: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=12203140&id=258549210724. I could even see my big bald head in the squirrel's eye. I think he was snarling. Quite possibly with one more step I would have been mutilated. But I digress.
My cell phone rings, the number is out of state, and I fight the urge to ignore it. Since starting a photography business, I answer the phone significantly more than I have in the past. A woman explains that she found my advertisement on Craigslist, is from a poker magazine in Las Vegas, and she wants to know if I am able to photograph someone in New Haven.
I tried as hard as I can to figure out the scam angle and couldn't. I patiently (read: impatiently) waited until I was able to get to a wifi hotspot to google all of the names and titles I just heard. Did I say I was suspicious?
I was asked my fee. I gave a price slightly higher than my 'senior portrait' fee, knowing it was extremely under-priced for this sort of work. But honestly, I would have done it for free for the experience and publicity, so I figured better safe than sorry. They counter-offered me slightly higher and of course I accepted the assignment. Then, all sorts of waiting happened. First, I had to wait for the magazine to contact the player, then I waited for the magazine contact to get a hold of me, then I waited until I spoke with the player, then I waited for Saturday morning, the time we agreed to shoot.
The magazine gave me a list of suggested shots. One of those was to be 'in front of a Yale building, crossed arms.' I knew which building it would be (Sterling Library, almost iconic). We did this shot first, assuming this would be the cover shot. I was concerned about the sun and its effects, because it was high in the sky and blaring down even at 9:00AM.
We set up the first shot and, as expected, the sun was challenging us.
Luckily, I had my trusty 'flash on a stick.'
That's me on the left, Vanessa in the middle, and my flash on the right. I triggered my flash with the Cactus V4 radio trigger (http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/product.php?productid=17204), because there was no way to trigger it in the bright sun with anything else.
The final result eliminated the shadows on the right side of her face (viewer's left side) and gave me a photo worthy of publication.
Here is the photo as it appears in the magazine. (sorry for dullness due to scanning).
Another photo that presented some difficulty was one of cards falling around Vanessa. As hard as we tried with two decks of cards and two trusty assistants, we were unable to capture a good image of cards falling.
Luckily, through the magic of cut and paste, I was able to provide the magazine with a proper photo of falling cards.
I've become a big fan of using the flash off-camera. From using it to fill in shadows, as in the photo in front of Sterling Library, to using it as a primary source of indoor light.
Here is a shot from inside the cafeteria without flash. Yes, this beautiful place is the Yale Law Buildings cafeteria. It was quite an experience to set up and shoot this photo with so many people buzzing around to get their morning coffee.
Then with the flash on a stick behind me and to my right, I got the image that eventually made the cover of the magazine.
So I'm left with a sense of awe and excitement that I was given this opportunity. Card Player magazine reaches nearly 250,000 people every two weeks that it comes out. As I understand it, it is available free at your local casino's poker room and it's available at bookstores and newsstands. I can only hope this will lead to even greater things.
- Todd Philip Guglielmo
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