Home > Culture > Mentor Showcase > The 2006 Best-of Series: Dave Moser
The 2006 'Best Of' Series
For the second annual Best Of issue of the ASMP Bulletin, we selected twenty projects from a field of nearly sixty candidates. It was a tough decision and we thank all those who submitted their work. We hope you will enjoy reading about the projects featured in print and here on the ASMP Web site.
Editorial assignment for Rodale’s Your Health Now magazine
Dave Moser’s 24-hour, cross-country trek to photograph Canadian author Kelsy George, plus eight other portraits he was assigned for Rodale Press, was made memorable by record-breaking weather and a rigorous customs check. Thanks to an unexpected break in the storm, Moser emerged with plenty of dynamic shots.
Portrait of Dave Moser © by Chris Crisman, Wonderful Machine
All other images in this article © Dave Moser
ASMP: How long have you been in business?
DM: I’ve been in business since 1991, shooting full time since approximately 1994-95.
ASMP: How long have you been an ASMP member?
DM: Since 1991.
ASMP: What are your photographic specialties?
DM: People on location for advertising, editorial and corporate clients.
ASMP: Please summarize the equipment used in this work.
DM: I used a variety of lighting techniques, sometimes using a combination of silks and strobes and sometimes using just available light. Most lighting and grip gear was rented on location. I used grids on almost every light with gobos controlling fall off. I found that my subject was very self-conscious, having a hard time really focusing on me and my direction, so I would periodically clear the set, leaving only one assistant. I can tell by looking at the frames when the set was clear or not.
Gear used: Profoto 7B’s with extra small Chimera gridded boxes, grid spots and Plume Wafers, Mathew silks, frames, gobos, sandbags, roller strands, Quantum remotes, Nikon D2X’s with all Nikon lenses (primarily 17-55mm f2.8, 70-200mm VR f2.8, and 85mm f1.4).
ASMP: Please describe how you were selected for this assignment and the estimating process involved.
DM: Rodale found me on BlackBook.com. The art director, photo coordinator-editor and creative director really liked my work. I was told on the initial call that, after viewing my Web site, the collective response was “we gotta use this guy.” My first estimate was for fees (based on licensing) and typical shooting expenses as the locations for the first four subjects were not yet determined. I included lines in my estimate explaining what was not included and that I would supply those numbers upon further detail. As the locations were approved, I booked my travel and received signatures on all additional expenses and travel fees. I then received an advance for all out-of-pocket expenses. I do not believe the job was bid out.
ASMP: What kind of research do you do before a shoot?
DM: This depends on the specific assignment. I try to find out what my subject looks like (recent pictures preferred) and what wardrobe options are available. After speaking with this particular subject, I found out she did not have the wardrobe we were looking for, so I ended up wiring her money the night before we left. I always check the weather no matter if the job is inside or out. I like to read the story copy as well. Hiring a location scout (if travel is involved) or scouting myself is something I really push for. Most important, I call and establish a relationship with my subjects (and handlers) to prepare them for the experience and to make clear my intentions. We are all on the same team.
ASMP: Tell us about the time frame covered and locations visited.
DM: We left my studio in Philly at 3:30 a.m. on January 31 and arrived at our hotel in Courtenay, B.C. at 8:30 p.m. that night (that’s 20 hours of travel: two cars, two planes and a ferry). We met our subject at the hotel bar to discuss the next day. On February 1, our call time was 4 a.m. at a local greasy spoon for a 5 a.m. start time on the beaches of Goose Spit. We shot about seven different sets and variations before lunch, and then we continued on to the subject’s home in a nearby RV Park, where we shot four more sets and variations and finished in the rain at around 3:30 p.m.
The next day, February 2nd, involved the same start time but included a four-hour drive across the mountainous interior of Vancouver Island to the Beaches of Tofino. We stopped at Cathedral Grove for two available-light sets and finished our shooting with five sets/variations in Tofino at around 3:30 p.m. We just barely caught the last ferry back to Vancouver that night, settling into our hotel at 11 p.m. The return trip to Philly only lasted 18 hours.
ASMP: What kind of crew did you travel with and what equipment did you use?
DM: I traveled with one assistant and met up with a second assistant and make-up artist at the rental house in Vancouver. The third assistant (an intern) met up with us at our Hotel in Courtenay.
ASMP: Did you encounter any hidden surprises to your budget estimates during the shoot?
DM: My studio manager did extensive research. But as we learned of the catastrophic weather predictions, we rented a large tent to shoot under, as well as a large industrial umbrella, and tripled our sandbag rentals. Rodale was very understanding about all changes to our estimates and responded immediately to the changes. I also did quite a bit of research about shooting in Canada as I had heard many horror stories and actually had gear impounded on a connecting flight through Canada heading to Frankfurt, Germany. (Canadian security was concerned about us reselling the gear during our one-hour layover.) I hired the local assistant in Vancouver to do research on this topic and she found the specific codes to reference. We were told to bring a signed letter from Rodale on letterhead stating that I was an American photographer shooting for an American company. We were held up for over two hours in customs due to confusion in front of us, but the process went very smoothly once we reached the agent.
ASMP: Please describe your process in composing an image.
DM: I always know what I am looking for before I arrive; it’s just a matter of puzzling things together on location. I will walk around with an assistant brainstorming different setups and then review them on the camera back. After I decide on which sets to use and a shooting order, we move really fast with lighting and composing the shots. I often challenge myself once I feel I have what I want in the bag. This shoot was no exception.
ASMP: Do you have any specific strategies for working with portrait subjects?
DM: I tend to be very high energy, which can work against me when it comes to actually taking the images. I will take a few moments before we are ready to shoot to quiet myself. This helps me to focus on subtleties of expression and gesture. I will often stop during the shoot and look at the set without the camera. This allows me to find changes I would like to make, often prompting me to change angles.
ASMP: Has this assignment given you any new insights to apply to your career?
DM: I used to shy away from large productions, but actually thrive on them now. I find myself pushing smaller jobs into larger productions with decent success. I am most concerned about the final image, so sometimes the larger production can freak out the subjects. This is why it is so important to speak with the subjects beforehand and try to feel things out.
ASMP: Has this job brought you any other new projects or do you foresee this happening in the future?
DM: Upon return from British Columbia, Rodale hired me for five more portraits in three cities nationally. I am only now editing these images for my Web site due to our contract. I do foresee these images bringing me future work.
ASMP: Please elaborate on the work you’ve done with corporate image libraries. What is your favorite part of this work?
DM: I have been “the branding photographer” for quite a few Fortune 500 companies. Recently smaller firms and corporations have contracted me to produce for their “libraries.” The difficult part of this is the licensing. I still maintain all rights and spend a great deal of time educating my clients about the advantages of rights-managed photography.
There are many things I really enjoy about this kind of work. Mainly it is the focus; producing many shoots in a short duration of time is very rewarding. The challenge of staying within “brand” while trying to grow the “brand” is a double-edged sword. The relationships with the agency and clients become very strong due to the difficult deadlines and workload, often resulting in new friendships. Most of all, I love to see my images used. It is not unusual to see the same image on a billboard, double-truck print ad, sporting event banner, magazine cover and annual report. It is validation.
This spring the “corporate library” projects have scaled down to just me and my cameras flying across the country, sometimes to as many as 15 cities on one leg. I will spend a day photographing my subject(s), then fly off to the next town. The simplicity of these projects has been refreshing.
ASMP: Tell us more about your digital quirks series. What did you find most interesting about this series?
DM: The series started out as late night/early morning walks, just playing again, without clients in mind. I became interested in blur and digital noise. With the instant feedback of digital I was able to make drastic changes in exposure and color balance that I would not have made with film. Some of the images have so much noise that the noise becomes the color and subject of the image reminiscent of pointillism. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed creating abstractions and how I saw myself and my energy in these abstractions. I have begun showing my work in galleries again, which I find energizing. I am also posting this work on Flickr, and I find interacting with people about art for the sake of art and personal communication as exciting and rewarding as I did when I was in art school.
