Home > Culture > Mentor Showcase > The 2007 Best-of Series: Brad Feinknopf
The 2007 'Best Of' Series
We have now produced an annual Best Of issue of the ASMP Bulletin for the third year in a row. As before, we selected twenty projects for our issue — but this year, we had nearly 200 excellent submissions! It was a tough decision, and we thank all those who submitted their work. We hope you will enjoy reading about these projects.
Brad Feinknopf, Columbus, OH
Web site: www.feinknopf.com
Project: The logistics behind two near-simultaneous assignments
The year 2007 started with a bang for Brad Feinknopf, with back-to-back assignments on opposite coasts. From January 10 to 13, he captured the excitement of a packed house at USC’s new basketball arena in Los Angeles. Then, from January 15 to 18, he recorded innovations to form and function at the new Howard Hughes medical research institute outside Washington, D.C. An added bonus to a job well done was the Lab of the Year award given to the medical institute by R&D magazine, based in part on his work.
All images in this article © Brad Feinknopf
ASMP: How long have you been in business?
Approximately seventeen years.
ASMP: How long have you been an ASMP member?
Twelve years, since 1995.
ASMP: What are your photographic specialties?
I primarily shoot architecture, but I do some corporate, people and portraiture work as well.
ASMP: Please describe the processes and techniques central to the making of this work.
This was a dusk shot that was created by leveling the tripod and camera and then doing a series of captures, rotating the camera 5 degrees for each capture and then stitching the captures together in post-production to create the panoramic final image.
ASMP: What do you consider your most valuable piece of equipment?
My eyes. The camera is merely a tool. The equipment should not define the photographer; the photographer should define the equipment, which will best aid him/her in achieving their vision.
ASMP: What is unique about your style/approach or what sets you and your work apart from other photographers?
As son and grandson of architects and with a design degree, I have spent a lifetime looking at architecture. Through these experiences, it gives me a greater understanding of architecture and how to interpret it and articulate it through photography. Additionally, I am very easygoing and relatively easy to work with.
ASMP: Who handles your travel planning/bookings? How much of your time is spent planning/booking logistics?
Jill Nielsen at Summit Travel in Columbia, MO, has been my travel agent for around 15 years, and she handles all my travel. I don’t spend considerable time with planning and booking logistics, I leave that largely up to Jill and I have been doing it so long, it has become rather run-of-the-mill.
ASMP: Do you work with a studio manager or assistant to help with job logistics?
I do not have a studio manager, but I do have a full-time assistant and he does assist with some of the logistics.
ASMP: Do you charge for pre-production? How is this structured?
Yes, I do bill for pre-production, and it is based on how many hours we spend doing pre-production. In most cases, we do not have a great deal of time wrapped up in pre-production, so the charges tend to be rather incidental.
ASMP: What sort of backup equipment/system do you use for your digital files while on the road?
We shoot tethered to a 17” MacBook Pro and back up everything throughout the shoot onto a La Cie Portable Firewire Drive.
ASMP: In the image of the medical institute, is the background building and the foreground section all one structure? Was shooting from this angle requested by the client or is this something you scouted independently?
No, the foreground is the Conference Housing for visiting researchers, etc. The rear building is the Laboratory and Research Facility. It is a separate structure, though an underground tunnel connects the two.
This angle was not requested by the client. When walking the site I saw this shot in my mind’s eye and then it was just a matter of logistically putting it together (i.e. lighting issues) and executing it. My clients tend to give me some direction but put a great deal of trust in my vision.
ASMP: Please describe your approach to scouting a location. How significant is prior research about the location to your process? What aspects of this are most valuable once you get on-site?
Prior research is certainly helpful (what direction a project faces, shots of the project, etc.) but nothing beats seeing the project in person. More often than not, I do not get to scout the project before shooting the project because budget does not allow two trips, one for scouting and one to shoot. When I am traveling to a place I haven’t been to before, I quickly need to walk the site and put together a plan of attack of where I see images and determine how can we execute them.
I will say that I often like not to have the opportunity to scout projects because I like that first guttural, primal experience of something new and having the images unveil themselves to me as I walk through. Too much familiarity takes away from the newness and excitement from that initial experience. To truly photograph a project of merit needs several days to experience the project and have the opportunity to capture the project as it evolves throughout the day, through different light conditions, different weather conditions, several dawns and dusks. A building is not a static object. A space that is dead at 10 AM may come alive at 4 PM and, through experience, I have learned how to analyze a project so that I can be at the right space, at the right time, to show it at that point it comes to life.
ASMP: Typically how much creative freedom are you given on assignments? Would you say it varies according to individual clients, or by the industry the client works in?
It certainly varies. Architects, construction firms, etc., tend to give me a fair amount of freedom and hire me for my vision and how I interpret their project. They may say that there are certain areas they need to capture or need to tell a story, but truly they respect and embrace my vision. On advertising projects, though my vision is embraced, I am typically helping to execute the vision of a Creative Director, and it is more about creating their vision than my interpretation.
ASMP: Typically how art-directed are you on assignments? Do you work from a comp or brief from the client/AD?
I am not art-directed at all, unless it is a project for an advertising agency, and then the art direction varies. I rarely work from a comp, but I have in the past.
ASMP: Were either or both of these first-time clients or had you worked with them before? How did they come to contact you for these jobs?
Neither of the firms were first-time clients. I have built these relationships over time by doing work of the highest caliber and giving them excellence, quality and service. In fact, the firm I shot the project in Los Angeles for hired me eight years ago to shoot a 4-lane bridge for them locally. That job turned into a job for a larger project, which turned into a job for an even larger project, which turned into another job and now I shoot most of their top-tier projects. Photography is expensive and there needs to be a certain level of trust between client and photographer that their project will be handled appropriately. I respect that trust and try to continually nurture it.
ASMP: Did planning these two assignments on such a tight timeline involve specific negotiations with the two clients? Please describe your strategy for this.
No, we just did what we needed to do. Each client was aware of the other shoot, and we were aware of everyone’s deadlines. I made the commitment to accomplish the work in the timeline given and saw to it that it was done. Clients understand that we are busy and that we are trying to meet multiple clients’ needs. As long as they get things when they are promised, they tend not to worry about that which is going on outside their project. That is my problem.
ASMP: Were your clients aware that your scheduling between these jobs was so tight? If so, how did you address it with them?
They knew what I was doing, but those were their needs and their timeframes. It was my choice to accept the projects. I could have turned one down and allowed them to use someone else, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to shoot these two amazing projects.
ASMP: You mention that the medical institute client contacted you for the job because they were not happy with the results of another photographer’s work. Did you discuss this first shoot with the client and, if so, what kind of questions did you ask them? What did you say or do to assure them that you would provide them with something memorable?
Let me clarify: It was the architect who contacted me, and the previous photographer was so difficult on the first shoot that they were hesitant about allowing someone to photograph the building again. Different photographers work differently. Some photographers take the tack of “do whatever you need to do and ask for permission later.” I have always asked for permission and, curiously, people always give me consent. I have always seen myself as an extension of the client and, if I am on location, my actions are not only a reflection of myself but of them as well. When I leave, I want the building owner or representative to call my clients and report what an absolute pleasure I was to work with. Some photographers believe that to get truly great work you need to scream and yell and be an ultimate primadonna, and that may work for some. That is not me. I try to establish a pleasant working relationship of collaboration towards a mutually beneficial end. That is what works for me. Life is too short for ranting and raving. I take the “you gather more bees with honey than with vinegar” approach, and for me, it works. As a result, I assuaged all concerns and have been told I am welcome at the project anytime I wish to return.
To discuss the first shoot would have been inappropriate. The medical institute and the photographer didn’t jibe and that was that. They took a risk when I walked onto the property, but they knew they wanted to create the best possible submission for R&D Magazine’s Lab of the Year award and they did not have enough imagery to do so. Fortunately for all, I did jibe with the client, they did get something memorable, and they did win the Lab of the Year. Credit goes first to the architect for designing a great building, but also to the other photographers who photographed the building. Fine imagery was created from all the rounds of photography, which contributed to the awards submittal. My imagery may have made up the lion’s share of the imagery, but certainly was not the only component.
One, too, should give credit where credit is due. It may be my image with my name on it, but without the assistance of others, from digital technicians to people assisting to keep lights with motion sensors on at the critical dusk hour, this shot would not have been possible. It is a collaborative effort to create this vision.
