Professional Photography

I went on my first professional shoot today. Professional in the sense that it was for work, and I was "on-the-clock". I was tasked with procuring photos of containers on the store shelves, and given a list of up-scale or trendy stores that I should start with. Ha-ha, no small task. I had a feeling that the managers of these well known national chains would not be real happy to see someone snapping photos inside their stores. I was using the "work" camera so as to provide us with the best possible images in terms of resolution and size. Our work camera is a Canon 5D with a Canon EF 24-105mm F4 L series lens. This thing is huge. Big black camera syndrome. Since I was going to be taking pictures on private property, I was going to have to ask permission first. I went prepared with a stack of my business cards in my pocket, and the camera slung over one shoulder, in a non-threatening manner, and the lens cap visibly covering the lens when I entered each establishment. In each case I walked up to the front desk and asked to speak with a manager, and then proceeded to introduce myself, provide them with my business card, and then describe what I wanted to take pictures of. The first two places that I went to had very well trained assistant managers that could recite directly from the employee handbook. They each told me that they would love to be able to help me out, but it was simply not allowed due to corporate policy. However, the third place that I went to, I got lucky. The assistant manager at this location was clearly not being recognized for his abilities to effectively manage a store and was out to make a name for himself. I approached this one the same as the last two, and this assistant manager didn't see any problems with me taking a few photographs. I tried real hard not to look surprised, and simply thanked him and proceeded down the aisle, powering up the camera, removing the lens cap, and looking for my first subject. Now I had a very specific list of containers that we needed photos of, but I was pretty sure that this opportunity wasn't going to last long, and that I might not get another opportunity any time soon. So I took pictures of every kind of bottle that I could find. I was able to snap 43 pictures in the time it took the assistant manager to interrupt his boss and discuss the situation, and then track me down in the store to let me know that he "Would have to ask me to leave." Less than ten minutes total. I immediately turned off the camera, and left quickly and quietly. I succeeded at accomplishing my task, but I didn't really enjoy doing it. It just goes to show, that the last thing that anyone should ever do, is take a perfectly good hobby, and turn it into work.