I wrote a post about this recently, the amount of control we have in our roles as photographers and videographers, but I thought a re-visit was worth while.
In a perfect world, we shoot what we want, how we want.
Light, sound (if video), perfect lens and camera selection, then time to perfect the ideal subject matter are the realm of top tier pro’s. These people got there though by over coming and embracing more limited forms of their creativity.
Tier 1.
You have no choice in the what, where or why of your subject, little control of technical elements, but still have to get the job done. This is the run-n-gun videographer or photojournalists playground.
What you do have control of is choice of camera, lens, sound and lighting gear that you can carry with you and employ quickly and efficiently.
This is usually limited to SLR/Mirrorless style cameras, professional grade, but not specialised lenses, small reflectors, fill or hand held lights and on camera sound.
Even these can stretch the friendship.
First control the ambient light. We switched off the bank behind the subject. Then a single Godox 860 flash fired into a 60cm white reflector on a chair (left) and a small 96 bead LED directly behind, set to warm. Sometimes you can get close to what you want with little, but the reality is, something could always be better. In this case, I would have liked the main light a little higher, a brolly, maybe flagged slightly and a stronger hair light out of frame. The weird line across the back was a result of old ceiling beams.
Personally I carry two M43 bodies, a selection of sharp and capable lenses, but all are chosen with weight and size in mind and the bare basics in lighting and sound fixes (flash, off camera controller, LED light, small reflector, MKE-400 mic).
First out is the flash, the zooms next for small scale indoor jobs or primes for outdoor events. The 12-40 zoom has a 4 stop ND filter almost permanently mounted on the front for video and to avoid high synch fill flash, the 17mm or 9mm primes are used in poor light.
My bag is heavy enough to make long walks a matter of shedding the unnecessary.
I do not shoot full frame!
Sometimes you just get a decent bit of help from the environment.
Tier 2.
This tier is a blend of what you want, mixed with what you cannot control.
This requires a surprising amount of extra effort and communication. First you need to find out more specifically what you will need to produce and the parameters you have to work in.
It may be a portable studio situation, a better than normal video interview, maybe even a specific point of view or time of day. Communication is crucial, then flexibility next.
This is what happens when you are not prepared. Great subject, wonderful interaction, a backdrop that is a little too short for unexpected little ones.
One of our togs at the paper fills the boot of one of the pool cars with extra gear and that car is known to be his. A Drone and lighting kit are the guts of it, but still a boot full.
For me, this is the difference between my best life and the daily life at the paper. I have a full portable studio kit, a portable video outfit with cinema grade elements, extreme sound fixes (for a videographer), a sports, low light and landscape stills kit, but I need to know what to bring and have time and space to use it.
Easy enough to achieve, as long as you have room for a couple of stands, a flash bracket, brolly and collapsible backdrop (or a lot of dark space).
Tier 3.
This is the almost professional level where you are kitted up, prepared, fully communicated with and basically, it is all about the process and end results. Obviously, you have to get results, often quickly and meet or surpass expectations, but you only have yourself to blame now, the ball is, as they say, in your court.
Looking at a well known example, Joe McNally is that guy these days, but for much of his career, it came as it came, he did what he could and the legend grew. Now he has a crew of assistants, specialists in several fields and all the gear he could ask for, but it did not come without a lot of effort, mistakes and probably some dark times.
Tier 4.
This is where you get full reign over the creative process, all the gear, time and resources you could want.
The only people who really have this amount control are hobbyists, the masters or self funded project managers.