Re: [Leica] Re: Leica the first candid?

[tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant)]

>Ted wrote:
>
>>"If you are going to look like a bum, you are going to get treated like
>>one!" And the image of news photographers went down hill and so did the
>>respect given to the profession.>>>>>>>>

Claes wrote in response:

>Working for the newsdesk as a staff news photographer often means you have
>absolutely no idea what you=B4re going to do, or where you=B4re going, duri=
ng
>your work day. Yes, you might have to cover a fancy formal dinner, but you
>might also end up covering a train crash or a forest fire. So, how does a
>news photographer dress for going to the office?

Claes,
we had to wear shirt, tie, jacket and slacks or suits "all the time!" And
it didn't matter if you got called in the middle of the day to go cover a
fire, car crash, murder or flash flood. No, it didn't make sense sometimes,
certainly when we were caught shooting some thing other than a hard news
item for the fashion editor.

However if we did a fire thing and were at the scene for several hours we
were always compensated for clothes cleaning costs. Most of us had quick
change clothes in the car so that in some cases we could get into "more
appropriate clothing for the flood." :)

>Let me tell you about my work yesterday, Wednesday. Early morning I was
>sent to shoot pictures for an interview with a professor at the Royal
>University of Technology. As usual I was dressed in jeans, a checkered
>shirt and my photo vest. Since the professor was dressed in a similar
>fashion I didn=B4t feel a bit uncomfortable!>>>>>>>

No I would think the attire was Ok for this situation.

>Around lunch-time I was sent to a seminar for the cream of our business
>community. There I took pictures of the chairmen and CEO=B4s of our largest
>banks and companies. They all wore dark suits and white shirts. Being an
>underpaid news photographer I still didn=B4t feel out of place in my very
>casual outfit. After all I was on a job! And, as always, I was treated
>with the respect any professional working man deserves. I certainly did
>not feel like a bum!>>>>>

I didn't say you would __"feel like a bum!"__my point was you'd look like
one!:)

Your dress for such a meeting/luncheon would be totally unacceptable at the
newspaper I worked for and if I did turn-up dressed so casually, I'd hear
about it big time. Although I must say today's photographers do dress much
more casually than I'd have been allowed to.

I have always been a champion of wearing the appropriate clothing for the
occasion and whatever the occasion, that calls the shot for the dress.

I had to do an interview photo session with the CEO of a big international
corporation just after I had spent several hours looking for "weather snow
pictures" at 30 below zero!  Now you don't dress for the indoor shoot when
your doing two hours in sub zero environment, so when the photo thing was
done the CEO asked me, "Why do news photographers always look like they've
been lost in the bush for 30 days in grubby clothes etc.?"

It kinda set me back, as at the time I had fallen into the news photog
"grub look" instead of being properly dressed. So I explained the
assignment I had just come from and he understood, but still said, "Well on
a general look of most of the news photographers I see around the city they
nearly all look like bums!"

In defense of myself, I said how I would have been dressed had I known of
this picture session and that I would have matched him cost of suit for
suit. Now I set him back, but explained "I'm the CEO of my company and if
was coming here for a meeting with him, I'd have been wearing a $300 or
$400 dollar suit as he was."

This small encounter created a new client for me with my company becoming
the official photographic supplier for his corporation! :)  Another point I
think  helped was, "he was familiar with the Leica cameras I was carrying!"
:) and I'm sure that may have helped also. :)

>In the afternoon of the same day I was asked to cover a protest rally.  A
>tux would have been out of place!>>>>>

Obviously! However as I said, we were sent to cover such events wearing suit=
s.
I guess them were the times! :)

>>With this story from a hard working news photographers day on the job I
>>wanted to explain why many of us might look a bit too casual during
>>certain events. But if you=B4ll get treated as a bum or not is all up to
>>your own general attitude and behavior - not how you are dressed!>>>>>>>

That is true to some extent. However, if you are not dressed in a manner
that indicates you belong there, you are not going to get treated the same
as the photographer who turns up in a more formal attire. And I don't mean
a tux. Yes a positive attitude is also a major factor, unfortunately we
have too many today with the wrong attitude!

>Of course, I would never dream about covering for instance the Nobel Prize
>Ceremony in anything less than full evening dress. Fortunately we always
>get one days notice for events of that weight - for the reason of
>accreditations!

Exactly the meaning of how Soloman was always getting in, because he
"looked like he should be there!" Just as you would look in the Nobel Prize
situation.

>Too make this mail even less Leica related I just have to tell you that I
>didn=B4t bring any of my Leicas to the job yesterday! Sorry about that!

Now I wouldn't touch that comment with a ten foot tripod!:)

>I really don=B4t know about the general dress code of the US, but here in
>Sweden they will certainly always let the photographers in. Because
>without press coverage it simply wouldn=B4t be an "event"!

I can only answer for Canadians and if you turn up at certain events and
not decently dressed, you are going to be told to go around to the delivery
entrance out back, wait until the people you wish to photograph come out or
you will be escorted to some back room and your subjects will be brought to
you. I'm not saying this is the case every time, but it does happen.

Maybe Eric or one of the other American news type photogs can answer for
their country.

ted