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It's Friday afternoon, i'm back in the office after a hectic morning on site and there certainly isn't going to be much productivity for the next couple of hours, so............
What is your most awkward photographic experience?
I'll start of by sharing you mine.......
There are a few things that I would not feel 100% comfortable doing as far as taking photos, nothing much, but it's good to know what limits you set yourself before you are forced to face them.
But there is one scenario that i never dreamed would come up, and that is, covering a wake.
Honestly, this happened to me a few months ago.
I used to work in a nightclub, three nights a weeks i would go and take photos of all the revellers, it was a lot of fun. Now this particular nightclub had a small separate bar attached, that on nights when the club wasn't usually open, was available for private hire.
So every now and again i would get called in for someone's 21st or 30th birthday party, the odd engagement party, you get the idea.
One day i get a call, "can you work tomorrow night, we have a party booked in the bar".
"Sure, no problem" i say, i mean, this was completely normal to me.
So the following evening comes, I grab my bag and head to the club. When i arrived outside i thought to myself, the music is a lot quiet than normal. I go up the stairs and walk through the doors, that's strange, more people wearing black than usual. I thought nothing of it and toddled off to the bar, as i always do to settle in to the place before i begin.
It was only when i asked the head bar man who's birthday it was, i was told it was in fact a wake. Some poor sod died a couple of weeks back and i'm meant to be photographing mourning family and friends! I say mourning, they decided to host it in what is essentially a small nightclub!
By this time i was feeling very awkward. I checked to see if i was in fact required, as it seemed strange i should be there, turns out i was specifically requested by the grieving girlfriend.
So i find out who she is and start making my way over, i didn't want to start without introducing myself and double checking she still wanted me there. She seemed fine from a distance, considering the circumstances. But just as i approached her from behind and was about to get her attention, what happens? A photo montage of the deceased starts playing on screens all round the bar. And of course, as you would expect, she bursts into tears. I decide not to ask her yet.
That pretty much ended the night for me. I gave it a little while, i spoke to 'the friend' who confirmed maybe it wasn't such a good idea, and i went home to bed.
I can't say i could ever imagine anything more awkward for me, but hen again, i never imagined that one.
What is your most awkward photographic experience?
I'll start of by sharing you mine.......
There are a few things that I would not feel 100% comfortable doing as far as taking photos, nothing much, but it's good to know what limits you set yourself before you are forced to face them.
But there is one scenario that i never dreamed would come up, and that is, covering a wake.
Honestly, this happened to me a few months ago.
I used to work in a nightclub, three nights a weeks i would go and take photos of all the revellers, it was a lot of fun. Now this particular nightclub had a small separate bar attached, that on nights when the club wasn't usually open, was available for private hire.
So every now and again i would get called in for someone's 21st or 30th birthday party, the odd engagement party, you get the idea.
One day i get a call, "can you work tomorrow night, we have a party booked in the bar".
"Sure, no problem" i say, i mean, this was completely normal to me.
So the following evening comes, I grab my bag and head to the club. When i arrived outside i thought to myself, the music is a lot quiet than normal. I go up the stairs and walk through the doors, that's strange, more people wearing black than usual. I thought nothing of it and toddled off to the bar, as i always do to settle in to the place before i begin.
It was only when i asked the head bar man who's birthday it was, i was told it was in fact a wake. Some poor sod died a couple of weeks back and i'm meant to be photographing mourning family and friends! I say mourning, they decided to host it in what is essentially a small nightclub!
By this time i was feeling very awkward. I checked to see if i was in fact required, as it seemed strange i should be there, turns out i was specifically requested by the grieving girlfriend.
So i find out who she is and start making my way over, i didn't want to start without introducing myself and double checking she still wanted me there. She seemed fine from a distance, considering the circumstances. But just as i approached her from behind and was about to get her attention, what happens? A photo montage of the deceased starts playing on screens all round the bar. And of course, as you would expect, she bursts into tears. I decide not to ask her yet.
That pretty much ended the night for me. I gave it a little while, i spoke to 'the friend' who confirmed maybe it wasn't such a good idea, and i went home to bed.
I can't say i could ever imagine anything more awkward for me, but hen again, i never imagined that one.
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"You should've seen his face! His jaw nearly hit the floor" 
