A shooter working with a shooter...
It’s not everyday that I have the pleasure of conducting a session with a fellow shooter…
…especially one as accomplished, talented and generous as Chris West.
In 2019, I was about a year into my photography sponsorship with the New York City Chapter of the National Speakers Association.
That May, the guest speaker for the chapter meeting was Chris West.
I didn’t know him personally, but I certainly knew he was basically THE speaker reel master of the universe.
The Video Jesus, if you will…
I had seen some of his work, and, as a former television producer, I could clearly see the level of passion, talent, skill and knowledge that went into his work.
I mean, it was obvious.
I met him during his time in NYC, and he generously set up a call with me to talk about my business.
In that conversation, I learned a ton of important insights and tactics that I immediately incorporated into my business.
They not only led to more bookings, but more confidence in knowing that I can actually create a sustainable and referable photography business that served speakers.
I was, and still am, very grateful for this experience.
That’s why I was so pumped when he set up a call with me to talk about photographing him.
Well truthfully, I was surprised, at first.
You see, Chris has a team of videographers and photographers that could easily handle the job.
And when I mentioned that during our initial call, he mentioned he’s been following my work and, after sharing it with his team, they all agreed that I would be a great fit to tackle this project with him to create his image content portfolio.
So that was pretty cool to hear - and it lit a fire under my ass to want to light him up like a Christmas tree during his session :)
But, before the camera came out of the bag, Chris and I had a lengthy strategy call going over the why, what and how behind his branded lifestyle portrait session.
We uncovered a bunch of wrinkles and nuances into his process for serving speakers, and created a comprehensive list of shots to capture during his time in front of the camera.
While we created a lengthy laundry list, I was confident that we could burn through it…
Here’s a look at some of the photos captured during his time in front of the camera:
For someone who is used to being behind the camera and hasn’t had portraits taken of himself in years, he was natural, open and a true joy to work with the entire time.
I guess that’s what happens when you put two shooters who have mutual respect for each other in the same room for 4 hours together, right?
Regardless, I am excited to see what he does with these photos and how he and his team choose to put them out into the world.
It’s the least I can do for someone who took time out of his day to lend an ear and share some valuable words of wisdom when I was desperate for both :)