Outrage Over The Photographs Of The United States Olympic Team
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- nb0
http://www.dpreview.com/news/201…
Quote:
Photographer Joe Klamar's portraits of US Olympic atheletes have caused a lot of controversy this week, especially in the USA. Reaction to the shots, taken for French photo agency AFP, has been varied, with many commentors dismissing his images as unprofessional at best, and at worst unpatriotic. Others have defended Klamar, arguing that his apparently unpolished images represent a deliberate attempt to challenge the conventions of portrait photography. The truth, it turns out, is more mundane. It seems Klamar was simply caught unprepared.According to Klamar, 'I was under the impression that I was going to be photographing athletes on a stage or during press conference where I would take their headshots for our archives [and] I really had no idea that there would be a possibility for setting up a studio'.
Responding to the negative reaction of some commentors to his work, Klamar has insisted that 'my only goal was to show [the athletes] as interesting, as special people who deserve their fame because they are the best [at] what they do. And for the little time we had together, they were willing to work with my concepts'.
- vaxorcist0
Klamar was assuming he was going to be doing something completely different than what he was asked to do when he got there.... this sucks.. this can make you feel really manipulated... many clients have no fucking idea that they're asking you to do something completely different, after all, you're a "photographer" and all.... you end up feeling really bait-and-switched.... but you either do it or don't, I've learned how to adapt really fast, but it's not always what I'd love to do....
this "bait-and-switch" client miscommunication happens a LOT to some of us photographers, but to somebody who specializes like Klamar does, it's makes him a fish out of water....
He was under the assumption that he'd be doing headshots for archives where athletes were on a stage or press conference, this is COMPLETELY different from a setup insta-studio with backdrops arrangement.... poor guy really was bait-and-switched!
I do feel sorry for the guy... whoever the client contact was should really, really be paying some career price for this, having potentially really messed up Klamar's reputation now....
of course, he could have walked, and he probably didn't have any idea these images would be used for anything except an obscure archive somewhere.... viral-phobia of mediocre work is a HUGE fear for photographers now!
Note also that the better a photographer's public profile, the more likely he really, really specializes.... and may not know much about doing something out of his/her speciality.
- chossy0
Here is a link to some more of the photos taken that day, the ones you guys have seen are the worst lot of the bunch, these other ones are better.
- Most of those were taken by other photographers thant he shots posted here though, article with credits http://www.telegraph…webazoot
- http://www.telegraph…webazoot
- brandelec0
- Its an agent!!!!74LEO
- Don't even bother trying to place, mister Anderson.cannonball1978
- pango0
Ya many of them are beyon PS rescue... Unless them have tones of money for retouching.
- vaxorcist0
This might actually be a good wakeup call in our industry....
When the "which photographer to hire" decision making process is based on things like "well, he shot photos of celebrity x" rather than any actual understanding of how things work in this industry, clients end up with images like the ones they got.... It's not impossible to do great photos at a "cattle call" event, like Slappy said and showed above.. doing hundreds of images that are good is possible once you get your setup right and have the charisma to talk and get people to work with you....
I just finished a 4 day job shooting thousands of images covering a major association conference, we did quite a bit of hurried, last minute changes.. maybe this is the time to think of "event photographers" as being no longer so low on the totem pole of publication photo editors mindsets, just because we can work fast doesn't meen we work shittily.... putting a "celeb papparazzi" out of his element into a high speed shoot, where you have to light well, re-arrrange things at client whims constantly and get great facial expressions all at once is a trial by fire kind of thing ... and if you've done it before you can do it well, but if you've specialized in situations where everything is setup for you, you may flub the job like these images seem to indicate.....
well, maybe photo editors will wake up, and/or the upper-end peopel who laid off all the photo editors will realize they need some thoughts about photographers who can do specific things well, not just "well, he shot celebrities so he must be great!"
- Amicus0
Isn't the real crime that they took BP's money enabling them to look a little less like cunts?
- inteliboy0
Terrible... though then I thought maybe the photographer had some kind of meaning here, a raw style that is supposed to say something... but then I read this on reddit...
"As best I can tell, he is primarily a sort of high-class paparazzi. Most of his works consists of shots on the red carpet or of speakers behind the podium at awards events or staged press appearances of the rich, famous, and powerful"
- pango0
low budget and terrible... and you would think they have all the money in the world for olympic.
- GeorgesII0
next time can someone direct them to this little handy site,
cost less, be better
http://www.istockphoto.com
- moldero0
i think it represents the US about right, were all broke and no jobs n shit.
- moldero0
these comments are awesome
"I am an amture photograher, and I can tell this photos are weak, bad composition and lacking in contant"
- randomname0
None of the expressions look real, the lighting is bad.
- Peter0
Add photoshop