How important it is to have a plan B
It was a sunny day at the beginning of summer. I was driving my car to the Park of Monza to meet the young model I organized that set with.
Every time I approach a new shoot, I feel the vibes of creation invade my body. Each time it’s something new and equally the same.
I remember I had recently bought a new analog Mamiya and this was the perfect location to test it. The plan was to stay on the river that crosses the park and shoot there.
When I reached the meeting point, I waited for her to arrive.
We introduced ourselves as this was the first time shooting together and, after a few words, we were already walking in the woods to reach the river.
While crossing a bridge, I saw a nice spot where we could start breaking the ice before getting to the place I had in mind for the main part of the set.
I opened my camera bag and took the Mamiya. Put the batteries in, switched it on and…nothing happened.
That was weird, I was sure I did charge the batteries.
I removed them and checked if I mistook loading them.
Nothing.
I then completely replaced them with my spare ones (I always bring A LOT of batteries when I’m shooting analog) and tried again.
Still nothing. Panic. The camera didn’t want to start.
I had built the schema of that set all around this, but now it became impossible to achieve what I had in mind.
I told you before that I’m an IT guy, and this makes me think of all that can go wrong when I organise or develop something. My mindset tries to put me one step ahead of possible problems, even if it’s pretty hard to foresee everything.
Without showing any sign of anxiety or disappointment, I placed the camera back into the bag and took my digital Fuji.
I gave Giulia a few indications about what I wanted to shoot and we started.
All seemed to be back on track.
Nope. It was not over yet.
We walked a little more into the woods and we arrived at the place I chose to create the main part of the images.
I could count at least 4 other photographers with their models.
All there, spread across the whole area.
When I visited that place, a couple of times in the previous weeks on the same weekday, it was almost desert. Definitely, Fate was not my ally that day.
Luckily, I had identified a couple of more spots which could work as a backup. There was no chance the area could be free anytime soon, so I had to think quickly and (again) change my plan.
We shot for something like a couple of hours and it turned out to be a very nice set. I had to delay the test of the Mamiya, however, my good old Fuji did the job and we were both happy with the result.
Moral of the story: always be prepared and flexible.
If I hadn’t thought about a backup camera, I would have completely missed the shoot (and disappointed the model, who probably would have not agreed to plan anything with me again).
If I hadn’t visited the place and had a look at the surroundings, I would have wasted a lot of time either waiting for the area to be free or wandering around to find another good place to shoot.
What I really want you to be aware of is it’s not only about making a good plan. It’s about being prepared the plan can completely be messed up by the unexpected.
Expect the unexpected.
This will save your shoot.
Take care and talk soon!