pressmen performance and photography: June 2008

Pressmen shooting the moon.

Can you see the man in the moon?

Out shooting with my new lens after a fake paparazzi evening just the other night

fake paparazzi spoof paparazzi fake celebrities spoof celebrities

The pressmen working as Fake Paparazzi and Spoof Paparazzi with a vast array of fake/spoof celebrities. From Sven Goran Erikson to Amy Winehouse to Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne and so on.

Fake Paparazzi Spoof Paparazzi A quote

“The good thing about my job is I get invited to lots of parties. I always find something that fascinates me. A few weeks ago as I arrived at a party there was a group of what seemed like 1950’s photographers. They were dressed in black trilbys and grey trenchcoats like a Dick Barton convention. There they were shouting out to me as if I was a celebrity. I knew it was an act but I felt like a star. I had just sat down for dinner when one of the people at my table said “look over there.’ Up on a screen was a slide show of us arriving just like real celebrities. A part of me was a little anxious but when my photo came up it was really good. For once I was caught without that awkward I am being photographed look. It was a great party and we were all talking about the photos the next day. I heard the photos could be found on a website and I could buy them. I found one and I looked like a star.
I decided to find out more and I contacted the ‘Pressmen’ who did the photography. I spoke to Melvyn who explained a little of what he and similar groups do.”
That quote was a good illustration of what we do as fake paparazzi /spoof paparazzi. This is something the Pressmen specialize in. There are 2 sides to this. First the fake paparazzi/spoof paparazzi look and the character development. For this to work it is essential that the performers have great interpersonal and performing skills. The second part requires the performers to still maintain the character of fake/spoof paparazzi but also to focus on the photography. This needs good quality DSLR cameras,good technical skills, artistic skills in framing the photographs and an understanding on how best to relate to people when taking photographs. The pressmen as a group constantly strive to buid on the excellent skills they already have.

Why Use the Whaletail

Why use a light diffuser when working as a fake paparazzi /spoof Paparazzi/Event Photographer.
If one knows little about photography why would one want a diffuser. Here is what Darwin Wiggett wrote in the art of communicating light. "Learning to see is about understanding light, and how light affects the look of an object. Talented photographers use their understanding of light to enhance the viewer’s emotional response to a subject. In portraiture, for example, men are often photographed with strong, direct side lighting that enhances facial surface texture. Wrinkles, whiskers, chin clefts, and jaw lines become more pronounced with direct side lighting which amplifies facial features that most of us associate with rugged masculinity. In contrast, when your subject is a woman you may want to portray her as ‘soft’ and feminine. This is accomplished by using diffuse, front lighting that tends to flatten and hide skin imperfections and also emphasizes colour and tone so that the women’s eyes and lips are enhanced."
With Event photography it is essential that the guests are portrayed in the best way possible and part of how one achieves that is to find the best way to diffuse the light from the flashgun.

The Pressmen in Leeds as Event photographers

Another of the Pressmen teams were at the Crowne Plaza in Leeds. As can be seen from the earlier photograph they were joined by look a like celebrities. At the beginning of the evening the Pressmen did their performance as Fake Paparazzi and Spoof Paparazzi. This was important but also a major goal was event photography. The Pressmen had to focus on capturing the story of the event photographically. Using a candid /photojournalistic style they did a great job and the organizers were very pleased. For those interested in technical information the pressmen were using a whaletail attached to their camera flash guns. This helps to diffuse and soften the light to help improve portraiture. It is part of the philosophy of the Pressmen to strive to maintain a pattern of constant and never ending improvement. The idea coming from Japanese management philosophy with the use of the word Kaizen.

The Pressmen-fake Paparazzi/spoof paparazzi at Epsom for the Derby

One of the Pressmen teams were out working at Epsom racecourse on saturday for Derby Day. They did a great job of entertaining the public with their fake paparazzi and spoof paparazzi characters. Hundreds of people discovered their inner celebrity. Or at least for a few minutes.
A great day was had by all especially the winners.