I had the good fortune to be sitting next to Ed Kashi at the Blend Images spring workshop. More on Ed later. What I want to mention is something he said in passing about how when he shoots video how hard it is on his body. That he gets himself in some uncomfortable position then has to hold it for minutes at a time. As a side note, Ed is in excellent shape, and this is not a criticism of him in any way. If you did what Ed did, and you went to the places did, anything less than excellent health would lead to an early demise. Check his work and you will see what I mean.
Your body is your tripod, it is your fundimental support rig.. If you can’t move smoothly, or steadily, you won’t be able to move the camera to where it needs to be, and there will be problems. I have heard it said that the biggest contribution that a photographer can make to a shoot is his enthusiasm and energy. But what if he can’t bring it because he/she has not been taking care of themselves?
This is such a critical and so often minimized factor. What happens if your knees are sore and you can’t bring the camera down to where iot needs to be to get the shot? What if the shot is from a tree limb and you are too out of shape to get into the tree? Don’t you think this is going to have an impact on your career?
Advertising shoots remind me of something out of “All That Jazz”, its show time! Personally, if I know I have a big ad gig, I purposely rest the preceding couple of days. Think of the great climber Anatoli Boukreev in Everest basecamp. He would rest the week before the climb, critized for loofing, when he was in fact recharging his body.
The thing is, if the body goes, the career goes. Are you ready to sit in a chair next to a tripod with a remote in your hand? No way. Eat as healthy as you possibly can. Research health and how to be healthy as least as much as you research anything else. Exercise every day. Sleep as much as you can. I do yoga, swimming, surfing, skiing, Gold’s Gym, Exhale, everything I can and a 3 or 4 day ad job still kicks my ass. If your body is not at peak health you will not be able to perform at your peak level. You need to take this seriously.
