Photographer Joe Klamar Explains His Controversial Olympic Portraits

11 years 10 months ago #239345 by CanonKid
I've been following this and find it pretty interesting:

“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,” [Klamar] explained. “I really had no idea that there would be a possibility for setting up a studio.” It was the first time AFP had been invited to participate in the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Media Summit, which was held this year, in May, at a Hilton Hotel in Dallas.

Joe had come armed with two cameras and three lenses (17-35, 70-200 and 300), plus one flash and a 12-inch laptop. To his horror, he saw upon arriving that his colleagues from other news agencies and media organizations had set up studio booths with professional lights, backdrops and prop assistants. “It was very embarrassing to find out that I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of a studio,” Joe told us by email."

Here's the rest of it: www.petapixel.com/2012/07/06/photographe...l-olympic-portraits/

Canon 7D, 15-85mm, 18-55mm, 70-200mm, 100mm Macro, Sigma 120-300mm, Speedlite 430EX II

A bad day at the race track is better than a good day in the office

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11 years 10 months ago #239351 by Rob pix4u2
Boy Scout motto BE PREPARED
Improvise as best you can, Adapt to the situation, Overcome the obstacles in your way
Which is why I bring everything but the kitchen sink to a shoot
It's a real shame that his portraits got panned and otherwise would be seen as edgy and artistic

Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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11 years 10 months ago #239355 by icepics
Yeah, good motto. If they'd never been invited to this media event before, I would have thought the agency or the photographer would have researched it first so they'd be prepared. Maybe sending a photographer who does this type work would have been a better option, although at times as a photographer you have to switch gears and figure out how to make something work.

Some of the photos seemed to make use of shadows in an interesting way, but for the most part when I saw them I couldn't figure out what the photographer was going for.

I wonder how or why they got published, did an editor not look at these first??

Sharon
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11 years 10 months ago - 11 years 10 months ago #239359 by effron
Lame excuse. I posted on a news site I thought the photos were poor, and appeared he came with a speedlight and nothing else. Also seems like there was NO post done, probably shot Jpeg small.....:)
Its not like he murdered anyone, and it didn't bother me too much, although some seemed apoplectic. Not the biggest issue facing the masses.......B)

Why so serious?
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11 years 10 months ago #239366 by Frisco
I agree, he should have been more prepared

Nikon 18-55mm VR, Nikon 70-200mm VRII f/2.8, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, SB-700 & SB-800
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11 years 10 months ago #239391 by Stealthy Ninja
So?

He still could have done better with the gear he had.
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11 years 10 months ago - 11 years 10 months ago #239447 by Henry Peach
Run his name through Google images, and take a look at the other photos that come up. Why would anyone expect anything different from this guy?

Professional photography being full of jokers and hacks is nothing new. The only thing that's new is how we all get to see their work, and how we can all dog-pile on him.

Why are we concentrating on the bad pics? Bad pics are all over the place. Why not concentrate on the good portraits? Because this is more about making fun of this guy than photography.
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11 years 10 months ago #239550 by Paris Gal
I saw this and honestly brushed it off

5D mark II gripped | Canon 100L | Canon 85 1.8 | Sigma 50 1.4 | Tamron 28-75 2.8 | 580ex II | 430ex II x 2 |
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11 years 10 months ago #239585 by Rob pix4u2
HP is right - given different circumstances we would be seeing his photos in a different way were this not the Olympics. Unfortunate for him that his work has been panned because he was not prepared.

Remember to engage brain before putting mouth in gear
Rob Huelsman Sr.
My Facebook www.facebook.com/ImaginACTIONPhotography

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11 years 10 months ago - 11 years 10 months ago #239591 by Stealthy Ninja
I gotta say, some aren't that bad.

Bit of photoshop and they would be fine. His shadows were often a bit too strong for what the photos are though.

I mean this one is sorta cool, and it seems to have had some post production done to it.




(copyrighted AFP/Getty Images used under fair use for editorial purposes).


I suspect someone posted some of his photos before they could be edited.
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