The day started off really well. Got the morning coffee at the local Starbucks down the street and headed to my 11:00AM shoot with my makeup artist in tow. The location, the light grid studio that I had only heard about but never actually shot there. The concept is really cool actually, there are 4 grids, each with a Profoto head on a track that is being controlled by the iPad. At first I’m not really convinced and I feel very anxious that I won’t be able to tweak my lights the way I’ve always been used to. It’s not an ideal time to try and learn this system when my client is about to walk in. One cool thing is that they have a few predetermined light setups that you can choose and the lights will automatically take shape. After fiddling around for a few minutes and making Austin (studio tech) stand in for some candids, I started the shoot with an additional beauty dish to give the light some direction and it’s opposing shadows. We had 2 hours to get a total of 7 shots.

At the halfway point the shoot is going great, models are on point, minor technical issues, which are expected, and the rest of the team all doing their part. The shoot area clears out for just a moment, I sit there, solo, waiting on the next cast, I decide to get up and check on them, bad move. Perp comes in through the side door and away he goes with my Macbook Pro and 2 external hard drives carrying a couple of years worth of work. Why he didn’t take my Pelican case that was sitting next to my bag is beyond me.

I have learned my lesson and from now on I will keep my belongs very close to me and be more strict on having a closed set during my shoots. If you walk out or leave the building, you’ll have to knock to get back in. Doors will be locked.

I want to take a moment to thank the entire crew of yesterdays shoot that went above and beyond to look for my laptop bag. 2 hours of searching, every couch was moved, every nook check once and twice, it wasn’t until we reviewed the footage that we stopped the search and came to a realization that it was stolen. An inside job. It’s really sad. I hope that karma kicks you right in the ass buddy.

PAUL FERRADAS

The Blog

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