Notes From the Home Office » Assistants

Assistant’s Corner.

Ryan Donnell — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:38:12 +0000

So here’s the latest installment of the Assistant’s Corner. Thanks guys:

The Assistants’ Corner.

Ryan Donnell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:18:30 +0000

Ok everyone, we have a fantastic edition of The Assistants’ Corner. I’ve been pretty busy over the past few months so I have a nice collection of assistant outtakes. Thanks again to all these hardworkin’ folk who tirelessly haul gear, wrap cords, hold gray cards and generally make me feel like I know what I’m doing. We’ve even got some creatives in this edition! (Above: The Highs & The Lows, Isaac and Ryan working on the Sept. cover for Philadelphia Magazine, left, and Ryan having fun at a musician’s marketing shoot.)

Isaac Turner waits for some good eats from Tierney art director Andy Benson and art buyer Wylie Moran on location for the PECO electric campaign. Those were some damn fine grilled cheese. Food styling in his future???

Isaac mannin' the wheels on a recent marketing/collateral shoot for an educational client.

Philadelphia Magazine design director Michael McCormick fulfillin' a life-long dream on set for the Sept. cover shoot. BRING IT ON, McCormick!!

Ryan Collerd sittin' in for mom on location in Delaware for Essence Magazine.

We have a rough job, right? Collerd filling in for fake belgian monk/beer lover, Woody Chandler, at the Lancaster Brewing Company for Imbibe Magazine. It was an early mornin' shoot, but I'm not gonna say we didn't have a taste after the shoot was wrapped.

Rub-a-dub-dub three assitants in a tub. Who do they think they be? Ryan Collerd, Robert West, and F-in' Isaac Turner, that's who!

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The Dynamic Duo.

Ryan Donnell — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:50:40 +0000

Ryan (left) + Ryan (right)

We’re a handsome pair, no? No? You’re right.

Just wanted to let anyone paying attention to this space that I’ll be traveling to Chicago and Madison, WI, from tomorrow, the 10th through July 15. If you have any photographic needs from one of those places, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Otherwise, I’ll see you on the flip side.

SIDE NOTE: My new Philadelphia Polling Project website is almost finished. Keep an eye out for mailers and announcements in the next week or so.

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The Assistant Corner.

Ryan Donnell — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:13:58 +0000

Jessica Roberts for Joe Torsella

Issac Turner for Dr. Richard Baron

I’ve never been an assistant during my career in photography. And only in the last 4 or 5 years have I really been using assistants. (Shockingly, we didn’t get assistants as newspaper photographers. Unless you count the occasional PR person holding our off-camera flash.)

Any photographer who utilizes assistants has a huge collection of images of his or her assistant standing in for the subject during lighting tests. I know I do. It can be frustrating using assistants as your stand-ins, because often, they’re:

often gifted with more/better/shinier hair than your subject;
(a lot) younger (read: skinnier) than your subject;
have cooler/hipper clothes than your subject;
or they have that I’m-so-bored-and-it’s-way-too-early pissed-off look that makes them look cooler than your subject.

Many times I’ve gotten a scene looking awesome with my assistant in it. And when we put our 500-pound, 90-year-old, balding subject into it, it somehow doesn’t look as cool as when I had photographed my 26-year-old, blonde, might-could’ve-been-a-model assistant. Hmmm.

So today begins my first in a series I shall call The Assistant Corner. I’ve had a fairly steady and loyal crew for awhile, so you’ll see a lot of repeats. This is to get back at them in honor of them. Ha!

Ryan Collerd for Daily News sports writer Bill Conlin

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