Learn it at home before you go on location.

This may be the most “duh” post I’ll ever write, but it needs to be written, if not just to remind myself to STOP doing this. Too often, I’ve taken a new shiny piece of equipment on a shoot. It usually ends up with me looking like I have no idea what I’m doing. In front of a client, of course. I can laugh it off with them, but it simply doesn’t look professional.

It’s really bitten me in the butt when it comes to lighting gear. When I first get it, I’m not good about taking it out, setting it up, and playing with it. When I worked with Greg a while back, pictured above, I hadn’t really used two off-camera flashes before, and I was trying to aim, balance, and learn them on the fly.

The next time I get something even so simple as a new stand, I’m making this promise to myself: set it up, test it, and really get to know it. At home. NOT in front of a client.