One photographer’s rant about shooting BTS on high-end jobs
May 17, 2018
Udi Tirosh
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Share:
Tim Wallace is a high-end car photographer, while he is not restricted to cars, you’ve probably seen his work with Porsche, Lotus, Ford, Aston Martin, and others on one media or another. I’ll admit, I stalk him on social media, because he produces stellar images, but also because he is a witty guy, and his insights are fun to read.
This rant of his, caught my eye and I think it’s spot on to the point of epic, so I asked Tim’s permission to share it with DIYP readers:
Since I said I was on my [customer name REDACTED] studio shoot tomorrow I’ve had a few mails saying people want BTS. I’ve replied that I won’t be doing that and even had one guy come back announcing that ‘it’s okay for me and I clearly don’t give a shit about helping others…’
Well the facts are these as I see it;
1. This is a high paying commercial shoot that is pressured and difficult and I will have [customer name REDACTED] executives as well as others watching me constantly and looking at what I produce throughout the day. It’s like a effing huge long all day job interview. So excuse me if I don’t walk around in front of them shooting bloody BTS because somebody on social media wants to see it because they can’t be arsed to attend a proper controlled seminar and learn properly, they’d rather be ‘cheap’ and just try to reverse engineer BTS stuff.
2. I’m getting paid a lot of money for my time and experience and I don’t even take lunch when I shoot because the client is not paying me to eat, so I crack on through solid each time, it’s my own work ethic and I won’t change that. Why should the client pay for me to waste shoot time doing BTS?
3. Don’t ever assume to know who I am as a person when you email me crap because it hasn’t all gone your way, you have no effing idea how hard I have worked to get to where I am now so stop being a lazy bloody moodhoover who can’t commit to doing the work properly and back the eff off.
4. Want to do what I do, get off your bloody arse and go and make it happen. Put in the hours, put in the commitment for years that’s needed, then when your all grown up and doing a proper paid big shoot with your client up your bottoms all day I’ll mail you and ask why you haven’t made a BTS video?
This is the first time I am seeing someone details what taking BTS photos actually mean when there are (real high paying) clients around, and it resonated with me. What do you guys think?
P.S. If you want to catch more of Tim, you can follow his site and Facebook page, and if you want to learn how he does it, he gives car photography workshops with the next one coming up in July.
Udi Tirosh
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Join the Discussion
DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.
61 responses to “One photographer’s rant about shooting BTS on high-end jobs”
Not to mention many clients will have an NDA for shooting new stuff and a strict date before which none if the images may be seen in any way by anyone. I’ve been burned twice by allowing BTS and models/MUA’s using cellphones for their instagram/facebook fix.
Been there too, especially if your working in a Studio that doesn’t like it’s equipment’s to be photographed because of competition(if your in Asia it’s a thing) or the project manager don’t want a leak for a project.
Why phones are left outside…
Just like typical Russian meeting, phone in front of you battery pulled out, or outside in hands of someone trusted.
I don’t know but it’s fairly common in Asia, not to let clients take BTS inside the shooting area. As for a Russian meeting, it would probably be just to have no distractions, but that’s just my opinion though.
Don’t get me started on friggin’ models and their fucking selfies during a session when I explicitly tell them not to because I don’t want images leaking. Considering models have the IQ of a fucking handball, it’s not surprising that a photoshoot is a constant battle with their narcissism.
What is BTS?
Behind The Scene
Butts, Tits and Snatches
Trifecta
Any chance of defining terms here?
I’m just guessing here: Does BTS stand for Behind The Scenes?
Is Wallace using “[REDUCTED]” when he means “[REDACTED]”?
I am always, if possible, happy to share BTS/camera settings from shoots etc. However, sometimes it is just not practical or professional and at the end of the day you’re not being paid to be there to make photography tutorials.
When a client is paying for your time, you’re doing what they want. Not what a bunch of random people on the internet who aren’t paying you want. :)
Surely there’s a more politic way of saying “no” to people. No need to be so “arsey” about it.
I don’t see anything in the article that says this is how he reacts to people making the request. Seems more like general venting. Like you I’d just say “no” and perhaps a brief reason. Sounds to me like what he’s experiencing and being frustrated by is people being jerks when he says no.
He’s responding to someone who flamed him for politely declining to shoot a BTS, open-letter style, hence the escalation in language.
What he said was appropriate in today’s ridiculous culture of “entitlement”. He said what needed to be said, and needed to being heard. *However* If I was some bright eyed teenager today who cared about photograph high line cars, I’d focus on doing it through high end software instead, as it would be a more versatile skillset that, when coupled with other tech, marketing and business skills.. will give a younger a better shot at actually owning high line cars and homes, as opposed to photographing them ;)
It’s just that out of context, I get a mental image of Jeremy Clarkson throwing coffee at an annoying production assistant. Not cool. And if you’re on social media, everything will be taken out of context, so you’d best err on the side of being polite, IMHO.
(I’d always assumed most of those high-end car images were renderings of some sort…they’re too airless and perfect.)
Fuck off. How’s that for polite?
You failed to consider the context. This guy has been asked the question a zillion times. He was flamed in an open letter. Other people demand him work for them for free. He’s fed up. The article says it’s a rant. It’s pretty obvious what’s going on here.
Some people don’t understand “NO”, so “arsey” is called for.
LOL. If you want that, surely you’d know to read elsewhere after the first sentence of his quote?
Well maybe he got like thousands of requests from “entitled” punks to share BTS and he just blew it. I know I would.
People think everybody owes them their hard earned experience for free on social media. On low pressure hobs, BTS are kind of fun to do, but on high end jobs, it must be all about the job and the client, not some self centered spiiled random people that think you are an ass for not giving them what they want when they want for free.
Couldn’t agree more with this. I have clients that I’ll do BTS stuff with it they are usually there and tagged in it. If I’m on a high end shoot, Instagram is the last thing on my mind. Had a busy shoot earlier this week. We had a narrow window to get what we needed, organise a number of vehicles and people and if I’d stood there shooting for Facebook, I think the client may have been less than impressed.
3. I didn’t get where I am today…. No, CJ. Great. Super.
To each his own. Behind the scenes shoots are a marketing tool for many photographers. Still, this is a service and they shouldn’t be expected to do this for free. Can you imagine going into a clothing store and saying “I am buying this shirt, I expect you to give me some pants for free, it would be a helpful thing for your store to do and I’ll give you exposure for it…”
As a marketing tool for the photographer it makes sense. The clothing store would be expected to have videos advertising their brand of clothing to attract customers to buy them. In the same way a photographer could have a BTS video which would be like a marketing or advertising video to attract customers to their brand.
I love seeing BTS stuff to see the effort pros put in, and the cool shoots they get to do, but having started some small paid jobs, I can see why they limit the amount of BTS they do, and even stop altogether for some shoots.
Too much pressure to give the client their money’s worth and to do the best you can, plus they may want an NDA, paerticuaorly for new products.
If you want to see BTS watch some of the classes on Creative Live. They have real pros showing how to do various kinds of shoots.
I have a divided opinions on Tim’s statement. On the one hand I fully agree that he has to earn money in the first place and the paying customer comes first, no discussion here. And if executives attend a photoshoot, it will be important and therefore not to be shared with the whole world.
On the other hand I bet he did not invent photography and car photography. I personally learned a lot from other photographers and was always very grateful when they shared some of their knowledge. Of course he has no obligation whatsoever to post BTS images, but I hope this “Work it out for yourself”-statement is not a general attitude of his.
Tim has produced a number of excellent tutorial videos, so no, it’s not a general attitude of his.
Ok, good to know, thanks. I did not check if he had done tutorials.
I don’t even care much about cars, but his shots are excellent and he’s got a new follower.
In part the rants just a symptom of a much larger issue with people and the internet and social media. I don’t see an end in sight, and it will get worse before it gets better. People need to learn to check themselves before snarking about.
BTS?
This article might have been interesting if its author had bothered to take ten seconds to explain what the hell “BTS” is. Since he didn’t, it’s worthless.
Basic writing 101: explain your terms.
BTS is the sky train system in BKK.
I googled it. It’s a seven-member South Korean boy band.
Not sure what that has to do with photography.
Behind the scenes. Get with the lingo gringo.
If it’s so easy, why couldn’t the article’s author just say that? Doesn’t take a minute. Not defining your terms is just bad writing. (Perhaps he should just stick to photography in future.)
It is an American thing. They use three-letter acronyms, (TLA) without defining them, and expect everyone to know what it means, despite the varied levels of experience of their intended audience in the subject matter at hand.
They also use TLAs and other abbreviations in speech, not realising that abbr. were designed for writing, and not speaking, where the reader can go back to the initial reference, and get re-acquainted with the abbr.
They also are not familiar with the difference in using a common abbreviation vs a specific industry jargon. E.g., using, ‘vs,’to mean, “versus,” in all references, save for the American legal system, where, ‘v,’ is used instead, such as, “I’m watching Leeds vs Liverpool, while studying Roe v Wade.”
They do not realise that abbr. were designed to be expanded in speech, as their purpose was to save space, and carpal tunnel syndrome, (CTS), —or repetitive stress injury, (RSI),— for typists. It is not as if one could get CTS or RSI from talking too much, but even then, they would rather use five syllables to say, “GSW,” than three to say, “gun-shot wound,” even when speaking to a general audience.
It drives me crazy. YMMV.
Nice :) Sometimes I get the feeling some projects are not made because of the result but because of the backstage videos…
Damned right on all counts. The inexperienced complaining about how professionals don’t give back to the community, which really translates into nothing more than a sense of entitlement and unwillingness to learn the way true professionals did. If I had one dollar for every GWC (Guy/Girl With Camera) who offered to “assist” me who was singularly clueless about anything regarding studios and lighting I’d never have to work again, then got angry because I had the audacity to ask them if they had any experience.
Add to that the ones who told me what a jerk I was for not “giving back” to them and I’d have enough money for a second lifetime.
As far as BTS? Occasionally I’ll post a pic of a setup but thats as far as I go.
There is simply no end for people’s appetite for free stuff. Besides, never understood why this obsession with BTS in the photographic profession, other than the eternal pursuit for “shortcuts” by those who don’t want to invest the time in learning. Glad to see someone is standing up for concentrating on the job.
He would also be robbing people of the journey, and that’s the fun part.
I think if your a fine art photographer then having a short film documentary style BTS video of your shoots can be a tool for building your fine art brand. Think of it like a marketing video for your brand as a fine art photographer. Now on a commercial gig or commissioned photoshoot I would not do it.
A Client is paying for the photographers time. The Client is not paying for the photographer to please freebie hunting wannabee’s who expect everything for free and can’t be bothered to do their own homework.
I was asked last week to post some high res images so that someone could just “pixel peep” them.
Such people are a waste of space. They want everything for free and they expect to get it just for the asking.
Well said Tim Wallace.
Besides, behind-the-scenes takes away the glamour and mystery. I do a lot of road-testing and feature writing for car magazines, especially TopGear and TopGear.com. We make a big deal in the features about doing big journeys at high speed. A BTS would show that most ‘high-speed’ action shots are taken at 20mph. When the Ferrari 599 was new, we did so many rig shots in our allocated day with the car that at then end of the day our average speed on the trip computer was 14mph. I was not a happy bunny.
So… the BTS idea for this photographer is “Oh yeah i spent a ton of freaking hours in preproduction lighting setup and positioning not to mention the hours of client research of product ” and you just want me to lay it out for you to copy… yeah right”… actually I agree with the rant.
One thing is sharing knowledge and another is spilling your strategy, technique and method.
No, he wants to sell his training course where he will “lay it out for you to copy” rather than give it away. The PS to the article even provides a link.
Sounds fair to me.
….
This is what happens when a high end, pro photographer interacts with a bunch of hacks off Instagram. People don’t have a clue of what is involved.
I love BTS stuff as it helps me learn. Because I can’t process numbers like most people can, learning by example works best for me – I have to memorise set-ups rather than cycle through ratios at the time of shooting. It sucks. I’m also naturally curious about how certain shoots are done. Having said that, I also know that for many people at this level it’s their bread and butter and there’s stuff like NDAs, etc, to consider. Sometimes it’s just not possible even if the photographer wants to share. I get it. Totally respect that.
However you can leave the attitude behind. There are classier ways of dealing with it than throwing a tantrum like an entitled toddler.
Whoa! I practically can’t get into the room with all the egos going on!
I see a lot of egotistical bullshit from the original bum with a camera to the bums with cameras posting.
I’m very skeptical about people claiming to make money from the hobby of photography. It’s more delusion than fact for them. Every real photographer I’ve met has a main job and uses photography as money on the side. The probably make about $10 a year from photography.
You didn’t the read the article. Heck, you didn’t even read the FIRST SENTENCE. Here it is and it shows you why you’re ignorant:
“Tim Wallace is a high-end car photographer, while he is not restricted to cars, you’ve probably seen his work with Porsche, Lotus, Ford, Aston Martin, and others on one media or another. ”
This is not a guy who makes $10 a year from photography.
Learn to read!
This can’t be a genuine comment? Surely just trolling? ‘hobby’ for a lot of people is their job. I assure you my main income is from photography.
Tim Wallace is one of the worlds professional best car snappers, this isn’t even in question.
I used to assist for a product/food photographer that made $1,500-$3,000 a pop, and that was in 2010. Now, he could be charging more. We worked 5 days week shooting different kinds of products and foods for different clients. Maybe your “real” photographer friends are not real photographers if they have to have another job.
It is weird that he even wrote that. Of course he can’t do it on any paid job. It being “high paying” has nothing to do with it. In fact him even mentioning that it is “high paying” is humble bragging, except he wasn’t humble. You also couldn’t make a BTS on a low-paying wedding job. Only the client would be allowed to disclose what is happening and do a BTS.
There are far too many people at these things anyway. The ones who are trying to justify their attendance by chipping in something irrelevant and the ‘everyone’s a critic’ brigade. All the time I have to be smiling and pretending to take their suggestions seriously. So yeah I’m up for shooting (and of course spending hours editing) a BTS social media video. Or pay someone to do that for me. NOT!!
I love responses like this. And I enjoy people who don’t put up with BS.
His points all sound totally valid to me!