Ahh Sh**!

Probably my least favorite words to say just before starting a shoot. It means one thing, I forgot something I needed. In this case it was my pocket wizards, I brought all my lights, stands, cords, etc. but I forgot my triggers. Now normally I have my car with me with at least 15 ft. of cable to trigger my flashes, but that day I had my girlfriends car since mine was in the shop.

So with no pocket wizards or cords to hardwire the flashes, it left me with one choice. Ditch the flashes and go with the natural light. Kind of a scary thought for me since I use flashes in almost all my BMX shots.


Which leads me to my point, lots of times as photographers we seem to get "fixed" in certain ways of photographing different subjects. Weather it be different poses, lens choices, specific backdrops or lighting set ups.

Sometimes having a fixed way of photographing subjects is good, it helps develop your own style of shooting. Other times, it can be a mental block which keeps you from exploring other possibilities with the shoot.

For me, not having my flashes, felt more like a mental block. I got kind of nervous, but after a little exposure tweaking and some looking at the scene I began to look at the natural light rather then think about where my flashes should be. I forced me to think outside of my usual box and look at things differently.


So, maybe Ahh Sh**! isn't the worst thing you can say at the start of shoot. Unless you forgot your batteries or memory cards/film, then your just screwed.

-Sam