Romance of the Three Kingdoms

When a client comes into a shoot knowing what they want, it can go one of two ways. Either you and the client will mesh and the whole thing goes smoothly, or they will have such a strong image in their mind that any deviation will lead to a full day of reshoots.

Guess how it went with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei…

“We wish to recreate our famous Oath of the Peach Garden“, said Zhang Fei. “We stood shoulder to shoulder with our blades crossed under the summer sun.”

Great, no problem. Well… actually. Two problems. First, it’s November and there aren’t any peach trees around here. Second, aren’t you missing someone?

“You will fix it in Photoshop.”

After explaining the difference between a photographer and a graphic designer, we went out to the outdoor studio and got started. Zhang Fei demanded to see every exposure once it was done, while Guan Yu just stood there, unbelievably stoic. With each shot, Zhang Fei announced what was wrong with it, then shouted “Again!”

“The breeze was not right. Again!”
“Guan Yu, your beard is not straight. Again!”
“Curses, my eyes were closed. Again!”

Over and over and over.

Finally, it matched Zhang Fei’s vision. “Excellent!” he cried.

By that point, I was worn out. I couldn’t handle any more of Zhang Fei and his attitude, and, to be honest, I was getting a little sick of Guan Yu for putting up with it. Exhausted, I brought the shot up on my laptop and snapped a picture of their reaction.

Maybe they aren’t such bad guys after all…

Models: Guan Yu and Zheng Fei by Ori Toy

Be good,
-Dave

Stuck in the middle
I’m gone