Latest / The Nerdy Photographer Podcast / 150 - Behind the Scenes, Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Learning as a Photography Assistant
Transcript
- 0:03Casey Fatchett: Hold it right there. Thank you. Harvey. Oh,
- 0:10hello there. Welcome to the nerdy photographer podcast. I'm
- 0:13your host. Casey Fatchett, if this is your 50th time listening
- 0:16to the show, I want those diagrams back. If you've never
- 0:19listened to the show before. Welcome. Thanks for joining us.
- 0:22If you want to go back and dive into our back catalog, head over
- 0:25to nerdy photographer comm slash podcast, where you can find our
- 0:28most popular episodes, as well as great places to start
- 0:31depending on how far back you want to go. In addition to
- 0:33providing entertaining and informative photography related
- 0:36info, I also go on adventures with the crew of the starship
- 0:39Fibonacci. Right now I'm working with Harvey, our new robot. Yes,
- 0:43another new robot to get some repairs done. Harvey stands for
- 0:47humanoid assistant robot, varying electronic yodel. Don't
- 0:52worry, I've disabled the yodel. Speaking of assisting in this
- 0:56episode of the podcast, I talked with photographer Andrew
- 0:59tomasino about how being an assistant helped dramatically
- 1:02with his photography career. More about that after the break,
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- 3:50Andrew Tomasino: Okay, well, that says something about this
- 3:53work, right? That was validation, yeah, oh, my God, we
- 3:56need that, right? As artists, I feel like that is a big that is
- 4:00a big deal. I used to kind of get in my head about feeling
- 4:05that way, but it is a, it is a community of artists, and that
- 4:09exchange is important, yeah, like, that is cool to me. Yeah?
- 4:14Casey Fatchett: I mean, there's, it's just like, it, I don't know
- 4:20it's like something like when, I mean, I used to be when I
- 4:25started out in I studied journalism, and so, like, his
- 4:29work was always kind of like something I was aware of. And so
- 4:34that's like, yeah, like decades
- 4:37Andrew Tomasino: why do you feel you gravitated towards
- 4:39journalism?
- 4:41Casey Fatchett: Oh no, that then, like, at first, when I was
- 4:44like, that's how I originally started studying photography.
- 4:49Sure, I kind of enjoy, I enjoyed photography when I was a kid.
- 4:56And then. Um, I, my mom got me, which today's her birthday. Oh,
- 5:06how cool. She passed away in 2020, so it's always like every
- 5:13it's the first day of spring, it's my mom's birthday. If it
- 5:15wasn't rainy and crappy outside, I would be outside planting some
- 5:18flowers, because she loved working in her garden. I do too.
- 5:22Andrew Tomasino: What? Well, did she have a favorite flower?
- 5:25Casey Fatchett: She loved roses. I have one rose bush that I'm
- 5:29trying to get going. It's hard with the deer around here.
- 5:33Andrew Tomasino: I love the rose. I'm I'm covered in them. I
- 5:38it's my favorite as well. So that's cool.
- 5:41Casey Fatchett: Yeah, she she had, we would always talk on her
- 5:44birthday, obviously, like we'd we'd speak to each other, but
- 5:48we'd talk about what we were planning that year, first for
- 5:51the spring. But back when I was a teenager, she bought me this
- 5:55camera. It's all Minolta. SRT, 101, in like, three lenses. It
- 6:03was like a 51.7 a 135 2.8 and a 24 2.8 and I had no idea how
- 6:13good I had it, right, right, right. I was like, Oh, these are
- 6:16really good lenses. But, yeah, I just kind of played around with
- 6:21those for a while. And then when I went to college, I was, I've
- 6:26always enjoyed writing. I was getting a theater. I originally
- 6:28started out in physics, and then I realized I didn't want to do
- 6:32that with my life.
- 6:34Andrew Tomasino: Yeah, I would not. I can't hang like that too
- 6:36much.
- 6:36Casey Fatchett: Like it was just like, I can't do it, man, good
- 6:39at it. But at the same time, I was like, oh, like, one of the,
- 6:42one of my professors was, like, had worked at, like, a, really,
- 6:45one of the super colliders, and, yeah, and I said, I had a
- 6:50really, I did really well in a particular lab. And there was
- 6:54just this moment of just like, that was amazing. And he I said,
- 6:58it like, is this what working in the field is gonna be like? He's
- 7:02like, No, he's like, most of us, most of us just gonna be doing
- 7:07math. And I was like, All right, maybe I don't want to do this my
- 7:09life. And I was getting a theater minor at that point.
- 7:12And, like, it was my first year in college, and I said, You know
- 7:15what, I'm gonna be a theater major. I was also like, getting
- 7:17taking English classes, like, I enjoy writing. So I changed that
- 7:23into, like, journalism.
- 7:24Andrew Tomasino: I can see that the combo of this, right, the
- 7:27movement towards that, that makes a lot of sense to me.
- 7:29That's very cool. Yeah, it's about storytelling, right? Yep,
- 7:33it's about telling stories and being you know, I think
- 7:35journalists are, they find that through line in a very intimate
- 7:38way. So cool.
- 7:40Casey Fatchett: Yeah, used to, I don't know. I still have some
- 7:42friends who, like, are journalists and like, over in
- 7:47the Middle East now, sure, and like, all over the world, and
- 7:50like, conflict zones and, like, I really they're in, like,
- 7:54lesser known, I guess, here in the United States, lesser known
- 8:00outlets, news outlets, but I totally respect what they do is
- 8:06beyond what I mean. I wouldn't, don't think I would be able to
- 8:10live in a war zone for years and, you know,
- 8:14Andrew Tomasino: same, same deal. I can't by choice. Yeah,
- 8:17I'm a father too. I have an eight year old, you know, I want
- 8:21to be, I want to be near him. I'm fortunate enough to, you
- 8:24know, that, to have that time with him, and that, to me, it's
- 8:28very fitting for what I like to do. You know, it's, it's like,
- 8:32yeah, it's, it's a big part of of me and my motivation, and I
- 8:38also, I don't think I I like having story in what I do, but
- 8:45I'm not that. I'm not that guy I but I have a high admiration for
- 8:49it. Of course, you know, like an unbelievable they're like, the
- 8:53poets, you know what? I mean? Yeah, it's like, yeah. It's
- 8:56really cool, yeah.
- 8:56Casey Fatchett: And I don't know if you've ever seen the there's
- 8:58a HBO series on conflict photographers, that is, like,
- 9:04Andrew Tomasino: no, but I have to see this. Yeah. Like, do you
- 9:07Casey Fatchett: remember the name of it? Michael Mann
- 9:10directed it. That's all I can think of right now. I'll look
- 9:12that. I'll look it up, but I think it might be called
- 9:15conflict, maybe not sure, but it's like five episodes, and
- 9:20each one is with a different photographer in, like, a
- 9:23different area. Also the Nat Geo thing that came out last year, I
- 9:28think two years ago, there's Nat Geo series called photographer,
- 9:33which is,
- 9:33Andrew Tomasino: get out. Yeah, where have I been? I had no idea
- 9:36of this crazy. It's fantastic. Like, is it like, it's, it takes
- 9:42a bunch of photographers, or
- 9:44Casey Fatchett: it's, again, each episode is with a different
- 9:47like photographer or photography team, and they do all sorts of
- 9:51different stuff. They do, like people who are out, like, you
- 9:53know, working in, like, there's a guy who, again, conflict,
- 9:59photographer. He kind of like turned that around to like doing
- 10:01portraits of children and making it a charity, like creating a
- 10:08charity, like to try to, like help children in conflict zones.
- 10:13Then there are other people who are obviously going out and
- 10:15photographing animals and, you know, out in the wild. And
- 10:19there's like a couple who like, does like photo and video of
- 10:23whales. And then there's a Campbell Addy. If you've heard
- 10:29of Campbell Addy, he does a lot of like fashion and portrait
- 10:33work. Again, another great series that I highly recommend
- 10:37to people. I will definitely get into that. That's cool, yeah,
- 10:40the conflict photographer one is, is really intense. Say it's
- 10:45heavy. It's really heavy. Yeah. I mean, just the stuff that goes
- 10:48are also, there's a movie that came out while back called the
- 10:55bang, bang club, with Ryan Phillipe. Ryan Phillipe it's
- 11:02either Ryan Phillipe or Paul Walker. I think it's Ryan
- 11:06Phillipe, yeah, Ryan Philippe. And what's his name? From Friday
- 11:12Night Lights, Taylor Kitsch and they play photographers in South
- 11:19Africa. This is, these are, they're real people that
- 11:23existed, who were there during apartheid. And it's just, like,
- 11:29heavy, very heavy. And how, like, depressed they like,
- 11:34they're, they're, like, trying to stay but we've got to stay
- 11:36neutral, right? Because that's our job, is to, like, kind of
- 11:41remain neutral and like, see,
- 11:42Andrew Tomasino: but I can't in me, like, in me. I know that
- 11:46that would be difficult. Like, the difficulty of that, you
- 11:50know, it's, it's so hard to not feel some type of way about it.
- 11:56You know what? I mean, it's like, yeah, so intense. I don't
- 11:58know if I could be in that. I think it would cloud. It
- 12:04influences it's just a hard cloud to work through. You know
- 12:07what I mean?
- 12:07Casey Fatchett: Yeah, I mean, I think it influences you. And you
- 12:09feel like, I feel like I would do, like, there's a certain
- 12:14amount of editorializing I would probably do in like, my choices
- 12:19as Interestingly as I'm like, we're saying the just put out
- 12:24this episode with Pete Souza, and he was talking about, like,
- 12:28we all have the same viewfinder, sure, but you choose what to put
- 12:32in it and what to drive out of it
- 12:35Andrew Tomasino: Right? Do you think that that is a I think
- 12:38that is like a personality and a person like, obviously, through
- 12:43experience and everything. But I think it's in when I'm when I
- 12:48haven't met Pete, but when I meet those who are in their
- 12:52role, they're a journalist, or they're doing portraits, or
- 12:55they're, you know, sports, guitar, like, I feel like, the
- 12:59longer I do this, the more I am like, this is like something
- 13:03that has always been for the people that I'm interacting
- 13:08with. And it's like an energy. It's a It's obviously the work,
- 13:14of course. But there's more and more kind of things that click
- 13:19when I talk to others that are like, Oh, okay, this makes total
- 13:21sense, and it's so interesting to me. Yeah, I love that aspect
- 13:27of, again, the community, because we could all be so
- 13:30different and but all be so very passionate about what we're
- 13:34doing.
- 13:34Casey Fatchett: Yeah, it's really you bring yourself, yeah,
- 13:39to like, I think that's an Ansel Adams quote, or somebody I can't
- 13:42really like. He has a the picture doesn't happen in the
- 13:45camera. It happens on either side of it, sure, yeah, the
- 13:49photographer and the subject or the things that make the photo.
- 13:53Yeah, I totally agree. And I couldn't agree more, you know,
- 13:57we started talking. I'm just gonna go, welcome to the nerdy
- 14:00photographer podcast. Yeah, I was already recording. I was
- 14:08like, okay, cool, we're good. I'm your host, Casey Fatchett,
- 14:12and I'm here today with photographer Andrew tomasino,
- 14:14Andrew, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
- 14:18I appreciate it. You're very welcome. Getting deep on it
- 14:21already. We had already kind of broken into this. But I like, I
- 14:24do this thing called the dice breaker. We'll do it anyway.
- 14:28It's a 16, okay, Dream dinner party guests
- 14:37Andrew Tomasino: I got, I gotta be honest, I feel really stoked
- 14:41to have the group of friends that I do, so I probably just go
- 14:45with that.
- 14:49Casey Fatchett: So we're talking about photography, anybody,
- 14:51anybody at all, anyone at all. This one's tough, I think.
- 15:03Andrew Tomasino: Edgar Allan Poe, just like, be weird and
- 15:10talk to him and just see what he thinks about like that, whatever
- 15:14that is going on here. You know what I mean,
- 15:16Casey Fatchett: it'd be kind of cool, interesting. Yeah, yeah, I
- 15:19don't know. I get into like, I asked this question to people,
- 15:22and people like, Well, what about you? Like, I don't know,
- 15:24mine changes sometimes, like, they're, they're things like, I
- 15:27just think of, like, interesting people. Like, I think they'll be
- 15:30like, like, David Lynch, like, I missed
- 15:33Andrew Tomasino: that would have been another sick pick, yeah.
- 15:35Like, totally awesome.
- 15:37Casey Fatchett: There were, I photographed a lot of events,
- 15:39and there have been so many where, like, he was there and I
- 15:43just missed him. I never got to, like, meet him or photograph him
- 15:47and be like, Oh, you just missed David Lynch. And I'd be like,
- 15:48Oh, but he's like, on that list of, like,
- 15:53Andrew Tomasino: inspiration for me, an esthetic that is just so
- 15:58unique and like the one of a kindness of him. It's like he
- 16:03was, you know, dropped off here,
- 16:06Casey Fatchett: yeah, I love that he vibrated in from another
- 16:09plane. Is transcendentally meditated here, yeah, there's,
- 16:15yeah. It's just visually like, and I talk about this with my
- 16:20wife. Sometimes she's like, well, you know, I She's, she'll
- 16:23say, like, I'm not as big of a fan as you are. And she's like,
- 16:27I said, I think that one of the things that that appeals to
- 16:33people about his work is that it doesn't have to make sense,
- 16:39right?
- 16:39Andrew Tomasino: It's, it's about like for I think I got so
- 16:44excited. I knocked this thing out. I think it's about, it is a
- 16:50little like, weird, right? But you have to be down for that.
- 16:55And if you are, if you're willing to sit in it a little
- 16:58bit, it's not as awkward. It's actually just more of, like,
- 17:02where am I pushing my visual field and like, how am I
- 17:07thinking about sound and things like that. I love doing that.
- 17:10It's an exercise. Yeah, I think, I think that's what, yeah, you
- 17:13really have to, he's so great. Yeah. I think tested people,
- 17:17yes.
- 17:17Casey Fatchett: I think, like I said, you have to be open to it
- 17:21and just go on the journey that he's starting out and and it
- 17:25might take you somewhere, like, in she very much, like, this is
- 17:30where you take from it, what you will. You are the you're the
- 17:32audience member. And, you know, it all like, I'm not, I'm not
- 17:37saying where you have to go
- 17:38Unknown: I think, I think, you know, with being, making
- 17:46photography, being an artist, you want to have a voice. That
- 17:50is that you, you could look at, yeah, I see Casey's photo. I
- 17:55know it's you, yeah, you know. I think that that, that some of
- 17:59the best photographers. I mean, Frank aachenfels comes to mind,
- 18:06totally like I boom there, there is his work again. It's such a
- 18:12unique voice. Elizaveta, portardinia, unbelievable work,
- 18:19one of a kind, one percenter type work, but that is like the
- 18:26voice of the photographer and the and the artistry there is so
- 18:30powerful every single time. You know that uniqueness, I think
- 18:33we're all after, yeah.
- 18:34Casey Fatchett: I mean, we all strive for our signature style.
- 18:39Yes, totally, yeah, like, I was like, and I think that I don't
- 18:44know about you, when I started out, there was sort of this, we
- 18:51were talking about this when we first started, like, insecurity,
- 18:54like this, sort of, like, needing validation from other
- 18:58people and and so I was, I think I was taking photos that I
- 19:02thought other people would like, like, 100% Yeah. Just is how it
- 19:10starts though, yeah, yeah. I was just like, taking pictures that
- 19:14I thought, you know, other people are going to enjoy this.
- 19:17And instead of thinking about my own vision for what I wanted to
- 19:22do, and then over time, I was able to hone my vision in that
- 19:28attracted clients to me who really like they enjoyed that
- 19:33that's what they wanted out of their photos. But it was only, I
- 19:37think it'd only be literally solidified for me, even like as
- 19:40a business when I was able to, like, really carve out my own
- 19:44style?
- 19:45Andrew Tomasino: Yeah, I think this is I have this conversation
- 19:49with a lot of my friends who are also, like, my colleagues and
- 19:52stuff. And when I, when I talk about this topic, right? I have
- 19:56been, I don't think. I'm as good at business, to be completely
- 20:02honest. I have done a lot of things. I'm, I feel like I'm
- 20:05scrappy, so I, like, just put together what I can, and I
- 20:10assist, and I'll do lighting design. And I kind of came up
- 20:14through, like, that path, you know, but, I mean, I chose to do
- 20:20it in pandemic, like, of course, like when I, when I was stepping
- 20:24out and being like, I'm gonna start shooting and doing a lot
- 20:27more of that, I went through this crash course. Like I
- 20:30started just immediately copying my or trying to work through
- 20:35this idea of like, you have to, you have to learn by way of
- 20:42doing. And I wanted to have what I wanted to build my taste. So I
- 20:50would try to recreate some of these images, and I would learn
- 20:53the light, and I would see how the light worked, right? So that
- 20:56was like the first, the first little taste of being able to
- 21:00have, even have the skill. My that experience is so intense
- 21:09because you're, like, chasing something. You don't know how to
- 21:12make a good picture, but you really kind of believe that you
- 21:14can, and you want, and you want to, like, wrestle with that,
- 21:19yeah, but that crash course gives you the little signs of
- 21:26what I think you eventually evolve into. So looking
- 21:30backwards, I've been doing this for about 16 years now, and
- 21:34looking backwards. All of that matters, but it's just like, not
- 21:41when you're in it, you're just like, trying to first show
- 21:44something, and if it's like your influences, it's kind of like
- 21:48people are gonna be like, that's, that's pretty
- 21:49Casey Fatchett: tight, yeah, yeah. I think that there's that.
- 21:52One of the things I tell people when they're starting out is, if
- 21:56you like movies or you like again, this kind of brings us
- 22:00back to lynch a little bit. Yeah, I was thinking about,
- 22:03like, if you're watching like, one of the best ways to sort of
- 22:06train yourself is really watch movies from a sense of
- 22:10composition and lighting. And it's like a such an amazing
- 22:15like, free, course I'm
- 22:17Andrew Tomasino: laughing because you'll be ruined for
- 22:19movies forever after this, you know, never I mean I love, I
- 22:23love cinema and I love, like shows like Breaking Bad, like
- 22:28just, just destroyed my mind. Michael Slovis is, was the lead
- 22:34cinematographer most times, and just in an unreal style of
- 22:39looking at composition and light, but now, because I, you
- 22:44know, because I do it, and then I'm into it, but you're like,
- 22:46ruined for both sometimes, you know what I mean, I was looking.
- 22:50I'm always looking. I always,
- 22:51Casey Fatchett: I have, like, a switch in my mind where I'm able
- 22:53to just and there will be times when I'll be watching a movie
- 22:57and I'm still in the movie, and I'll just look at my wife and
- 22:59say, this is shot incredibly. Like, this is
- 23:03Andrew Tomasino: just the most like, I hit pause. You know,
- 23:07always, like, Hold on, wait a minute. Yeah, this is nuts. Then
- 23:10I go back, yeah, yeah. But that's, that's, I, like, I like,
- 23:15sharing that with you because it, it's, it speaks to the
- 23:18level. Uh, there's a slight obsession with it. I came up in
- 23:25this career under Joe McNally. He's my mentor for years. And
- 23:32you know his his path through photography with me giving,
- 23:36giving me a career, working as an assistant, starting off and
- 23:39then moving through. It's like, just like all these tools that
- 23:42you learn through that process, that that give you the ability
- 23:48to even make a picture, right? You know, even give you the
- 23:54ability to start messing with the light, or even understanding
- 23:58light, you know? So I, I, I'm always in reflection of that.
- 24:04And I still, I mean, I still work for him. He's the reason
- 24:07why we met, yeah,
- 24:09Casey Fatchett: we met in one of his workshops, yeah.
- 24:11Andrew Tomasino: And it's, like, one of those things where you,
- 24:14you can't help but be like, Wow, okay, I got so lucky early on,
- 24:20kind of getting into it that way, but, yeah,
- 24:25Casey Fatchett: I mean, there's, there's a thing, and it's, it's,
- 24:28I actually just wrote an article about this, about, we're not
- 24:32going to focus on this too much, but I want to talk about it a
- 24:35little bit in how assisting teaches you so much about a the
- 24:43craft itself, and be like it can teach you about the business and
- 24:47interacting with your subjects. It's just like, you know, I
- 24:56there's some guy who's on social media who's saying, like, my
- 24:59recommendation. To any photographer in their early 20s
- 25:02is go out and get a photography degree, even if you have to go
- 25:06into debt to do it. And I was just like, that's that is
- 25:09ridiculous. The most ridiculous advice I've ever heard
- 25:12Andrew Tomasino: That is so ridiculous, I actually feel I
- 25:16did go, I did go to school and like, you know, it's like, you
- 25:20can't change the past, but I think I would have gone into
- 25:23assisting earlier, and I think I would have thought of it as go
- 25:29to New York, work in a grip house, learn every bolt and
- 25:34stand and how they work and all that, then access shoots to look
- 25:40at what is happening, also lighting trends and all that
- 25:44you're you're actually serving the people who are trending in
- 25:49photography. Yeah. So your access to that is unbelievable.
- 25:53Then you could find people you could reach out to, because you
- 25:55have all connection photographers coming to you,
- 25:58yeah, they're just feeding you what you're supposed to Okay? So
- 26:02it's like, okay, do that. And then I think the assisting track
- 26:05is the way. I don't actually I think now it's like, there's,
- 26:10there's so many ways, but because there's so many ways,
- 26:13it's almost like, how the hell do I even do any of them? But
- 26:17assisting, to me, is a big good, like, good method of, yeah, I've
- 26:22met amazing people through doing it, and I've, I've learned so
- 26:25much, and it helped me develop my where I'm chasing my own
- 26:28style.
- 26:29Casey Fatchett: Yeah, I think that you get to see is JC Carey
- 26:35was on, and was also at the same, oh, cool. But he was on,
- 26:42he talked about, like, process over recipe, sure, like, instead
- 26:48of just, like, sitting down and, like, this is my recipe. Like,
- 26:51I'm just gonna do the exact same thing, and I'm gonna set up my
- 26:54my settings on my camera, and, you know, place lights in the
- 26:58exact same position, and and I'm not going to get the same photo,
- 27:03because, like, something's different. There's, there's some
- 27:05other variable, but like, teaching the process, and that's
- 27:07something, when you're assisting someone, you really get to see
- 27:10that, oh yeah, as opposed to, you can go to YouTube University
- 27:14and, like, watch people's videos, and, like, you're not
- 27:17gonna necessarily, you depends on who you're watching.
- 27:20Andrew Tomasino: First of all, this is what I'll also say about
- 27:22that you could go to YouTube University and do that right,
- 27:26but I am making money while I'm doing it right, and I am being
- 27:30able to be like, do I'm a freelancer. I've been so this
- 27:36long. I did have a stint at an ad agency, but I just kind of
- 27:40like, you know, it's like, I gave it a shot. Not my thing at
- 27:44all. So doing this, for as long as I've been doing it, the
- 27:48ability, if I, if I got all that lighting knowledge, I'm placing
- 27:54a bet that I'm just going to immediately get work right. And
- 27:58the bridge to that, it's, it's, I think it's harder without
- 28:02assisting through and then you attain connection. You attain
- 28:07income that helps you get connected. Makeup artists,
- 28:11hairstylists, other assistants, yeah, other lighting text, what?
- 28:15What is that? A Digitech like I didn't even know what? I knew
- 28:18nothing. And I'm, you know, but I'm doing the right thing. I'm
- 28:23like, Okay, let me get in. I'll take the trash out, I'll make
- 28:26coffee. I'll be cool with this, because I think I knew early on
- 28:31I had a real passion. I was bringing up McNally, because
- 28:34that is he. People will give you a chance if you want to work
- 28:38hard. And I think I, I believe I am bright in reference to
- 28:47photography, but I don't think I'm like, the brightest dude. So
- 28:51I needed, I needed some help there, you know. And McNally
- 28:54looked, he saw that hard work, and he was like, I know that
- 28:57this guy wants to do something cool. I also, when I started
- 29:01working for him, the Nikon D 90 came out. It's the first DSLR
- 29:07with video. And I had a video, a little bit of video experience.
- 29:10So I immediately started applying this to the studio. And
- 29:14he was like, let's just, let's roll with this dude. So all
- 29:18these years later, I've learned, you know how to how, the classic
- 29:23way to make an image, and then how to break that to make my own
- 29:26imagery. Tremendous respect for McNally and what he's done for
- 29:31me in my career. I mean, he's, his work is totally it's
- 29:37timeless in so many ways. Yeah.
- 29:38Casey Fatchett: I mean, he's the first that was the age myself,
- 29:41but it was the first book I picked up when I really decided
- 29:44I was going to get into lighting. Moment, clicks, yeah.
- 29:47You just like. And I was like, Okay, well, he explained it
- 29:52better than anybody else. Oh, yeah. And I was XY really
- 29:57understood at that point, like, and I had been hit. Years of
- 30:01just being a natural light photographer, and like, using
- 30:05lighting, using reflectors, I wasn't, I wasn't just like, oh,
- 30:08well, let's put I was using reflectors, and, you know, sure,
- 30:12and other things, and sometimes, like constant light. But I
- 30:17didn't really know flash, and I was kind of afraid of it. And I
- 30:19picked up his book, and I was like, Well, okay, that now I
- 30:22understand so much
- 30:24Andrew Tomasino: Totally changed my career. Yeah, and the my
- 30:26friend Drew Gurry and another unbelievable photographer. He
- 30:30put that book in my hand. He was like, if you want to get into
- 30:34it, check this book. Book out, and you there it went. I was
- 30:38like, I'm sold on this. This is so cool,
- 30:40Casey Fatchett: yeah, because he's just like, I don't know, I
- 30:43try to tell people who I think are afraid of flash, like they
- 30:50so they're kind of resistant to it because they don't really
- 30:53want to admit, like, I am not sure what to do with this, and
- 30:56like, what's going to happen. And I say, like, it's another
- 30:58tool, absolutely, it's another tool in your toolbox. And let me
- 31:03tell you, depending on what type of photography you do, like, I
- 31:06do a lot of events you need to know flash like, because you
- 31:10don't know what you're walking into.
- 31:12Andrew Tomasino: Well, if you work commercially in any way,
- 31:14yeah, your clients are going to expect a clean picture, right?
- 31:19So consistency is an essential skill over time. I would love to
- 31:24be super fortunate that I stepped onto the scene and my,
- 31:30you know, shade lighting was the best, and I didn't have to do
- 31:35any of this, you know,
- 31:36Casey Fatchett: that I just got hours of the same quality of
- 31:39light through a window
- 31:41Andrew Tomasino: right where I could, I could guarantee that
- 31:44people want to, like, book it at the perfect time, the perfect
- 31:49place. You know, all these things it, but it takes. It's so
- 31:52much production too. Like, that's another reason why,
- 31:55coming up through that I learned so much about what it actually
- 31:58takes, yeah, and that I I just crazy to this day every, every
- 32:02time I'm, like, doing booking a shoot myself, or thinking about
- 32:06the business side too, I carry that with me. It's like, okay,
- 32:09what does it actually take to get this done? That helps a lot.
- 32:12Casey Fatchett: Yeah, you learn so much. Like you said, you're
- 32:14also you're getting paid. Instead of, like, 1000s of
- 32:18dollars for tuition, you're getting paid see
- 32:21Andrew Tomasino: the world. I got to travel the world with
- 32:23him. It was like, This is so this is like, I feel so cool.
- 32:27It's great. It was a big confidence booster. Talk about
- 32:30confidence booster,
- 32:30Casey Fatchett: I'm sure. So what initially drew you to
- 32:33photography? I mean, we've talked about, like
- 32:36Andrew Tomasino: I was in bands for years, okay? I was in
- 32:38hardcore scene in my area. I'm in the Lehigh Valley in
- 32:42Pennsylvania. I'm perfectly placed between Philadelphia and
- 32:46New York, so I operate as a local in both and, you know,
- 32:50I'll take my portfolio in, take a meeting, you know, things like
- 32:55that. I've, I've grown very comfortable doing that. I'm in
- 32:59the car all the time. But it's, it's fine, because in my days in
- 33:03music, my band did, like, a few tours, nothing crazy, but I did
- 33:08it enough to I like being on the road. I mean, it's like a road
- 33:12trip. It's an excuse to get out all that. So I love that. But
- 33:16music was how I got into taking pictures, because I was
- 33:20traveling and I wanted to document some things. I was just
- 33:24finding my way through that. And then I what would happen is,
- 33:29like, my band wanted to get a picture done. I was like, I have
- 33:33to make this happen. I have to do it, but I'm in the band, so
- 33:37I've got to be in it. So then that was like, Okay, how do I
- 33:41set this up? You know, I think my first camera, well, I mean, I
- 33:46had, I went through, like the Sony cyber shot days, like they
- 33:50had, like a circuit, like, it's cutting this weird oval. But I
- 33:54just started working with that on a small tripod and shooting
- 33:59shows and maybe a backstage thing. But, yeah, the idea was
- 34:03that I just wanted to, I think I was like, now that I'm playing a
- 34:07lot of music, I want to try this, because it keeps me
- 34:11creative, and now that I'm doing this full time, I go back to
- 34:15music to keep me creative. But that was my initial access, and
- 34:19then I ended up, you know, trying to see how I could make a
- 34:24little scratch doing it. And the first thing I do is, like, okay,
- 34:28someone's been, oh, well, you know, Andrew can make a good
- 34:32picture. Maybe give him, you know, give him a couple of bucks
- 34:36to do it. And I did. I was like, I'll just take because it's
- 34:41like, I'm learning. It's like, I'm not going to be like, I need
- 34:45this and that it wasn't about that. It was like, let's just
- 34:49make a picture. So then I, I ended up through this path
- 34:53meeting my friend Drew, Drew Gurion, and he was interested in
- 34:57photography, like I was. Where we were both admitting, like,
- 35:02man, like, have you checked this out? Have you checked that out?
- 35:06We had this kind of furious nature to the exchange of info,
- 35:10which is, again, it's like community is what gets you
- 35:14there. Sure. So he and I ended up shooting weddings for years
- 35:18together because we were, we were young, and he was
- 35:22bartending, and I was like, working retail. We were like, we
- 35:26could just like, let's, let's apply our skill and do this. So
- 35:30we were doing that, and I that's kind of like how it morphed. I
- 35:35think it went for me, it was interesting, because it kind of
- 35:39went right away to be like, I can make money doing this way,
- 35:43more money than being in a band, I'll tell you. And I don't even
- 35:47think I was pursuant to that as a career. I think I definitely
- 35:52would have if we got a chance. But I think what I was realizing
- 35:56is the commercialization of photography gave me an
- 36:00opportunity to pursue art, and I will. I have been an artist from
- 36:04as long as I can remember. You know, I I studied painting in
- 36:08school, but I was too impatient photography. And I mean, the way
- 36:13I like to make pictures is like speaks to that past, but
- 36:17photography itself gave me access to just like make art and
- 36:21then try to make a living off of that, because my deal was I
- 36:25didn't want to work a desk. I didn't want to do that. I want
- 36:29to be able to give myself the freedom of my own time, and like
- 36:34the touring and that experience really helped me expand on what
- 36:38I how I felt authentic. And that was access to trying to pursue that.
- 36:43Casey Fatchett: So, yeah, when I was an actor, I first moved to
- 36:47New York City, yeah, I brought my camera with me, obviously.
- 36:51And like, I was just doing pictures of other I was doing
- 36:54headshots for other actors, doing promo shots for bands.
- 36:58This is all film, sure. And then I was going and shooting, like,
- 37:01live shows for bands, and that was, like, that was what taught,
- 37:06like, really solidified my like fundamentals, because, like, I
- 37:11had two camera bodies, two different film speeds, and like,
- 37:14lights are constantly changing.
- 37:17Andrew Tomasino: And this was magic, the magic though, yes,
- 37:20like, yeah, I look back at some of those stories, yeah, yeah. So
- 37:23cool, yeah.
- 37:24Casey Fatchett: It's a that is a tell people, if they want to
- 37:28learn, like, how to manually set their camera, go and shoot a
- 37:33band in a in a bar, or, like, a club, just like a dark club, and
- 37:40go in there, and you can only have like, 800 or 3200 ISO,
- 37:46Andrew Tomasino: oh, I would cry. I would just start crying,
- 37:50crying, Yeah, I'm good, yeah,
- 37:54Casey Fatchett: go ahead. I had a I had either 400 or 801 camera
- 37:58and 3200 and the other black and white. And that was, like the
- 38:02two speeds that I had, because I was just like, This is not a lot
- 38:06of choices here.
- 38:08Andrew Tomasino: The way I shoot, I have two bodies, but
- 38:11one of them is an X Pro two. It's an old, you know, it's like
- 38:16an old Fuji camera, and I keep that at 3200 ISO on the Acura
- 38:21setting, so it's just black and white. And I literally tell
- 38:24people, this is just my black and white camera, and it i The
- 38:29files will go to color. But people just freak out if you're
- 38:33like, if you're shooting black, God forbid you shoot black and
- 38:36white digitally. You know what I mean. But I use it like that to
- 38:39give me that feeling, and it gives me the nervous feeling,
- 38:43because I'm kind of locked in, you know, yeah, but I love the
- 38:46grain, and I love all that. So it's like, I kind of love, I
- 38:49love what you're saying about that, because it's just like the
- 38:52forced nature I was just talking about this. This is like
- 38:56something that I just, I go crazy for, but it's like
- 39:01creativity through restriction. You know where it's like, I'm
- 39:05this is what I'm stuck with, right, right? You know so much
- 39:08of photography is like solving a problem. It's like, man, okay,
- 39:12so they want me to make a portrait of this celebrity, but
- 39:15they want me to do it in the closet. It's like, okay, well,
- 39:21this is an opportunity still, so you gotta, but it's a lot, it's
- 39:24all of, like, solving it problems, and that, to me, is,
- 39:27so that's what's so cool about photography. In addition to,
- 39:32again, it's, it's art you're getting to make.
- 39:34Casey Fatchett: Yeah, limitations are gonna teach you
- 39:36more than going into, like, the easiest job in the world and
- 39:39just be like, All right, we're gonna set this up. And we got
- 39:43totally, yeah, whatever you go in and like, I Yeah, again,
- 39:46instructional, yeah. I saw people like, you want to do
- 39:49like, you can only get one lens. You can't change lenses. Go out or
- 39:53Andrew Tomasino: I support this. only do that lens for like, it
- 39:56use a 50 millimeter for a year. And then, and then, when you.
- 39:59Pick other focal lengths, you you'll have such a huge
- 40:03understanding of that movement. And I think it's also cool to
- 40:06zoom with your feet, yeah. So it's like picking a really a
- 40:10prime, like a cheap prime, that will get you this. Everybody is
- 40:14working with aperture. They all want to see the blurry, you
- 40:17know, they all want to do. So it's the best one to start with.
- 40:21And then you just use that and use that and and then when you
- 40:25start to switch it up, you will have more of a full
- 40:28understanding of composition. And you know, what is too wide
- 40:31for a portrait? Where am I going with this suit? You know? What
- 40:35do I do with the super long lens, the compression? Seeing
- 40:39that? Yeah, that's it expands once you use something in a
- 40:42restricted way, right? Learn it.
- 40:44Casey Fatchett: Immediately you start to learn. You see all the
- 40:46other possibilities. And as well as, like, just knowing that
- 40:49inside and out, that, you know, I always see that, what's the
- 40:53best lens for a portrait? And I'm like, well, with whatever
- 40:58camera you got, right? Yeah, whatever you have gotta be good
- 41:01about that, right? And, you know, like, yeah, medium
- 41:05telephoto is to start, is usually like, when you consider
- 41:08like, what people are talking about. But it also depends on
- 41:10what look you're going for. I can use 100% I can use a 35
- 41:13millimeter for a portrait if I really want that sort of, you
- 41:17know, absolutely wider angle, or whatever. Like, there's there's
- 41:20like, you just have to understand, like, how you're how
- 41:24each lens, like, captures an image, and like, what you're
- 41:29getting, and how manipulated it's using.
- 41:35Andrew Tomasino: Like, I love aperture priority. It's how I
- 41:38came up. It's like, lock into that. I teach at a college near
- 41:43me on Fridays, and it's, you know, I'm doing spring semester,
- 41:49and I tell the students when I'm when I'm teaching. It's like,
- 41:55lock into this one thing. I think aperture priority is the
- 42:00most accessible thing, because it gives you what you want,
- 42:04right? Most people want to mess around with depth of field. They
- 42:07want to see how that works. They're not sure about this
- 42:10other stuff, right, but they know that aperture will get them
- 42:14the one thing they want. And then from there, you can just
- 42:17start seeing how the camera, like borks out. If you're like,
- 42:21in a dark space and there's dumping light through the
- 42:24window, you start to immediately see, like, Okay, what's going on
- 42:27here. And that, to me, is like, such, such an important thing.
- 42:31It's also, might I add, a McNally ism, where he walks into
- 42:38a room and he kind of scouts with aperture priority, and now
- 42:41I cannot help myself. It is my method, because I gain control
- 42:46in a way where the camera is doing some work. I'm not as
- 42:49stressed. I know it's going to get me somewhere, right? It's
- 42:51going to get you in the ballpark swing, yeah? But then I get to
- 42:54manipulate and add light, and that is where my benefit comes
- 42:58into just like I don't think I this is one thing I've always
- 43:03telling people, and it's been coming up a lot recently this.
- 43:06But photography doesn't have to be hard to be good, right? And
- 43:12if you make it easier for yourself, your creative mind
- 43:17will be more free. I think in photography, it's very easy to
- 43:20get wrapped around. It's like, I got six lights up in the air.
- 43:23I'm doing this. I'm doing that. My Settings, I don't the ISO is
- 43:27going up. The shutters go, you know, it's like, where am I
- 43:29going with all this stuff? It's like, just simplify that whole
- 43:32process and understand that for me, there's, there's a person on
- 43:37the other end of that, and my connection and my I think, my
- 43:44gratitude for the being there to allow me to do this first, and
- 43:48then being able to work with them as a collaborator who's
- 43:51talking art, not like give me 10 minutes while I shift all this
- 43:56stuff around. You know, it's you don't want that to happen.
- 43:59Casey Fatchett: You want connection. Yeah, don't overly
- 44:01complicate. The scenario does not have to be complicated.
- 44:05Andrew Tomasino: Some of the best photographers, Lachlan
- 44:08Bailey, comes up to comes to mind. He's an unbelievable
- 44:12fashion photographer, and it's like, I'm not simplifying his
- 44:16work. His work is unbelievable, but it's like, picking the right
- 44:19time, you know, looking at the light like paying attention to
- 44:23what matters with that it's, there's, it's not a
- 44:25simplification, it's, it's such an amazing taste that is about
- 44:30the subtlety of things, and that is where it goes bonkers, focus,
- 44:35yeah, Yeah. But making it easier for yourself, and that could be
- 44:43by scouting the day before. There's an app called Sun seeker
- 44:49I use, and you can stand at any stand, take your phone out, and
- 44:54I can, like, look around and see where the light's going to be
- 44:57the whole day. And I'll take a screenshot. Out of it. You know,
- 45:00when I location scout, it's like all this data that I now have,
- 45:04I'm now ready for that day. I'm prepped. I know exactly what's
- 45:08going on. So again, it's easier for me. I comfort that area in
- 45:12order to just set my creative mind like a blaze on the day of
- 45:16Casey Fatchett: yeah, that preparation, I think that a lot
- 45:19of people don't understand, like, how much preparation goes
- 45:22into a like, you know, portrait, fashion, all this sort of, like,
- 45:27city like, street photography, totally. Phil Penman, who's been
- 45:32on the show, like, we were talking a lot, and he was like,
- 45:36Yeah, I have like, journals upon journals upon journals of like,
- 45:40what the light is like at this time of day, this time of year,
- 45:45in this location, so that, like, I know this is the type of light
- 45:48I like, right? I'm gonna go back there for the these two weeks of
- 45:53the year right at this time, because I know that's, that's
- 45:57the light that I like. I've, you know, done all this work and
- 46:01figuring out, like in these places that I will frequent,
- 46:05that that's when the light is really my
- 46:08Andrew Tomasino: preparation leading to inspiration.
- 46:12Casey Fatchett: Yeah, you free up the like you said, you free
- 46:14up the creative side to run free because you've done all the
- 46:17work, the technical stuff beforehand, or you, or you're
- 46:20allowing your your camera, as you're saying, like, the
- 46:22aperture priority, one of the things they get into again, with
- 46:25like, these people understand the metering, how metering works
- 46:28in your camera, because your camera is dumb. I mean, it can
- 46:31make it make really fast calculations, very smart in that
- 46:34way. But it's like, dumb. It does what you tell it to do,
- 46:37like you said, right aperture priority, or whatever. But like,
- 46:40when you're looking at metering, like so many people don't
- 46:42understand, like, what? Understand, like, what this
- 46:45means. Like, what does, you know, center weighted mean? What
- 46:48does, like, how much, what is it metering off of? And it's like,
- 46:51okay, you know, I get that go out and get a light meter.
- 46:56Andrew Tomasino: Well, I shoot tethered a lot, so sometimes I
- 46:59just, I get myself a black frame, and then I'll begin to
- 47:06test from that black frame as I add light. Yeah, I do meter, but
- 47:12not all the time. Sometimes I just open up capture and I'm
- 47:16looking in it, and I'm like, Okay, let's move it from here.
- 47:19You know.
- 47:19Casey Fatchett: Yeah, makes sense. That makes sense. I'm
- 47:21talking about, like, if you're out out and about, like, running
- 47:24around outside or whatever this is dig. You know, things can
- 47:27change. I too, and one of my best friends, who's also a
- 47:32photographer, who I occasionally, like, shoot for,
- 47:34like, well, get on me. Like, oh, you aperture priority. You know,
- 47:38he's, like, shakes his fist because he's, like, editing
- 47:40afterwards. And I'm like, Well, what do you want? He goes, Well,
- 47:42you know, like, just shoot manually. I'm like, in some
- 47:44instances, I will, in other instances, the light is changing
- 47:48so dramatically we are at there was, it was an event that was
- 47:51photographing that was outside, like 500 people at sunset into
- 48:01the evening, like, I can't, like, can't like, you know, just
- 48:05like, Okay, some people are in the sun. Some people are in the
- 48:08shade. Like, yeah, if I'm manually shooting this, I'm
- 48:11constantly
- 48:12Andrew Tomasino: bonkers, yeah, I would not do that. I and also,
- 48:15I think one thing too, with that, with that, use aperture
- 48:19priority as a as a scouting tool, and then lock in via
- 48:22manual. And then you could start to slide and get real precise,
- 48:27you know, I try to do that, you know, when I'm doing lighting
- 48:31design, I try to lock us in in that kind of way, if we're on
- 48:35location, yeah, then it, then the camera does its dumb brain
- 48:39thing, you lock in, and you start to get precise. And then
- 48:43the, you know, when I'm doing lighting design, then it's the,
- 48:47it's a photographer's job, then put their taste into it. And
- 48:51then most of the time, we're all hovering around capture one, and
- 48:55we're looking at the files, and we're like, okay, let's put, you
- 48:59know, let's mess around a little bit. And a lot of my process. I
- 49:03respect the film process, and I shoot rolls of film to document
- 49:08life, and I think it's like a great way to capture memory. But
- 49:12for me, in my process, as you know, shooting portraits of
- 49:16fashion or when I'm on set, it's a digital process because of the
- 49:20speed. Yeah, clients need photos so fast, yes. And also being
- 49:24able to do it and capture it gives me the tools to add color
- 49:28and to make it feel film if I want, right? I have a lot of
- 49:32power in there. So I love that you can love putting the sauce on
- 49:36Casey Fatchett: it, yeah, exactly the special sauce you
- 49:39put your own special sauce on it emulates. You can emulate film.
- 49:43Look, it's, you know, there's a lot of things you can do, but
- 49:47yeah, the it's just film is prohibitive for commercial work,
- 49:52expensive, yeah, I tell people do weddings. It. Lot of
- 49:55weddings, and I'll have people say like, Oh, do you do film?
- 49:59And I'll be like, only for portraits. Yeah, only for
- 50:03portraits. And that's that. That's in the rest of the day. I
- 50:07would charge them a zillion, you know, right? Oh, it's an add on.
- 50:12It's an addition. And they'll be like, Oh, how much is it? And
- 50:16I'm like, Well, depends. We're shooting 35 or 120,
- 50:21Andrew Tomasino: 120 is the answer, though, right? Yeah,
- 50:23absolutely. I love I went to me and format digital, medium
- 50:27format, and I just, it's the best. It's so funny because I'm
- 50:31shooting medium format and then I'm shooting the expert. Two is
- 50:34like a crop sensor. So it's just like, that's, I love it.
- 50:38Casey Fatchett: I just love it. So if you could work on any
- 50:45project whatsoever, no limitations, budget, travel,
- 50:50access to anything, what? What would it be?
- 50:54Andrew Tomasino: Well, I think the path that I'm on is to get
- 50:59to a certain place within fashion photography. I think
- 51:07it's, it's such a hard field, and it's so, I mean, how many
- 51:12people, you know, they they want to do that? So it's like, I
- 51:17thought I would pick the safer route, like, you know, exiting
- 51:20music. And then I'm like, doing this. I'm like, this is like,
- 51:23basically the same, but, um, I love fashion. I have since I was
- 51:28young. I I grew up in a family of beauticians, so it was like,
- 51:35I was always looking at fashion magazines and stuff like, heavy
- 51:37influence on music and and, and and being fashionable things
- 51:43like this. So it kind of wore on me, but it was just the repeated
- 51:47imagery of, Wow, this is so this is so cool to me. It's also like
- 51:51a playground of imagination. It's very free for that in the
- 51:58space of photography. And I think that's really cool. So I
- 52:03think if, if I could dream up of something, I mean, it would, you
- 52:10know, I'd love to shoot for any, any of these major fashion
- 52:15houses. But I think career wise, I think, Well, absolutely,
- 52:26shooting something like, you know, for Chanel, or something
- 52:30like that, you know, be so cool. And I love the studio, I love
- 52:36location, but I think right now, I think why I'm kind of
- 52:40stumbling on this. It's hard because the path that I'm going
- 52:44is where it may end up there it may not. But when I shoot
- 52:48fashion and I work with the people involved in fashion, I
- 52:53feel the most me, and that helps me make amazing work, you know.
- 52:59And I like again, back in for the music you're in a band,
- 53:05smasher feels a little bit like the band, where it's not
- 53:09performance art, but it's definitely performance art. But
- 53:12the thing about it is it's like, there's performance art for the
- 53:16talent, right, the model. Or, you know, when I'm making
- 53:18portraits, it's like your subject, but they're kind of
- 53:23performing for the camera, right? But the team around is
- 53:26kind of performing for them, because we all want this, like,
- 53:29amazing picture. So the element of that is so interesting to me,
- 53:33and that feels a little bit like rock and roll or punk, punk
- 53:37rock, you know, like it's, it's cool to me to have that kind of
- 53:40feeling. So I think if I had a, you know, my career goal is to
- 53:44get to that at a very skilled level, and that, you know, by
- 53:50way of, you know, if it's high fashion cool, but I like where
- 53:55I'm at and the work that I make. I think, I think why I said
- 54:00earlier that I'm more artist and less business is because my path
- 54:06has always been pursuant to create something that feels
- 54:09uniquely me in my style. So that's the goal for me on my
- 54:15path in fashion. I would love, love to just continue to get
- 54:19into you know, obviously, we all want bigger budgets. The
- 54:23production is crazy. I think that a lot of fashion houses,
- 54:28they want that wild creativity. Tim Walker is unbelievable. You
- 54:33know, he shoots so much for Vogue, and it's this super
- 54:38unique style. Nadia Lee comes to mind. Totally unique voice and
- 54:44very skilled. So the hot, you know, the high end, just loves
- 54:48it. I think that's where I would like to be somewhere there. He's
- 54:52like, winded, but that's kind of where I'd be,
- 54:55Casey Fatchett: no to be so uniquely yourself and.
- 55:00Andrew Tomasino: Great, like, I want to have a definable style,
- 55:02and I'm really pushing towards that. I have pictures that have
- 55:08struck me deeply, that I've made that that make me feel like,
- 55:14okay, there's certain things that this year, and I think like
- 55:18this year and next year in my test shoots that I'll continue
- 55:22to pursue, to kind of keep pushing this style. But, you
- 55:27know, I've, I've been in this 16 years, but, you know, and in
- 55:33professional way, you know, on campaigns and all this stuff,
- 55:36I've got to see a lot. But now it's the idea of using the
- 55:40technical to get into a more discernible style, where people
- 55:44start looking at my work and going, Wow, this is like,
- 55:47tomasino's work is really great.
- 55:49Casey Fatchett: Yeah, that's the thing that they were talking
- 55:51like, you can look at it and you can identify it and be like,
- 55:54Okay, this,
- 55:54Andrew Tomasino: yes, that is what I'm most hungry for now
- 55:58Casey Fatchett: That's what you're striving for. Okay? And
- 56:01all right, kind of close us up a little bit Sure. What is one
- 56:06piece of advice you wish you'd received when you were starting
- 56:10out as a photographer.
- 56:14Andrew Tomasino: Buy more batteries. You
- 56:20Casey Fatchett: a lot of batteries. Especially if you're
- 56:25shooting mirrorless, you need a ton of batteries. I don't know
- 56:30how many times I've seen somebody post on social
- 56:35platforms like, Oh man, I forgot my battery at home. I'm like,
- 56:38one. You have one singular battery been there, yeah, get,
- 56:44get a number of memory card, get a multiple memory cards in
- 56:47multiple batteries.
- 56:48Andrew Tomasino: Yeah, back up your work. I think if I think I
- 56:53would, I think my path, I would just have someone be like, just
- 57:01go for it hard, like, just you got to really lean in and I and
- 57:06I did, I think if I was giving that advice, because it's, it's
- 57:11a hard path, but it's a worthwhile path, and there are
- 57:15ways to make a living doing this full Time. Consider it to the
- 57:21camera, you know, assisting and lighting and all these get good
- 57:24at those skills and lean into them hard, because they will
- 57:28benefit you. Moving forward, you'll be able to speak more
- 57:32clearly and hold every role, like edit a video, shoot a
- 57:37video, direct a video, do all these things. You'll grow so
- 57:40much from there.
- 57:41Casey Fatchett: Yeah, I think the video is becoming such a
- 57:43like, I think many different levels a because of social
- 57:48media, but and people wanting more video content to complement
- 57:54still images. It's like such a vital skill to learn for
- 57:59photographers,
- 58:00Andrew Tomasino: and I've been doing that with reels a lot.
- 58:02Yeah, I've noticed, yeah,
- 58:05Casey Fatchett: yeah, it's great.
- 58:12Hey there nerds. The nerdy photographer has a brand new
- 58:15website, and with it, we've created a resources page where
- 58:18you can find all sorts of things to help you in your photographic
- 58:21journey, from contract templates to website hosting to web design
- 58:27services to printing, it's all in there. Be sure to go out and
- 58:32check out nerdy photographer.com/resources
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- 1:00:08Notes and free up time for what you love by letting AI handle
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- 1:00:22Hey, now for my favorite part of the show, what's that? Say?
- 1:00:28Useless information. This is always death. It's time for our
- 1:00:35useless information. Useless info. I love this, yeah, so a
- 1:00:39little bit of trivial knowledge, which I always include with
- 1:00:42every episode. Love this. Andrew, did you how fast do you
- 1:00:47think the world's best competitive eaters can eat a hot
- 1:00:52dog like a single hot dog, a single one? Yes, the whole
- 1:00:59thing. 10 seconds. 8.5 okay, you're very close. Very close.
- 1:01:08Seen some competitions, yeah. Joey Chestnut center 870, hot
- 1:01:13dogs in 10 minutes. Outrage, 10 minutes. It makes me ill,
- 1:01:19thinking about it,
- 1:01:21Andrew Tomasino: it makes me ill. But I'm also like, I, you
- 1:01:24know, I like
- 1:01:24Casey Fatchett: I do like good hot dogs, especially. Nathan
- 1:01:28Masons are pretty good. Andrew, where can people find you?
- 1:01:32Online? Find your work. Follow along with you.
- 1:01:36Andrew Tomasino: My website's Andrew thomasyner.com and my
- 1:01:40Instagram handle is T, dot, O, M, A, S, I N, O, it's just my
- 1:01:47last name. If you type in tomasino, it'll most likely come
- 1:01:50up like a yellow smiley face. I will
- 1:01:52Casey Fatchett: include the links in the Episode Notes.
- 1:01:56Andrew, thank you so much for being on the show. Come back.
- 1:01:58Andrew Tomasino: Thanks for your time. I appreciate you asking me
- 1:02:00to be on the show. I really appreciate it.
- 1:02:09Casey Fatchett: Welcome back. Thank you. Harvey, I want to
- 1:02:14thank Andrew tomasino for being on the show. I hope you enjoyed
- 1:02:18our conversation. You can find Andrew's info and links in the
- 1:02:21Episode Notes, go follow him now. While you're clicking on
- 1:02:24those links, be sure to subscribe to the show. Leave a
- 1:02:27review, because they're mighty helpful, and new people will
- 1:02:30find the podcast because of it, and then follow along with the
- 1:02:33nerdy photographer on the social medias. You know, at the nerdy
- 1:02:37photo that's at the nerdy photo on Instagram, blue sky threads,
- 1:02:42tick tock. And Reddit, no dots, underscores or dashes. You don't
- 1:02:46want to miss out on the discussions and shenanigans that
- 1:02:48happen between the episodes. Seriously, folks, shenanigans,
- 1:02:53but they're good natured shenanigans. Thanks, Harvey.
- 1:02:58Where did you get this from? We weren't even using this. Yes,
- 1:03:04thank you for the assistance, but this is from an entirely
- 1:03:07different set of tools. Until next time, everybody, stay safe
- 1:03:11and stay nerdy. You
- 1:03:24Unknown: who's your heart been beating about? Get better. Get
- 1:03:30better. Get better. Get better. Listen, you.