Authenticity

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity

to create, to overcome, to endure,

to transform, and to love...”

- Ben Okri

It's a word that has been associated with my work more than once and I sense it's also a word that most people would want to be associated with too.

So when a recent assignment asked me to create authentic moments of individuals being portrayed as patients and doctors, I jumped onboard.

In the world of photographing authentic moments in the lives of people, it's

primarily about casting, casting...

And when you nail that aspect of a production, you're halfway there my friend.

Upon receiving the green light from the agency, I knew my first course of action would be to call my favorite casting director,
Doug Mangskau at Eastside Studios.
It's always a pleasure to work with people who love what they do and are great at it too! Once again Doug nailed it and we dove into the shoot with a wonderful selection of talent - each one being a total pro.

My crew and I shot stills and motion of numerous situations throughout the course of several days - some choreographed and some improvised. When a few of the situations unfolded on the monitor, I found myself thinking about previous experiences in my life and sensed the same feelings from several of the people I was photographing too. It was definitely easy for me to tell whose life had been touched by cancer and whose hadn't.

During my shoots, I try to keep my job in perspective. But with that being said, we created moments when our "patients" were actually close to tears.

It was all authentic.

www.ericschmidtphotography.com