Andrew St. Clair

So, last night, I was on assignment taking pictures for a club promoter at Element in NYC. It’s a pretty large venue set inside an old National Bank built in the 19th Century. Basically, I’m supposed to shoot people posing for the camera. However, I’m also considered a guest and don’t need to be shooting every second either.

If New Year’s Eve did anything it reminded me that while I like taking pictures of people, I really dislike many of the people in them. So, if you come across me in a club, you should expect the following.

1. If you bug me to take your picture, I will ignore you. This isn’t a corporate gig where people are running up to me saying, “That’s the Director of Corporate Finance, Overseas Division. I need you to get a picture with him and the CFO.” That, I will do with gusto. But, while I’m at a club, I don’t need to take pictures of anyone specific. I have no problem with someone asking nicely. However, I don’t take kindly to having someone forcefully poking me on the shoulder and yelling, ‘Yo! Over here!’ And, even if I had planned to take pictures of everyone in your VIP section, I will skip you entirely and move to the next section.


2. Don’t Order Me Around. There were quite a few people that were very demanding. Like, I was their photography monkey to do their bidding. One guy grabbed my shoulder, spun me around, got right up in my face and ordered me to take pictures of his group. Now, I had already taken pictures of his group. I stood there as I took pictures of a group which consisted of 3 couples. Then went out of my way to make sure that each couple had their own picture because they asked and I was a little more tolerant earlier in the evening. But, when I declined to take even more pictures he started to yell at me and proclaimed that he was “a VIP”. I told him that I didn’t care, to “get out of my face”, and proceeded to the nearest corner so that I could delete all of his previous pictures.


3. Being a perfectionist is impossible in a club situation. But, I try and make sure that if people take the time to pose for me that it’s a good shot. So, if someone has their eyes closed or they are making an unintentional funny face, I’ll tell them to hold it or say “One more” and I’ll take another picture. But, I hate when people demand to see their pictures the second after I take it. Even worse, is when they demand to see it, tell me to delete it, and do even more retakes. I got out of this last night many times by saying “I’m shooting with film, sorry!” This isn’t to say that I won’t show people their pictures. If I take a particularly good shot of someone, I may want to share it straight away.


4. Just because I have a camera doesn’t mean I will use your camera. I can’t tell you how many times people try and hand me their cameras so that I can take their picture. And many times, they will be very demanding. Even worse, they will give me a dirty look when I refuse. Look, I’m in a club with enough to worry about when it comes to my expensive camera equipment, (trying to keep it from getting drinks splashed on it, or bumped into, etc.) so pardon me if I refuse to hold something else (But most importantly, I just don’t want to).

Don’t get me wrong. If you’re really nice to me (or at the very least, respectful), I’ll go out of my way to take your picture. I encountered a lot of fun people who weren’t bossy, or drunk assholes that I felt privileged to be able to take their pictures.

Anyway, that was my New Year’s Eve, and a bit of venting, in a nutshell. Happy New Year, everyone!