One of the greatest things about my work, is choosing who I work with, or more accurately, who I choose to work for me. My oldest son Seth is quite a character, but incredibly smart for his age (6 yrs old). I have already started teaching him little things about the basics, and he knows enough of my jargon with regards to lighting to be a pretty decent assistant too. Pictured here is his last assignment as a VALS ( voice activated light stand ). These things are great! You tell the light stand to move back a foot, and it does! Move 45 deg. camera right... Already done! In this setup, he is a 40 lb. sandbag that I don't have to lug around on location. There is a downside though.... Maintenance costs and salary. Most kids his age would be fine with a couple of bucks for a morning of light duty responsibilities, but not Seth. He informed me he HAD to have $50 for the 2 hours he put in on the shoot! He is a shrewd negotiator but I have him down to $5 right now and possibly a trip to a pizza buffet, we will see if that's a deal breaker or not. Fortunately his younger brother is much less demanding. Unfortunately he is much less attentive and therefore not as much help. It's not his fault, he is only 5, but I know he will be a great asset one day soon like his brother. Even as young as they are, I could not imagine my business not involving my family. If my wife would only let me have more freedom with the business checking account though, I might be a bit happier than I am now!
Here are some shots I took of the kids on that location ( The Dallas Arboretum ) Seth was helping at. They make great models as well!
Jason
