May 16, Friday... The day after my birthday, the day that I was looking forward to, Headshot Clinic - One WORLD Manila.
I've been very nervous as how this would turn out, for one, we we're expecting more people compared to the 1st series, that's for sure, and that the set up has never been done before... Shooting in a club with music, drinks and catering... I also lost hands on since I had left for Saigon, I was away for 11 days on would only communicate through daily e-mails and YM, that for me was really long and excruciating. I can only be thankful to friends and the team who had made it possible for HSC.
Registration / Confirmation
It had already come to my attention, assessing what had happened during the first HSC that it is important to do "Pre-Registration" and that confirmation is a must as well, we certainly do not want a few people in a big venue, and we certainly do not want too much people that would make a big venue small. This is also the reason why we had asked the invited guests and registrants to pay before the said event. As for the participants, it was made clear on the confirmation e-mail and confirmation sites that there are Registrants (those who registered online) and the Invited guests (whom I've tagged as VIP's and now I'm thinking I should not have had) So if anyone there was not familiar of this, then this means they did not get the confirmation e-mail, or did not read it at all.
Crowd gone wild
On our list, we have a maximum of 150 total participants, so we were only expecting that maximum number to potentially show up. If I am not mistaken, we were able to screen 50 registrants from a good 300 applicants, those 50 had paid at the Creativity Lounge earlier before the Clinic and only a few Invited Guests (Vips) did. So we had just told them that it should probably be okay to pay on the venue upon entrance. approximately 300 people showed up on the event date, 212 of whom had their headshots taken... Some never confirmed but showed up, some tried to confirm the day itself, some did not pay... and some weren't even on our list. Result, jam packed queue... Since we failed to start at exactly 4pm due to some problems, those who were supposed to be shot from 4-7pm got extended till 8pm, and those who were scheduled from 7-10pm had arrived I think all at once at around 8pm. Some of those whom I've asked to come at a certain time did not come on time, and what can we do right? While I was shooting, I have been getting all these feedbacks from my team, I know that they would choose not to tell me as to keep me worry free, but they know that I needed to know. I saw the chaos myself... I have seen and reviewed the guest list... and I did not know how and what to feel while I shooting someone whom I know was not supposed to be right there in front of me...
Organization: Since I had to leave for Saigon, I had to ask a friend to help me get everything together with my team while I am away, and I was delighted to know that she had decided to do this for free, she has handled big events and was even a part of her team at some point. She was able to close the deals for me, the sponsors, venue, media etc. although during the clinic itself, we had split responsibilities, her team taking care of everything downstairs, while we take over the shooting area. I had not anticipated that much people to come and was not prepared for such situation, I had to surrender my mobile to someone from my team as I cannot imagine how some people would think I'm holding my phone and would pick up having been on a situation like that... It also came to mind that none from my team (upstairs) had done or had any experiences with events management whatsoever, they are volunteers (meaning not paid to do this) composed of several photographers, graphic artists etc, although I trust them, and they have been very helpful to me, I owe these people a lot, their dedication and support is just overwhelming.
Me Myself and I
One thing that I need to work on is my being O.C. when I am into something, say a project like this, I would want to be on top of it, I fail to distribute tasks thus leaving me doing things on my own as I want it, because I know that if anything happens, my name will be at stake. I think another thing that people had failed to realize is that, there is just one me, just one photographer, and more than 200 people...that confirming, or doing the pre registration could have helped a lot. Despite chaos, I did not fail anyone, I was standing from 4pm till 11pm... I never sat down... I don’t recall ever sitting down... I only had water, I was already feeling drained... it felt like a marathon... I cannot fail, I had to be strong...emotionally and physically, I had to pretend even if it was already showing, I was already having cramps on my thighs but I did not bother anyone...And even when I was hearing comments from my staff that people downstairs were already getting pissed off I had to take it in, and I had to deliver...I did not let that big storm blow me away, even if that storm was myself...I had even asked myself...what have I gotten myself into? So many faces, so many emotions, so many issues, but there was just one me... The event might not have been as smooth as it should have been, but we had tried our best, it was a good learning experience for me, and for the rest of my team.
Nevertheless, I see this project as a success... the most important thing is that people waited, people had their turns, and that I promise each and everyone that the photos will be fab and meaningful. I am sorry for the registrants who were there since late afternoon, I had hoped to meet and talk with them, to connect to them... I would receive the list of approved registrants on my e-mail even when I was in Saigon and Siem Reap, and had taken time to know them, their background, their personality etc...and from time to time, I tried to talk to them during the shoot even if my body tells me to just save up my energy.I would also like to thank those who patiently waited for their turns and those who were understanding enough to digest the situation... that at times like this, we certainly should just be one with another, despite differences we should just be united, take off labels that for some people defines them from whatever social status. I would like to comment on Nante Alingasa, a good friend, a hair stylist from Kiehl's who was there waiting for a long time and patiently waited, from time to time he checked on me if I was okay, he was calm, very down to earth... I felt that he was indeed with me and with everyone else... I would also like to comment on this girl who came there alone but had made friends, and I told her that I was so happy to hear that, because that was one of my objectives, to make it as a venue for networking... she is not just going home with a headshot in mind,but with new friends she had made along the long line...
Me Myself and I
