Featured Photographer: Stephen Rovetti

Stephen Rovetti is a graphic designer and photographer based in Madison NH. Steve is the creative director and principal of Rovettidesign LLC, a full-featured design, photography, and creative marketing company. When he’s not providing clients with clean creative and design, he’s hanging out with his wife, 2 kids, and husky-wolf-shepherd dog.

Check him out at http://rovettiphoto.com , http://rovettidesign.com, and follow on Google+ at http://gplus.to/rovetti .

Meg: So let’s start first by introducing how we virtually met.  You were chosen to receive a Lensbaby, Nik the Nikon, to use for a couple days on their big journey. Can you give us a little insight as to how that went?

Stephen: Getting the chance to shoot with Nik was great. Lensbabies have a bit of a learning curve, but the results can be pretty compelling. I tried to put Nik through his paces; shooting outdoors, indoors, with natural light, with reflectors, triggering flashes remotely… the whole spectrum. I wrote about it in a blog post recently on my website here… http://bit.ly/q0rRCl . The Lensbaby is the perfect candidate for a rental; the type of effect that it produces is very unique, and it’s a fun lens to shoot with, but I wouldn’t use it enough to justify owning it. 

Meg: After the journey you sent over some additional photos that caught my eye involving fire, armed weapons, and camouflage. Can you explain to everyone what this was for?

Stephen: I’ve spent a number of years supporting the law enforcement, tactical, and military markets; I thought it would be fun to show you what I’d been working on lately, because it was a very involved and intense few days. One of my clients (awesome company to work with) had asked me about my availability to work on developing a multi-location photoshoot with some of their existing and soon to be released products. We spent a lot of time on the phone with them reviewing details, needs, and the like, and then got right into the nitty-gritty; developing a pretty detailed proposal that outlined our vision of what we were thinking of putting together and shooting.

Meg: From the photos it looks like an amazing job. How did you land it?

Stephen: Usually, it’s a combination of things.

First and foremost, these opportunities arise from our reputation, experience in the industry, and ability to execute. We have a pretty high-level of expertise when it comes to gear, operational equipment, and how that all ties in to a specific product. We know how to make things look as legitimate as possible; everything from uniforms, to armor, to weapons systems. We manage all of these aspects efficiently and professionally, and that’s incredibly important; especially when dealing with weapons systems, pyro, and the like. We wrap all of these aspects into our proposal, which shows a very direct attention to detail, and really addresses a lot of issues that can be of concern.

One of the other big ones is location. Up here in Madison, NH we have a lot of different locations to choose from, many of them are not very far away. Rugged landscapes; ledges, mountains, sand pits, rivers, swamps… you name it… they’re all accessible from right out our front door. With a good bit of location scouting, weather planning, and obtaining the appropriate permissions, we were able to turn a Madison, NH sandpit into an IED incident in Iraq. 

Lastly, it’s about my team. But I’ll get into that later.

Meg: How did you put the whole shoot together?

Stephen: After our proposal was accepted, I went into a full-bore gear check, and notified the team that we were good to go. We pulled through piles of gear, selected our weapons systems, and then laid out entire sets of kit (uniform, armor, web gear, weapons systems, accessories, and the client supplied product) on the ground and checked them. This part is a bit of a bitch, because we want everything to be perfect. Then you realize you’re missing part A, B, or C of kit set A, and have to start juggling, making phone calls, and the like. It’s an involved process.

At the same time, we started scouting locations. I have to think about accessibility, available light, obtaining permission, safety… a whole ticklist of location-based stuff that really has to be paid attention to. I’m not shooting cute babies or a bag overflowing with fuzzy puppies (although I like shooting that kind of stuff, too); we’re shooting burly, fully kitted-out, armed-to-the-teeth dudes in camouflage. We need to know that where we’re shooting is going to be the utmost in safety, accessibility, and also isn’t going to cause any problems with the public.

I received a detailed shot list from the client, and I sketched out a bunch of shots in my notebook (a really good thing to do for me; I kind of need a visual hooks to help me out) and made sure that they were actually possible.

Then it’s checking the weather, setting dates, getting vehicles ready, getting my team scheduling together, doing a final check… probably too much to get into at the moment. I wrote up a quick blog post related to the shoot here a little bit ago; a quick “tips” post. http://bit.ly/oQx2GS

Meg: Do you work with a team of people?

Stephen: On big shoots like the one I’ve been talking about, it’s completely necessary. I am very lucky to be able to bring in a solid team of professionals that I know I can trust. We have a bunch of really talented people up here, and the ability to involve them in projects is a win/win. Trust is paramount. I have never, and will never hire a slouch. I’ve got too much time invested in my business to ever deal with weak-sauce. If you can’t bring the thunder, you’re not invited to the party. Sounds kinda rough, but hey, I work for a living.

On smaller shoots, I’m a lone wolf a good bit of the time; but I couldn’t run larger shoots without a solid team of driven people that can operate in a very cohesive fashion. It’s fun to tap into everyone’s energy and enthusiasm. It’s also really helpful to have other eyes that might see things differently on a shoot.

Meg: Living in New Hampshire there doesn’t seem to be much city life. Has the landscape helped your business?

Stephen: The landscape helps when it comes to assignments that require it; if I need to hop on a plane to get to a location, then I do. This landscape really doesn’t help or impede my business. It comes down to what makes any photographer or business person successful; your talent, your drive, your ability to promote yourself and make connections, and most importantly – your eagerness to hustle and get work DONE. I shit you not, Abe Lincoln said it best – “Things may come to those that wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

We live in an incredibly beautiful area. I have everything I could ever want; hiking, backpacking, climbing, running and mountain bike trails, snowboarding… everything up here. You have to make a few sacrifices to live up here, and you have to have the personality that can be content to be a bit far away from hustle and bustle. It’s worth it for me. I feel like I’m doing the right thing for myself, my wife and kids… hell, even my dog – by deciding to live in such a beautiful place, surrounded by an incredible landscape, and dialed into a really warm community.

Meg: Any good stories from shoots?

Stephen: I’ve roped up and hung off the sides of cliffs in the butt-ass cold shooting ice climbing. I ran up a trail in the morning to shoot with a friend a few years back, and spooked a huge moose that then took off in front of me, and we ran the trail together for a bit (that was fun). We just recently flipped a car over and lit it on fire for a shoot(safely of course). One time, we were shooting a leprechaun riding a magic unicorn that shot grape jelly and glitter out of his horn, and he… wait… that never happened.

Seriously, when I shoot, I really want fun to be the first order of business, whether it’s a tactical/military shoot, a nude model, a landscape… whatever. Any of the shoots that I have done, I always have a few stories. I just hope that I’m learning from them, because I can be pretty ridiculous a good bit of the time. I swear; I purposely go out of my way to try to get my good buddy and fellow shooter Anne Skidmore laughing all the time on shoots. I think it drives her nuts. Oh snap… check her out here… she’s awesome! http://bit.ly/refZSo

Meg: What type of gear do you typically use?

Stephen: At the moment, I’m a Nikon guy (no snobbery, I just like Nikon kit), so I’m running almost all Nikon gear. Most of the time, I don’t go to any shoot without my Lowepro Flipside 300, and my Pelican case full of gear. I use the Nikon SB-800 and SB-600 flashes and I really love Nikon’s CLS system. If I absolutely can’t use CLS, I’ll use radio triggers, but that’s VERY rare. I shoot a ton of my stuff with a D-90, which I absolutely love. It’s light, fast, has great ISO performance, and paired with good glass is tack-sharp. When I need faster action, I rent a D3s.

Some of my favorite pieces of gear:

Orbis Ringflash – the best ringflash that you can get for the money, and has totally changed the way I look at lighting. It’s an EPIC piece of kit. I don’t go anywhere without it.

My Nikon 50mm 1.4g and my Sigma 50mm 2.8 macro – both excellent lenses… I am constantly amazed at the performance of the Sigma lens. It’s not Nikkor, but it has never let me down.

The Rosco Strobist Collection Cinegel Kit is awesome, too. That and some masking tape, and you can make some magic happen with your Speedlights. 

Meg: Why do you find it beneficial to rent gear?

Stephen: Gear rental is really the best way to make sure you want to invest in a certain lens, for starters. When I look at a lens like the 70-200 f2.8 VRII, which is like $2400 bucks, I kind of want to kick the tires outside of the camera shop with my gear before I drop the money on it. Renting gear is also great when you’re looking to use a lens that you know you’d never purchase, but either have a requirement from a client, or want to use it in a limited capacity (like a Lensbaby, or a tilt-shift, for example). 

In a nutshell, renting gear truly is a trouble-free and affordable way to be able to execute your shoot EXACTLY how you want to, with no limitations. It’s changed my business, no doubt.

Meg: Would you suggest renting gear?

Stephen: Without question. It’s good for professionals and amateurs alike, and it’s affordable. 

Amateur photographers that rent get a chance to use equipment that they might never have been able to check out if renting wasn’t an option. It’s a great way for them to broaden their horizons, and learn more about the craft. For professionals, it’s about having a backup, some peace of mind, or that extra piece of glass that might give them an edge to deliver a more complete package to a client.

As far as I’m concerned (and I really do give credit where credit is due), Lensprotogo is top-notch with customer service, support, and quality of equipment. You guys really rock. You’re invited to the party.

 Do you want to be featured? E-mail your contact info and website to Meg: meg@lensprotogo.com to be added to the list!