Contact Sheets & Outtakes

Contact sheets are the tangible representation of the emotion of a photoshoot. The images laid out in rows show the barely perceptible changes between frames: a subject right after blowing that last bit of air out of their lungs to emphasize muscle definition; a tree swaying in the wind just enough to reveal something behind the branches; or a bee, without a care in the world, hustling the pollen off of a flower in various stages of frenzy. As a photographer, I use every opportunity to capture an image, especially when working with moving or breathing subjects. Two photos, taken a fraction of a second apart, often yield wildly different results. Upon choosing the one best image from that set, you may never go back and look at the previous or subsequent images again. Seeing the series of images from a day's shoot is so rewarding, especially when the images are laid out in actual size.

This is a digital contact sheet from one of my shoots few years ago:
You can see how some images, taken in succession, are slightly different but equally important. Looking at the images this way was how photographers would study their frames and choose the best image. They would use a loupe (a small magnifying object) to see the finer details of the 35mm image.
One of the founders of the Magnum Photo agency, Henri Cartier-Bresson, looks at a contact sheet at the New York Magnum office. 1959. ©Rene Burri / Magnum Photos
Read photographer Eric Kim's take on the Magnum photographers' book of contact sheets and tips street photographers can use.

A short-run exhibition in Manhattan at the Milk Gallery features contact sheets and outtakes from the legendary Magnum Photo Agency. It's like a peek behind the curtain each time a photographer reveals their contact sheets. Here are some contact sheets and outtakes  from the exhibit:
© GUY LE QUERREC/MAGNUM PHOTOS PARIS.SALLE PLEYEL CONCERT HALL. MILES DAVIS 1969
The selected image below is marked with yellow and blue on the contact sheet above.
© GUY LE QUERREC/MAGNUM PHOTOS PARIS. SALLE PLEYEL CONCERT HALL. MILES DAVIS 1969
© EVE ARNOLD/MAGNUM PHOTOS FILMING OF ‘THE MISFITS’. 1960.
The outtake below is marked with yellow circle on the contact sheet above.
 © EVE ARNOLD/MAGNUM PHOTOS NEVADA. US ACTRESS MARILYN MONROE DURING THE FILMING OF “THE MISFITS” 1960.
© WERNER BISCHOF/MAGNUM PHOTOS SWISS MOUNTAINS
The gallery will be open through July 13, 2014.
photos copyright the original photographers & reposted from MilkMade
Article via Wired Magazine

Outtakes are my favorite part of shooting people, second only to getting an amazing photograph. They happen when someone breaks out in laughter during the 3-2-1 countdown or when they are balancing on one foot and start to tip over, or when a great song comes on the Pandora station and the person starts to dance. It is important to me to deliver these outtakes along with the contracted photographs after editing because my subjects will often use these rather than the selects for personal promotion and their social media pages. I'm honored that they would choose these images to best represent themselves online and in print.

Here are some select outtakes from shoots over the past several years:
photoshoot for Lindsay Lusignea, April 2014 
 Senior music major photos, September 2010 
 Body shots, February 2010
 ROBY brand shoot, December 2012
Conference Managers portraits, August 2013

Tattooed brothers for the Tattooed Campus project, April 2009

Want to see some other cool contact sheet projects?

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