If you have played checkers, you know that each piece moves the same. When a piece reaches the furthest row from the player who controls it, it is crowned and becomes a king.
The other game that uses the same board is chess. Chess has six different pieces, each moving differently from the others. Once a beginner is familiar with the rules, one of the many problems he faces in a chess game is what to do when playing the game, how to start the game, how to attack his opponent’s position, and how to defend his own at the same time.
The difference between the two games that I want to use for illustration is that all the pieces are the same in checkers, but they are different in chess.
I remember taking lessons on how to play chess from a grand master who played on the Princeton team in college. Two pieces I had more trouble learning how to play than all the others: the pawn and the knight.
It took a while to understand that the pawn’s first move can be one or two squares straight ahead, and unlike the other pieces, where it can move to, it does not take the opponent’s pieces; instead, it takes them diagonally. The en passant capture is when your opponent moves his pawn two spaces, trying to avoid capture by your pawn on the first square. You may take their pawn if they make that move. Also, unlike the other pieces, the pawn cannot move backwards. As you can see, this can make your head spin, and this is just the pawn.
Once you learn what all the pieces can do, you realize that they can do things in combination that they cannot alone.
My teacher taught me how military leaders used chess to help them plan their attacks on enemies and how to respond. The pieces represent the people and their roles. If you watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, you will have seen how the pieces of the board came to life as they played. Today, you will find humans used as pieces in large chess games worldwide.
I see two ways photographers play chess or checkers. The first way is how they treat their subjects in their viewfinders.
Many photographers see people as just objects to fill a space, but great photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson know that not just any subject will do for a particular composition. His photos became iconic because everything in the frame worked together at the right moment—the decisive moment.
So, the first lesson we can learn as photographers is to see people like chess pieces—each one unique and moving differently. This requires you to get to know your subjects, and the more you know about them, the better your photographs will be.
Second-place photographers often play checkers rather than chess in their business practices. You may only make headshots in your business, as opposed to another photographer who offers a wide variety of services. The mistake is often made not by the photographer offering only 1 product but by the photographer who thinks their variety of services makes them more service-oriented.
If you want to play chess instead of checkers with your business, then you need to see each client as different and learn to listen to them. While you may only offer headshots, they may need you to come to them or be more flexible with your schedule. They may need large prints or just a Facebook-size photo, and the question is, are you flexible enough to offer them what they need?
If you are playing chess with your photographs, then:
- You know your subjects’ names in your photos
- The photos reveal their personality, not necessarily yours
- You know something about your subject—how else were you going to tell their story if you didn’t think it
- You are making new friends with your subjects
If you are playing chess with your clients in your photo business
- You have accommodated a request you don’t usually offer. You may charge more for this, but you were willing and excited to meet their expectations.
- You are asking what they want and need, rather than just showing them a menu of your services.
- You listen more than you talk.
- After you no longer interact with the client, you think about them and how you can do something else to help them.
- You are making new lifelong friends with your clients