10 years ago I could pretty much go anywhere around the city and shoot images with little or no hassle, only thing that was a no no was shooting on a casino floor, do that and you’d be swarmed with guys in black jackets faster then you could blink. Years have passed since my first assignments in Vegas and since those days it has become harder and harder to shoot in locations without giving them a slice of your cake. The other day I was contacted by a large news publisher to shoot a very expensive watch, long and short of the assignment, which never happened by the way, I went back and forth for a couple days convincing them that I would not steal the watch, worked out a time, told them I’d only bring one assistant, the set-up was to be very simple, no big lights, just a couple of modified 580’s. Simple, we’d be in and out, and they’d have nothing to worry about. Day goes by and I get a call saying they have high res images the client can license and I will not be allowed to shoot the watch, total of about 7 phone calls, and a couple hours working out details and no assignment, bummed………. It seems this sort of thing has been happening more and more around Vegas, you show up with a big camera and then get asked to see your permit, “permit, what permit”, I didn’t know you needed a permit to shoot from the street, strange but true, the hotels have really been cracking down on freelancers shooting on their propertys. Couple years back I was pretty much tackled by men in black jackets when I was shooting in XXXXX casino and had permission, scared the shit out of me. So for all the folks that want a slice on my cake here you go……
P.S. the cake was great……..
Jared from Vegas 