Felicia Cohen Gives us a Look Into the Role of Producer

Jennifer Laidlaw, Blog Coordinator Never underestimate the role of a producer.

While there’s no denying that being the producer of a photo shoot is a pretty awesome gig, it can be anything but a walk in the park. Producers are essentially the glue that keeps all the pieces together. They make chaos look calm.

Meet Felicia Cohen, Compassionate Eye Foundation’s newest producer/art director. She recently wrapped up her first shoot with CEF in Toronto, the theme – business concepts and office scenes. With over 15 years management experience, working with creative teams including picture editors, art directors, administration staff, post-production staff and designers in both the United Kingdom and Canada, we are thrilled to have Felicia join us for this shoot and [hopefully] many more!

CEF caught up with Felicia after the shoot for a little around-the-world Q & A:

CEF: This is your first shoot with CEF. What inspired you to hop aboard?

Felicia: My connection to CEF is through Fiona Watson, a work colleague in London many years ago. I got involved because: a) It sounded like a worthy cause with a great track record. b) I wanted to be able to help Fiona and work with some of my old colleagues. c) I was also interested in being involved in shooting a stock production, which is something that I had not done for a few years.

CEF: What is the general role of a producer?

Felicia: Being a producer includes organizing the whole project – from recruiting the crew to finding the location, creating the budget, keeping everyone informed of all details, and most of all keeping calm in the face of chaos and unpredictable events.

CEF: What would be the typical audience for this theme, or in other words who are you thinking of when you put together a photo shoot?

Felicia: When shooting stock, it is always best to keep things “generic”; making the output as user-friendly as possible. I know from years of working in the stock photo business that buyers’ requirements can vary enormously, so we try to shoot a lot of variation in order to please as many potential clients as possible.

CEF: What is your favourite thing about being on a shoot? Least favourite?

Felicia: My favourite thing is the camaraderie of the team and seeing great photos at the end…least favourite would be the stress of preparing the project; the build-up.

CEF: Do you have any interesting tales from the day?

Felicia: The little boy in our shoot is my co-producer/art director Vicki’s son, and I don’t think he ever modelled before this. (He is only three-years-old.) He was so well-behaved and a delightful little chap.

CEF: Any interesting facts about photo shoots that people might not know?

Felicia: I think most people would be surprised at the amount of time required for planning and organizing. Another thing might be the difference when shooting with larger file-size/professional cameras, where file sizes are that much larger than those for the consumer market and they require a lot of extra work processing and retouching and such before they are considered “finished”.

CEF: Tell us something random about yourself.

Felicia: I’m a volunteer gallery guide at the Art Gallery of Toronto!

CEF: Final thoughts?

Felicia: Thanks to Fiona [Watson] for the opportunity! I’d also like to thank everyone who donated their time, especially our photographers Hiep Vu and Kara Dillon, the generous models and agencies, as well as UpInc, where we shot, and of course, I couldn’t have done this without the help of Vicki Schelstraete, my co-producer/art director, and all the other crew.

It was a great experience and I would love to do another CEF shoot!

CEF would love that too! Find out more about Felicia by visiting her website at www.feliciacohen.com.