Gaffers tape. Ever heard of it? It’s usually black, but it comes in a variety of colors. It’s used on movie sets, theater stages and at concerts. Chris Martin of Coldplay sometimes gets caught wearing colored gaffers tape on his fingers during performances. We photographs wear use it too.
Today I had the opportunity to assist fellow photographer Stephanie Cordle on a shoot at Busch Stadium. As many of you may know, stadium seat don’t stay unfolded unless someone is sitting in them. Hmm…something we didn’t anticipate. That’s when gaffers tape saved the day. It’s a strong, durable and easy-to-tear tape with a texture almost like cloth. It costs about three times as much as an average roll of duct tape, and, for photographers, it’s worth every penny.
We took one long piece of tape and attached it to the bottom of a chair, reinforcing it with another smaller strip to form a T. We took the opposite end of the long tape piece and attached it to the cup holder in front of the chair. Voila! The seats stayed down and the shoot went on. Without the gaffers tape we might still be sitting at the stadium scratching our heads.
I started at the Post-Dispatch in July 2006 after graduating from the University of Missouri. Now, I'm a fulltime photographer, but I've also worked as the online photo editor and night picture editor while at the Post-Dispatch. I enjoy getting my hands dirty with multimedia projects, video, audio - anything with another web dimension. 
Ahh, the magic that is gaffer’s tape — unlike duct tape, gaffer’s tape can be removed and re-positioned as the project goes forward. And since it (usually!) comes off without removing the paint on a wall, you can use it to hold things in place where duct tape would do permanent damage.
The difference is duct tape is permanent, while gaffer’s tape is temporary.
Roberts Imaging in Indianapolis even has it on their website: http://www.robertsimaging.com/stock/Professional%20Tape/Permacel/Tape%202in%20x%2025%20Yards%20Black.jsp
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Mr. Ed-
The photo will run in the P-D’s upcoming holiday gift guide. Stephanie photographed several sporty gift ideas with the stadium seats as her backdrop. As for duct tape, I’m sure it would have done the trick, but we photographer’s have a special affinity for gaffers tape. Plus, it doesn’t leave the residue that duct tape often does.
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I don’t understand? What was the shot? Why couldn’t duct tape have done the job just as well?
-Mr. Ed
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