First Customer Of The Day

If you are from China, you know the tradition of this in a shop. It is also a tradition in many other fields of endeavour - infantry assaults and photographic studios come to mind.

In the first instance - the shop - the traditional belief in many oriental societies is that a successful transaction with the first customer of the morning sets in train a series of events that will lead to successful transactions for the rest of that day. In many cases this may lead to a special price being offered to the first customer to secure the blessing.

A cynic might ask himself what a successful transaction consists of...profit for the shop or profit for the customer? Perhaps a bit of both is the best view - and remember that there can be several traditions in conflict in modern Australia. If I traditionally squeeze a nickel till the buffalo squeals it doesn't bode well for the first customer of the day.

Neither does it for the first customer in an infantry assault. When the first head pops up over the battlements it is generally greeted with a charge of canister, whereupon it is replaced with a different head. Remember this when you look in the door...

Photographic studios can also benefit from the first customer...but it is considerably less trouble than loading and sighting a 12 - pounder. If yo are going to set off a series of flashes to take portraits, the last thing that the sitter wants is for you to have to futz around with the strobes and light stands when they arrive. Do it beforehand so that your first shot is successful.

The most effective way to sight in is to use a model - but these cost money. You only have to pay this money once if you buy a life-size hatter's or hairdresser's dummy head and paint it in skin tone. Then you can position it and shoot away before the paying customer arribves. I inherited a child's hairstyling dummy - "Legless Lou " and she has served for years. if you get the eyes and the nose right on Legless it will be right for the sitter.