Snapping away with your camera is not always as simple as it may seem with today’s advanced automatic features in cameras. Of course, our topic for this article isn’t cameras, but what we do with cameras when we do event photography. It’s a balance of several elements involving creativity, timing, and stealth — almost like the Ninja kind. It’s nothing supernatural, you just have to read on and find out.
Tip #1: Gear up!
Make sure you prepare well before going to the event. That involves everything from studying the event and who’s going to be there to packing spare batteries for your equipment. It saves a lot of time to be well prepared, and it’s frustrating when you arrive at the event with no idea of who is present or the scheduling. When you’re about to do some event photography, steady cams and gimbals can be put to good use depending on whether you are shooting still shots or video. Tripods or monopods vary in function depending on whether you are going to be stationary or mobile while shooting.
Tip #2: Pay attention to candid photos
That’s not to say that all candid photos are good, after all, nobody likes pictures of themselves while eating. The idea is to pay attention to those subtle moments during action that have the potential to be great photos. Make sure you don’t disturb the action you are trying to shoot, and be light on your feet so that you can move quickly and quietly between the subjects. If the event you are shooting is of a celebratory nature, candid shots are harder to capture because of the constant motion of the attendees, so try to keep your eyes open for any opportunity.
Tip #3: Get close to your subjects
Starting up a conversation with your subjects and taking their picture is one of the most effective ways to capture a natural reaction in a shot. Don’t stick to taking wide angle shots of an entire room full of people; that doesn’t convey much. Portraits and close-ups allow for more of a connection with the subject.
Tip #4: Use flash wisely
You could use flash when shooting indoors and not using it outdoors if you want to look at it simply, but flash is useful for outdoor use in some cases, and unwise when shooting indoors, as it makes the photos seem unnatural. Making use of the lighting in your surroundings surpasses the use of flash if you want to look at picture quality and authenticity. You can use flash outdoors to avoid sharp shadows in your frame, and you can avoid flash indoors in low light to let the lighting of the room color your pictures. It all comes down to what you are looking to bring out in your photos; you will know when a photo isn’t what you are looking for and when it is.
With these few and simple tips we hope you will benefit from in your upcoming event coverage, we conclude that event photography is heavily reliant on your approach to the event and the subjects present. Of course, your coordination with the organizers and subjects helps yield better results but that is minor in comparison to your influence on the final result — after all, you are the one behind the camera. It is within our job description to cover events that are to be turned into informative videos, so if you are looking for assistance in an upcoming event, feel free to contact us and we will make sure that our collaboration yields benefits for the both of us!