Been asked to photograph an event for work

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Big Kev
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Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

:yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :fall:

Every year our whole institute has a day of seminars at a local business school in town.

I've been asked to take some shots of the day :eyepop: . Our illustrious leader giving his opening address, maybe some candid pics of people discussing posters, stuff like that.

I've never done anything like that. It's massively out of my comfort zone (and probably skill level). I don't want to look like a noob with no idea while 500 people are looking on.

So I'm thinking my 16-35mm and my 24-105mm would probably cover everything I need. Is it worth me picking up the el cheapo Canon 50mm f1.8 to drop in my pocket? I'm thinking it'll be nicely compact, big aperture in case it's quite dull in there and good enough picture quality.

I'm also thinking that before the afternoon session of talks begins I could maybe put my camera on a chair behind the speaker, set the shutter to 'silent' and the put wide angle on it and trigger it remotely to get a good audience shot while they're getting ready to start (wouldn't want the click to put them off while they're presenting).
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by DexterPunk »

You'll be right. Crank the ISO, don't be afraid to get up to 6400 if you need it. I think the 16-35 would be a better choice than the 24-105. The 50mm is always handy. f/1.8 can be tricky to get people in focus though, it's a fairly narrow DOF, and tends to auto focus on their nose and leave the eyes unsharp. You'd wanna close down to around f/2.8 anyway. Just document the day, hand gestures and pointing etc. shouldn't be too difficult.

Also, be mindful of the lighting, if it's fluorescent people can look green and weird, auto white balance sometimes still doesn't do what it should. You should have a fluorescent white balance setting, that would work better.


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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Speed »

Personally I'd go just with the 24-105 & a flash.
If you get under the pump & get flustered you don't want to be mucking around changing lenses & with the 24-105 & a 580 EXll you should be able to cover just about any situation.

If the ceilings are low enough I'd point the flash at the ceiling & shoot in ETTL. That will save you getting a headache.
If you shooting a few people together & they aren't in the same plane, 1.8 could be too shallow a depth of field.

If there are people moving around, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with my camera sitting on a chair.....is a tripod out of the question?
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

I don't own a flash so I'll have to get by with ISO. I don't think I really want to mess about having to rig up a tripod.

The two main scenarios of the day are
- large steeply raked seminar room with speakers presenting. I think I'll probably only do a picture of my boss opening the day as I know most of the people presenting their work will be nervous enough without wanting to be disturbed by a camera going off. I don't want to interrupt someones flow.

- a poster session where people stand around discussing the data on the posters with the writers of the data. So that's likely to be large boards with a couple of people standing in front of them with a coffee in hand, chatting and pointing.

I've no idea really on the layout of the rooms until I get there. I'm only assuming it's a typical lecture theatre. I found this one on google as being from the same place we're going to so it might be it

Image

I suppose at least it'll make the day more interesting cos it's normally boring as bat shit :D
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by CLP »

Big Kev wrote: The two main scenarios of the day are
- large steeply raked seminar room with speakers presenting. I think I'll probably only do a picture of my boss opening the day as I know most of the people presenting their work will be nervous enough without wanting to be disturbed by a camera going off. I don't want to interrupt someones flow.

- a poster session where people stand around discussing the data on the posters with the writers of the data. So that's likely to be large boards with a couple of people standing in front of them with a coffee in hand, chatting and pointing.
for the second scenario, would you be trying thinking of taking posed shots, or more candid shots of people chatting and interacting? if you're looking for more candid shot, i'd go with a longer lens, maybe a 70-200mm so you can shoot from further away, and hopefully they won't be aware of you pointing a camera in their direction.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

One issue with posed shots is that the information on the posters is likely to be currently unpublished so I need to set angles so that stuff is either not in shot or well out of focus. I think it's going to be quite a small room for the posters so 200mm is likely to be a bit too long and I'd probably have people in the way. I think my only real option is to stick with the 24-105mm for the day. I'll drop my 16-35 in a bag on the off chance it might be handy and I did wonder about my 100mm macro for some better DOF but I'll probably just stick to the other two.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by DexterPunk »

Main reason I suggested the 16-35 is it's a faster lens... Depends how much light you have to work with


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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

There's a virtual tour of the lecture room here
http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/VirtualTour/default.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It's the Nelson Mandela lecture theatre on the bottom left of the map.

Lighting looks to be the usual fare. I plan to just wander up and down the stairs on the side of the room by the pillars.

I'll be there about 30 mins before it all starts so I'll be able to see what my settings are like and swap lenses if necessary well before it gets under way.

The posters are going to be in the foyer and in seminar room A on the right of the map.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by markus »

Big Kev wrote:One issue with posed shots is that the information on the posters is likely to be currently unpublished so I need to set angles so that stuff is either not in shot or well out of focus. I think it's going to be quite a small room for the posters so 200mm is likely to be a bit too long and I'd probably have people in the way. I think my only real option is to stick with the 24-105mm for the day. I'll drop my 16-35 in a bag on the off chance it might be handy and I did wonder about my 100mm macro for some better DOF but I'll probably just stick to the other two.
Good luck :)

I've been in a similar situation twice, photographing a major infosec conference. I had similar "challenges" where some slides needed to be not in shot (and then again, some needed to have their slides in shot..), the venue was very dark, no flash, and the conference logo needed to be on as many shots as possible.

You are definitely going to have white balance issues, but also auto exposure issues - I had 1dmkIIn and 5dmkII and both were useless when trying to shoot with anything other than Manual exposure; dark venue, presenters wearing black and slides with white background is a recipe for disaster.

So, a few select tips:
- use manual mode, how low you can go with time depends on the presenter, some stay so put that you can go incredibly low
- take lots of pictures, success rate can be quite low (i.e.. you don't want pictures where the presenter looks retarded or has his eyes closed etc, you might have to use a too narrow DOF so several pictures will be trash because the focus is off)
- use raw (white balance sorted, more margin of error with the exposure)
- don't be shy; if you are supposed to be the photographer, go where you need to be to get the shots you want - and take lots of pictures
- chat with the presenters before their presentation, that way they are going to be more at ease when you start shooting away
- make sure the batteries are full and you have spare cards
- if you can, scout the venue beforehand; think of the angles and lenses and settings

My pics can be found here if you want to have a look, http://www.flickr.com/photos/t2_fi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

Luckily I don't have to shoot any of the presentations. Only the first 5 minutes when our institute head will open the day. All the lights should be on for that and I just need a decent pic of him at the lectern. There's a staircase to the left of centre so I can get a picture from that head on or, I think slightly better, is a picture from off to the side on the other staircase. I can down to the front corner too and maybe get an audience shot with him on one side. I'll also try and get a couple of pictures along a rown of seats with people looking on intently (or sleeping!!).

The rest will be people chatting at the poster sessions in the breaks. I've got a full battery and and empty CF card, white balance on tungsten and I've got a 'silent' shutter mode too.

There will also be a professional filming crew there for a corporate video so I might try and follow them a bit.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Swain OHaw »

Versatility is the key, I think, and the 24-105 should give you enough of that, and the 5DIII should give you enough ISO at f/4 ... that bit of reach (compared to my 24-70 for example) will help for candids as well, allows you to photograph people with enough distance that they don't start to notice and change their behaviour. You will need to take a few shots of each, just to avoid ones with closed eyes, strange mouth posture, etc.

105 should also allow you to get a decent shot of the speaker - but try not to get too low in your efforts to get closer, people don't generally look great photographed from too far down so it's better to go a bit further back and maybe have to crop a better shot, I think. And with 24 you can go quite wide for other things too.

Good luck. Sounds like you have it all well thought out.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

Well that was tough and a learning experience all in one.

I ended up taking 275 photos which I've just finished sifting through and narrowed it down to 75 that are worth a second look and post process/crop which I'll do tomorrow.

The lecture room wasn't too successful. The dim light meant ISO 5000+ for most of the shots. Not helped by my boss never looking at the audience. A also got a couple of shots of the audience and some along the lines focussing on one person looking interested. Pictures of the audience are really hard because there's always someone in the shot who is looking at you, yawning, drinking a coffee, looking at a phone or looking bored shitless.

At the coffee and lunch breaks I mingled for the candid shots trying to get pictures of people 'interacting'. If you're lining up on a group of people standing in a circle, the person whose face you can see tends to spot you and then subtly change what they're doing to either look much less natural or move a little bit so you can't see their face. I soon learnt that if I caught a flick of the eyes in my direction, it wasn't worth carrying on with that group. The room with the posters was quite cramped and not very conducive to good angles but one group of people were happy to pose. Unfortunately there was a bright window behind them and no room for me to stand the other side so I just fired a load of pictures off, also tried some with exposure compensation up a stop to brighten them up and hopefully I can work something out in lightroom with those.

All I really need is 4 or 5 pictures to be usable. Not only will that depend on if they're ok, but if the people in them sign consent forms. I chatted to our admin at one point and she thinks next time they might draw up a form that basically says if you come through the door you're giving consent to be filmed, in order to reduce the hassle.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by CLP »

sounds like a tough gig.. though as you say, all a learning experience :nod:

Your experience with trying to take candid shots pretty much mirrors my own. If they've spotted you, move on.. you'll get them later :D Though with some people it's a game of cat and mouse, where they always seem to know when you're lining up a shot with them. The cramped room doesn't really sound ideal, though i guess you can only work with what you have.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

Have to also say that doing candid stuff makes you feel like a bit of a pervert :D
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by CLP »

Big Kev wrote:Have to also say that doing candid stuff makes you feel like a bit of a pervert :D
so you fit right into the role? ;)
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by NeilPearson »

CLP wrote:
Big Kev wrote:Have to also say that doing candid stuff makes you feel like a bit of a pervert :D
so you fit right into the role? ;)
we were all thinking it!
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

This is what I ended up with

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not tooooo bad for a first try at that sort of thing.
I'll only keep them up on this link for a couple of days cos I don't have permission to use them yet.

C&C gladly welcomed.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by petey »

Some very good candids there. Nothing feels forced in any of the photos. The initial shot, doesn't feel very good though. My attention was entirely taken up by the N and the A - being shiny silver lettering at the top.
I can't put my finger on it, just it's really the only thing in the shot which really ... stands out to me.

Err, I am not a photographer, the rest of the shots look fine - just that first shot...Maybe because the framing of the words at the top is skewiff, possibly because the projector image is dynamically very under contrasted/weak.

That is my completely unprofessional C&C :p
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by CLP »

Big Kev wrote:This is what I ended up with

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not tooooo bad for a first try at that sort of thing.
I'll only keep them up on this link for a couple of days cos I don't have permission to use them yet.

C&C gladly welcomed.
not too bad :)

i think the 3rd and last images are my favourites.
Looks like a difficult assignment due to the very busy backgrounds in each of the venues. Possibly some of the poster area shots could have benefited from a shallower depth of field?
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by durbster »

Haha, weird, I also noticed the N and the A. Good work though Kev.

And there's a hotty in number 6. :)
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

Thanks :)

The A and N could be 'shopped if necessary. Just an unlucky lighting issue.

This candid ones are the best of a bad bunch really but not bad for a first attempt.
petey wrote:just that first shot...Maybe because the framing of the words at the top is skewiff, possibly because the projector image is dynamically very under contrasted/weak.
I was sitting off centre and the stage was quite well lit. I've actually put a gradient on the top of the pic to try and darken it a bit. That's the only one I could fire off that had any sort of title of the day in it. I can easily crop out the Nelson Mandella bit across the top though.
CLP wrote:Possibly some of the poster area shots could have benefited from a shallower depth of field?
Yeah probably but it was a seriously small room with precious little room to move in it and a lot of the angles weren't in my favour. As you might be able to see from pics 7 and 10, the posters were on boards in a sort of concertina arrangement so getting anything other than the backs of heads was difficult in there. My lens was F4. Maybe I should have swapped to the F2.8 16-35 at the long end and tried that for the last poster session but I'll put that down as a lesson learnt jobby.
durbster wrote:And there's a hotty in number 6. :)
perv :)
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Speed »

Great shots Kev. They'd have to be pretty pleased with them I reckon. :yes:
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by matticooper »

well done Kev. From an outsiders point of view, some good photos there. Nice and clear.
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Swain OHaw »

Good work, Kev ... some nice candids in the set - #9 is very well done for such a close shot. They'll be thrilled on the ethnic diversity front as well! Always vital for university publicity material ...
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Re: Been asked to photograph an event for work

Post by Big Kev »

I just got an email asking me to do this again on the 28th.

I'll have to try and remember some of your tips and hopefully I can do a slightly better job this time. If I get time I might try and be a little more artistic on some shots like a silhouette one of people looking at a poster or maybe do a 1/2 sec shot from a staircase to get that 'movement' type picture that people often take at train stations. Might work ok if I can find something solid to rest the camera on. I'll try the 16-35mm and get some more shallow D0F pictures in too I think. I have two 20 min coffee breaks and a 2 hour lunch session to try and get something decent!

Also last year I really made a mistake on a lot of the candids by mingling and often ended up with the foyer window in the background and people looking at me instead of looking natural. I think this time I might try and just stand on the window side in a corner and just try and pick out targets in a more covert way and hope I can get a better informal feel. I haven't got the dosh to afford a 70-200mm so I think I'll have to stay with the 24-105mm. My 100-400 would probably be a bit too big (likely to look a knob with it too :)).
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