My First "Official" Event!

[Harmony]

My church had it's annual Thanksgiving concert yesterday and I was asked (3 days ago, I might add) to be one of the two photographers.

This is the first time I have ever taken photos for other people, and I was nervous to say the least. I was very happy to hear that the other photographer was a professional - I figured if all my photos came out badly, we'd just use his .

I took every photo three times, once with flash, once with shutter priority, and once in program mode.

I also wasn't sure about how the "photography etiquette" went, until I saw the other photographer go up on the stage and take flash shots without crouching. And I was like, "Okay, I can basically do whatever I want!"

It was exhilarating and crazy at the same time. I had had the foresight to dress in black (I felt like a ninja!) and we had catwalks in the side of the room at the top. We also had a gallery, and after talking with the other photographer, we worked out a mode of operation. I did most of the top shots, and he did most of the floor shots. By the end of the two hour concert, I was drenched in sweat, but that must have been the best 2 hours of the year!

I'll post just one shot, as I don't have the photos yet. I've given them to another guy to photoshop them...

 

[Naicidrac]

Nice shot, I want to see more. It is fun getting experience. I get very nervous just taking shots for people. It is hard doing work for others.

 

[Harmony]

So I got the photos back. Here are a few samples. Please please please critique! I can't learn unless someone tells me what I did wrong!

1

2

3

4

5

​

 

[invisible]

I like number 1. I think composition is good, and you took advantage of the limited available light well.

In my opinion, numbers 2, 3 and 4 suffer from the same issue composition-wise: you placed your subject dead centre. In numbers 2 and 4 the subjects are facing right, so you could've placed them more to the left (right now, the space behind them is basically dead space). Number 2 seems a tad dark, but then again it might just be my monitor. In number 3 I would've placed the subject more to the right (because she's facing left). Placing her more to the right would have given you a better look at the subject and also her full shadow. I like the sense of movement you're conveying here with the blur (arm/leg).

I rarely photograph people so I can't be of much help really.

By the way, congrats on your first official event!

 

[tirediron]

I think invisible is pretty much bang on with his critique. Overall, I'd say you did an good job in difficult circumtances. #1 is really good, as is #3. One consideration for this type of shooting, is not to zoom in quite so far; you can always crop later, and a bit more space around each subject would have allowed you to crop to a more appropriate composition, especially as noted in 2, 3, and 4.