Named company photographer - now what???

[big_tuna]

Let me first say, I am an amateur photographer, very amateur.

But I have been placed responsible for photographing meetings (mostly public meetings) as well as project sites for my company.

I don't think they want to go with anything too advanced, so I'm thinking a D80 will do? Not sure about which lenses.

If anyone has any suggestions for courses, books, anything, please let me know. I want to take this seriously and want to take good pictures.

I appreciate the help!

 

[Bravotwofive]

Would have to know at least what you are taking pictures of.

Id badges don't require much of a camera, but company events, and promotions might.

 

[big_tuna]

I will be taking photos of public speakers, meeting participants, social events, etc.

I will also need to travel to project sites such as Yosemite, San Francisco, to take scenic photos of the area.

I understand what I'm asked to do doesn't require anything special. But I am interested in photography and really want to use this opportunity to build my portfolio for future projects.

 

[HeY iTs ScOTtY]

is the company paying for the camera??? if they are the only camrea that would work would be a d3 lol

 

[UUilliam]

WHADDYA TALKING BOWT!

Canon EOS 5D MK II or Canon EOS 1D MK III
With a 28mm L IS AF lens and a 400mm f4.5 L IS AF is all that will work!
(if the company is paying that is )

If YOU must buy the camera...
I recommend a Canon EOS 1000D or a 400D or a 450D
However if your company also want Video then go with a 500D (pretty expensive as it is new) but the 5d MKII can take better quality videos (as i said... ONLY IF THE COMPANY IS PAYING!)
The cheapest of the lot being the 1000D


But seriously now... how far will you be from the subject...

You may be able to do it with a 18-55mm but you might need something with more of a focal length like a 70-300mm IS AF USM III (only if your about 0.15 miles from the speaker ofcourse...)


Also remember: Every time you buy a nikon, another Cat dies, If you hate Cats... go ahead buy a nikon

 

[HeY iTs ScOTtY]

WHADDYA TALKING BOWT!

Canon EOS 5D MK II or Canon EOS 1D MK III
With a 28mm L IS AF lens and a 400mm f4.5 L IS AF is all that will work!
(if the company is paying that is )

If YOU must buy the camera...
I recommend a Canon EOS 1000D or a 400D or a 450D
However if your company also want Video then go with a 500D (pretty expensive as it is new) but the 5d MKII can take better quality videos (as i said... ONLY IF THE COMPANY IS PAYING!)
The cheapest of the lot being the 1000D


But seriously now... how far will you be from the subject...

You may be able to do it with a 18-55mm but you might need something with more of a focal length like a 70-300mm IS AF USM III (only if your about 0.15 miles from the speaker ofcourse...)

tomato tahmahto

 

[musicaleCA]

Brand loyalty. To a mildly disturbing extreme. Er, anyway...

If you want to keep things simple, for lenses, get something wide to normal (24-70 on a 35mm sensor, or wider at the low end on a crop), and something at the low end of the tele range to the, eh, higher numbers. 70-200 or 70-300. That'll at least give you good coverage in terms of focal lengths.

The other thing to consider is lighting conditions. Are you going to be indoors for these events? Then you will want fast glass; stuff with a constant aperture of f/2.8 or thereabouts. Are you going to be shooting with flash in these indoor events? Use an external, learn to bounce, and learn to gel your flashes. Generally speaking, you need a window green gel for fluorescents and CTO for tungsten. (Unfortunately, fluorescents now come in all sorts of flavours. Some may call for CTO, some are daylight balanced. Things are really wacky. Best to just kill the fluorescents if you can in these cases.)

If you're shooting with flash in low-light, make sure you get the hang of how to use your flash effectively, and quickly. ETTL (Canon) or iTTL (Nikon) will be a boon in these cases.

Lastly, if you need to take really wide shots, you might want to consider a lens that's ultra-wide to wide, particularly if you're working with a crop sensor camera.

 

[KmH]

Bummer, the company will own all the images.

 

[big_tuna]

Brand loyalty. To a mildly disturbing extreme. Er, anyway...

If you want to keep things simple, for lenses, get something wide to normal (24-70 on a 35mm sensor, or wider at the low end on a crop), and something at the low end of the tele range to the, eh, higher numbers. 70-200 or 70-300. That'll at least give you good coverage in terms of focal lengths.

The other thing to consider is lighting conditions. Are you going to be indoors for these events? Then you will want fast glass; stuff with a constant aperture of f/2.8 or thereabouts. Are you going to be shooting with flash in these indoor events? Use an external, learn to bounce, and learn to gel your flashes. Generally speaking, you need a window green gel for fluorescents and CTO for tungsten. (Unfortunately, fluorescents now come in all sorts of flavours. Some may call for CTO, some are daylight balanced. Things are really wacky. Best to just kill the fluorescents if you can in these cases.)

If you're shooting with flash in low-light, make sure you get the hang of how to use your flash effectively, and quickly. ETTL (Canon) or iTTL (Nikon) will be a boon in these cases.

Lastly, if you need to take really wide shots, you might want to consider a lens that's ultra-wide to wide, particularly if you're working with a crop sensor camera.

Great tips! I will look into the above and pull up some price quotes for the boss. Wish me luck!

 

[PhotoXopher]

According to Ken Rockwell, all you need are a D40, 18-200 VR lens and an SB-400 flash.





(Yes, I know I post that a lot... but Ken is my hero.)

 

[kundalini]

I think you should quantify with the boss what his/her expectations of the images are. Do some research for images of good, bad and somewhere in between, of public speakers and company events. The result he/she is willing to accept may be a far cry from our opinions. Also, do they have a budget in mind. If they say "I have a $1000 budget", then somewhere in the lower sector of "somewhere in between" images will be the images they can likely expect.

The bonus of the Nikon D90 (or Canon's equivalent) is the capacity for video, which could come in handy, if for nothing else, in-house training & promotion.

Just my 2¢.