Photographing people for an event

[Msteelio91]

My boss came to me and told me she'd like me to be the photographer for our events, which are quite large in scale (6,000+ attendees) and a huge deal for our company. I told her I'm not the best with photographing people and am not completely equipped for it, but I'd give it a shot without a promise of quality. So she is giving me an external flash to practice with and to help me decide if it's something I want to pursue.

I have no idea on the brand, model, or even type of flash, but I want to get some ideas on what I can do to practice photographing people and taking group shots. As well as what lens pairings might work for the environment. So if anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated! I have always thought I suck at photographing people so I'll take anything from basic knowledge of do's and don'ts, to advanced techniques :mrgreen:

My setup will be (painful.... I'm on a hobby budget):

Nikon D7k with ex flash (recommendations on best type of lighting welcome as well)
18-105 kit lens and/or 70-300VR (suggestions also welcome here, if they offer to help me buy appropriate gear I'll jump on it)

Environment:

Singles, small to large groups of people. Between 1-20 feet away in a harshly lit (overhead tubes, think warehouse or indoor carshow) building.

 

[Mach0]

Fast glass and a strong hotshoe flash.

 

[Tailgunner]

Here is some Lens and Flash suggestions.

17-55mm 2.8 Nikon
17-50mm 2.8 Sigma
24-70mm 2.8 Nikon

SB-700
SB-800
SB-910

Lots of Speedlight batteries!

I shot a smaller event for the first time and took two sets of batteries for my SB-700 and just barely had enough juice to cover the 2/hr event. The fast glass will come in handy since most indoor lighting sucks...or especially if the event is held out side and pushes into the late evening. The event I shot was outdoors and the F/2.8 came in super handy!

FYI: You can always rent gear. So if you can't afford a 24-70mm 2.8 Nikon for example, you can always rent one.

 

[Designer]

What about the venue? Is there a white ceiling perchance? Ask for an SB-910. Put on the fluorescent filter, tilt the head up at about 60 degrees, put the flash in iTTL, and bang away!

 

[tirediron]

Lens-wise, ideally a constant aperture mid-range zoom such as 24-70 f2.8, but I suspect that might be a stretch for the budget. Your 18-105 is a great range for this sort of work, but the f5.6 at the long end may be a challenge. One things I would STRONGLY recommend getting is a flash bracket; you can pick them up reasonably cheaply on eBay, and IF you have a TTL speedlight, then you could spring for a TTL extension cord to with your bracket and be well set up. This sort of work is something I do a lot of, and is actually fairly easy... just keep your eyes open and your camera ready to go. As a matter of course, always check with the event organizer beforehand to find out if there any special people/events and when/where they're going to happen so you can be in position ahead of time, and don't be shy about getting where you need to be to get the shot!

 

[Tailgunner]

As a matter of course, always check with the event organizer beforehand to find out if there any special people/events and when/where they're going to happen so you can be in position ahead of time, and don't be shy about getting where you need to be to get the shot!

This is good stuff^

The first thing I did was ask what it was they where expecting and the event organizer gave me a brief list of things he wanted photographed. After that I was free to mingle around looking people to photograph. I'm not going to lie, I was completely out of my element on this and felt weird at first wondering around photographing people...felt like I was intruding on their space or something. But as the night progressed, this feeling changed and I even had people asking me to take group shots with their friends etc.

Also, make sure you have plenty of business cards! If you don't have a business, print up some cards with your name and contact info. I had people asking for my card all night long.

 

[W.Y.Photo]

If the 18-105 isnt too big or slow that will work well, you most likely wont want to go above 80mm though.

Bounce the flash off walls and ceilings or use a diffuser. If you don't have a diffuser a napkin and a rubber band works.

In terms of actually shooting the event:

1. Be very social with and nice to your subjects. This makes them much more open to you shoving a camera in their face all night!!

2. If someone doesn't want their picture taken agree to avoid photographing them but explain to them that you are doing this for the company and/or it is your job, and let them know that if you end up with an image of them you will delete it or crop them out.

3. Don't be shy, The closer you are the better the image, while the occasional portrait is good to have in a set of event images wide angles are much better for showing whats actually going on.

4. Find out what happens when. You want to be ready and waiting to shoot that award they gave to Suzzie Q from office 18 or the CEO giving that vital hand gesture during his passionate speech.

5. Most importantly. Have fun and don't stress, You want to give them your best work and you can only do that if you aren't stressed and sporadic. Your boss has no expectations for your images so that should help a lot.

Also, check out other peoples event photography if your not sure what type of images you want to be going for. You can take a look at some of mine on my website under VP Productions if you'd like. But be sure to view plenty of different styles. Mine are nightclub and bar images so im not sure they're exactly the flavor you'll be looking for.

PS: Shoot with the flash on TTL mode, this will automate the flash to your cameras exposure settings and make it easy to change exposure quickly. If your images are coming out too dark or light there is an exposure dial on the flash so you can push it up and down by stops rather than by power usage. also, bring plenty of AA batteries!! those things drain faster than you'd think.

 

[Msteelio91]

Thanks for the input everyone, greatly appreciated!

I'll be doing plenty of experimenting and I have a month or so to prep. Luckily I'm somewhat involved in the setup of the event (the IT guy is involved in everything lol) so I'll be able to get the "inside scoop" before everything starts up.

 

[D-B-J]

As others have said, a mid range fast zoom (like the sigma 17-50 2.8... I happen to have one for sale ) would be a huge help, and a strong hotshoe flash. Or even a 50/35/85 combo, depending on venue size. In my experience, it's tough to shoot events and people. Definitely a practice-makes-perfect scenario. One thing is to try and get the flash off camera, or modify it. Bounce it off the ceiling, put it in an umbrella, etc. Hotshoe flash looks.. bad.

 

[Cinka]

I second the use of a diffuser. Pretty simple to DIY. A buddy of mine recently used bubble wrap and a rubber band on his Speedlite. Worked like a charm.