someone please help

[dirk]

hi have just started in the photographic field and i was told that there is some money to be made in event photography and that this will help me with confidence in my other photography so i would like to know if there is anyone out there who can tell me the correct equipment i was fortunate enough to receive a fuji s3 pro as a gift from my folks i have a some money to spend on an inestment like a printer in order to do prints on location so does anyone have a clue on the best printer and where i can purchase one as well as some studio equipment

 

[dirk]

is anyone there

 

[hobbes28]

Welcome to the forum. You can do some research at consumer reports, or bizrate, or other places on the best printer.

As for where to buy them, there are links for freestyle photo, Adorama, or B&H on all of our pages where you can find most anything that you would need photographically.

I'm sure that one of our members that do event photography will be online shortly to answer any more questions you may have.

 

[Iron Flatline]

What kind of events? Rock concerts or weddings? What kind of prints at what kind of locations? Color or fine art? Snap shots or poster-size prints? There's thousands of potential pieces of equipment, the question is what the task is.

Give us some more detail please.

 

[cbay]

Yes, it depends on what Event Photography you are going to be doing. Is there any you have in mind?

In regards with equipment, make sure you try it all out before you purchase, just simperly try it out at your local photography store then purchase off internet as most likely cheaper in many cases.

Good Luck!

 

[Dave_D]

Agreed with all of the above. A little more on the specifics of event type would help. Epson would be a good brand in printers to look into, but can't suggest a model without more details. As far as studio equipment goes, again, more info from you would help. Do you plan on shooting portraits or still life? I could easily say Alienbees monolights or Bogens and a few muslins, but...Well, you get the point

 

[dirk]

hi again

im interested in formal events like fundraisers and charity events as i have some connections in this and also proms so i guss maily evening events where people dress up quite smartly the size of the prints would not be too large as most people would not like to carry somthing larger than A4

 

[markc]

In my opinion, that's a little reversed. Trying to get into making money with photography before you have your chops down can be very discouraging. I'd personally concentrate on getting good, and then looking to make money off it.

 

[markc]

is anyone there

BTW, there was only an hour between posts. This board isn't so active that you'll get a lot of repsonses that quickly.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Well, get a good flash and an attachment that raises it up and to the side as much as is reasonable. Get a diffuser for the flash so that your light source is a large as possible. Learn to use all this gear - the manuals are semi-coherent, and there are a ton of How-To books out there for virtually every kind of photography. Understand light metering, and how the TTL works. Not sure what kind of lenses there are for that camera, or what the conversion factor is, but you might want to consider something like a 28mm-125mm zoom lens. Canon makes one for its cameras, and is often referred to lovingly as the Wedding Photographer's lens.

I'm not clear how you're going to shoot and print at the same location at the same time - maybe shoot the arrival, and then go to a back area and make the prints. In that case get a laptop and a decent printer (Epson) and the appropriately sized photopaper on to which you can print. I jsut don't see how you're going to be able to churn out enough prints to be make the on-site printing a commercially viable option, short of putting a Frontier machine on the back of a truck. Better would be if you can show people the images on the computer, and deliver prints later - made by a professional print shop. This will ultimately prove to be more cost-efficient. Rarely are event pictures delivered on the same day. But I can see how in the heat of a great night like a prom or a concert, people might splurge on prints that they wouldn't necessarily deem that interesting once the Red Bull and Vodka wears off. That is not meant to disparage your photo skills, I just know that the date picture is more valuable before the end of the night, regardless the ultimate outcome.

There are web services that cater to event photographers. They host the images for you, and people can order prints directly, while a cut goes to you. There's a password tied to an event. So usually the client asks for the event to be captured, and one set of "proofs." The good prints then get delivered on a cost-lus basis.

Just a heads-up: event photography for weddings and proms comes with very high expectations. These are events that people want to remember for the rest of their lives. See if you can apprentice to a professional for a while. Or at least just shoot on spec, because if you're going to offer your services as the exclusive photographer you're going to make some people very unhappy. This isn't like photo-journalism - these people are o.k. with having a lens pointed at them, but they want to end up looking as good as they think they look, and if you don't capture it just right, the father of the bride will have your knees broken.

I live in Los Angeles, where people are rich and good looking. A good event photographer here makes a ton of money - if you can capture these people at their best. And be discreet - you're not the star, the client is.

 

[mysteryscribe]

And if you have a lot of courage get a 283, a L bracket, a slr film camera. a 35mm prime lens and go for it. Practice a few times before you collect money in advance though.