Military ceremonies

Hi there, not sure whether this is the right place for this topic, but here goes.
So I'm a soldier stationed in korea, and my unit does most of the ceremonies here. So one day, my commander notices my 40d and goes "hey private, that looks like a pretty nice camera, you're in charge of taking pictures now"

Just wondering if anybody here has any experience shooting a military ceremony/parade?

I've always had to be in them, so I never really got to explore how best to photograph one. Normally I'd just kind of learn by doing, since most are pretty mundane and unimportant, but the first one I'll be taking pictures of is a really important one, so I'd rather not screw it up.

for those of you unaware of what military parades are, it usually consists of the unit marching onto the field, standing at various positions as people speak, theres a national anthem(2 in our case), more speeches, possibly awards or a change of command, then more marching off the field.

not very interesting, but like I said, I want to nail this one because its an important ceremony(change of command), and taking pictures is a far better job than participating in the ceremony, so I'd like to keep it.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Well change of command sounds pretty exciting to me. My step father commanded that region 15 years ago (General Menatry.) I would think the Army would have their press photog to capture the actual change in command right? So you will be focusing on the parade portion?

You can do a quick search on "change of command ceremony" on google images and get some good examples.

yup, the place is going to be crawling with official army photographers, and theres probably going to be a crew from AFN out there considering its general sharp's change of command. So my job is mostly so that my company can have its own pictures of the event.

I think my problem is more that there isnt a whole lot of movement during a ceremony like this(especially during the speeches), and I'm trying to find a better way to photograph the parade than the usual picture of the whole formation moving. Like I said, never been able to photograph a ceremony before.

Gotcha. Angles will depend on what lens' you have at your disposal and will assume you will have full access on the field? For shots of the unit on the field, try some angle shots with your commander in focus and the unit being some what out of focus...should look appealing...same thing with just one soldier in focus. This would also work during the parade rout. Just shoot form several different angles. Then depending on what lens' you have some elevated shots (in the stands) with one of the Generals at the podium (or other high ranking dignitary) with the unit on formation behind...depending on where they are at on the field.

As far as the parade rout, shoot low and tight on a few soldiers as well as wide to get as much of the unit in as you can.

Thanks for the advice! seems like some pretty good tips for avoiding the traditional military ceremony photos.

Look sharply for details--individuals and their reactions. I remember in one change of command in which I was, unfortunately, a participant, one of the ceremonial troops under arms standing at attention in the hot sun had a single drop of sweat dangling from his nose while his expression was one of intense stoicism. If I could have had a camera, a closeup of that would have been priceless.

I have shot quite a few ceremonies for the Navy. What I usually do is shoot from different angles and get good depth of feild. I will use a flash if needed. Candids are the best. Shooting the presenting of the colors is alwayts good. Just move around and get peoples exprerssions. Shoot with a wide open aprture if you have lens for it. Makes all the difference in the world. Lastly...don't be nervous about what others think while your there....but just have fun.