Event Photography

Hi,
I have a event in our community and my friends have asked me to take the pictures even though they know that I am not professional and I don't make any money out of this. It is something like community gathering.. where there will be kids sports outdoor , dance and stage shows indoor and dinner. I don't think they r hiring any professional photographers , it is just group of friends decided to make an event.. I'm guessing there would be around 80 people including kids.
I would like to know how to start and which lens would be wise to use.
I would like to make this a memorable event.

Thanks in advance.

How to start.....
* There are kids at the event, so first thing first, have the event planner make an introduction to make sure that everyone know that you are the photographer for the event. That way you can shoot freely without Parents stopping you shooting their kids.
* Take wide angle shots, tight shots. Capture fun, raw, nature moments. Shoot small group, big group. Shoot some details......

Which lens....
Sigma 17-50mm + 85mm + Speedlite (only if needed)

Some example can be found here: http://www.photoquests​tudio.com …rthday-party-miss-de-leon

Heya,

Great advice above, concerning making sure you are known to be the event photographer so people don't stop and demand you not take photos of their kids because you're a weirdo. Plus they may be more likely to give you some poses for some fun shots. Get to know people. They are more comfortable, you will get better candids.

85 F1.8 indoors. ISO 1600~3200. Keep that shutter fast. Be ok with noise. You don't want underexposed blurry messes. You want noisy looking non-blurred properly exposed shots. You can process the noise from the RAW.

You could use the 85 outdoors too. Isolate and do candids.

Otherwise, the 17-50 if you know you're doing groups. 55-250 if you want more of a candid approach.

Very best,

robienyshe wrote in post #17105271
Hi,
I have a event in our community and my friends have asked me to take the pictures even though they know that I am not professional and I don't make any money out of this. It is something like community gathering.. where there will be kids sports outdoor , dance and stage shows indoor and dinner. I don't think they r hiring any professional photographers , it is just group of friends decided to make an event.. I'm guessing there would be around 80 people including kids.
I would like to know how to start and which lens would be wise to use.
I would like to make this a memorable event.

Thanks in advance.

When I've faced a wander-around outdoor event, I've used a Canon 18-200mm image stabilizer lens. It's produced images such as these.

Use your 17-50 f2.8. Try to keep your shutter speed above 125/sec. Even higher for faster moving stuff. Nailing your focus will be a challenge, so try to keep your aperture above f4. Yes, this equates to a higher iso setting, but sharp and noisy beats clean and blurry any day. You may find the reach of your 55-250mm useful in some situations. Remember, higher focal lengths will require a faster shutter speed or you'll see camera shake.

Some great advice, when I shoot an event I use my 24-70 with flash. Most of the shots are about 45mm with a smooth bell curve centered at 45mm and out to 24 and 70 on each end. One little thing I always do is double tap the shutter. It seems like people will pose for your first shot then relax and you can get a more natural look.

texkam wrote in post #17105678
Use your 17-50 f2.8. Try to keep your shutter speed above 125/sec. Even higher for faster moving stuff. Nailing your focus will be a challenge, so try to keep your aperture above f4. Yes, this equates to a higher iso setting, but sharp and noisy beats clean and blurry any day. You may find the reach of your 55-250mm useful in some situations. Remember, higher focal lengths will require a faster shutter speed or you'll see camera shake.

I do not agree !
If the OP cannot nail focus between f/2 and f/4 better for him to go to play golf instead to be the "official photog", he will need also to isolate subject when the background is crowded ... and so on ...

Tigerkn wrote in post #17105343
How to start.....
* There are kids at the event, so first thing first, have the event planner make an introduction to make sure that everyone know that you are the photographer for the event. That way you can shoot freely without Parents stopping you shooting their kids.
* Take wide angle shots, tight shots. Capture fun, raw, nature moments. Shoot small group, big group. Shoot some details......

Which lens....
Sigma 17-50mm + 85mm + Speedlite (only if needed)

Some example can be found here: http://www.photoquests​tudio.com …rthday-party-miss-de-leon

That ! It's all you will need

I have done my share of events. I looked at your list of gear. I would take nearly it all (two bags, I guess). (Choose the 17-50 over the 18-55, I guess; choose one of the two wider primes, I guess)

No one can tell you you won't need the 55-250 or a wide or a prime until you get there.

Set your white balance (but still shoot both in RAW and highest jpeg - L), try out your flash, plan your shots. Take extra batteries for the camera and for the flash. Maybe have a helper point out things that should be shot or to help you pose some shots.

Wow I liked the pics.. it looks so lively.. do u know what settings were used and what gears were used? That's one professional shot !!!

Tigerkn wrote in post #17105343
How to start.....
* There are kids at the event, so first thing first, have the event planner make an introduction to make sure that everyone know that you are the photographer for the event. That way you can shoot freely without Parents stopping you shooting their kids.
* Take wide angle shots, tight shots. Capture fun, raw, nature moments. Shoot small group, big group. Shoot some details......

Which lens....
Sigma 17-50mm + 85mm + Speedlite (only if needed)

Some example can be found here: http://www.photoquests​tudio.com …rthday-party-miss-de-leon

Yeah Thats wht I intended to do.. ISO between 1600 and 3200 indoor and maybe 400-600 outdoor during sports .. with f4-8 and 1/250 or more.
Also many people do know that I'm gonna photograph them so I guess taking pictures of them and the kids wouldn't be an issue.
However when I saw the pictures from this site http://www.photoquests​tudio.com/blog...y-miss-de-leon , I don't know if I can get that good shot..


and yes DC Fan I too like the pictures taken on AE settings.. do you have the exif of those.. just for reference.

MalVeauX wrote in post #17105453
Heya,

Great advice above, concerning making sure you are known to be the event photographer so people don't stop and demand you not take photos of their kids because you're a weirdo. Plus they may be more likely to give you some poses for some fun shots. Get to know people. They are more comfortable, you will get better candids.

85 F1.8 indoors. ISO 1600~3200. Keep that shutter fast. Be ok with noise. You don't want underexposed blurry messes. You want noisy looking non-blurred properly exposed shots. You can process the noise from the RAW.

You could use the 85 outdoors too. Isolate and do candids.

Otherwise, the 17-50 if you know you're doing groups. 55-250 if you want more of a candid approach.

Very best,

robienyshe wrote in post #17107824
and yes DC Fan I too like the pictures taken on AE settings.. do you have the exif of those.. just for reference.

EXIF is still embedded in the files and can be read by a browser plug-in.

From the first example image:

Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Lens: EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Image Date: 2012-07-22 13:09:57 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 200.0mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320)
ISO equiv: 100
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB


Basically everything happened from automatic settings, from Program AE auto exposure to Auto ISO. Often I prefer to let the camera do the heavy exposure lifting while I concentrate on framing.

robienyshe wrote in post #17107798
Wow I liked the pics.. it looks so lively.. do u know what settings were used and what gears were used? That's one professional shot !!!

Gear - You can see my gears in my signature. I only use 5d2 for that session. I use most of my lens (depending on the situation). I have another shooter with me and he packs with Canon 1DX + 24-70 mk2 f/2.8 + 70-200 IS f/2.8 mk2.

Setting - There is no single setting for all photos or situation, so I can't answer your question.

Eastport wrote in post #17107238
I have done my share of events. I looked at your list of gear. I would take nearly it all (two bags, I guess). (Choose the 17-50 over the 18-55, I guess; choose one of the two wider primes, I guess)

No one can tell you you won't need the 55-250 or a wide or a prime until you get there.

I agree with this.
I don't see if this was mentioned above or not, but I would be using my flash outdoor for fill. I have shot similar events and as the sun comes up, and lighting becomes disaster with harsh shadows on faces, fill flash can be very useful.

If you and I cannot nail focus between f/2 and f/4 better for us to go to play golf instead, but reading the OP I'm sensing we're not dealing with someone as experienced in this sometimes tricky area, so I figured why don't we just take this out of the equation. For folks that are not experienced shooting such events use the KISS principal.

FYI

from the exif data on the above referenced photo.

texkam wrote in post #17110210
If you and I cannot nail focus between f/2 and f/4 better for us to go to play golf instead, but reading the OP I'm sensing we're not dealing with someone as experienced in this sometimes tricky area, so I figured why don't we just take this out of the equation. For folks that are not experienced shooting such events use the KISS principal.

FYI from the exif data on the above referenced photo.

I do agree to keep it simple stupid, so after thinking (some time i can think ), yep you're right

For the exif, it's the limitation of the lens, no choice @ 200mm --> EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.
But he was lucky, because it's the body which choose the aperture (Mode P)