Swim/Water Polo Deck, Candids/Portraits, help!

Hey guys, the district is planning to close down all aquatic sports next year and parent committees have got together and planned a fundraiser in an attempt to save the program. They have asked me to take candids/portraits of whoever wants it and sell the prints to whom may be interested. I've never shot portraits/candids, and I feel a bit nervous about having people look at my work and deciding to buy it or not!

I will be shooting at midday-3PM (this can't be helped...) when the sun is highest, which calls for raccoon eyes and harsh shadows on the face...would getting a reflector help this at all?

Here's the aerial view of where I am shooting at, I am just trying to collect as much advice/ideas as I can and be as prepared as possible...*P.S* The area where I will be shooting is the bottom right side, the huge lap pool.

I'm not sure what you have for equip. If it was me with what I had I would use MIII with 24-105 or 16-35 with a ND filter, to kill the light and get me down to sync speed with my 580 flash. On my MIIn I would have 70-200 and also put a flash on it, but probably use it more for candids without the flash. Let me know what you have and I could help out a bit from there.

Thanks for taking the time to respond Dan-O...I am a 16 year old enthusiast and I would LOVE to have gear like that...unfortunately, I am but a poor high school student XD

However, I am fortunate to have some pretty nice gear (in my opinion anyways)

I have the following...

-Canon 50D w/ 24-70 f/2.8L,Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 HSM II
-Reflectors (Gold,Silver,etc. etc.) w/ Stand/Boom
-Amvona Tripod w/ Ballhead

Any help would be appreciated!

Yes you do have very nice stuff. Reflectors will work but will just be a bit more hassle to use as it sounds like you will be roaming around shooting at will.

I apologize but I forgot to mention what I was planning to do at the beginning of the thread! I am actually just going to find a location I like around the deck and setup with my tripod/equipment and have a little station where people (whoever wants it) can do candids/group shots/etc.

I am worried about the quality of the shots (raccoon eyes, harsh shadows, dissatisfied parents XD)

Are there any pet peeves portrait shooters have that I MUST know? Any advice is better than none!

Candids, by definition, are just people enjoying the day and not coming up to "do" a candid shot. You basically would have to go out and shoot folks as they are around the facility.

Using a flash (preferably a Qflash, but a 580ex will do very nicely) will fill in the shadows for you. With a good flash, you can position yourself so the sun is behind or to the side of your subject so the subject doesn't have to squint into the sun and you get a "free" hair/rim light.

One option would be to set yourself up at the entrance with a nice "staged" setting to take portraits of people as they enter using your 24-70. Just a quick shot, maybe bring a friend along that can help by handing a business card to people after their portrait with their photo number jotted on the back.

After you feel the majority of people have arrived (after the first hour or so for a 3 hr event) you can then walk around with the 70-200 to take those candid shots.

You can rent a 580ex flash for under $50/wk. If there's a store that rents gear in your area you might be able to rent one for a day at around $25/day.

Don't worry about what people will think of your photos. Don't worry about making a lot of sales. You need to do a few of these events to really get the hang of it. Unlike a family or wedding event, chances are few (if any) attendees are going with the hope that there will be a photographer there to take great photos of them. The organizers will likely be quite happy to have a few good shots of key attendees and maybe some shots for promotional use. In short ... this sounds like a generally low pressure gig and a great way to get started shooting a social event.

Relax. Use the skills and experience you have so far to take a pile of great photos. Don't be reluctant to chimp at your shots from time to time to make sure things are turning out well (don't make people wait for you to do this .. get these looks in quick or when there's nobody waiting for a picture). Try to have fun.
Good luck.