Lessons from Shooting Events

Shooting Events, aren't as "pretty" as landscape or holiday shots.

But I've been shooting quite a few recently - All Saints 20th Anniversary celebration (Men's breakfast; Dinner and Sunday Service); ARPC church camp, there's a few things I'd learned.

1. Background.

 The stage had a backdrop of projector screen. So if you shoot straight on, the background will be messy and very bright, and person cannot be seen so well.

So I had to shoot from an angle, pick a dark and relatively uncluttered background, so that the person's face can be clearly seen and stand out.













2. Moments/Expression.

I think a picture is more interesting when it captures a certain expression/moment/expression. So here, I wanted to shoot Philip and Judy together (coz they were obviously the VIPs), but waited till they laughed at something said - it makes them look better, and it's a picture that invokes an emotional response - you just smile.

Like here on the right, some interaction between the people you want to shoot, always works better.










3. Shoot long and go Candid

I spotted these 3 men all engrossed, but ended up with similar poses and shot it quickly.

As you see, I prefer candid shots, and sometimes, it is easier to shoot candids with a long(er) lens, in this case, 200mm. You spot, you shoot. and the Subject doesn't know or doesn't have time to respond to the camera!

But it is very much up to the person's preference.



4.White Balance

If you note, the pictures taken for All SAints (2nd and 4th) have a more yellowish tone. It is both a function of using orange gelled flash, light of the room. Although I do like a warmer picture, in hindsight, it is tend to be a bit more yellow. The 1st and 3rd picture, was shot under white light, and no flash. The colors come out more natural and nicer.
I still need to go understand better on using flash and color of ambient light.

5. Mixing it up.

Since I have the fish eye, I always use it when I want to capture "it all". Composition is also important, balance between the elements. In this case, the groovy lines of the carpet balances with the roof, and yet you can take the whole ballroom in.

 Here's another use of the lens I like, to shoot people sitting in a circle, which would be much harder to, using a normal lens. I went, took 5 sec, snap and off I went. Didn't have to get people to move around.

Here, again it is to play with the carpet and composition. Just a fun shot, with kids playing, and them having a "natural" reaction.

Have fun shooting, shoot what you like, shoot for yourself, and sometimes, that fun comes through, and you break the boredom of shooting boring shots.





Conclusion
Shooting events requires you to watch people, anticipate reactions. You have to observe lighting, be familiar with your gear and settings (you know what settings each lens require, instinctively), watch the background. I experiment, shoot from different angles and then pick and choose. Like the camp, by the time I reached the 5th day, I knew where I knew which angles/lens work better. And you are very much limited by the venue, so mix it up using different lenses.

I obviously have a lot to learn, but it was good fun (albeit functional) just shooting, learning, then shoot somemore.

Happy Shooting!

1st Wedding Shoot Reflections

A good photographer friend (Bryan Kam) asks if I'd be interested to shoot his wedding - he didn't look like he was joking, nor was he running a fever, so, nothing ventured, nothing gained - and I said yes of course! The only proviso was, I've never shot weddings before, so as long as he had a someone else taking the main event, I'm just a newbie taking, expect nothing and you won't be disappointed!

I can tell you I've never been so stressed in such a long time! Here's a list of learnings from me.

1.Equipment
I decided to try out Bryan's D700 paired with 24-70 (perfect combo!), together with my own D90 (which I used with ultra wide angle Tokina 11-16, switching with telezoom Nikon 80-200).
So the moment I reached Bryan's place in the morning, I spent half hour, going through the D700 settings, of which I think 80-90% are the same/familiar.  So we're set!
I had also just started trying to use a flash. So I was experimenting shots with flash and without, and starting to like those with flash.

Bad, bad, bad.
A.Underexposure. 
The exposure was all over the place, the screen shot often showed it under exposed at least 1 stop. So I had to keep looking to manually adjust the exposure.

B.Shutter speed
The D700 kept shooting at 1/15, when I shot at Aperture. I had set it to shoot at a min of 1/60, and to bump up ISO instead. It did not. I tried manual exposure, but when I inserted the flash unit, it really messed up the exposure meter. I had NO idea why, and no time to figure out. Just kept at Aperture priority; TTL and hoped for the best!

But not all is bad.
C.Lenses
Well, I can say that the 24-70 fits FX much better than my DX. It felt more natural, and useful range.
I also liked my 11-16 ultra wide angle shots. These were the 2 most used lenses.

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go primes, although a 85 F1.4 would be nice (in theory).

D.FX Camera
To be honest, I couldn't tell the diff between FX and DX cameras, and even pictures (besides heavier, fast fps). So having that itched scratched for a while, going full frame isn't as much of a lust. But having 36 mega pixels and vast dynamic range is still so so tempting.... :)

E.Auto-focus points
I used to think having more AF points was great! Going from my D90 of 9, to D700 of 51 - gosh, what a jump, but not a good one. I'm used to manually selecting the focus point, and having to zip through so many AF points, is slow and tiring.

So I now know, what I need is not more, just points to cover more of the viewfinder.

F.Flash
Again, thrown into the deep end of flash usage, I realized that I did like the shots with flash better than those without (I shot a lot of shots, both with and without). The DEMB diffuser was great, and experimenting with it, somehow I liked when the diffuser was in front of the flash. The flash gets reflected from all the walls to the subject, so fills the shadows, without the harsh light.

After this, I am now a flash convert. Now to really learn how to use one well.

2.No Room for Error
If you are doing this for a job or paid, there really is none.
For landscape, when I spoilt a shot, I could go back the next day/time to try. But you can't really ask the couple to redo the entire day again! You get one chance, that's it!

3.Changing Light
The day passes really fast. You move indoors, then outdoors, light changes very quickly - there is really little time to think too much, you'd have to just snap - almost on instinct - and hope it all turns out!

4.Having a Checklist
This being my first wedding shoot, I wasn't so sure what to really expect, and what to do. So I really just went along and shot candidly, documenting what goes on, tell the story.

If I ever wanted to do wedding shoots seriously (I don't), I'd definitely have to come out with a checklist, and make sure I cover those. Including scouting out the premises before hand.
There are things which I realize, I could have done, to make it better are some of the more detail shots - cliche as it is- will be nice: picture of the wedding bands, shoes, bride getting ready, groom getting ready.

That said, to be really good, you'll need to move beyond the cliches, develop shots which are different, and having your own style to it.

5.Managing People
Also, a real wedding photog, will also need to know how to manage and pose people. I'm not so comfortable doing that yet, it really is a different kettle of fish. But I'm glad to have watched the pro (Alex) do it.
I'm also very blessed that the bride Kristin Ooi, was fantastic in front of the camera. She always smiled for the camera, and had a gorgeous one too! Interestingly, her dad also "posed" for the camera, when he saw one pointing at him. But he gives this expressionless deep stare, which makes for a great portrait!

6.Fighting for Space
One of the interesting things, was trying to find space. When Bryan was getting his bride, there were 2 videographers, and 2 photographers buzzing around (paparazzi!). So hard to get shots without someone "unnatural" in the shot. It was a lot better when we went to the church, where we could all find our own space.

When I was shooting tea ceremony, I had to jostle for space a little, with the relatives who also wanted to take pictures, in a small space. So I had to be polite, say excuse me, gently nudge my way to where I could shoot.
Side note: I did cringe whenever I heard "we'll let the professional take the picture", when it was just me there! Good thing the wedding couple didn't let the cat out of the bag!

Final Thoughts
It was a nerve wrecking experience - but I must say that I've learnt a lot from it, more so than reading any books/articles, or even buying new equipment unsurprisingly. So thanks to Bryan and Kristin for giving me the opportunity to shoot - they were indeed very brave (and foolish!) to entrust such an important event to a newbie!

And it was nostalgic for me to be back at Prinsep St Presby Church, where I got married 16 years ago.
Marriage is such a wonderful gift from God, I'm so thankful to God for my wife, whom I love more and more as each year passes.

To Bryan and Kristin, have a blessed life ahead. This is only the start - the Best is Yet to Be :)

Learning Sports Photography - In the Beginning...

I wanted to go support my sons in their sports, so to marry both they and my passions, I've decided to try out "sports" photography.

The only lens I had available was the Nikon 18-200 superzoom - for the reach. Here's try my 3rd attempt, after getting some pointers from master Lemur (I knew him from a fantastically addicted facebook game Realm of Empires), sometimes known as Bruce Elliot (he shoots rugby). 

Lessons learned are:

1.Fast shutter speed. Try and get at least 1/1000, to freeze action. Otherwise, they'll turn out blur like

2.Watch the background - or it'll be crowded and fussy like the pic below, and.... not so good. You can't always help where spectators stand, but if given a choice, move to where they are not at.

Problem:

3. My problem was when it got dark, I just couldn't get the shutter speed fast enough, or had to bump up ISO, for a noisy shot. 

And I convinced myself that *of course... hehe* I think I have max-ed out the ability of  this lens, and *need* something with bigger aperture.

Shopping

Staying with the realm of the sane (you can spend many many thousands of US$ on lenses....), I narrowed down my choices to the following available to me in Indonesia

- The King (Nikon 70-200 VR2, new for US$2.4k or 2nd hand for US$2k)
I would love this. Part of Nikon's trinity. It is the best, in terms of longevity, features and price. But I don't think I could justify the cost to myself (and even harder to the wife), esp since I'm not making money from this. *Salivate*

- The Prince (Nikon 70-200 VR1, 2nd hand for US$1.5k)
Perfect for DX camera (like my D90). Fast auto focus, has image stablizer. Advance lens system. 

- The Cousin (Sigma 70-200 OS, New US$1.3k)
My friend Bruce uses a Sigma, and lots of people use and do recommend this. It has lots of features, and maybe.... 90-95% of the The King, for a 2/3 the price. I'm not brand snob, but I searched the 2nd hand website, and NOBODY was selling this lens. Rather, I think there is NO demand for this - so this has no resale value. (whereas you can get 80-90% of the value for Nikon, if still in reasonable condition.

- The Baby (Nikon 80-200 AD ED, New US$1k, 2nd hand US$850). 
 I was all set on The Prince, before a good photo buddy, Edo, told me to consider this. Gasp.... this is a lens launched in the 90s - abt 4 generations back. Strangely, Nikon still makes this brand new, whereas the 2 after this, has since been stopped. Besides it being technology from > 10 years back, it has NO image stablizer, no motor within lens to drive the auto-focus. But the price was just too good to ignore. So a little research was required.

Researching

I'm a gear head - ok, now that we got that out of the way - and I love researching camera equipment.
But the most useful websites are actually

Amazon - lots of users reviews
Thom Hogan - seems well respected reviewer of equipment, who uses them
Ken Rockwell - He reviews lots of stuff, but gets mocked a lot online. So read with an open mind, and take it as an opinion.


Well, I decided that you don't need VR (Image stablizing) for sports photography, as you try and shoot fast (1/1000). From the websites, I decided on The Baby, concluding that the optics were pretty good, I'm not sure the focussing is fast enough  - since I have *only* a mid range D90 - this lens cannot be used by low/older camera bodies since you need a focusing motor - but most reviewers said it can be used for sports (some did say it was too slow).

The main decision point was of course the price.
If I didn't like it, or want to upgrade later, since I found a copy only 6 months old, with 18 months of warranty left at 85% of one brand new, I could always sell it off, with no or little loss. Starting with the "basic", I could very well find it to be good enough for my purposes.

Initial feedback

Just shooting in my house, a little last night and this morning, I do find:
1.It's hard to shoot it hand held, in lower light - esp with a lens this large with no VR.
2. Auto-focus is slower (than my 24-700, which is world class), and loud. I'll take it out for test run tomorrow, and see how it fairs.

Keep learning new things in photography, trying out new skills, and keep shooting!