Tag Archives: photojournalism

Assignment, Photography

Tips on event photography Part 1

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Scene setter–During a Prisoner of War medal presentation ceremony at Riverside’s Mission Inn, this veteran decked out in full military regalia waiting for the ceremony to begin, gave me a good opportunity to set the scene.

Event photography is as straightforward as it sounds.

What your client wants is often straight documentation of the event.

Most events have some components which are predictable so expect you’ll need:

  • the customary keynote speaker at the podium
  • the reaction of the audience (hopefully the speaker is engaging).
  • some award presentations
  • some group pictures

Most of the time, your client will make sure you’re in position and ready.

More than likely too, if it’s a big deal, they will have a schedule that is printed and handed to all guests so they know what to expect.

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Photography

Faces on public streets

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I can’t remember an April as busy as this in a long time.

But it’s been a really good mix of play and work.

First there was my little exhibit, then Easter/Spring vacation followed by the launch of my very own small flash lighting workshop.

Faces from Santa Barbara

Interesting character–I bet this cowboy’s collection jar is usually full by the end of the evening. Demeanor and persona is important when you’re a musician performing in public. The best musicians don’t necessarily have that, that’s probably why they need to hire a publicists? I shot with my 50 mm lens as well and in the end, I liked this one with my wide angle best because it gives you a sense of location and therefore “context.” For vacation pictures, sometimes that’s important.

On Tuesday evenings the city of Santa Barbara hosts its Farmers Market on State Street, downtown.

I’m a sucker for an interesting face so I gravitated towards the street performers and musicians.

In particular I liked this guitar-slinging fellow who sang Country songs, used a train whistle and harmonica for accompaniment.

When you’re out in public, you can’t assume everyone wants a camera in their face.
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Assignment, Photography

Learning from your contact sheet

Unless you have darkroom experience, you probably won’t know what a “contact sheet” or “proof sheet” is.

Now that we have digital photography, the term itself is irrelevant.

The “contact sheet” or “proof sheet” is nothing more than a grid of thumbnails of your entire shoot which displays unique numbers underneath each image.

A lot can be learned from it. But you must have the right attitude when you share it with your coach or mentor.

Remember not to get defensive. If you’re asking for help this way, leave the attitude at the door.

As I said previously, if you have enough memory cards, never erase your images in the camera.

I’m not saying save those “masterpieces” of your foot, car trunk or back of your lens cap when you accidentally fired off the shutter.
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Photography

The once-sought after newspaper photographer position Part 3

How do I start off this 3rd segment Assignments: ones I enjoyed?

Did I mention I met my wife on an assignment?

I photographed her for a story, one thing led to another… and this photographer rode off into the sunset with the girl.

Sports

While at the newspaper, I was often asked, “How do you get a job like yours? You get to shoot football, baseball etc?”

It made me realize how lucky I was to be able to do this for a living. Continue reading The once-sought after newspaper photographer position Part 3 →