Featured Article

Outdoor events - The beginners guide to event photography

Making light work for you- A few extra additions can help compose a group or individual shot.

For an indoors shot, where it’s necessary to create a certain amount of light using a flash to get even a halfway decent result, the photographer can exude a degree of control. The camera will cater the amount of illumination necessary and adjust settings when in automatic mode, so heading outdoors where the level of lighting can’t be adjusted presents a few problems. Although directly altering the angle is impossible, redirecting the light can be performed using a reflector and adding some degree of aid to the sunlight can be performed using a flashgun.

Top 3 tips.

1. Using a reflector - These collapsible accessories have reflective edges, allowing the light to be both redirected and spread out over a longer distance. This can balance out shadowed areas, creating a far more balanced exposure overall. Different colours are available, with gold tinting the light and silver producing a more neutral end product.

2. Flashgun- It may seem like a crazy concept to add more light to an already well-lit environment, but a flash can add an amount of sparkle to the eyes of the subject as well as focusing more illumination on the face. It might be necessary to select the ‘fill-in’ option on the flash for it to fire.

3. Wired remote - It can be difficult to check if a large group of people are smiling or maintaining focus on the camera when squinting through the viewfinder. A wired remote allows you to stand to one side of the camera and keep a closer eye on where the group is looking.

The Don’ts of outdoor lighting

1. Avoid lens flare- Lens flare is caused by the direction of any bright light and can ruin an image by having a big streak running across it. Think before you shot about the position of the main source of light and any additional lights surrounding you. Smaller bits of lens flare can be edited afterwards however in images like this example the photograph is ruined.   

2. Over and under exposed backgrounds - Over and under exposed backgrounds is one of the most common mistakes that people make when photographing people. To get the best exposure try to avoid bright contrast lighting or if you cant avoid this than you can use a fill in flash and expose for the background.

3. Squinting - It is good not to shoot into the sun yet at the same time you don’t want your subject to be blinded by the light. You need to avoid squinting eyes so remember to look to see if the person/people you are photographing appear comfortable and if the answer is no then move them to another location.

Tips from a Professional

When it comes to event photography than Stuart Lane has over five years of experience in the industry and a great knowledge of how to get the best response from people. Here are his professional top 3 tips.

1.Workflow: Every event is different and there is not a single approach to events that will serve all scenarios. You need to model the workflow around the numbers of potential customers, what their schedule is, the time it takes to shoot a single customer (factoring in that group shots take longer than individuals) Establish from the outset whether you will do a batch print or will sell on demand.

2. Energy: Smiles are contagious; use yours to infect everyone in front of the camera! Your potential customers are generally out to have a nice time and apart from providing a photography service, you should consider yourself part of the entertainment.  Happy customers make for nicer shots. As a great spin off, you will find that work has become good fun too!

3. Back-up Plans: In one event I had a glitch in a camera, a radio transmitter and a printer! That could have lost me an event and even a contract but I had back-up plans in place. It may seem expensive to have redundant kit waiting for such an occasion but when you find that you need it is worth every penny. Run through everything that could go wrong and think what you could do to mitigate the risk. Don't forget that people can breakdown too!

Stuart Lane offers event photography services in Dorset and Hampshire. Have an event that you need photographing or think you might like to work with him, get in contact.

Website: www.photographylane.com
Email: stuartlane@photographylane.com

Return to features archive »