Strictly speaking, an Event Photographer captures major events on camera, like weddings, business promotions, parties, end of the world. Well maybe not the end of the world but I hope you catch my drift. A professional Event Photographer is a highly sought and highly paid individual.
I got my first medium end camera (as opposed to the highly professional, high end camera) solely for personal use, mainly for the pre and post arrival of my son. I was suddenly thrust into the totally different but beautifully creative world of photography.
Being the only person in my family with more than the simple point and click camera, I became the unofficial event photographer for family events. As such, I’m rarely in those pictures and I found myself beginning to obsess over the outcome of my shots. The monster was created by the weapon.
I began to compare the effect caught in the photos of other photographers with mine and frankly, I was highly disappointed with my own. I began and still hunt down the golden nuggets behind effective photography not restricted to event photography. I realized a few facts.
The sooner I realized that photography is not possible without light, the sooner I began working with the light, rather than against it. Most importantly, cameras do not “see” the way we do! In fact, many photographers think that flash for everything is required. We all know that too little light gives poor results. What some don’t realize, is too much light takes away from the picture as well.
The main goal of photography is to capture the moment and natural ambience of a shot can be destroyed with too much light. There is also the color variation of light called the temperature of light. Auto adjustment on modern cameras usually handle such issues but in some cases, manual adjustment of the ISO, shutter speed and aperture on the camera can make a huge difference in the quality of the photo. These are all light considerations. Any professional event photographer knows about these challenges.
Photography props can add to or obscure the focus or main subject of the picture. Studio or indoor portrait may opt for expensive props but in reality, anything can be use as a prop. Outdoor photographers may use anything as a prop, just as indoor photographers, as long as it doesn’t obliterate the main subject of the image.
Depth of field manipulation can be used on shots to blur everything else except the subject of the photo in an attempt to preserve the main focus. Knowing how to mix the colors to create a theme for your picture involves creativity.
I have finally started to get the hang of children and landscape photography but now I’ve come to a new challenge, event photography. This new area involves multiple subjects and situations, highly varied lighting conditions and like child photography, unrepeatable moments. Hence why this area of photography is usually left to professionals for big events.
I will continue to tweak and learn, but just like driving a car, after a while you can turn the steering wheel, step on brake or accelerator accordingly, while using the indicator and wiper a the same time and sing to your favorite song on the radio, concurrently checking your rear view mirrors. When I can operate my camera automatically like this, then I may become a better event photographer.
Keep abreast for updates and possibly personal techniques which I have found effective. This is just my introduction blog page for now. Comments and criticism are welcome.
