A photoshoot at a pregrad event..

Hi,

I just got invited by my girlfriends' friends to do a photoshoot at their highschool's pregrad event at a indoor garden in about a months time. (im guessing its not a totally serious event, just a dance)As you all know, I'm NOWHERE near to being a professional photographer, I only got limited gears, no lighting equipment but a small flash. I guess I could obtain natural light from the garden..still gotta scout the environment first. I also have to take pictures for a hundred girls of two grades...I've never done anything like this before, so I'm a little bit anxious, and kinda excited at the sametime...knowing this could give me some more experience.

I wonder if you guys can give me some opinions or advices?
Many thanks!

Think you are right to have lighting challenges on your mind for an indoor event. What lenses are you using these days? I seem to recall you looking at putting some money into glass a while ago.

What is the lighting like inside the garden? Will time of day be a factor or is it all lit artificially?

Reason I ask is that if you don't have portable lighting and the light there is insufficient, though being a garden I'd expect better than average, you will likely need to commit money to wide aperture glass or a portable studio to overcome the issues if you wish to pursue the opportunity and not blow your local reputation on your first job. Customer expectations will dictate which way to go. Do they want studio look or candids?

Have a feeling Sean and some of the others will be better able to guide you to the particulars in terms of equipment selections as they seem more in touch with what is available.

Yeah. I don't think they require studio quality, and for the glasses I have are just f/4 for my 17 to 40 and my 70-200. I do have my nifty fifty 1.8...it'll get the job done..was plaaning to get the 1.4 but got the 70-200 instead..since the sun doesn't set till 8..and I think the event starts in the evening so lighting should be okay..ill probably scout the garden this weekend. And yes, I'm sure Sean can give me some advices on portraits shots..I'm such a newbie in this area...

If it's just "facebook"-type small prints on the web, you get room in the ISO department before it starts falling apart. Do you have any type of box for your flash? The 45 degrees up and over is pretty easy if it works out where you're shooting. You can get brave after that and be more creative.

I don't think they want 'facebook' small prints. I'm guessing they just want the 'normal prints' like 4R or 3R.
Lighting- argh, I don't have a box for my flash, I can only mount it and I dont have pocket wizard or wireless trigger, w/e to trigger the flash, though I have the TTL extension cord coming. Am I capable of doing this without strobes or expensive lighting equipment? I have no idea in this department because I normally just go along with the natural light..

You don't have to have a lot of money to do lighting. Screens made out of bed sheets work for diffusing light (which at 8:00 is prolly not needed), reflectors can done out of most anything. Just a matter of perception on their end as to what makes them want to pose or run and hide. They already want you there, so they have your trust. All you need to do is not fail, that's all:) Can't wait for the pros to start talking. I'm getting excited for ya. Once you do a couple of shots on a stand-in and get the exposure close, you'll eat it up. Might be harder keeping up with the setting sun if you stick with ambient though.

yeah..because my initial plan is to let the ambient light to be my major light source, and use my flash as a fill. it just kinda sounds too simple for it right now, lol. and thanks for the ideas, I'm sure I could use a home-made reflector made out of card boards and white paper, if the sun light is harsh/strong.

Evening light can give really dramatic lighting for portrait type work with the shadow angles that it can throw across the face. One thing to be aware of is that the colour temperature will be quite different from your flash. Two toned lighting can make a statement on its own, just isn't always considered the most flattering look. Flash can be gelled to compensate. Reflectors are inexpensive to buy, can be made from white fabric as well. Would any of the folks who asked you there volunteer to assist with holding them for you? Options include lightstands, but not being voice actuated it might be a bit of a handful to manage on your own for your first event. But quality usually trumps quantity.

F4 can be made to work for people shots. Will require you to try to get shots with non-distracting backgrounds and as much distance between the subject and the background as you can manage. Not sure of how high you can go in the ISO department to maintain reasonable shutter speeds to avoid motion blurring which will ultimately depend on the lighting conditions. Glad to hear that you plan to check it out soon.

Wasn't trying to sound discouraging in earlier post. Just wouldn't someone who is too eager to jump into a situation that they aren't ready/equipped for. Would suggest taking a friend with you as a model when you go to check the venue. It'll give you a chance to see how things might work out for you with the equipment you have now and will give time to plan out how to work around any challenges you might find.

Yeah ill definitely take a friend to model for me, haha. But like you said, with limited reaources, the images produced will probably end up not as good as expected. I'll try to make the best of it though. If the test shots results and lighting conditions are 'bad', I'll think of some workarounds like you mentioned above but then I'll also consider turning this opportunity down.

I am not sure if most are limited by their equipment or their lack of experience to get the most from it. Know that my biggest handicap is the person behind the camera.

Yup, definitely. I'll see what I can do during the scout this weekend. In the mean time, I'll look up someportraits techniques and practise them. Hopefully I can take some good shots with what I have!

Hope that you managed to check out the venue. reading back to the original post, I find myself unsure of the lighting conditions. You say it is an indoor garden but there is also talk of sunlight. Is it a really big green house or something similar?

You also indicated that your girlfriend invited you to this event. Are you covering the entire event or just taking photos of a few people at the event? If covering the event in an official capacity will you be required to carry liability insurance? Is your equipment insured? I have begun to realize that your role was not fully defined and it leads me to more questions.

If you are covering the event what are the client's expectations, quantity quality and delivery time, and do you feel confident in being able to deliver? There will be a lot more time processing images than spent at the event. There was no mention of being paid, only your desire to gain experience and exposure. It could be worthwhile to you to work for free as a step to launching a career, but only if you can meet or exceed expectations.

Hi, and I haven't got the time to check out the garden yet, as it's closing in for an exam month for me..and lots of questions! and for most of them, I don't even know the answers! But one thing for sure though, this is nowhere near a professional shoot so I guess it's just going to be more a casual-looking shoot. And I think I'll be doing it free, I don't expect to get paid: I know there's always a costs for doing anything in the economic sense, but I guess I'll do it for a good cause, as this is some memories that my girlfriend's friends can keep.

The expectation shouldn't be high at all, as I've mentioned and told them that I'm NOT a professional, just an amateur/hobbyist. I'll just be doing something I love to do. If they set the bars really high up and I can reach it, then for sure, I will just turn it down and suggest them to find a pro photographer. I still need to confirm with them on a lot of things, so I'll update if i get anything new asap.