Let me start with the client’s email to me the morning after the event. Yes, I deliver quickly.

The pictures are great.  I really love the clarity; especially those that are up close.  Please send me an invoice so I can submit payment.

thanks again!!

When I cover a party, I have a mental shot list. As I work through the list, I notice that I become increasingly relaxed as I tick off each item.

I have learned over time to cover an event in phases, which allows me to ensure I have the “safe” shots, and then I can gradually add the photos that enhance the package.

Phase One

Arrive early and start taking photos of the location. Most likely, the hosts have spent a little money on the food, and the caterer has done their best within the budget to present their best.

Arriving early also allows you to have more space to work. No one is there, and this gives you the ability to back up, move closer, and change your angle to get what you like for representing the food.

All the food shots I took were done with available light. I am not trying to be on the cover of Southern Living Cookbook, so I am not shooting the photos at the lowest ISO and lighting the food to make it look its very best. My purpose is to show the food as it looked for the event.

I try to use available light as much as feasible. All the food shots were done with available light.

Phase Two

I work the room, trying to get photos of the people interacting. During this time, I might use some flash to fill in the shadows. I want to be sure the images are solid and not me pushing the limits of the situation, which might not work.

As you can see, this is where I might have the guest pose for a photo. I am encouraging them to get closer to one another. Now, if they do not want to get too close, I capture them with a bit of space, or when they want to show a true friendship, you might see them holding on to each other.

I try to shoot these just a little loose for two reasons. First, if you shoot too tight and they want an 8×10 print, then they may not have enough excess to crop the photo from the long side. The same can be true for a 5×7, except in this case, there isn’t enough from the short side to crop. Keeping it loose allows for different dimension prints.

Second, I like to show the environment. I believe this is one of the most significant mistakes made by amateurs. They come in so close that the pictures no longer have any context. Whose party are they attending anyway?

Why Flash?

During the second phase, I occasionally shoot available light and then quickly add a flash. The reason is that the flash will help fill in the shadows. With darker skin, there is a tendency to lose the facial details if you are not careful. Notice the difference in the skin tones of the lady’s face, and you will see how the lower photograph is technically superior. I prefer the expression in the first photo and wish I had had the flash on for that shot; then it would have been perfect for my taste.

As one who is always advocating for removing the flash from the camera, unless the budget allowed for a photo assistant to walk around with my flash, the guests would most likely bump into a light stand and possibly get hurt, or damage my gear. I used a camera flash for this event. However, I did bounce it and never shot with it directly pointed at the subjects.

 Notice in these two photos that I have switched to an ultra-wide-angle lens, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. I love shooting with this lens to help give context and put the viewer in the scene, as if they are standing right there on the porch and part of the conversation.

Notice in the photo below that I went just a little wider than the one above. The one above is shot at 24mm, and the one below is shot at 19mm. I love seeing the three women in the back in three different conversations. You can tell everyone is enjoying themselves and having moments of their own.

Using the 28-300mm lens, I can zoom in, as I have done below with the photo of the person listening to another. This was zoomed to 300mm, allowing me to look across the room, just like you would if you were there to catch glimpses of others enjoying conversations.

You need some overall shots to capture the number of people who attended the event. This is everyone gathering for a few comments at the cocktail party. I shot it with the Nikon 14-24mm @ 14mm to capture as much of the room as possible. I am holding the camera as high as I can above my head and angling it down to show the room, almost as if it were a security camera positioned in the corner of a room.

Phase Three

Usually, there is a point at which I have photographed most everyone in the room a few times. I have the event covered if I were to stop working. This is where I am now free to start looking for more interesting photos.

Now in Phase Two, I did some of these photos, but this is where I look for moments and may push the limits of the situation. A good example is shooting with the Nikon 28-300mm zoomed to 300mm, shooting available light. Even at ISO 12800, you may need to use a slow shutter speed indoors.

I did this, but I had to discard a lot of the photos because of camera movement or because the subject moved. It would be common for the subject to start laughing and toss their head back in the process, and I get a blur and nothing is sharp. This is why I often wait to do these shots in Phase Three, but I might mix a few in Phase Two.

Since I had pretty much everything the client needed, it was easier to meet the chef’s request for a photo of himself towards the end. I could have done this in Phase One, but he was swamped at the time.

With the photo of the man in the center and the people around the table, I moved a little back and forth until I used him to block the light behind him. This is the president of Georgia Tech talking to the new tenured professors.

In the photo below, you can see the dining room from above. Hopefully, this gives you a reason to arrive early to take pictures of the food. Where do you stand on getting those photos now?

In the following two photos, notice the slow shutter speeds and high ISO settings. The top photo was shot at 250mm and the lower one at 210mm. Either of these would generally be shot at a minimum shutter speed of 1/250 to ensure there is no camera movement. In the lower photo, I am shooting at a shutter speed of 1/40. While I can do everything to capture this moment, ideally, all it takes is for the lady to move slightly, and it becomes a blur. This is why I shoot this type of photo without a flash and ISO 12800 in Phase Three. I am taking larger risks. If I did this in Phase Two, the number of photos I would be giving the customer would shrink drastically.

The Seasoned Pro

It takes years to master this technique truly. Besides dividing up types of photos, I am also pushing the limits of the flash and available light.

Notice I am shooting inside at really high ISOs and using flash. Why would I do that? Read this early blog post of mine to answer that question here.

Shooting the way I did for this event is quite complex, but the results, I think, speak for themselves. I guess I capture genuine moments with minimal intrusion. This is why clients hire me – not just because they need a photographer. They need a photographer who will come in and not complain about the lack of light, thereby creating problems.

Before my client even saw these photos, they were excited to invite me back. They liked how I worked; that’s what they commented to me as I left. If it is that evident that they see a difference in how I work compared to other photographers, and they haven’t even seen the results, then I know it is my years of experience showing in how I carry myself.

Atlanta Journal & Constitution photographer Johnny Crawford talks with a younger photographer about how he likes to work from the end zone.

“Look to your left, look to your right–when you graduate, only one of you will be there” was what incoming freshmen used to hear at Georgia Tech. The numbers showed that was true.

If everyone who was to be a photographer was required to have a college degree, the speaker on that first day might have said, “In this incoming first-year class of 100, only 10 of you will graduate.”

Looking at other photographers’ work, I am blown away by their talent. What is scary is seeing new faces with little experience who are also talented.

I will be on the sidelines of two Chick-fil-A Kickoff games this weekend. Nearly a hundred photographers will also be there. You can hear the clicks of many around you, shooting as if they are all in sync.

While you might say I am having a midlife crisis at fifty, I have lived with this fear for most of my career. After tonight’s game, many photographers will pick up newspapers and magazines and surf the web to look at their competition.

We will all grade our work alongside the other photographers. At a certain point in your career, you start to see that almost everyone has the “big play” of the game. This is when you realize that it was a certain amount of luck that some people were in the right place at the right time.

The funny thing is that some of my friends are always lucky. Over time, I realized they were not lucky; they understood the game better than I did and knew how to position themselves to get the best angle on the play.

You can quickly become depressed in this profession. It’s tough to rise above the competition. The day you arrive at the top is followed the next day by another photographer finding something new and better to help make their photo stand out from the rest.

We desire something genuinely revolutionary, but that never happens.

This Bible verse inspired Ernest Hemingway to write The Sun Also Rises in 1926. Life can be boring if we let it be. With almost unlimited TV and radio stations, many of us will flip through the channels and say there is nothing we want to hear or see. If we are not careful, we can be doomed to a life of dullness.   Can you ever get enough? We want more. In American culture, materialism consumes many of us. 

Whatever seems new “has been already in the ages before us.” So how do we handle this?

I have two suggestions:

• Shoot for yourself

Years ago, my photographer friend Ken Touchton was talking about a story he wanted to tell. Ano, her friend, looked at him and said it had been done before, to which Ken said, “But I haven’t done it.”

One of the best reasons to push forward is for yourself. You need to have these experiences and live life to the fullest. I’ll enjoy myself tonight because I am trying to get the photos and do my best.

After the game, the world will most likely benefit from all the photographers on the sidelines. It will also benefit from the different sports writers because each has a slightly different perspective, which is what the audience looks for.

• Turn to God

Now, all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all humanity.
Ecclesiastes 12:13

My faith helps me endure this world, which has been weary and dull since man was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. However, living in a relationship with God can have new meaning. 

Cameras are not created equal. When you pick up your basic Kodak Brownie Box Camera, there is nothing to adjust. You had no controls. Kodak made the ultimate simple camera and used the slogan, “You push the button, we do the rest.”

There were several versions of the Brownie made by Kodak through the years. The first one had no flash, and later they would incorporate the flash bulb to help you take photos indoors.

Photo by Capt Kodak

Over time people learned how to get good photos because they often had pictures that didn’t come out or were very poor. They learned to keep the sun in the subject’s face versus having them backlighted by the sun.

To overcome those limitations, camera manufacturers started to give control to the photographer.

They put three controls on the cameras: 1) Focus, 2) Aperture, and 3) Shutter Speed.

The film manufacturers then created various films we could put into the camera. The film’s sensitivity allowed you to take photos from outside in bright sunlight to inside without a flash. You would buy Black and White movies with ASA ratings of 12 to 3,200.

You could buy daylight and tungsten film in various ASAs when the color film came out. Later the ASA, which stood for American Standards Association, now ISO, which stands for International Standards Organization.

Before explaining how we got more camera modes, we must first understand the Manual Mode. Manual mode controls Aperture and Shutter Speed.

Aperture

The Aperture is identical to the function of the iris of our eyes. It controls how much light comes through the lens to the sensor.

If you have ever taken a magnifying glass and tried to burn a leaf, you know how to get a bright point by putting the glass between the sun and the leaf and moving it back and forth. Moving it back and forth is precisely how the focus works on the camera.

You will notice this larger light circle when you reach that fine point. If you cut a small hole in a piece of cardboard, you can hold it between the magnifying glass and the leaf and eliminate that from the circle.

If instead of burning a leaf, you were doing this with a camera and taking a photo, the more you eliminate that outer circle, things in front of the subject and behind it that you focused on will become more in focus. This is what we call depth-of-field (DOF). The bigger the opening, the less DOF you have; the background and foreground become fuzzy.

Shutter Speed

While the Aperture controls how much light comes through the lens, the Shutter Speed controls how long the light is on the sensor.

We can stop a bullet if we shorten the time to 1/280,000 of a second. Edgerton did this with a flash to freeze the bullet after going through an apple. Here is a link to that photo.

The longer you keep the shutter open, long enough you can blur things. In this photo from the Civil War times of a street, if you look closely, you will see the blur of people walking and moving. This is how many of those empty streets were photographed back then. The people were there, but not long enough to be recorded.

During the Civil War Times

Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO Combined

When you mix the controls, you must find the right amount of light coming through the lens and staying on the sensor, which has been set to a specific sensitivity (ISO) for good exposure.

Camera Modes

There are four main camera modes on many of today’s DSLR cameras.

• Aperture Priority – In this mode, the photographer picks the Aperture they want to work with when photographing a subject. They may want a shallow DOF or everything in focus. Sometimes the photographer wants something else in between. They use the DOF preview button to see what they will get. I wrote an earlier blog on using that here. While the photographer controls the Aperture, the camera picks the shutter speed that correctly exposes the photo for the ISO preferred.
• Shutter Priority (Tv Mode on Canon) – This is where the photographer picks the shutter speed to either freeze a subject or blur some of the photographs.  
• Manual Mode – This is where the photographer is in total control and picks the shutter speed and the Aperture. To be sure the photo is exposed correctly, they will use the camera meter to get the best exposure for the ISO they also picked.
• Program Mode – With today’s most modern cameras, the camera has sensors built into the lenses to talk to the camera. This lets the camera know which lens is on the camera and pick the best average setting for aperture and shutter speed to expose the scene correctly.

Scene Modes

Some of the many scene modes are: scene auto selector, portrait, landscape, sports, night portrait, party/indoor, beach, snow, sunset, dusk/dawn, night landscape, close-up, food, museum, fireworks show, copy, backlighting, panorama assist, candlelight, pet portrait, blossom, autumn colors, silhouette, high key, and low key.

These scene modes are like cheat sheets. The photographer does not need to know how to set the camera but pick the scene that best matches what they are photographing.

Snow example

If you have ever photographed in snow, no matter which of the four modes you choose, A, S, M, or P, they will all be too dark. The camera sees all that snow as it is too bright. It doesn’t know that it is snow.

Experience photographers will open up the exposure by 1.3 or 1.5 stops. For the person not knowing what to do, they pick the snow setting, and the camera will now open up the essential exposure by 1.3 to 1.5 stops to get a good exposure.

Portrait Example

For portraits, you want a shallow Depth-of-Field. You want the background out of focus and the foreground, as I have done in this photo. Not sure how to do that; just set your camera to portrait scene mode.

Sports Example

When shooting sports, the photographer generally uses a very high speed to freeze the action and a relatively shallow depth of field to make the subject pop out from the background. Figuring this out as the player runs in and out of the sunlight takes some skill, or you can select the sports scene mode on your camera.

Silhouette Example

Maybe you like photographing sunsets and sunrises but want the ground silhouetted. In general, you will need to underexpose the photo about two stops. Again, not sure what to do to get that silhouette, then put your camera on the silhouette scene mode.

You make the choice

It would be best to think before you push the shutter button to get all these different looks. What type of photo am I making? If you do not know and just like pointing the camera and pressing the button, you need to put the camera in “Program Mode.” This will get you closest to a usable photograph.

If you have been shooting in “Program Mode” for a while and are not satisfied with your results, then you need to be able to categorize your photo, at least that you are trying to make, by using the scene mode categories.

After shooting with these scene modes, you may discover you still want even more control. Maybe you want to control the DOF more, so you can now choose “Aperture Mode.”

Maybe you discovered you need to pick the shutter speed, and you can use the “Shutter Mode” to have more control.

You may have situations you need complete control, and you can now choose “Manual Mode.”

Having a camera with all these modes can be overwhelming or help you get what you want.

Once you decide you want more control and understand how to use your camera’s functionality, you will finally pick up the manual you never opened when you bought the camera.

The camera manual explains all the modes and even has examples. Now take that lens cap off and go and shoot some photos.

A person, not a company, hires you.

One of the most challenging things to understand is who the decision maker who hired you is, who you are working for, and not the company.

If John Smith of a project team hires you to photograph a project and John Smith works for Coke, you need to know that Coke didn’t hire you, but John Smith, who works for Coke, hired you.

I worked for Georgia Tech a few years ago, and the problem of who paid for the photography came to my attention in a very messy situation.

The Research Institute, a separate part of the Georgia Institute for Technology, had asked our department to photograph a project. Since I was the only photographer on staff, they hired me to shoot a research project.

The research was done at the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. It would be best if you noticed this is a different department. The Research Institute had built an incredible reputation for getting work published in major popular news and science magazines like Popular Mechanics, Business Week, and other publications.

The Research Institute’s writer contacted me, and they paid for the photography.

Unknown to me then, the College of Engineering had contacted my department to help promote the project. When I had been to the researcher and shot the project, the writer in our department went to our files, pulled the images, and sent them out with his story.

This was when we had a very messy situation. The writer who had his department pay for the photography didn’t get to use the photos first, and the other writer not only scooped the story and got a feather in his cap but also used photos that another department had paid to produce.

New Policy

After that fiasco, we put a new policy in place. Whichever department paid or initiated a project could use the photos first, and anyone wanting to use them had to have permission from that department.

Since this was all with tax dollars, it technically belonged to the state and not a department. However, we realized we needed to address this or have another solution. The problem was that if a department was using its budget to create something and another department didn’t spend any money; it would be creating ill will.

My Policy

No matter who requests photos, I always tell them I am more than willing to help and want to help them. However, I told them it was not my call and encouraged them to contact my client. I am more than willing to help once my client has approved the use.

The Politics

The more you know about the company and the organizational structure, the easier it is to handle these requests.

When you know that the client’s boss is making a request, I can handle this much differently when it is just another department.

Handling a request

Take the request: When someone comes up to you while you are working and requests something, I usually hand them a business card and ask them to contact me by email and put their request in writing. I explained that I would love to help them, but I am currently shooting.

Often, the request disappears because they do not follow up with you. This is a great way to handle most photography requests. Usually, someone asks for a favor for free rather than wanting to compensate you for the work.

This will buy you time to respond to them by email properly or by giving them a phone call. I find having time to think through something without having to be actively engaged in listening is the smartest thing you can do for any request. 

Let the client know of the request: Before responding, let your client know of the request. Ask them if they would prefer to handle the request themselves or if they would like you to handle it.

Usage Rights: When creating a contract with the client, you need to address image rights. Are you giving them one-time, exclusive, or unlimited rights, for example? It would be best if you addressed the time limit for these rights. I cannot think of a situation where a client has hired you that you will not need to wait until they use an image before you start selling it on the open market.

Wedding Photography

If the bride’s parents are paying for the photography, this is important regarding their requests. The dynamics change significantly when the bride and groom pay, and then the bride’s mother asks for memorable photos outside your agreement with the bride.

In summary, you need to know that just because a person at a large company hired you to shoot something for them and even if you have given them unlimited usage, this does not mean that if another person from the company asks for the photos, that you give them to that person.

You will gain this client’s trust as long as you honor the client relationship. How you handle the requests from the other people in the company can help them see you as a professional with ethics and solid business practices.

A few days ago, I posted a blog about camera insurance. It was inspired by what happened to some of my friends covering the Olympics in London.

A few days later, I realized that there is a group out there that is the most vulnerable. These are college students.

First

Before you head off to college, it’s essential to have a conversation with your parents about their homeowners’ insurance. Do not assume that your friends’ insurance covers the same things as yours. Instead, listen to what their insurance covers and consider whether it aligns with your needs. Every insurance company operates differently, and even the same company has numerous variables to consider when writing various policies.

You want to know about the fine print in your policy, so talk to the agent about some possible scenarios to be sure you are covered.

Possible Scenarios

• The amount of gear you have is it covered, or do you need more coverage
• If you work for the college newspaper, will this affect your being considered a student or a professional?
  • Some colleges pay their staff, and this could affect your insurance
• Renting of equipment. Can y u rent something and still be covered?
• You live in a dorm versus at home.
• You live in an apartment off campus.

Since these are all possibilities, don’t hold back. Ask them to identify areas where you are not covered. Your idea is to know now before anything happens. You would hate to have all your belongings destroyed by fire, stolen, or damaged during a football game, only to find out they aren’t covered. 

Renters’ insurance

It may be the best option for your family to have a separate policy. The odds of you being robbed on campus may be higher than for others. Once you file a claim, it may make it more difficult for your parents to find an insurance carrier.

Renters’ insurance is similar to a homeowners’ policy, but it only covers the contents of the apartment, not the structure itself. Some insurance companies may allow you to have this policy while you are a student and add your camera gear to it.

Professional Organizations

As I mentioned in the first article on camera insurance, you may be better off buying camera insurance. As a student, you can join the professional organizations at a lower rate than pros and still get access to some of the benefits, like insurance.

What to insure

It is recommended that you take pictures of all your gear, keep copies of all the receipts to show the purchase price, and record the serial numbers. I would recommend making a spreadsheet to show:

• The name of the gear 
• The price of the gear (either paid or replacement cost)
• The serial number
• date purchased

Most policies that specialize in photography will also include your computer gear. For your computer gear list, things like:

• Computer
• External hard drives
• Software
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • PhotoMechanic
  • Microsoft Office
  • ftp software
  • Adobe PhotoShop
  • Final Cut Pro
• Monitor Calibrator
• Card Readers

Think of your computer as a digital workstation and list everything you bought to work on it. If it is stolen, you need to replace all that software and hardware.

Worst Situation

The worst situation to be in is having all your gear stolen and not knowing what is covered. Call today to find out what is covered; you may need to purchase a separate policy.