Amateur shooting charity event @ vineyard in two weeks, any tips?

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I have volunteered as an extra photographer at a charity event being held at a vineyard in Napa on the 18th of June, there will be a silent auction, sponsored walk through the grounds by survivors / effected family members and food & wine tasting at the end.</p>

<p>My skills are quiet basic as I'm fairly new to photography, but having seen the shots they received from previous year (v.poor, washed out, out of focus, snapshots) I am determined to give them something better which they could use to promote next years event - this is a worthwhile event as 100% of the money raised will go directly to a hospice for sick children, no admin / overhead fees.</p>

<p>My equipment list is Canon xti / 400d, steel tripod, Hoya ND & GND filters, plenty of memory cards & spare batteries and the 18-55mm IS kit lens that came with the camera, I am considering renting the Canon 24-70mm L lens to get a bit more reach & have the best chance of getting good shots - but not sure if this would be worth the $100 fee? (also none of my filters would fit on this larger lens).</p>

<p>I am heading out every night after work to get as much practice in as possible, taking shots of hills, streets, architecture around my area. They are looking for shots of the above events & want me to include as much of the event branding + "spirit of the event" as possible, the latter I am a bit worried about how to achive.</p>

<p>This is an ambiguous question I know, but does anyone have any tips / general advice for such an event - especially when it comes to capturing the spirit of the event?</p>

<p>(btw - I am not taking up a spot which could be occupied by a better photographer, they only have one other amateur like me taking shots)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Capture the vineyard's logo, signage etc with people in front, similarly capture the charity's name/logo as well so bith get publicity. Its easily overlooked. Do it even if you have to srage manage getting people in the right place.</p>

<p>I'd consider your practice sessions carefully. Perhaps find some street fairs to practice on in the next couple of weeks. Even shopping areas, lively streets. You want practice with moving targets and with people against surroundings. Shooting hills and architecture is a very different matter.</p>

<p>Don't be afraid to engage and talk to people at the event. Some shots of people who look interested and who you've put at ease will go well with whatever more candid shots you are likely to get. Shoot wide and don't be afraid to crop later if need be. The more you include, the more potential you might have later. But don't be afraid to get in close. A couple of expressive face shots can go a long way in a series. Remember, you don't have to get the perfect photo. You have to tell a story with a few photos, so each one does not have to be the money shot. They need to work together and cover territory. People can sometimes be the background, so a shot of a sign with the logo with some people having a conversation and some wine in the background can work. Vary your perspective. Don't be afraid to kneel down and shoot up against the hills. That can read iconically and elicit a lot of feelings from a viewer.</p>

<p>I wouldn't recommend the 24-70 on your APS-C camera for this shoot because 24mm would not be very wide on one. Your 18-55 IS should handle most shots. You may want something longer, so I would consider the Canon 55-250 IS or the more expensive Tamron 70-300 VC (VC is Tamron's version of IS). Either of these lenses are worth having anyway. A lens like a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 or Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 would be good choices, but they are expensive.</p>

<p>I would talk to the organizer and find out any specific shots they want and then make a list. If part of the event is indoors you could use an accessory flash. I'm not familiar with Canon so I can't recommend a specific Canon flash. I do know their flashes are expensive. Metz, Bower, and Vivitar make good less expensive flashes. I would also let them know that you are a new photograper and you have never shot an event like this. The idea is to limit their expectations.</p>

<p>Make sure you battery is fully charged and bring an extra. Also bring extra memory cards.</p>

<p>Whatever you do don't drink too much wine it will affect your pictures ! If you want to capture the Spirit of the event, I would choose a Photo Journalistic style that tells the entire story of the event in as few frames as possible. <br>

Don't try to shoot a movie because probably the sonsors are only going to choose a few pictures anyway. If you try to get too many shots you might wear out your welcome pretty fast. Choose your images wisely and try to avoid snapshot-like sit and grin poses. Include pictures of the vineyard as much as possible and dont be afraid to get up close to the actual grapes on the vine yard.<br>

A wide angle lens with good DOF might come in handy. So might a medium telephoto for head and shoulder shots. Include pictures of signs, wine bottles, people tasting wine, wide angle shots of the vineyard, the guest and most importantly the hosts. Bring an extra flash or use the pop-up flash on your camera for fill flash. Try to capture pictures of the guest in natural poses, but if that's not possible ask them to pose(naturally), don't forget to fill the frame with your subjects. <br>

Avoid pictures of people with stuff in their mouth, strange expressions, annoyed looks, non-smiling, drunk etc. Try to squeeze in a couple of silhouettes if you can. and Have fun ! </p>

<p>All of the above, and take many more exposures (2X-10X) than you think you'll need.</p>

<p>Good DOF - does that mean a lens with a low f stop?</p>

<p>I'll take as many shots as possible, kind of a machine gun approach, but I'm not good enough to rely on a few well composed shots....rather take to many than to few, having said that - will try and stay as unobtrusive as possible, there will be a lot of people there who have lost kids - last thing they need is me ushering them around or sticking a lens in their face!</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice, some great suggestions! Keep them coming :-)</p>

<p>"Good DOF - does that mean a lens with a low f stop?" Something like f11 or f16 will have a lot of area in focus if you are six to eight feet from your subject (i.e., the folks at the event.) If you go to f4, the cone of focus will be reduced some if you keep the same six to eight feet distance. If you are shooting in daytime hours, your flash unit will serve as a fill-flash to lighten shadows in faces...if you are shooting at night, you may need a flash bracket and flash cord. The flash bracket will keep your flash *on top* of your camera for a vertical or horizontal image, and hopefully reduce the *red-eye* effect.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I wanted one of those great vineyard photographs with a perfect bunch of grapes on the vine - no such luck. Many grapes missing, some half eaten, leaves dried out. If I were to try it again my first stop might be the produce department of the nearest grocery store. Seriously, when I see those great vineyard shots I'm a little suspicious as to how they got everything so perfect.</p>

<p>Having done a number of these types of events in the Bay Area, and with the likely weather at the time, I can tell you with no uncertainty that you need a flash. You need it early enough before the shoot to practice with it. You should probably get a Canon flash since you can use high speed sync, even the reasonably inexpensive 270 will do but you won't have high speed sync. If it's going to be crowded, a wider lens will definitely help. Skip the filter.</p>

<p>Then there's the whole photographic aspect, as opposed to the equipment. Do they want casual pix or posed? Are people hamming it up what they want? These are the kinds of things you need to find out, and then make sure you shoot for those things.</p>

<p>a<br>

This is a charity event. Don't go spending money. Simply fall in love with the contestants. Let your heart lead the way. I know that sounds schmaltzy, but it is the fat truth. Your eyes lead to your heart. Your camera records your eyes. If you treat this mathmatacially, you are going to get sterile looking photos. By the way, you need to save your money for that 5D you want.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Simply fall in love with the contestants.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There's a contest? Where did it say that? And how does "falling in love" give good photos.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Your camera records your eyes</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Only if you point it backwards.</p>

<p>Do you think taking a few shots with a Holga would be useful? This event will be 100% outdoors.</p>

" dont be afraid to get up close to the actual grapes on the vine yard"

 

They are going to be tiny green balls the size of capers in two weeks.

Harvest starts in August.

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<p><em>Seriously, when I see those great vineyard shots I'm a little suspicious as to how they got everything so perfect.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>It's not hard. Just timing and planning.<br /> Get up early to work in the morning, anytime after Aug. 10 for some awesome vineyards, grapes, and good light (say before 7:30 a.m. local Calif. wine country) for your photography. (sunrise is 6:21 am on 8/10/11, so start planning your grape cluster shots to start 10-20 mins. after sunrise)</p>

<p>a</p>

 

<p >I may be your last entry here. I have to apologize for referring to the participants in your charity fundraiser as "contestants". My son and I have shot some Special Olympics and other services were the events were actually athletic in nature. I hope that you get my point, despite the criticisms of my prior entry. The organizers of the fundraiser are not as in-tune to the specifics of beautiful photography, as they are concerned about the emotions of this particular event. In order to capture those emotions, you have to actually feel them. The stronger you sense those feelings, the more accurately you will be able to capture them. Great photos can be sterile. Bad photos can still be quite touching. Your goal is to capture both. This could be a wonderful start to your quest of becoming a full time professional. Check the images at lovelifeimages.com to get my point. Check the images of each individual photographer. </p>

<p > </p>

<p>Steve clearly meant that it'd be good to photograph beneficiaries of this charity if that's possible, as well as celebrities and donors that will obviously be prominent in the event. Work hard to meet them, befriend them, and photograph them with the kind of symbolic imagery everybody anticipates. That would of course include the signage, but the people are ultra important. Get the names of people you photograph.</p>

<p>If all they wanted was "art" you could go after that at any time without the event. <br />The wine grower is undoubtedly married to a fine photographer and undoubtedly has fine photographer kids, so make this your own work. The "spirit of the event" is not the same as beautiful agricultural photography.</p>

<p>Along with happy people they want vines, signs, and (if adults) wine bottles, glasses (there will surely be some glasses with the charity's name etched-on), and wine hoisted and lit so it's color can be seen. In the Napa Valley most of the best wines are whites (because the land is so rich...reds are said to do better on the rocky ridges and in Sonoma County), but in reality there are also some fine reds and a few fine champagnes. Google to learn in advance what's best at the particular vineyard, as well as the names of the people associated with the vinyard and the charity. Make happy images, not moody. </p>

<p>As you know, a vineyard grows grapes, a winery makes wine.</p>