Paparazzi Photography Camera setup My rules

<p>Hi,<br>

Im quite new to photography and I'm going to share a few of 'My' Rules which are geared toward 'puts on flame retardant suit' Paparazzi photography. I'm writing this as i have searched and searched for answers but in the end learned the hard way by trial and error<br>

My goal when buying a camera was always to shoot celebrities after seeing them so often I thought why not!<br>

I Live in London and work the city and know the nightlife and I would always see the Pap gangs buzzing around back doors and entrances to venues.<br>

I'll go through my mistakes, first off I was in a rush to buy a camera. I would recomend that nobody rush into a purchase of a camera without checking out the useage. I bought a camera 450D which would take 3 FPS, hardly the benchmark for high speed bursts. I quickly combed Ebay searching for a 1D after rave reviews and industry standard accredidation. I finally bought a MK II N for a very reasonable price of 590 G.B.P with a shutter count of little over 15k which I think is quite a buy.<br>

Ok over to the lenses. Never ever, ever buy a body & kit lense package. this is geared toward the nextstep down the 40/50D which is adequate for Paping as the 1D is always sold Body only unless in a deal with the retailer.<br>

Lenses for me were not a problem as I was given a 17-35 2.8, 28-135 2.8 & 70-200 2.8L from a professional friend whom migrated to Nikon.<br>

The main lense which I would use on a given PAP excursion would depend on 3 factors which suits all 3 lenses perfectly.</p>

<ol>

<li>17-35 would be used if there were more than one photographer, I've heard this situation described as 'gangbangs' when I was doing my initial research/google's into the trade. It was mentioned in this Youtube Snippet which i found quite informative and funny at times <a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WzAg50233fI">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WzAg50233fI</a> The primary reason is that the wide angle it produces will fill a full length frame getting the target from head to toe. Now I tend to only take part in night photography at the moment so my loadout here would tend to be <br /><br />Canon 1D<br />Side Bracket with Speedlite 550EX mounted with off shoe cord<br />Power Pack with 6x6v Batterys (I dont use the high power as you get very complacent with the rapid recharge and fire and would burn through flashguns very quickly, also being a 3rd party product there are rules such as replacing a battery for a dummy etc, all not covered by Canons warrantys etc, just really playing it safe. The packs genrally used by the Pros are lumidine & Quantums)<br />17-35<br />77 dia Rubber lense Hood (For car windows press against and see through windows)<br /><br />And my settings <br />F8 - f11 & by rule of thumb I match my ISO to my Aperture size e.g.<br />F11 - ISO 1250<br />F8 - ISO 800 <br />Shutter speed 1/250 flashgun set to ETTL & high speed sync, I find that i can fully recycle without getting miss flashes like this therefore no black frames one of my lessons learned via low ISO's & Aperture sizes<br />focus Ring manual and i change this m/ft to suit the distance. Some guys tape up there ring and a given distance but i find this only limits you. ushally i set to 1.5m which will give me a 6ft guy full frame, and if i need to be closer i can quickly flip it to 3m 0.7 0.5 etc and theres quite a good margin between for getting everything sharp, with the f8-f11 i find that everything is always in focus and great depth of field. I can take 8 frames per second like this and it produces great results and if i cant get to see through the viewfinder i can just point and shoot and always get good sharp shots.</li>

<li>28-135 Generally use if I'm in an exclusive situation or know im going to be and i can use range. One things for sure i dont like being in a celebs face infact its not my style at all. This lense lets me complete the more arty shots i.e blurred background etc, In this situation I'm not concerned with rapid fire more 2.8 apertures and blowing out the background, really in this situation i can use any given setting so if i get a glimpse shot or a pose I'll adjust to suit, but generally<br /><br />F2.8 - F12 For poses, ISO 100 for minimum & 320 for maximum (as im not in rapid recylce i can wait out the recharge time for a pose & the Low ISO for nice candy shot)</li>

<li>70-200 2.8L, To say i love this lense would be an understatment i would prefer owning the image stab, but beggers cant be choosers. I would say this best suited for available light Sniping in boraddaylight & a static position such as a Red carpet where you know your distances. The beauty is that its so versitile that you can even get great close range shots not in 'gangbangs' Generally my same rules apply as the 28-135 and i may just change shutter speeds around focal lengths</li>

</ol>

<p>So theres 'my' specific rules not encrusted in stone as I'm still a newbie myself, but I have got some great shots of A listers and had them marketed by agencies. Of course Im looking for more tips and a bit of a discussion and would really like to hear comments from someone in similar circumstances.<br>

Thanks for reading :)</p>

<p>Sounds like you've done your research and were quite fortunate with the lenses.<br>

Don't expect a whole lot of folks chiming in to this thread....</p>

<p>I've been hanging around here a few 6 years or so and I think you are one of the first to admit or seek advice regarding "paping"</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Ian nice youtube snipit. I know Pap are no thought of too kindly around here, not sure why though. I live in New York city and see them alot. One thing for sure, I bet they sell alot more images then most of us!</p>

<p>Any photos?</p>

<p><em>"Here is your flash and here is your two types of pepper spray..."</em></p>

<p>That's awsome.</p>

<p>thanks, this is an interesting post! do you find harassment is an issue, ie when you are waiting outside clubs do you have problems with bouncers?</p>