Writing about a conference; is my camera up to it

[alex_sofer]

<p>I'm using an old EOS 1D 4MP with a Tokina 19-35/3.5-4.5 lens. I'm taking it with me to shoot pictures at an event (speeches mostly) at a new client. I'm not a pro photographer but they know its my hobby and asked me to do it as I'm writing the press release about the event.</p>

<p>I'm wondering if my camera and lens will manage - my feeling is no - and what can I do to turn things around. I have 4 days to make a purchase.</p>

<p>My plan is to buy a flash - Speedlight 220 EX as it fits my budget for now - and, well, that's it.</p>

<p>Am I on track? Do I need a fast prime?</p>

<p>thoughts welcome</p>

<p>Alex</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Are you talking about shooting lectern head-and-shoulders shots from the back of a large, dim room ... or close access to a speaker under good light? Are you going to be simply including images in blog postings, or will these need to be considered for a trade magazine cover?<br /><br />These issues go to things like whether or not you can be safe cranking up the camera's ISO setting to buy yourself a little more wiggle room, exposure-wise. Yes, a faster lens is always a good thing, but event shooting tends to call for something like a 17-50/2.8 so that you can adapt to changing circumstances.</p>

[danny_low]

<p>As the "official" photographer you should be able to move about and request people pose for photos. So the limitations of the lens can be worked around. The flash is mandatory as my experience with convention center and hotel meeting rooms is the lighting is generally too dim and often has weird color balance due to a mixture of fluorescent and tungsten light which is sometimes mixed with daylight from windows.</p>

<p>What is the eventual use of the photos? 4MP is quite adequate for web images and newspaper and magazine reproduction. For small images in a conference papers book it should also be adequate.</p>

<p>Danny</p>

 

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Alex, my day job is in PR and I've both worked as a photographer and hired photographers to shoot conferences and similar events. A 4 MP body is out of date but adequate since presumably the end use of photos is going to be as a digital file "handout" photo to accompany the press release or for reproduction in newspapers, magazines, brochures, etc. Your lens would be adequate for shooting people schmoozing at a conference -- people chitchatting at a reception or around a meeting table. But about the only shots you could do of people at a podium at where you walk right up front and shoot where there's a side view of the speaker in the foreground and audience in the background. That's a good shot but you also need to be able to make head on shots of the person speaking. Standard lens for that is a 70-200 or 80-200, preferably 2.8. A 17-50 isn't going to get you close enough. Assuming you don't want to splurge $1500 on a Canon 70-200, I would consider the Tokina 50-135 2.8 for about $500, which "turns into" a 70-200 if you consider the digital crop factor. You definitely need a flash but a much better bargain is the Vivitar 285HV. Not as fancy as the latest Canon and Nikon auto-everything but a longtime workhorse for news and event shooters and it's only $90. Sounds like you are doing PR work for a client and being paid for your work as a writer. If they also want photography, as a PR professional myself I would strongly urge them to hire a photographer seperately. If you want to add photography to the list of things you can do and bill for, then buy the extra gear and learn to do it. But I would hesitate to spend money on gear unless you are going to be able to charge extra for the photo work going forward. You're looking at spending $500 plus to buy what you would need to do the job right. The client could hire a shooter for that amount (depending on where you are and how long the conference), or you could subcontract it for the same amount and bill it through to the client.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>Cartoon up a shot list. It can help you build a better answer. More stuff can help sometimes, but it's often not the first answer to solving the actual project problems. Great stuff can make it easier to solve the problems, but you've got to be the one to identify and tackle those problems.</p>

<p>The brain you're using at this photo session is run on ideas.<strong> How good is the brain's image quality?</strong></p>

<p><strong>Take the lens cap off of the brain! </strong></p>

<p>Imagine out the shots. Play pretend. Then look for problems and answers, about those specific frames imagined by the brain.</p>

<p>What's the final size of the image you are making, and what's it going to take to hit that size at a good quality? There are a lot of photos out there whose final viewing size won't get much bigger than a playing card on a computer monitor, or a 4X6. In those cases, I'd say, there's probably zero reason to worry about making any adjustments or changes to normal output from pretty much any camera.</p>

<p>Like, I was talking with a young photographer recently, and they were asking, Well, what about noise? Aren't you worried about a loss of image quality at 1600 ISO, and so on. Nope. I am not worried a bit. [using 10mp camera set to output JPEG only at 6MP maximum.] Why? Final size.</p>

<p>Make some 8X10 prints of what you have on file. Look at that tech data. Ask yourself: A. Is the image really that bad? B. Is the image going to have to be this size or bigger in its final output?</p>

<p>I mention this because this exercise can help you get ahold of some containment and control. The truth is, not every picture has to be a "good" picture to get the job done well. At the desktop, with a pen and pad, how about spitballing some ideas in a cartoon rectangle over what you want certain photos to look like. Brainstorm some more about how you would want those photos presented. I bet in half an hour, even if you have no drawing ability and only some simple cartoon stickman diagrams, you can gain some ideas and control for planning your project.</p>

<p>You'll probably find that you're not going to need as many photos as you thought before (hey, 12, a series, max, is about as much as is common for what gets viewed in the final project), and, of those, some will need more attention than others.</p>

<p>This is not to say that you shouldn't make as many pictures as you want, as carefully or as rapidly as you want, when you get there. Yet, concept sketches and a shot list can help you lead yourself into the project. What are the odds that you are going to need to have a final output of 519 photos of someone speaking behind a lectern?</p>

<p>Truth is, you may only need one good one; you may only want to make about half a dozen variations of that one composition to cover the tech specs. In that respect, the hypothetical project just got pared down from 519 photos with no good visualization ideas down to about one good idea for the photo's composition, with a spread of a few variations of two passes at the photo to cover the tech data: from 519 random shots to one idea to, at most, six pictures.</p>

<p>Throwing more camera equipment and more money at the problem is very inefficient. 30 minutes with a sketch pad or some advance brainstorming about the specifics of what you want, even if you don't find it later, can be much more effective.</p>

<p>Daydream up a plan and make some notes. Fake a rehearsal of the shots in the garage, or better yet, bring your camera to the place where you are going to make these photos later, and start to come up with some ideas. Then you will start to see what you really need.</p>

<p>If you've got the best stuff, and no ideas, then what you end up with is great stuff and no idea of where to point the thing. That doesn't help anybody.</p>

<p>Cartoon up a shot list. Improve the image quality of the expectations of the brain before it operates the camera near the critical shots at the subject.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>To show what this concept sketch stuff looks like, here's a link to a blog article I wrote about that. <br /> http://www.agxphoto.com/2010/02/concept-sketches-preparing-to.html</p>

<p>Here's a PDF I did on that same subject: http://www.agxphoto.net/photoinfospt/concept%20sketches.pdf</p>

<p>My photos aren't super-great; but, I think if you look at the sketches and then look at the photos, you can see a link in there. You can see that it's possible to have some ideas and carry them out when you arrive.</p>

<p>So, with respect to the equipment, by having the ideas before, and understanding by imagining what it's going to take to carry out that idea: the shot list helps you check the equipment list. If the equipment list doesn't let you do everything, the shot list and concept sketches can help you start to figure out a way around the problem before you get there.</p>

<p>The idea is, when the subject is only going to present itself once, don't go over there being totally reactive. You can react and respond when you get there, but you don't want to be totally reactive. Now, sketch pad and think up what you can do with what you've got; and, how is that photo going to fit into a brochure or web page or something. </p>

[mike_hollander]

<p>I haven't done events like this and I don't have much to add, but I've been at the receiving end of these sorts of pictures a few times. I think that pictures of people speaking behind a lectern, especially ones taken with an on-camera flash are generally worse than useless, if you consider the distraction that the flash caused to the presentation. I'd rather look at a good posed portrait that actually shows the person. I'm sure that the fact that that person spoke at the event can be expressed in writing. Of course, if you're specifically hired to shoot everyone behind the lectern, then so be it.</p>

[don_enevoldson]

<blockquote>

<p><em>" Assuming you don't want to splurge $1500 on a Canon 70-200, I would consider the Tokina 50-135 2.8 for about $500, which "turns into" a 70-200 if you consider the digital crop factor."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Consider that the Canon 1D uses a 1.3 crop factor sensor. So a 50-135 lens becomes a 65-175. Also, I don't think this Tokina lens is available any more, unless you can find it used. But Craig is right that it would be best to come armed with a little more reach; that increases your chances of getting the shots you need.</p>

<p>Other options for a zoom lens in this range, under $1k:</p>

<ul>

<li>Sigma 70-200/2.8 ($799 at B&H)</li>

<li>Tamron 70-200/2.8 ($729 at B&H).</li>

<li>Canon EF 70-200/4L ($639 at B&H) - if you don't mind a 1-stop slower lens, this is a good investment for a future newer camera body</li>

</ul>

<p>If funds simply won't allow the above choices, and you know you can use flash, here are cheaper, albeit slower options.</p>

<ul>

<li>Canon EF 28-135/3.5-5.6 IS ($389 - $449 at B&H)</li>

<li>Canon EF 75-300/4.0-5.6 ($159 at B&H, USM version for $200) - you probably won't need this much reach, but it's cheap.</li>

</ul>

<p>You won't want to be terribly far away when using a flash, but to give you a starting point, if you shoot at ISO 400 and f5.6 that flash should work ok at 50 feet or so, which is normally plenty. Just verify that you can in fact use a flash there.</p>

<p>You could also check B&H Photo or Adorama for used lenses. In addition, consider renting a lens. If you are getting paid, there's a good chance you'll get more than the rental costs.</p>

<p>Also, when possible, it's a good idea to check out the place ahead of time, get an idea how it will be setup, etc.</p>

 

[alex_sofer]

<p>Thanks to one and all!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Matt, hi. I’m told there will be dim lighting with presentations onto a large screen. I don’t know if there will be a lectern or not. There will also be mingling around a buffet.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Danny, the pics will be used on the web and perhaps for an up-and-coming newsletter (glossy print)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Craig. My client asked me how much I would charge? I halved my hourly writing rate for the 2-hr presentation which means I will come away from the gig with around $380 (which in my currency is OK-ish). That money will easily cover an entry-level flash purchase (though here the vivitar costs nearly triple the price you quoted). The price I pay for my toys as I've not being born in the USA :-)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> John. Your graphic shot plan is really amazing. It helps me to plan the entire event rather than just show up and hope for the best! Thank you!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Mike, ya I do agree that the posed portrait or group shot can be more interesting - I’m now trying to see how I can make the whole thing more interesting by building on John’s “graphic shot plan” and combining people with product to support the narrative of the press release.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> “Assuming you don't want to splurge $1500 on a Canon 70-200, I would consider the Tokina 50-135 2.8 for about<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Don, It is available locally for around $700. Wont go for it now but it’s on my list - tnx<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> - Considering the amount of money I'd make from this I think either a decent flash or an entry-level flash and a 50/1.8 are my options.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> "Also, when possible, it's a good idea to check out the place ahead of time, get an idea how it will be setup, etc.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> - Good idea, tnx. I will be arriving an half-hour early. Will let you know how it goes.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> - Alex</p>

[alex_sofer]

<p>Unfortunately this gig didnt happen. or rather it did but not the way I wanted. When I arrived; the CEO's PA said to me, "Don't worry, John will use his iPhone"</p>

<p>So I simply sat in on the presentation; which took place in a pitch-dark office, the only light coming from the .ppt slides shown on the wall. it would have been impossible to take with my kit, let alone an iPhone.</p>

<p>FTR, I never saw John the CEO take any pics but hey, it's their newsletter so Im sure something will come up.</p>

<p>As for me; I decided to upgrade. Traded my Canon for a Nikon with a 2.8 zoom and a flash. And signe dup for a course on flash photography; the next time I get offered a gig like this I intend to be ready.</p>

<p> </p>