This school year I’ve had the pleasure of working as a staff photographer for Biola’s student-run newspaper, The Chimes. Through it, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph many events on campus. From sports and rallies to concerts and panels, I’ve been able to grow as I’ve photographed different events. So if you’re being asked to photograph an event, and are unsure of how go about it, I’ve got some tips for you!
Lets start at the beginning. There really isn’t much planning you can do when it comes to specific pictures, as you’re there to capture whatever happens, but you can prepare yourself for whatever the event might bring. First, know your event. The event I’m going to use as an example for this tutorial is Biola’s Midnight Madness, which I photographed for The Chimes.
So what is your event? What is the point and purpose of your event? Midnight Madness is a sports rally, pumping up the student body for future games, and introducing the sports teams to the student body. It mostly celebrates the basketball teams, and has performances by the dance and cheer teams. Because the event is about the basketball teams, I needed to make sure I focused on the players.
Where and when is your event? And do these things affect how you’ll take your pictures? Midnight Madness took place (not at midnight, surprisingly) but at 11 PM, in the school gymnasium. Knowing your location and time is important because these factors control lighting. Say your event is outside. If it happens outside at 1PM, you’ll know that you’re have plenty of light, but it will be direct, overhead light. If it’s happening at 4:30, you’ll be entering golden hour, so you’ll have beautiful light, but it will fade quickly as the sun sets. If your event is indoors, what sort of lighting will it have? These will affect the settings you need change on your camera.
What is the outline of the event? What is the highlight of the event and when is it happening? Midnight Madness had several activities on its lineup, including dance routines, a competition between the men’s and women’s basketball teams, a dunking competition, and introductions for the other athletic teams. The highlight would be the dunking competition, so I had to keep that in the back of my head as I began the night.
What sort of shots would you like to get? It’s nearly impossible to plan shots of events, as it is not a portrait session, and you cannot position people to your liking. But you can look at what is going to happen and picture ideas of the shots you would like to get. For Midnight Madness I knew the cheerleaders were going to perform, and I knew a dunking competition would happen. I planned to try and get a shot of the cheerleaders standing on top of each other (as all cheerleaders do this at some point in their routine) and I wanted a mid-air shot of a basketball player making a slam-dunk.
So now that you understand your event, know how it will go down and have picture ideas in your head, its time to go shoot your event. You’re going want to get there about 10-15 minutes early. This gives you a chance to take some test pictures and adjust your camera settings, and also gives you a chance to find good spots to take pictures. One aspect of event photography that some struggle with is becoming invisible. You want to take excellent pictures of the event, but you don’t want to disturb the event. You don’t want to get in someone’s view, or bother someone enjoying the event. Find spots to sit, crouch or kneel and still get good shots.
Keep moving as the event is happening. You don’t want all of your pictures to come from the exact same spot. There is a lot going on, and more than one angle to capture it all. Take some pictures that are wide and broad, capturing a lot of activity. Take some that are medium, with some the activities, and also take some that are close up. Variety in your pictures is good.
Keep your eye out as activities happen. Look for places to be in order to get good shots. In the picture's below, I got in the perfect spot to capture the end of the dance crew’s routine. The dance crew had been performing for several minutes, and I had been shooting from the side. I realized they would probably all turn to face the same way for the end of the routine. I moved to one end of their performance mat, kneeled in front of the students watching, and continued to shoot. I chose the perfect position, because I was almost centered on that side of the mat, and maybe 30 seconds after I got in position, the entire team turned to face me. Not only that, but the eagle mascot joined them, and danced right in front of me, leading to these great shots.
Another case of looking ahead and picking a good position: the dunking competition. The announcer told the crowd that the dunking competition was up next, so I made my way over to the hoop. I knew I wanted a shot that had both the players and the hoop in it, so I needed to be to the side of the hoop. I got into position just in the nick of time, as other photographers crowded the area, and some of the other Chimes photographers couldn’t get a spot.
When it comes to event photography, you have to keep your eyes open and your feet moving. Keep looking for different things to capture, and don’t be afraid to try different angles to capture it. Always be ready for the unexpected. You never know when plans will change, when people will act up, or when a sea of balloons will suddenly be dropped on you…
Event photography can seem like a lot of pressure when your first start (I certainly felt that way), but the more you work at it, the better you’ll become. Know your event, keep your eyes open, keep moving and you’ll be sure to come away with some great photos.
