Get the shot!

Posted on June 17, 2008 by Jim Atwood in Flickr Japan | Comments | 591 views

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Some helpful hints I’ve encountered from experience on what to think about during shooting events.

1. You obviously need to do everything possible to “Get the shot”. So whetever you need whether it’s a lens, lighting, technique, or a strong cup of coffee, just try your best to get the shot.

2. Determine your money shots and make sure you get them. Even though you may or may not sell these photographs, you need to make sure you take shots that people will buy. Check out wedding photography business tips for more info. Creative shots are nice, but ultimately you want money shots so that the parents will have interest and hopefully pay nicely.

3. I would definitely pack a flash and try to use it for fill flash outdoors or perhaps indoors off camera as well. Some of these Japanese ballparks and school fields have no shade at all. You are likely to get some nasty shadows especially if you are shooting midday. Likely you will need a light fill flash if you can’t get in a good position for shooting.

4. For lenses I recommend, in my case for Nikon, a 17-55 and the 70-200 or similar. Try to get an idea when you’re going to change lenses so that you don’t stress out about missing shots due to changing every 5 seconds. A nice low light prime could work well indoors as well perhaps.

5. Bring extra memory cards, batteries, and perhaps even a friend to tag along with you for company and support.

Like I mentioned above, if you can get your money shots early, you can then relax and get creative later on. Ultimately though you just need to stay calm and do your best to walk away with useable shots.

For shooting events, I like to browse the wedding photographer sites to get tips, ideas, and strategies for shooting events. They shoot events on a regular basis and I can’t think of any event more stressful than a wedding. I just cringe at the thought of screwing up a wedding shoot which is why I probably don’t shoot weddings in Japan…laugh.