pwhittle
07 May 2008, 09:04
just thout I'd share my experience from last night.
There's local deaf children't group, who our daughter occasionally gets involved with. I heard they were having a film premier of a DVD they've put together at the local indie cinema, and the Lord Mayor would be their to prestent the kids involved with copies of the DVD.
Ah, I thought. Good oportunity for some portfolio shots, shoot the kids coming up the red carpet, should be fun.
So I volunteered.
Didn't hear anything until the weekend, when they took me up on the offer, and said that they wanted group shots of everyone on stage, the trustees etc, then shots in the bar afterwards.
So, having been at work all day, I lugged by ludicrously heavy rucksack (which weighs at least twice as much as all the kit in there!) over to the venue.
I'm sat near the front watching the film, desperately trying to remember how to get a Speedlite to flash in anything but fill mode. had a mental block, so put in Manual. Remembered that in Manual, you can't select the focus point, or shoot RAW. Set to P, and checked it worked ok. Couldn't test flash though.
So, The film finishes, there's a short speech, then the Lord Mayor comes up, and the kids are called up one by one. Now they said they didn't have enough time to pose the kids, but I wanted to try and get them all individually so I could sell them prints. Trouble was, they were called out so fast the Speedlight barely had time to recycle, and it was so dark up there, I really couldn't see what wass happening until the flash fired! (testiment to the 5D's ability to focus anyway!).
They really wanted a group shot, partly to use in publicity to gain funding, and partly to send to the local rag, as they're tog hadn't turned up.
So no pressure then!
Had to squeeze in to the middle of a row (this is a packed cinema remember), and just fires off loads of shots of the group. I'd no idea if they were all looking or not - I just couldn't see.
Then rattled off some shots in the bar, and handed some cards out. And all this with a stonking headache.
I've no idea what you'd charge for an assigment like that, but I'd have to be more than people would be wanting to pay to get me to do it again!
So, some key points
Be very careful what you volunteer for
the 580EX II is very, very powerful
There's local deaf children't group, who our daughter occasionally gets involved with. I heard they were having a film premier of a DVD they've put together at the local indie cinema, and the Lord Mayor would be their to prestent the kids involved with copies of the DVD.
Ah, I thought. Good oportunity for some portfolio shots, shoot the kids coming up the red carpet, should be fun.
So I volunteered.
Didn't hear anything until the weekend, when they took me up on the offer, and said that they wanted group shots of everyone on stage, the trustees etc, then shots in the bar afterwards.
So, having been at work all day, I lugged by ludicrously heavy rucksack (which weighs at least twice as much as all the kit in there!) over to the venue.
I'm sat near the front watching the film, desperately trying to remember how to get a Speedlite to flash in anything but fill mode. had a mental block, so put in Manual. Remembered that in Manual, you can't select the focus point, or shoot RAW. Set to P, and checked it worked ok. Couldn't test flash though.
So, The film finishes, there's a short speech, then the Lord Mayor comes up, and the kids are called up one by one. Now they said they didn't have enough time to pose the kids, but I wanted to try and get them all individually so I could sell them prints. Trouble was, they were called out so fast the Speedlight barely had time to recycle, and it was so dark up there, I really couldn't see what wass happening until the flash fired! (testiment to the 5D's ability to focus anyway!).
They really wanted a group shot, partly to use in publicity to gain funding, and partly to send to the local rag, as they're tog hadn't turned up.
So no pressure then!
Had to squeeze in to the middle of a row (this is a packed cinema remember), and just fires off loads of shots of the group. I'd no idea if they were all looking or not - I just couldn't see.
Then rattled off some shots in the bar, and handed some cards out. And all this with a stonking headache.
I've no idea what you'd charge for an assigment like that, but I'd have to be more than people would be wanting to pay to get me to do it again!
So, some key points
Be very careful what you volunteer for
the 580EX II is very, very powerful