Corporate Party / Need Feddback

Lightsearcher

Hi everyone,

Two weeks ago in San Francisco I had the chance to shoot the holiday corporate party for the company I am working for.

It is the first time I shoot this kind of events and everybody is happy with the results.

It was a great learning experience but I would like to have some feedback from you guys.

Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

Have a great Holidays.

Marcelo


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Travel

Really nice!

coolpinsky

I think u did really well man, maybe the b&w are not to nice in my opinion but the colour one looks really PR0 - good job !

Lightsearcher

Travel wrote: »

Really nice!

Thank you Travel for the commentary..!!

coolpinsky wrote: »

I think u did really well man, maybe the b&w are not to nice in my opinion but the colour one looks really PR0 - good job !

Thank you Coolpinsky for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

Marcelo

Sam

What you posted is nice. I am sure they are pleased.

One thought would be to do some wide angle shots to show the environment, and to look for more candid opportunities showing the inter action of the participants.

The photography is down, now look for the those great moments.

Sam

Lightsearcher

Hi Sam,

Thank you so much for your time and feedback, I really appreciate it.

Marcelo

Molotov Everything

They're all fine images, I'd have no complaints if you were shooting my office christmas party. But I would suggest going for more candids as opposed to groups of people cheesing. I know people want that, it's pretty much inevitable at an event that people are going to tug on your sleeve and say "hey, can you take a picture of me and my friends?" but like Sam said, catching the interactions of the participants is where it's at. Especially when they don't know there's a camera pointed at them.

Scott_Quier

In addition to above comments:

- To the extent possible, watch your backgrounds
- Avoid up-skirt/crotch shots. If necessary, crop photos to avoid
- People can't see themselves - help them out: #2, the guy's coat might have been better presented if unbuttoned?

I, personally, like the B&w shots - FWIW. And, #6 is the winner for me for the interaction between the two ladies.

Foques

^^
What Scott said.
on more thing, seeing the images, it feels like the flash was tilted towards the participants of the party (hotspots on cheeks, harsh shadows). Was there an opportunity to bounce flash and run it with a bounce card?

nak

I like #6 and #8 best. I think because they were shot at a narrower angle (longer focal length).

There is a case to be made for shooting candids with a portrait lens (from 85 to 135mm, f/2 or so). My personal preference is 135mm f/2 on a full frame camera. The reach gets you across a room from outside people's personal space. The perspective (angle of view) compliments faces well - one of the big reason that studio portrait shooters pick that focal length when they have free choice to pick any length they want. The wide open f-stop lets you control depth of field and shoot in the dark. Think of candids as "portraiture in the wild."

So how do you fit in posed groups? If you have room, step back and keep the focal length up. If you are shooting with a normal range zoom, start from the longer focal length and go wide as a last resort. At 50mm (full frame) you get normal perspective. It used to be called "snapshot" because everybody shot film through a 50mm lens. Modern snapshots suffer from being shot at 28 or 35mm (effective) because that's what their camera or lens defaults to and the shooter didn't make the effort to actively manage focal length. You are so much better off with a bunch of faces at 50 or 70mm than you are at 28 or 35mm. I get uncomfortable when I hit 50mm and refuse to go below 35mm unless absolutely forced.

Shooting a crowd? Wide is perfect, especially if nobody is right in front of you. Shooting "the dance floor" has to be wide. Shooting "one dancer" really wants the longer focal length.

Look for spots at the venue where people have good light and you can step back from them. Use those places for your posed shots. As you step back, you are asking more from your flash.

Qarik

nice images overall. wanna take your shots to the next level? bounce that flash and get that soft directional light. right now the biggest "flw" is the harsh light from the direct flash (you can see some objectionable shadows and specular highlights on peoples faces)

Lightsearcher

Molotov Everything wrote: »

They're all fine images, I'd have no complaints if you were shooting my office christmas party. But I would suggest going for more candids as opposed to groups of people cheesing. I know people want that, it's pretty much inevitable at an event that people are going to tug on your sleeve and say "hey, can you take a picture of me and my friends?" but like Sam said, catching the interactions of the participants is where it's at. Especially when they don't know there's a camera pointed at them.

This is a good point and I totally agreed with you and thank you for mentioning it.

I have a good range of lens that will give me the opportunity to capture some candids like the 70-200mm f/2.8

Thank you Molotov..!!

Scott_Quier wrote: »

In addition to above comments:

- To the extent possible, watch your backgrounds
- Avoid up-skirt/crotch shots. If necessary, crop photos to avoid
- People can't see themselves - help them out: #2, the guy's coat might have been better presented if unbuttoned?

I, personally, like the B&w shots - FWIW. And, #6 is the winner for me for the interaction between the two ladies.

Scott,

Those are great tips to consider in an event.

I really appreciate your advice and kind words.

Foques wrote: »

^^
What Scott said.
on more thing, seeing the images, it feels like the flash was tilted towards the participants of the party (hotspots on cheeks, harsh shadows). Was there an opportunity to bounce flash and run it with a bounce card?

Foques,

Actually I used a Gary Fong diffuser (Universal LightSphere) with flash bouncing to the ceiling (very tall ceilings).

I'm not sure what is the reason for the hotspots on checks?? The exif info is attached to every picture, I really appreciate if you check it.

Thank you.

nak wrote: »

I like #6 and #8 best. I think because they were shot at a narrower angle (longer focal length).

There is a case to be made for shooting candids with a portrait lens (from 85 to 135mm, f/2 or so). My personal preference is 135mm f/2 on a full frame camera. The reach gets you across a room from outside people's personal space. The perspective (angle of view) compliments faces well - one of the big reason that studio portrait shooters pick that focal length when they have free choice to pick any length they want. The wide open f-stop lets you control depth of field and shoot in the dark. Think of candids as "portraiture in the wild."

So how do you fit in posed groups? If you have room, step back and keep the focal length up. If you are shooting with a normal range zoom, start from the longer focal length and go wide as a last resort. At 50mm (full frame) you get normal perspective. It used to be called "snapshot" because everybody shot film through a 50mm lens. Modern snapshots suffer from being shot at 28 or 35mm (effective) because that's what their camera or lens defaults to and the shooter didn't make the effort to actively manage focal length. You are so much better off with a bunch of faces at 50 or 70mm than you are at 28 or 35mm. I get uncomfortable when I hit 50mm and refuse to go below 35mm unless absolutely forced.

Shooting a crowd? Wide is perfect, especially if nobody is right in front of you. Shooting "the dance floor" has to be wide. Shooting "one dancer" really wants the longer focal length.

Look for spots at the venue where people have good light and you can step back from them. Use those places for your posed shots. As you step back, you are asking more from your flash.

Hey Nak,

Thank for the extensive and detailed tips for candid shots, I will put in practice the advices in my next event.

Thanks a lot..!!

Qarik wrote: »

nice images overall. wanna take your shots to the next level? bounce that flash and get that soft directional light. right now the biggest "flw" is the harsh light from the direct flash (you can see some objectionable shadows and specular highlights on peoples faces)

Thank you Qarik,

I was using a Gary Fong Lightsphere on my SB-900 with a flash bracket, the flash bounced to the ceiling, the building is a art gallery with very tall ceilings.

Maybe the reason for the shadows on peoples faces is because I was too close to them and the flash bracket + the Gary Fong sphere are to tall creating the shadows??

Thank you for the observation.

Foques

I may get flogged here, but I truly thing that the lightsphere sucks, I could never get good results with it.
Yes, I did look at your exif, and your shooting style is a bit different form mine - I normally shoot at 2500+ iso, at <1/30th; with a bounce card - no other way.

but again, I haven't shot in night clubs in a while - I hate that type of shooting.