First possible photo shoot evar

[Atreus]

Okay, so my friend @ work has a cousin who is graduating from college, and he knows i do photography as a hobby here and there. His aunt called me asking if i'd be interested in taking a "job" for her daughter, which is TOMORROW.

now, i've never had a official "job/booking" and i dont know where to start. they asked for some photo's at this hotel they're having dinner @, and then theres an after party afterwards. can someone help me out here? i haven't told her yes yet (i'll call you back lol) but i am definitely interested in doing this...

here is what i have

nikon d60

18-55
55-200
SB-800
tripod
2x-8GB SD cards

What is appropriate for compensation? do i do a formal shoot? like everyone line up and smile - OR - linger around getting casual shots/???
it is looking like a 3 hour job possibly. any help is appreciated. kinda nervous about it..

/running blind here

[SamE30e]

If I do something like that. I usually just take photos of the people speaking, then walk around and take pictures of people being social. Ask people if they want a photo taken as a group and such.

[87e30]

You should probably post up on a photog forum. This can be a tricky situation, because since you know her you don't want it to turn out badly and for her to be upset. Personally, I'd be quite nervous about this situation. Also, for indoors i'd say throw that 55-200 out the door and get good with the flash and 18-55m.

[daniel]

well, i'd guess that you can probably leave the 55-200 at home.

it's too bad you don't have a lens like the 50 f/1.8 or f/1.4 because the lighting inside is going to be awful and you'll have to shoot high ISO or use your flash ALL the time, which can get annoying. do you have a flash diffuser? do you have an extra battery? you might be shooting a few hundred photos.

i'd say given your non-experience at this, i'd offer to do it for not very much, like maybe $50-$100? And then if the photos turn out well and they want your help with editing, printing them or hosting them somewhere, charge more for that. otherwise burn them a dvd (of jpegs, not raw, obviously) of ALL the photos. at least i guess that's what i would do since i'd be in the same boat in terms of experience. don't be too intimidated as you aren't doing portraits or anything, just capturing candid moments and maybe bugging each person for a photo at some point during the evening. ask if they also want a group photo.

also, depending on the type of event, i've heard it is better to take lots of photos early in the party when people look fresh (like coming in the door), instead of after they are tired and sweaty.

good luck and let us know how it goes!

edit: make it clear to them that you are a n00b.

[daniel]

Also, for indoors i'd say throw that 55-200 out the door

well, i'd guess that you can probably leave the 55-200 at home.

OMG did we just become BFFs???

[Atreus]

yeah i was thinking of ditching the 55-200, and start messing with the sb800 more tonight.

i think i can rent a thrifty-fifty, but the damn d60 doesn't have an AF motor IN the camera, its in the lens instead so that is gonna get annoying. i'm not too good at "quick/on the fly manual focus=perfect focus" so thats gonna be fun.

i called them back, i'll be doing it tomorrow for 50-100 bucks, told them it was my first time, and i was invited for dinner for two. would it be bad if i took that offer? scarf some food down, run out the room, and come back out blinding people with the flash. lol. however i dont think i will be at the actual ceremony, like with the handing of the diploma's, etc etc. it is more of a dinner/get together/after party it seems...

they are aware that i'm a noob, i explained the types of shooting, and they want both, formal, and impromptu photos. we'll see what happens.

time to bump up the ISO. crap.

[Atreus]

nice tutorial+help getting started on this, for anyone else that may be interested.

http://blog.shutterspeak.biz/education/graduation/

:)

[daniel]

good luck. also, maybe you can rent the 50mm f/1.4 af-s lens. if you do just make sure to stop down to f/2 or f2.2 as f1.4 is really on the extreme side, and the real sharpness comes at f/2. at f/1.4 stuff happens like having someones nose in focus but not their eyes. pain in the butt.

[Scotaku]

nice tutorial+help getting started on this, for anyone else that may be interested.

http://blog.shutterspeak.biz/education/graduation/

:)

Some great advice, right there. Definitely read this through before you go for the shoot... especially the advice on shooting friends for free and your earliest clients for cheap. Building a portfolio takes time and effort that should be your cost, not theirs (and not just $$$).

Free dinner could be nice, but remember that time spent not shooting means shots missed. I would treat this as a photo assignment first and try to postpone eating with the guests. Hors d'oeurves and camera gear may not mix well either!

Also, for indoors i'd say throw that 55-200 out the door

well, i'd guess that you can probably leave the 55-200 at home.

I disagree here. While I doubt your 55-200 is very fast, it can still pull in some great shots indoors as long as you set things up smart.

My wife was -dying- for a cool looking lens for her camera... :roll:

I challenged her to shoot her kit lens at its most extreme ends, to find and frame shots in the best and worst light she could find and then tell me where she felt she needed more. That worked well and we rented and borrowed some new glass to do the same thing. Now she shoots her 18-200 almost exclusively, even indoors, and instead of just looking like she has a great camera, she actually has one and is pulling in lots of great pictures instead of lots of crap. We're looking for hosting sites now after flickr generated some publishing for her.