Tips on covering dinner event

[Brandon]

Hi guys, I have just received my first assignment from school magazine to cover an appreciation dinner.
Any tips and pointers that I can use?
I don't have a DSLR, so I will be using my S5000 that has usable ISO only up to 400.
If possible I will try to borrow A D70 from a friend with the SB80, but that is quite unlikely... so, let's hear those tips yah

Thanks a lot for the helps :thumbsup:

 

[gundugundu]

Be at the venue earlier to scout out lighting condition, movement, positioning etc. Talk to the organisers, ask the for sequence of events that will take place. If there are vips, ask who are they so you can capture the shots.
Most important of all, ask your magazine editor what kind of shots the mag wants.

 

[kex]

shoot within ur flash distance..

 

[Photominia]

Remember to bring Extra Batteries n Enough Memory Card (xD card for S5000 or CF card for D70)

 

[Brandon]

Thanks for the tips guys.
Could somebody also tell me what kind of shots I should look out for? like group in a table shot? arrival of VIP, etc??? :dunno:

Once again thanks for the helps

 

[CY_OH]

Try to get the itinery beforehand or at least at the start of the event. When shooting group photos around dinner table, do it before food is served and the table gets messy. During the dinner, you can take general shots of the tables but no unflattering close ups of people eating with mouths open, chopsticks halfway to mouth etc.

Must have shots include arrival of VIPs and welcome of VIPs eg lion dance, Guard Of Honour, handshakes between important people, speech by VIPs, any form of prize presentation eg. lucky draw, award winners, souvenirs to VIPs, and events like ribbon cutting, cake cutting, champagne popping (if any).

 

[2100]

Just go with your feeling and take anything that seems interesting (and ignore anything that is uninteresting), that's the best for you. Obviously for stuff like cake-cutting or lucky draw, you gotta anticipate and be at the right place, say you wanna take lucky draw and you gotta be fast enough to take the drawer holding up the number and then swing round to take the winner's expression. I mean, common sense lar.

 

[Witness]

i tink looking at the lighting is important....nice to attend the rehearsal tt normally starts before the event too...and find out from the organizer wat kind of shots he muz have....

sometimes like those shaking hands ones they want one for each person for keepsake....then work out wif him where u gonna stand....is it gonna be ok etc etc...

basically communicate lo....anything dunno juz ask haha....better than screwing up last min ya...

 

[thoa_rs]

Set your WB to flash and just use your flash all the way, learn to know when to add an extra stop to your flash and make sure you don't shoot subjects that are too far.

 

[espn]

Just go with your feeling and take anything that seems interesting (and ignore anything that is uninteresting), that's the best for you. Obviously for stuff like cake-cutting or lucky draw, you gotta anticipate and be at the right place, say you wanna take lucky draw and you gotta be fast enough to take the drawer holding up the number and then swing round to take the winner's expression. I mean, common sense lar.

I'm not an event shooter, but I think that if I need to shoot an event, it should be to what the event planner wants and not what we think we want.

However, it's the photographer's duty to make the shots stand out given the shooting criteria by the event planner.

As with CY_OH, having the itenerary is very important as it tells you the flow of the events. It will help you a lot.

Just a NoOb comment... ignore at will if need be.

 

[yowch]

Be prepared to go manual focussing on the S5000, as auto will fail in dimmer environment. Somewhat off focus is better than no shot.

 

[Jer76]

Also best if you can get an external flash