Convention Shoot help

[ClintDMc]

I'm not really sure where this post fits best. I have been hired to shoot a black tie convention next Friday. Its a 300 head convention, I'll be shooting red carpet, plus they'll set aside time for me to do quick on site portraits as well. This week I'll be going to the venue to get an idea of the number of electrical outlets available, the color scheme of the location so I can coordinated my back drop.

Has anyone done anything like this before, and have any suggestions? I'm kind of in the deep end of the pool right now, hoping I can tread. I have the skills for the shoot, I have never shot anything this big before. So I'm a little nervous. And help would be greatly appreciated.

[acscarrow]

The time will go by quickly, so keep it simple! Are you shooting this alone?

[WarrenG]

I do a few of these every year.

The good news is that 300 ppl is not too big at all. Are you responsible for covering a "Step & Repeat" on the red carpet, and the general candids? If so, I would strongly suggest you have at least two competent shooters. This way you can have one working the red carpet and the Step & Repeat, and then one capturing general candids as everyone mills about. If your doing onsite portraits, I would pick your location, and then have the event coordinator identify it for the guests, so they know where to go for their portraits. Personally, I would try to make them get rid of the portrait set up and instead, stick with the S&R, and general event candids. If they are not doing the S&R, you may be able to get away with setting up a small backdrop at the end of the red carpet to do a quick portrait as they come in.

Be cautious about "them setting aside time" as generally this is far too little time to do much of anything, because photography is not on their mind, and they have no concept of how long anything takes. Providing you with far too little time to do a good job, and them being unhappy with the results can go hand in hand, so make sure you spell out the expectations you need far in advance.

As previously mentioned, the time does go by quickly so make sure they will have someone from PR there alongside you. This ensures you nail those ever important shots of people you will not be able to identify. Even very famous people look totally different when your shooting a sea of faces in rapid succession.

Good Luck,

W

[ClintDMc]

Thanks Allen, I will have an assist, but not an experienced shooter. And Warren, as far as I know, there they are not going to have a S&R just the walk. And as of right now, from what I've been told by the event coordinator they will have different times set aside for the portraits. Thursday I'm going to see the venue to see what I'm looking at, pick out a spot to set up. Thanks for the advice, now I know what to look for and traps to hopefully avoid...i.e no time for portraits. I dont think thats going to be a problem though since thats the main reason they are hiring me. So we'll see.

[WarrenG]

Good deal.

Odd that they are having a red carpet, but no step and repeat. I assume this is not a celebrity event? lol

[ClintDMc]

lol oh no its not celebrity. But the idea of having someone from HR close by to point out those that I need to get was a good idea.