It's important to know what you're trying to accomplish. Do you want
to show candidates interacting with whatever crowd might be there, and
tell an actual story of the campaign or cover a debate? Each of those
requires a different approach. If you're trying to tell the whole
story, then crowd shots might be important, so finding a spot to camp
out isn't the best strategy, if you just want to show the candidates
then you find a perch with an unobstructed view, and choose the proper
focal length to get the image you want, and shoot away. If you're going
to cover a debate, you'll need to find a place where you can catch both
candidates, (or more if there are more), in the same frame.
On 10/7/2010 12:19 PM, Walter Gilbert wrote:
Hi all,
I've just received my first press pass -- as a freelance photographer
for a couple of upcoming campaign events in a US Senate election.
Having never done this sort of shooting before, I assume I'll get a
pretty decent vantage point for the stump speeches and maybe some
access behind the scenes. Given the collective years of experience on
the list, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any tips on the best way to
capture dramatic, compelling images at events of this nature -- what
to look for, technical and compositional advice, etc.
Also, any advice on the best mental approach to take in shooting
events of this nature in terms of establishing oneself as a credible
photographer would be greatly appreciated. As a matter of background,
I was granted this press pass by a person who had seen my work on
Facebook and Flickr and really enjoyed it -- or at least she told me
as much.
So, I have a bit of a dilemma. Should I approach this as an
ostensibly hard-nosed photojournalist trying to capture the "reality"
of the campaign trail in a consequential election? Or, given the very
early stage of my development as a photographer, should I approach it
as a potential connection for future job opportunities by taking shots
geared toward making the subject look as good as I can?
As a matter of pure, career-minded practicality with an eye toward
getting the proverbial foot in the door to future work as a
photographer, I'd appreciate any guidance anyone can offer me.
-- Walt
--
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral
bankruptcy."
-Woody Allen
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
PDML@pdml.net
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
